8BitDo Controller Tester for Pro 2, Ultimate and SN30 Pads

Check an 8BitDo controller's buttons, sticks and triggers in the browser, and find the input mode that gives the standard layout.

Runs in your browser: nothing is uploaded
free · no sign-up
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Connect your 8BitDo controller, then press the bottom face button

Plug it in with a USB data cable or pair it over Bluetooth, in X-input mode where your model has one (it gives browsers the standard layout). Browsers only reveal a controller after a button press. Nothing is sent anywhere.

8BitDo controller

Not connected yet: the diagram shows the 8BitDo controller layout and lights up as soon as it sends input.

Left stick–

Right stick–

Left trigger

Right trigger

All buttons and axes · 0 buttons pressed

Press every button once: each one gets a tick when it registers. Values show analog pressure from 0.00 to 1.00.

Health tests

1. Stick drift

Measures where each stick settles when nobody touches it, and checks for buttons or triggers that read as pressed. Pass: under 5% of full travel. Warning: 5–10%. Fail: 10% or more.

Not run yet.

2. Circularity

Rotate each stick slowly around its outer edge. Measures how far the edge strays from a perfect circle. Pass: up to 10% average error. Warning: up to 20%. Fail: above 20% or a direction that can't reach 75% of full travel.

Left

Right

Not run yet.

3. Vibration

Plays a rumble. The strong motor is the heavy, low rumble in the left grip; the weak motor is the finer buzz on the right.

Connect a controller to test vibration.

4. Input update rate

Estimates how often the browser receives new data from the controller while you move a stick.

DurationConnection

Not measured yet.

More tests for PlayStation controllers

Connect a DualSense, DualSense Edge or DualShock 4 directly for what the standard gamepad connection hides: motion sensors, touchpad, battery and the true report interval, plus adaptive triggers and lights on a DualSense. Your browser asks which device to allow, and the permission lasts until you close the tab. This page only reads the controller and sends effect commands (trigger effects, light bar, player lights), never calibration or firmware, and it resets them when you leave.

Decoded from published formats (the Linux hid-playstation driver and SDL); not yet tested on a real controller. Over Bluetooth, deep mode switches the controller to its full report format until it reconnects, and asks first: if another app or game stops seeing it, turn the controller off and on.

Not connected.

Motion sensors

Tilt and turn the controller: the model follows it, and the graphs show the gyroscope (turn rate, degrees per second) and the accelerometer (g) on each axis. Put it down flat and run the rest check to measure gyro drift.

Gyro – · Accel –

Touchpad

Draw on the touchpad with one or two fingers. Each finger gets its own colour and the ID the controller gives it; a dead strip shows up as a gap in the lines. Press the pad to test its click.

No touch yet.

Adaptive triggers (DualSense only)

Pick an effect, then press L2 or R2. Resistance pushes back from the start point; click is a section of resistance that gives way, like a trigger pull; vibration buzzes the trigger from the start point. The bars show where each trigger is.

EffectTriggersStart point 30%Strength 8

–

Light bar and player lights

Light bar colourPlayer lights

Battery

The level the controller reports, in 10% steps, and whether it is charging. It updates live, so plug in a cable to check the charging port.

–

Report interval

How often the controller sends a report, from the controller's own clock and from the time each report reached this page. This is the report interval, not end-to-end input lag: it leaves out the time a press takes inside the controller, in the game and on the screen.

Controller health report

Selling or buying a used controller? Run the four tests, press every button, then share the report link in your listing or message.

Connect a controller to start the report.

Connect your 8BitDo controller

8BitDo controllers switch between input modes, and the mode decides what the browser sees. The Pro 2 has a four-way switch on the back for Switch, Android, D-input and X-input (8BitDo). Other models pick the mode with a button held at power-on or a switch; check the manual for yours.

For testing on a computer, use X-input. Plug in a USB data cable or pair over Bluetooth with the pair button, then press the bottom face button. In X-input mode, Windows and browsers treat it as an Xbox-style controller with the standard layout, so the diagram’s numbers match. In D-input or Switch mode, the tester may say the layout isn’t recognised: the raw list under the diagram still shows every button and axis.

Labels and positions

The diagram shows the labels printed on the Pro 2 and SN30 family, which follow Nintendo’s layout: B at the bottom, A on the right, Y on the left and X at the top. Browsers number buttons by position, so B is button 0 and A is button 1, the reverse of an Xbox pad. If a game asks you to “press A” and means the Xbox bottom button, it wants the 8BitDo’s B. Ultimate models made for Xbox and PC print Xbox-style labels instead: the positions, and so the numbers, are the same.

The Home button is button 16. The Star (screenshot) button isn’t reported by every model and mode. The Pro 2’s two back buttons have no numbers of their own either: assign them to a standard button in 8BitDo’s Ultimate Software, then press them here to check that they work.

Sticks: potentiometer, Hall effect or TMR

8BitDo’s recent controllers moved away from potentiometer sticks: the Ultimate 2C has Hall effect sticks and the Ultimate 2 TMR sticks, both of which measure position magnetically instead of with a wiper on a track. They don’t wear out the same way, but a magnetic stick can still rest a little off centre or reach its edge unevenly, so run the drift and circularity tests all the same. Older SN30 Pro and early Pro 2 units use potentiometers and can drift like any other controller.

If a stick misbehaves, update the firmware with 8BitDo’s upgrade tool from support.8bitdo.com, then test again. The Ultimate Software can also adjust stick deadzones: use the deadzone tester to pick a value.

How the browser numbers the 8BitDo controller’s buttons

Browsers describe a recognised controller with the W3C standard gamepad layout, which numbers buttons by position, not by the symbol printed on them. This is the map the tester uses for the 8BitDo controller; the list under the diagram shows the same numbers live.

Button	Position	On the 8BitDo controller
0	Bottom face button	B (in X-input mode; D-input and Switch modes can number the face buttons differently)
1	Right face button	A
2	Left face button	Y
3	Top face button	X
4	Left bumper	L1
5	Right bumper	R1
6	Left trigger	L2
7	Right trigger	R2
8	Back / select	Select
9	Start / menu	Start
10	Left stick press	L3
11	Right stick press	R3
12	D-pad up	↑
13	D-pad down	↓
14	D-pad left	←
15	D-pad right	→
16	Home / guide	Home
17	Touchpad / capture	Star (only some models and modes report it)

Frequently asked questions

Which mode should I use for testing?

X-input. Windows and browsers treat the controller as an Xbox-style pad and use the standard layout, so every button lands on a known number. In D-input or Switch mode, the browser may not recognise the layout and pass raw buttons in the controller's own order.

Why does the button marked B light up as button 0?

Browsers number buttons by position. Controllers with Nintendo-style labels, like the Pro 2, have B at the bottom, and the bottom face button is always button 0. In X-input mode the controller reports it as the Xbox A position.

Do 8BitDo sticks drift?

Older models use potentiometer sticks, which can drift with wear. The Ultimate 2C uses Hall effect sticks and the Ultimate 2 TMR sticks, which have no rubbing contacts. Any stick can still rest slightly off centre, which the drift test measures.

Can I remap buttons and test the result?

Yes. Remap in 8BitDo's Ultimate Software, then press the buttons here: the list under the diagram shows which standard button each physical button now sends.