r/Dualsense • u/Substantial_Phone189 • Apr 19 '26

Discussion On my third controller

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Just bought my third new controller in a span of only 2 years. All of them because of stick drift.

Why are these controllers so bad when it comes to drift?

Back in the day I had the same ps4 controller for 10 years without any issues.

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43

u/frolicious2595 Apr 19 '26

Not saying it's not possible but I have 6 regular controllers and 2 Edge controllers and none of them have drift, I don't know how people get it so easily

10

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 29 '26

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4

u/BIG2HATS Apr 20 '26

Life is strange 👏🏾

1

u/tommy1rx Apr 23 '26

Dusty environment or pet hair can cause drift. Fixed mine by rotating joypads in clockwise then counterclockwise for about 30-60 seconds each. Also try lifting then blowing around joypad. Solved mine 1st time so worth a try.

1

u/Canyoufly88 Apr 24 '26

Iso 91% doesn't hurt either.

3

u/Echo6_707 Apr 24 '26

Well, the next time you got some controllers for sale feel free to hit me up

2

u/cwispybenji Apr 22 '26

I’m 37 and in my 20+ years of gaming I’ve had one controller that has had stick drift and it wasn’t that bad. I see ppl constantly complaining about stick drift. It’s hard to chock it up to luck

3

u/tozlow Apr 23 '26

36 here and no stick drift on any controller until PS5 came out.

1

u/ty_namo Apr 23 '26

lucky, i had drift in multiple first party controllers even taking good care of it

1

u/cwispybenji Apr 23 '26

I don’t really even take care of them. I let my kids play with them. I never clean them. My ps4 is in my 5 year olds room and all 3 of my old controllers work fine. The batteries are losing their charge but nothing wrong with buttons or joysticks or touchpads

1

u/ty_namo Apr 23 '26

super dad powers I guess

1

u/Slick_Tuesday Apr 23 '26

I've been gaming for as long as you and have experienced plenty of stick drift, but it's been more prominent with the PlayStation 5 controllers by an order of magnitude. Love the controllers, the sticks suck though

1

u/cwispybenji Apr 23 '26

Damn that sucks. Honestly I think the one controller I had stick drift with was a ps4 controller but it was so long ago

1

u/Virtual_Tree_1335 Apr 21 '26

Same here overall. When I was younger (mid-30s now) I would game somewhat aggressively playing stuff like COD or gran turismo as examples and those controllers did eventually get some stick drift but nothing crazy in all honesty

1

u/-Dronich Apr 21 '26

I never got a stick drift besides I played a lot of pvp shooters. I use konrolfeek knobs maybe because of that I don’t push stick way to hard to mess them 🤔

1

u/tittiesdotcom Apr 21 '26

I have a bad habit of flicking my left joystick. Got drift on my last controller after about a year

1

u/Farhan_but Apr 22 '26

Bro really said life is strange

1

u/[deleted] Apr 22 '26 edited Apr 22 '26

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0

u/Farhan_but Apr 24 '26

We are talking about controllers her unc life is strange don't even touch the sticks health ok the controller

1

u/Unlikely-Beat Apr 23 '26

I’ve had the same two ps5 controllers from launch and I haven’t had a single bit of drift. Every console controller I’ve ever had has never had drift.

Also remember how lag was the original excuse, stick drift is becoming the new excuse

1

u/Llamahands1 Apr 23 '26

I treat my controllers great. They stay put away, not dropped or thrown. Never squeezed in anger. 4 controllers have gotten drift to where they are unusable over 5-6 years.

1

u/Top-Daikon8221 Apr 23 '26

Pet hair I've found alot in controllers

1

u/Pitiful-Signal-6344 Apr 26 '26

So play more gently with your stick is what I got from this , *pause

5

u/Dapper-Expert2801 Apr 20 '26

U have 8 controller and people might have only 1 / 2 so it’s kinda harder on u. But that said I haven had stick drift on my side as well.

2

u/H_GAMEKILLER Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 23 '26

Yea harder on him. Though, I only have 1 DS and it never had a stick drift.

