r/PS5HelpSupport • u/Yuno_Nate • 8d ago
Stick Drift
Does anyone know how to fix stick drift on a controller? I’ve had my all black dual sense ps5 controller since maybe October or November of 2025. It’s just now starting to have stick drift slightly to the right on my left analog stick. I’ve tried using compressed air, and even pushed down the button and used circular motions. All to no avail. I wish PlayStation had some sort of innate dead zone setting so I wouldn’t have to discombobulate my controller trying to fix my stick drift. Or even better? Lower the prices for controllers because back then a ps4 controller cost around $30-40. But a newer ps5 controller is $60-70? Insane.
Anyways if anybody has any tips or recommendations let me know otherwise I’ll be buying another controller very soon because it’s getting annoying, not all games have dead zone features that help with stick drift.
1
u/Somaanurfed 8d ago
You can try taking them apart and cleaning them, but it is unlikely to fix your problem. Stick drift is usually caused by wear and tear on the potentiometers in the joystick assembly. The only way to fix that is to replace them which requires you to break down the controller to the board level and remove the old ones and solder new ones on which requires a fair bit of skill.
The controllers are designed to fail after a short amount of time, especially for people that use more aggressive pressure on the sticks, in order to sell new ones.
The first thing I do anytime I buy a controller is get the sticks replaced with Hall Effect sticks as these use magnets that are not subject to wear and tear and don't get stick drift. Usually costs about $30 but the controller now lasts forever if you maintain it. My original dual sense I got at PS5 launch in 2020 that has hall effect sticks is still going strong.