Stick Drift Test for PS5, Xbox, Switch and PC Controllers

Put the controller down and measure how far each stick rests from centre, how much it jitters, and which deadzone hides it.

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Connect a controller, then press any button

Plug it in with a USB data cable or pair it over Bluetooth. Browsers only reveal a controller after a button press, so press A or ✕ if nothing appears. Nothing is sent anywhere.

No controller yet

The diagram lights up as soon as your controller sends input.

Stick drift test

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.

Measure for

Not run yet.

Left stick at rest, centre 20% of travel

Right stick at rest, centre 20% of travel

Each dot is one reading while the controller lay still, magnified ten times. A tight cluster on the cross is healthy; a cluster off to one side is drift, and a scattered cloud is a noisy sensor. The dashed ring is the recommended deadzone.

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. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

How to test for stick drift

Connect the controller, press any button, then click Start drift test and put the controller on a table. After a three-second countdown the tester records where both sticks rest for the time you picked. The result gives each stick’s offset from centre as a percentage of full travel, its direction, the largest jitter while resting, and a recommended deadzone. Under 5% passes, 5–10% is a warning and 10% or more fails.

The two plots under the result magnify the centre ten times. Every dot is one reading. A tight cluster on the cross is a healthy stick. A tight cluster off to one side is classic drift: the stick settles in the wrong place. A scattered cloud is noise, which usually means a dirty or worn sensor even when the average looks fine.

Why sticks drift

Most controllers, including the DualSense, DualShock 4, Xbox Wireless Controller, Joy-Con and Steam Deck, use potentiometer sticks. Inside each one, small conductive wipers slide over a resistive track, and iFixit explains that this material wears away over time, while dust and debris can stop the stick returning to neutral. That is why drift gets worse with use and appears first on the stick you move most.

Hall effect sticks, used in the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C and many repair kits, read a magnet’s position instead, so nothing rubs; TMR sticks, as in the 8BitDo Ultimate 2, use a more sensitive magnetic sensor (Windows Central). They avoid contact wear, though they can still rest a little off centre.

What to do about it

Controller	Try first	If it stays
Xbox Wireless, Elite Series 2	Thumbstick recalibration in the Xbox Accessories app (Xbox Wire)	Warranty, or a new stick module
Switch, Switch 2	Update, then Calibrate Control Sticks in System Settings (Nintendo)	Nintendo repair service
DualSense, DualShock 4	Reset with the pin hole on the back, update the firmware	Warranty; the DualSense Edge takes replacement stick modules
Steam Deck	Settings, Controller, Calibration & Advanced Settings	Replace the stick

Clean before you open anything: work the stick in circles, then use a swab with isopropyl alcohol around its base. In the EU, the seller has to repair or replace a controller with a fault that appears within two years of delivery (Your Europe), and opening it can void that.

Until then, enter the recommended deadzone in your game. The deadzone visualiser shows what that costs in precision.

Frequently asked questions

How long should the drift test run?

Ten seconds catches most drift. Use 30 seconds when a stick only creeps now and then: intermittent drift from a dirty or worn sensor often shows up as a few readings far from the rest, which the zoomed plot makes easy to spot.

Can cleaning fix stick drift?

Sometimes. Dust under the stick cap can stop it settling at centre, and iFixit recommends isopropyl alcohol and electronics cleaner for that. If the offset stays after cleaning, the resistive track inside a potentiometer stick is worn and the stick needs replacing.

Do Hall effect sticks drift?

They can still rest slightly off centre, but they measure the stick's position with a magnet and a sensor instead of a wiper rubbing on a track, so they don't wear out the way potentiometer sticks do. TMR sticks work the same way with a more sensitive sensor.

Does recalibrating fix drift?

It fixes a stick whose centre is slightly off, not one that is worn. Microsoft says as much about its Xbox calibration tool. Run this test before and after recalibrating: if the offset returns within days, the stick is wearing out.