Xbox Controller Tester for Series X|S and Elite Controllers

Test an Xbox Wireless Controller for stick drift, worn bumpers and dead rumble motors, including the impulse triggers in Chrome and Edge on Windows.

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Connect your Xbox controller, then press A

Plug it in with a USB-C data cable, or pair it over Bluetooth: turn it on with the Xbox button, hold the pair button on top until the Xbox button flashes quickly, then pick it in your device's Bluetooth settings. Browsers only reveal a controller after a button press. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Xbox Wireless Controller

Not connected yet: the diagram shows the Xbox 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 Xbox controller

USB: a USB-C data cable is the quickest route and rules out any Bluetooth trouble.

Bluetooth: turn the controller on with the Xbox button, then hold the small pair button on top until the Xbox button flashes quickly, and pick the controller in your device’s Bluetooth settings. On Windows you can also use Microsoft’s Xbox Wireless Adapter. Controllers with firmware from late 2021 onward remember one Bluetooth device and one Xbox console or adapter; double-tap the pair button to switch between them.

The standard controller runs on two AA batteries (up to 40 hours by Microsoft’s figure), so swap in fresh ones before blaming the controller for dropouts.

What the browser sees

In Chrome and Edge on Windows the tester reads 17 buttons: the face buttons, bumpers, triggers, View, Menu, both stick clicks, the d-pad and the Xbox button. Two quirks are worth knowing before you mark a button as broken: the Share button isn’t reported on Windows, and Windows Game Bar or Steam can take the Xbox button for themselves. On Windows, and in recent Chrome on a Mac over Bluetooth, the vibration test can drive the impulse triggers as well as the grip motors.

Drift, bumpers and recalibration

Xbox controllers use potentiometer sticks, so drift from wear is common on older pads. Run the drift test with the controller flat on a table and note the resting offset. Since February 2024 the Xbox Accessories app, on a console or on Windows, has a thumbstick recalibration tool. Recalibrate, then run the test again: a small, fixed offset usually improves, but Microsoft says the tool doesn’t cure drift from wear.

The bumpers are the other usual suspect. Press LB and RB lightly at each end: a bumper that only registers when pressed near the middle is likely worn. Update the firmware through the Xbox Accessories app before you send a controller in, then request a replacement through Xbox Support.

The Elite Series 2 adds four back paddles, which show up as extra buttons in the list under the diagram. Microsoft extended its warranty from 90 days to one year in 2020 over mechanical problems, so check its dates if yours has drift or sticking buttons.

How the browser numbers the Xbox 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 Xbox Wireless Controller; the list under the diagram shows the same numbers live.

Button	Position	On the Xbox controller
0	Bottom face button	A
1	Right face button	B
2	Left face button	X
3	Top face button	Y
4	Left bumper	LB
5	Right bumper	RB
6	Left trigger	LT
7	Right trigger	RT
8	Back / select	View
9	Start / menu	Menu
10	Left stick press	LS
11	Right stick press	RS
12	D-pad up	↑
13	D-pad down	↓
14	D-pad left	←
15	D-pad right	→
16	Home / guide	Guide
17	Touchpad / capture	Share (Chrome on Mac (Bluetooth) and Linux only, not on Windows)

Frequently asked questions

Can I test the impulse triggers?

Yes, in Chrome and Edge on Windows, and in recent versions of Chrome on a Mac over Bluetooth. When the browser can drive them, a Trigger rumble button appears in the vibration test. Firefox has no rumble at all.

Why doesn't the Share button light up?

Chrome and Edge on Windows don't report the Share button at all. Chrome on a Mac reports it over Bluetooth but not over USB, and Firefox doesn't report it.

Does recalibrating in the Xbox Accessories app fix drift?

It can correct a stick whose centre is slightly off, but Microsoft says it doesn't fix drift caused by wear. Run the drift test before and after: if the resting offset is still high, the stick is worn.

How do I test the Elite Series 2 paddles?

Chrome and Edge on Windows report the four paddles as extra buttons after the standard ones. Press each paddle and watch the list under the diagram: each one should tick and read 1.00.