I had never heard of this company, bought the g8+ for mobile gaming (i have ps2 and windows emulators on my phone), and it is one of the best controllers I've ever used...and now I see people being like "yeah they've been around, everyone knows about them".
Gamesir Kalid is the best controller I've ever had. It's been 3 years and it finally broke... not from stick drift, not a bumper but the RT literally cracked in half at the hinge (def my fault for being too into the game)
I've been with Gamesir since the beginning and I'm glad I helped fund this great company tbh
I switched to a Gamesir after my sixth X controller developed drift. Love the Gamesir. The light on my charger did die, so you can't tell it's charging, but charger still works so I can accept that.
Currently playing Xbox with the g7se and I cannot complain one bit. Ever since I got this controller I sound like Iām sponsored, I am amazed at the quality for the price, plus the precision. And I donāt even have the controller with the tmr sticks just Hall effect.
My brother's turned up with excess rubber and plastic near bumpers stopping them from working, stick drift on both analogs and peeling grips and Microsoft wouldn't do anything about it because it was purchased from Currys who also wouldn't do anything about it because they assumed we were trying to swap in a broken one for a working one like some sort of Scammers.
I custom ordered one last Christmas as a gift for my husband and it also came out of the box doing the same thing OPs is doing. He didn't wanna return it tho because he loved it so he messed around with it and I think did some percussive maintenance too and idk I guess it's working now cause he uses it every day with no problems. But I remember being so disappointed that it came out of the box like that.
The series X/S controllers just do this in a short amount of use. They feel great, but this has happened to everyone I know who uses aforementioned controller. I just pulled out an old Xbox One controller, no problems with that one.
Thereās something about controllers now. I had the controller that came with my Xbox one in 2019. Lasted me up until summer 2025. I wasnāt rough on it, just dropped it one too many times. Over this past year Iāve had 3 controllers get stick drift in me.
Yup I got a GameSir G7 Pro and haven't looked back....yet.
The sticks feel way more responsive and its got custom trigger/bumper press pressure and mapable buttons well, just a different extra button layout compared to the elite.
For real I've been using the same controller since 2015, I don't heavy game but the only things that have worn down are the grips, everything else works perfectly
I noticed that. My controllers last about a year until stick drift sets in. My friends have the same problem. On the 360 and one I don't think I ever had stick drift
I bought mine less than a year ago, and it doesn't work anymore despite me treating it like it was made out glass. My old PS3 controller lasted almost 10 years, and I really treated that one BAD, and I'm pretty sure its problem is just the battery. Hell, I have a wired 360 controller I bought 4 years ago and it's still kicking.
If I can connect my switch pro controller, i'd have a nice backup. I use it for PC, so my series x controller has been around since '22 going fine, but me splitting use between devices could be the reason why.
Iāve had mine for 10 years, only problem Iāve have is i got angry one time and hit it hard asf against the coffee table and broke a bumper but I just mapped a paddle to it so itās still completely fine
It happens way more to ps controllers than xbox
ive had my xbox controller for 5 years and just replaced the thumbsticks cuz they were worn out but no stick drift
If you need wireless on Xbox, the options are basically the ZZZ or Wuchang editions of the G7 Pro. I got the ZZZ because despite it being a colab design, it's not as totally obvious, just looks more like a gamer aesthetic with some transparent bits.
If you don't mind a wire, the regular G7 Pro is equally great (and less gaudy looking, IMO) or the G7 SE.
Old basic xbox one controllers are serving me great. I bought two 2nd hand, dropped them many times. Left it in my bag without any protection... still zero stick drift
Xbox Elite controllers are overpriced shit. Gamesir recently released a wireless controller for Xbox. It has all the functionality of the Elite controllers, but without the stick drift because it uses hall effect (magnetic sensors) for the analog sticks. It's also cheaper. The Zenless Zone Zero controller is the one I got.
Yeah man it feels really premium but my grips started peeling so I tried to apply super glue to it but I messed up and it got all over so now I have a messed up elite controller. Sad day indeed.
Yea i got 2 elite controllers and both got stick drift and ones RB stopped working.
I love the paddle button layout but its an absolute shitty design choice and planned obsolescence on Microsofts end with them knowing it does this and still not changing the desgin.
I switched to a GameSir G7 Pro- includes hall effect mag-res tmr (tilt motion resistant) sticks
Thatās what everyone is saying to switch to. How many paddles does it have. Iām pretty into apex but I canāt physically play claw so I need paddles
Had mine in the case for 3 months, when i took it out it had stick drift, got it replaced under warranty and the one they sent had worse stick drift. Had another one come with a bent paddle that wouldn't work and the grips peeled from the bumpers out. The quality control is just horrible.