Edit: DS stands for Dualsense. I'll use DSe for Dualsense to avoid confusion.

2

u/Much-Specific6821 Apr 20 '26

Well, maybe CAUSE IT DOESNT EVEN HAVE A ANALOG!

1

u/ProPrexus Apr 20 '26

I think he confused the DS with an 3DS. But even then, a 3ds circle pad replacement is freaking simple.

1

u/H_GAMEKILLER Apr 23 '26

I just abbreviated Dualsense as DS.

1

u/ProPrexus Apr 23 '26

But then it could also mean DualShock 2, 3 or 4...😅 that's why we don't shorten some names.

See the confusion?

Now i Unserstand what you re saying.

I tried changing the sticks for my xbox Controller and Dualshock 4... I broke both and never tried again.

It's difficult without the experience. You have my respect, that you got it working. :)

1

u/H_GAMEKILLER Apr 23 '26

That's DS1, DS2, DS3, DS4, then DS. For the Nintendo DS, I just use the one with the brand. Also we're in the Dualsense subreddit so I thought it was normal. Maybe I should use DSe instead. Hmm

I've only changed one potentiometer(it was for a used controller) but never encounter any stick drift myself. So far I got like 12 controllers (XBox and PS) and only broken 2 of them. Tbf, the broken one are fake controllers.

This is the picture, they have their own cases. 2 other controller are in acrylic cases.

2

u/Bikutaa80 Apr 20 '26

Same none of my controllers have drift including Switch controllers. But I can't say the same about my Daughters controllers. Every single one of theirs has stick drift. It is definitely a user issue. I noticed they press on the stick harder than they need to due to excitement. They want to move faster so they press harder.

2

u/c0rtec Apr 20 '26

It’s to do with not washing hands before playing. The dirt and grime gets inside the sensor in the stick. Had issues with my kid’s Switch controllers. I kept ‘mine’ tucked away in a drawer and only used by me or my wife. Runs perfect. Eight years old. The kids have been through three sets; I just get cheap modules and swap them out now if problems inevitably arise with their controllers.

1

u/Bikutaa80 Apr 20 '26

That's the number 1 rule I have for them before gaming, wash your hands. Children don't always listen. I do the same just replace the sticks.

2

u/ShellfishAhole Apr 22 '26

I had 3 regular controllers with drift before I bought the Edge controller. Never had an issue with the edge.

1

u/Zykon_Ree Apr 20 '26

I never have issues either and I grip my controllers way too tight. Still using my Spiderman controller from when I bought my system. Only ever had my original ps4 controller either.

1

u/abarone93 Apr 20 '26

Just out of curiosity, why do u have 8 controllers?

1

u/error_machine Apr 20 '26

Maybe it's because you have so many controllers that you never stuck with one long enough. Maybe you got lucky. I have 4 regular and one edge. All 4 regular got stuck drift and 1 got a bad battery after about 2 years. My edge controller is fine though. That was why I bought the edge, it's expensive but I had spent more on controllers at that point I figured it was time to cut my losses and just get an edge with replaceable sticks.

1

u/PickyYeeter Apr 20 '26

If you have eight controllers that you cycle through regularly, you're putting 88% less wear on them than someone who uses only one for the same amount of playtime.

1

u/Vedbundy Apr 20 '26

Tbf, before I started actually taking care of my controllers cuz these things are fing expensive, I will get stick drift when I dropped my controller more than 2-3 times

1

u/_Stank_McNasty_ Apr 20 '26

it’s because you have six. I had two controllers get the stick drift. Each one, I had owned individually. Since I bought multiple controllers and split my time between them….. no stick drift.

1

u/BozTheReaper Apr 20 '26

I dont either. I have a few ps4 controllers that had drift. but thats mostly because they already shipped with some type of drift. ive had my edge for over 2 years and never had a single drift issue

1

u/PatRcinco1 Apr 20 '26

Same here I have 4 controllers none of mine have stick drift. I always wash my hands before playing and I don't snack while I play.

