December 22, 2021

Playstation Controller - Does your controller stick move by itself?

What exactly does stick drift mean?

Stick Drift is a controller defect that causes your stick to move automatically without you touching it. For example, it's a continuous pull-up. A reasonable game is simply not possible with it and causes a lot of frustration in the daily game session. So that you can enjoy gaming with your DualSense controller again, we have put together instructions for you so that, in the best case scenario, you can easily carry out the repair yourself.
 

How does stick drift occur?

The so-called potentiometer, i.e. the resistance unit that is responsible for detecting movement, wears out over time and plastic residues or dirt from the outside also impair the functionality.
  • As a result, the neutral position of the controller stick can be disturbed and this leads to erroneous inputs.

How can I solve the problem?

There are countless articles or videos on the internet with different solutions. Compressed air or contact cleaner is often used to clean the embroidery unit on the controller board. However, this does not always lead to the desired result.
Some games, such as Modern Warfare, have a Deadzone setting in their options. There you can change the dead zone and thus also achieve an improvement in stick drift. Important: This solution is not ideal, as the shift issue continues to affect your gameplay.
Some games have a dead zone setting in their options. With this setting, you can adjust the neutral position of the stick, which might fix your problem a bit.
Please note that these steps are just a tip, and we cannot be held responsible for any damage that may occur.

cleaning

  1. Clean your analog sticks carefully, as dust particles or various types of dirt can lead to stick drift.
  2. Move the stick to a corner and blow between the stick and case on the embroidery unit -- compressed air works best. In most cases there are decent deposits here. Repeat in all directions
If cleaning the embroidery unit does not correct the error as desired, unfortunately the only solution is to change the embroidery unit or even change the entire circuit board.

Changing the embroidery unit

  • First of all, the correct unit is required for this, as there are 3 or 4 different models. So that you can order the right one, you should open the controller and compare it with the ones offered on the Internet.
Attention: If you have a guarantee on your controller, opening it will very likely void it.
  • The embroidery unit soldered to the circuit board is then removed with a soldering iron and then cleaned. Once the circuit board has been freed from soldering residue, the new embroidery unit is inserted and the contacts between the embroidery unit and the circuit board are soldered together again.
The embroidery unit problem should now be resolved.

Didn't solve your problem?

If the above steps didn't work or you don't want to do the repair yourself, you can also send us the controller and we will do these steps for you.
Written by Nico von King Controller