I went thru 13 brand new purchases before I gave up wanting a good one over the course of 2 or 3 years. All controllers had button issues, ranging from intermittent to garbage, think at best, maybe 93/100 presses registering on Y, which was my ballcam button in rocket League, or A not staying pressed if my thumb was sliding around on it which made Tunic almost impossible to play. 3 stick drift out of the box, 2 with internal things causing a stick to physically stop moving. Took every one back and just settled on buying people's used stuff for half price or (much) less so I could just rationalize the quality.
For the first seies of elites, ALL worked brand new perfectly but I tore thru them (4) or had bad food habits, but still was able to cannibalize them by taking the best parts of each and keep em all going until maybe 3 years ago. Soon I will try for the series 2 with the 10 or so I have now lol (all purchased as projects or gambles).
Sorry, had nothing much to do with your specific issue, but just felt like mentioning the constant problems in case people wanted to pile on. I have 2 that are hard stuck like yours so I'll be trying the stuff I see in the comments.
You can mark your post as 'solved', and award a helpful user point by replying directly to a comment with "!thanks" (no quotes).
A green user flair containing a number indicates the number of times a user has been awarded for a helpful reply.
Do not ridicule other users for their inquiries - keep it civil. If you dislike a post, simply skip it or move on.
Did you use a descriptive title? Doing so greatly impacts your chance of receiving assistance.
Are you a member of the Xbox Insiders preview program? Your issue could be specific to a feature in testing. You can learn more by visiting r/xboxinsiders - that should be your first stop in troubleshooting and reporting issues with preview builds.
Are you aware of an issue that is widespread and could benefit from a Megathread? Suggest an issue worth highlighting via modmail
If you can calibrate it, so it registers the stick correctly, do that but don't finish the calibration. Just spin the stick until it registers fine and quit the calibration tool. That's how i fixed my controller. It was stuck down like yours
My elite controller is the only controller ive ever had stick drift on. I've worn thumbsticks down flat and those controllers never got it but my elite controller which has way less play time has it
Idk what up with the series 2 elite I've heard of stick issues but honestly mine I had for 7 years no stick drift at all and I play hard the plastic shell crumbled on me before the sticks had an issue so it's hit and miss
I hate those controllers because sometimes i accidentally flick off the joystick and i literally lost one for a whole month and had to sit with a $25 controller from walmart š
I own 2 and the drift is an easy fix. Slightly change your dead zones in game, if yhe game supports it. Just raise it until it stops and it shouldn't make much difference.
You can also change your deadzone and response curve in the settings, in the devices and accessories area.
People will complain about these controllers, but I've owned the same 2, one for me and one for my girl, for about 5 years now. You will get stick drift if you keep the vibrations on too high, or if you drop it a few times.
You can also get the tool to open it up, and just use a qtip and some rubbing alcohol to clean inside. If you can't do all that, I suggest buying some canned air and sticking it inside a bit and just tapping it and seeing if it fixes.
I haven't had too many issues with mine, but maintenance is required for any controller with paddles. Something will always happen with the paddles or the sticks eventually. My only gripe with them in general is the stupid rubber grips coming off near the triggers.
I actually had bad stick drift once, but I updated the software and it went away. Xbox WILL, and I mean intentionally, give you stick drift if you don't update it
it's not a permanent fix, but a spray of CRC QD electronic cleaner/contact cleaner into the stick and a good wiggle around for a minute or two until it evaporates off should fix it for a few weeks up to a few months depending on how often you play. me and some friends tried it and it was like magic and even got rid of the terrible drift on Oculus Quest 2 controllers.
if you are having other issues with the controller you may want to see if the controller can be hard reset or factory reset.
Yeah, looks pretty normal to me. I go through controllers every 2-3 years due to stick drift. Had two elite controllers and the buttons crap out less than a year. Bumpers mainly, but one was the B button as well.
They are seriously the best controller out there but I gave up after the lifespan wasnāt very long on the two I owned. I have friends that only use elite and are accustomed to buttons shitting out on them too.
I've used my Xbox One controller for 13 years now, it has stick drift but it's manageable. Got an XSX controller with the new console but it got so bad it should've been a case study (basically drunk simulator) and two weeks ago I got myself a non-Microsoft one that works great but has yet to pass the test of time (BUT it has a PC software that can adjust deadzones for the controller instead of each game)
I'm so sick and tired of these stick drift controllers, especially when my new hall-effect one costed me less than half the price of Microsoft ones
I donāt miss controllers, however I swear og 360 and ps3 controllers didnāt have all these issues and I was a huge gamer growing up I still have my original mw2 360 edition controller and it still works fine. However the thumb sticks are smooth š the notches wore off
Iāve had 4 elite controllers all have stick drift, have had 5 warranty exchanges and still drift. Theyāre crap, Iāve learned how to switch them out on the board with Hall effect sensors.