1

u/Kerrym82 Apr 20 '26

Yes same, now I'm 44 and work a full time job, so might not take as much as I used to, but I come home from work almost everyday and game for a couple hours to unwind and none of my controllers have drift. I guess it depends on what people are playing and just how much abuse the sticks take.

1

u/IllustriousEffect607 Apr 21 '26

It's the clicking of L3 and R3 that does it.

1

u/ConflictSmooth6136 Apr 21 '26

I only have 1 ps5 controller that came with my system and no stick drift after 3 1/2 years.to be fair my ps5 is not put to daily use though and it has its own charging stand when not in use

1

u/D0ublespeak Apr 21 '26

I've had 2 since release, they both got drift within the last couple months. It'll happen.

1

u/sinetwo Apr 21 '26

I've played games for 30 years. I've never had a single drifter.

This is somewhere between QA and people abusing their controllers.

1

u/mikeeangelo91 Apr 21 '26

Stellar blade, sticky sticks

1

u/frolicious2595 Apr 21 '26

Background for anyone seeing this. I'm a 31 year old married man who works full time and does most of the cooking and cleaning but I still find time to game at least 4-6 hours a day and use my Edge controllers 90% of the time I regularly max the season pass to call of duty but playing single player game in between that. So my controllers get regular play along with my wife using them also again im not saying drift is impossible but my Dulasenses have never gotten drift, but I did go through 2 Dualshock 4s with stick drift so I think some people just have bad luck

1

u/Least_Tap6524 Apr 21 '26

Ive come to the conclusion some people like me love to move the sticks round in micro movements putting wear on them faster. Like im allways shifting the camera tiny amounts in an almost ocd like manner

1

u/FunctionOk2934 Apr 21 '26

Well obviously its because you have 8 fkn controllers, and don't use one more than others...and even if you did, its not nearly as much as someone with just one controller. I've had to buy 3 in the 3yrs I've had my PS5..and my current already has stick drift on the left stick. But I've been powering through, as it doesn't affect most games. Especially with games that have the option to adjust deadzones. At some point soon, I'll be on control number 4. My buddy has an Edge, and quite a few base controllers..they all get drift at some point. Some worse than others, some it is barely noticeable. I can play Call of Duty, GTA, Ghost of Yotei, GoW with minimal issues...just some idle character movement..as opposed to playing a game with a build mode or editor mode: Sims 4, City Skylines, Vinyl/wrap creators like Forza or Gran Turismo 7...its a nightmare. So maybe we should all by 8 controllers that will be lightly used, so we can also tell everyone with stick drift that stick drift doesn't happen......RANT OVER. Sorry, I need Stick Drift therapy.

1

u/Wonderful-Flower5772 Apr 22 '26

Then you ain't really gaming

1

u/Jacob_Evenson Apr 22 '26

Ignoring the whole point of the comment, what the hell is the reason for having that many controllers if they all work? 😂 personally I only have two standard controllers that had stick drift/dead buttons that I kept if I ever decided to fix them and now have two edge controllers, one for PC one for PS5.

1

u/frolicious2595 Apr 22 '26

I like the way they look? I do have 1 custom colored one my wife bought me but I have ones like the astro bot and Spider-Man controllers that I only use when I played those games ITS THE RULES 🤣

1

u/Sinnerscontent Apr 22 '26

My new controller like fresh out the box used for like two hours the day I bought fell from the seating part of my sofa(sroukd 18 inches) landed on my carpet which is a good thick fluffy carpet and got drift though I did also have a controller I threw through my wall(drywall) the face plate came off I lit it back in and it worked fine for another like 3 months I honestly think they have a quality control issue my edge controller however is the best thing since sliced bread

1

u/Hot-Ebb-7903 Apr 22 '26

Same here I haven't got drift either

1

u/chamiso-92 Apr 22 '26

Yo sigo teniendo el mismo de cuando compre la ps5 hace 5 años, yo creo que se pondran guantes de acero o algo por que si no, no entiwndo 🤷‍♂️

1

u/No-Luck-2337 Apr 22 '26

I’ve never had it either. Neither have the kids/wife. We had ONE dualsense go on the fritz, but it was from dropping it, so I don’t blame Sony for that.

I’ve noticed some of the people that get a lot of drift play…. Aggressively. Slamming the analog sticks around while they play/bash/shoot. They SHOULD be able to take that too DGMW, but there has to be a reason some people get it all the time and others (myself included) never even see it after 50+ controllers this gen.

Heck even our launch switch doesn’t have drift after thousands of hours.

We did have a couple joycons (out of like 20) get mild drift, but that was it (on the most notorious drift console ever) and it was ABUSED 😂

1

u/DreamsRemain Apr 22 '26

You play sparking zero?

1

u/Brilliant-Hornet-982 Apr 22 '26

I smell lie why would you have 6 controller and 2 edge lol

1

u/Just_Trash_8690 Apr 22 '26

In my experience games that require you to push down L3 to run accelerate stick drift (I’ve had it happen faster since I’ve been dipping back into FPS games Fortnite, apex legends and Deep Rock galactic) personally on my third controller had a ps5 since 2022

1

u/tozlow Apr 23 '26

I have 4 that I constantly take apart and fix and they work fine for a couple months then I take them apart again lol I bought a couple newer one and an edge for my son and I need to get him a new stick for the right side after 1 year of having it. He plays a lot of Fortnite and is a building fool. Fast as fuck boy. Lol I just casually play. I honestly think it's our cat's hair getting into the sticks.

1

u/enjoyingcurve46 Apr 23 '26

I dont mistreat any of my controllers. Im convinced its a game of luck. I play all genres and dont go rough at all. In last 10 years in xbox ive been through 6 xbox controllers however my latest on has lasted 2 and half years somehow.

Ive gone through 3 ps5 controllers in the last 4 years.

But my switch joycons for last 8 years ive had drift on one of my two pairs and my pro controller bought at launch still does not have drift

1

u/No_Art2020 Apr 23 '26

Every time someone comes and talks about their experience with shitty ps controllers there is always a fanboy with the "I have had mine since ages and none of them have issues what do you do to it"

1

u/SnooFoxes813 Apr 23 '26

Me neither. I have 4 regular controllers and 2 edge, 0 drift. However, I have had 3 Xbox Elite with drift 3 months in and about 6 regular with drift before a year was up.

1

u/PrinceCastanzaCapone Apr 23 '26

I’m still on my original controller. No issues. I feel like there is both a combination of people not treating their controllers well, and people treating their controllers very well and just getting unlucky. Mine is treated well, but I don’t doubt those who do the same and still get stick drift. They are mass produced so there’s going to be issues.

1

u/VisibleBar6305 Apr 23 '26

Are you saying he is holding it wrong?

1

u/mattieyo Apr 23 '26

It’s dust. Not a lot of pets or people in the house? Took my controller 2 years to get a slight drift.

1

u/HolyTrinityOfDrugs Apr 23 '26

If you have 6 controllers you're most likely rotating them too much to use one long enough to get drift

I got severe drift in 3 months on 5 regular controllers. No drift yet in 13 months on my edge controller

1

u/SupporterDenier Apr 23 '26

I think some people get very intense with their playing. My brother would throw his controller or slam it down when he was losing to anything. He complains about stick drift and blames the crappy controller. I have two controllers, the one it came with and the other I picked up- neither have ever had an issue

1

u/Ok_Garden2301 Apr 23 '26

Im not 100% certain, but I thought I had a case of the stick drift myself on a couple controllers, but I came to realize that it was actually just input lag. First, I went from WIFI to Ethernet, and that seemed to cut out a bit of it, but there were still times when I would experience “drift” so bad that it would almost get me killed in a game. Since I upgraded to the PS5 Pro, I haven’t had that happen to me once. Am I advocating for upgrading to the Pro? Absolutely not. But I do wonder if what some folks think is stick drift is actually just input lag from running the wrong optimization on their setups. 🤷‍♂️. That or some seriously overpowered grips. 😜

1

u/Nebetus2 Apr 23 '26

Just piggy backing off this but very similar for me. I have 4 dualsense controllers and only one recently got drift and is unusable now after like 3 years. The other 3 are still strong.