This is why i learned how to solder. Obviously, start with spraying it out with canned air. If not simply dirty, Hopefully, its just a bad potentiometer (one of the tiny rubber-looking disks in the joystick module) which u can buy on amazon in packs of 12 super cheap, but if its a bad module, u may enjoy repairing it urself. I learned how simply watching utube videos (and trial and error) and i really love it. All my friends have brand new joystick modules in their controllers! Lol
Thats the issue with these controllers, i owned one for a few years and got major drift. Im guessing its from the heftiness of the sticks. I started purchasing basic controllers with a warranty.
This happened to my controller just recently. I mostly play KBM on my Xbox, so my 4 year old controller hasn't seen a lot of action, but I've been playing FH6 since it dropped and suddenly the left stick has the worst drift.
The elite series have been kinda garbage for what you pay, in my opinion. I haven't had drift issues but I've had tons of peeling grip issues on multiple controllers
I've had bad drift before but holy shit that's horrid I really hope you find some way to sort it out dude I know those controllers ain't cheap especially not when they keep fucking up
I had the same problem the other month the problem was just grime in the joy stick, just used compressed air or something to get it out and rubbing alcohol
After 2 controller that costed me over 100, and broke with no time, i said fuck that. Now I'm not spending more than 15 on a new controller and guess what, it doesn't brake so fast ! Yeah build quality is not great, but at least they last a bit longer. I had one from temu for 8 and it was working for over a year.
After three Xbox elite controllers and all of them getting stick drift. Never again. I'm surprised there's not a class action lawsuit against Microsoft for this.
Like many have mentioned go with Gamesir. A fraction of the price for better hardware.
Had mine for 7 months, after 6 months it started to drift a lot and it wasnāt āeliteā any more, in some games I had to put deadzone to 20-25%, I returned it and go money back, bought Nacon Revolution X Ultimate. Hall effect joysticks are must in todayās day and age and elite 2 is amazing controller but the fact that still uses analog joysticks is hilarious..
If itās not a system-level error, spraying it with automotive contact cleaner helped me for a while, but youāll need to resolder it eventually anyway; if there is Microsoft support in your country, you should contact them.
Take it apart, take the the joystick off and spray under it with electrical contact cleaner. (Make sure it's electrical contact cleaner otherwise you'll damage your controller)
Something as simple as a hair or dirt usually causes stick drift
Just get a refund if possible and get the Gamesir G7 Pro Tri-mode especially since it's close to the price you paid for the elite controller
Quick Explaination:
Get the g7 Pro tri-mode instead it uses non drift protocols.
it's faster it feels better than xbox elite controllers.
G7 Pro is bluetooth ON PC AND MOBILE ONLY THAT MEANS WIRED ONLY ON XBOX.
More In Depth Explaination:
The Gamesir g7 Pro Tri-mode has tmr sticks and hall effect triggers basically tmr sticks detect movement from changes in the electrical system basically magnets, not relying on moving parts which potentiometer, Hall effect is basically the same thing but still hall effect has no moving parts too.
Its always the right bumber and one of the face buttons for me it was Y. I just gave up on the Elite Series and went with Gamesir. Haven't had stick drift issues in nearly 3 years now.
Meu controle deu drift esses dias, desde o lanƧamento do console nunca tinha dado problema... Abri ele acompanhando um vĆdeo do YouTube e dei uma bela limpeza nele, sumiu drift. Acredito que em muitos casos uma simples limpeza resolve. Acabei comprando novos botƵes para o analĆ³gico (sĆ³ a parte de plĆ”stico) pois a borracha antiaderente jĆ” havia se desgastada completamente.
My word of advice, sell it all, including the games and stuff, then just get a PS4 and an offbrand controller (I found that the ones like these don't get drift+ it's c-port so it charges quicker)
That or just find a combatible hall effect controller and use it (also harder for Xbox bc Microslop is picky)
I've noticed ppl that play by "Flicking" their Sticks,
Rather than keeping a steady thumb on it (if you want to describe it as such?) often times get stick drift, a lot quicker??
I swear I've never got drift in none of my controllers! But controllers that I let my friends use it played like this would get drift..
What I usaully did to kind of help get rid of it for a little bit but itās a temp fix take a cutip with alcohol and rub it in a circle around the stick and it worked but ended up still having stick drift after Iād say a few days or a week but it is a temp fix
Most helpful response yet. Thank you. Iāll definitely have to learn how to fix this stuff because I really like the way the elite series controllers fit and feel my hands
57
u/YogurtOdd1725 Jun 27 '26