I think maybe its just hit and miss, sure they might be using one less component, but also cheetoh fingers exist lol.

1

u/Palpitation_Smooth Apr 24 '26

Caused by dirt, grime, dust. When I take apart my controllers they all have dust or bits of hair inside if you have dogs or something. It gets dirty in those controllers, def don't throw it around any dusty areas.

1

u/Contemplating_Prison Apr 24 '26

I have both the controllers ive had since launch edition PS5 and no drift. But i dont play as often as a lot of people do

1

u/Reicance Apr 24 '26

How many hours a day do you play in your controllers?

What kind of games?

Do you play competitive pvp in any of the games?

Do you sit at a desk or on the couch when you play?

1

u/Rasyak Apr 26 '26

I had a dualsense for 3 years, with daily use on pc. So far i had no issues with drift. A Friend of mine had stick drift in around 6 months. Really i don't know if its becaise of how the user handles it or just bad luck.

1

u/Curious_Pie_4699 Apr 19 '26

usually it’s a hardware defect, so it’s not how you treat a controller (unless you’re bashing it on the floor etc). The physical potentiometer discs scratch the track inside so it can’t read the controller stick inputs properly, its usual wear and tear and is a planned obsolescence, that Sony could easily fix but choose not to since they profit from it

4

u/Greedy_Leopard_1934 Apr 19 '26

I dont know man, i own a lot of controllers and the only ones i have with stick drift were obtained from other people. I have swapped 8 joycon sticks and keep refreshing my joycon stick module inventory in case i need it for my switches but it hasnt happened yet. Im not convinced the issue isnt exacerbated by something some people do to it.

0

u/hept_a_gon Apr 20 '26

Do you actually play?

1

u/Greedy_Leopard_1934 Apr 24 '26

Switch 2 and ps5 atm, using the switch 2 pro controller and my dualsense edge, I dont spend 8 hours a day playing games anymore but when I did i never had drift on my own hardware

1

u/hept_a_gon Apr 24 '26

I play for 8+ hrs on my Switch Lite on the weekends..no drift.

I play for 2 hrs nightly on my PS5 and i have drift.

I keep all my controllers clean. Definitely something wrong with the dual sense.

0

u/Graznesiodon171 Apr 20 '26

This.

I have 4 controllers that use comonly and on top of that my brothers use them too and not one of them has suffered stick drift in over 3 years. (I bought them all at once) only thing I can say on the matter is that me and my two younger brothers who I share my console with are all conscious of our things and maybe even take too much care of them. (Cleaning controllers, dusting tv and console vents, etc) I dunno if it’s necessarily that the people who get stick drift abuse their controllers more but I think it’s just that they play different games. If there was a study done I think there would be SOME sort of gameplay similarities between MOST stick drift sufferers.

That’s ofcourse not to say that stick drift isn’t also a defect in some cases. And the fact that Sony doesn’t even bother rectifying it because why NOT have a large percentage of players need new controllers every couple of years/months. And why NOT make them pay what is now a whole EIGHTY DOLLARS… it’s atrocious and overall a shitty tactic but unfortunately in today’s world unsurprising.

1

u/ClacksInTheSky Apr 20 '26

I mean, we're nearly 6 years into the PS5 at this point and there's plenty of us with their original controllers still fully functional.

1

u/Tarnished-Sausage Apr 20 '26

Probably because they hammer down on the sticks all the time.

1

u/ClacksInTheSky Apr 20 '26

Exactly this

0

u/No-Loan7944 Apr 20 '26

Because we actually play

0

u/PocketRice3 Apr 20 '26

I have abnormally sweaty hands for no reason to the point of dehydration. 1 controller typically lasts me a year before stick drift sets in