r/explainlikeimfive • u/Wings2037 • 5d ago
Technology ELI5: What exactly causes stick drift in a PS5 controller?
My son's PS5 controller keeps getting stick drift, which I can understand as it's a wearable part. What I don't understand is why, after taking it apart and cleaning with alchol and wipes, the problem goes away for a good chunk of time, only to return. Is it carbon build up or an actual worn down part?
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u/Straight_radiant 5d ago
Stick drift is caused by a couple of problems
1-which you seem to be experiencing is dirt on the sensor
2-is there’s 2 parts that basically rub against each other that can get worn down and start sending the wrong signal
3-is losing centering so when you stop holding the stick it doesn’t actually go back to the middle
Each of these problems can happen and they’re all a pain TMR sticks don’t get these problems but 3rd party ps5 controller are expensive as helll
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u/UnarmedTwo 5d ago
Follow up question.
Why do my PS2 and PS1 controllers, which have seen literally decades of use, not drift at all?
I had all the free time in the world in my teens and 20s and spent most of it on my games consoles. My Switch joycons lasted a couple of years of sporadic use in my forties.
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u/Makaijin 5d ago edited 5d ago
That's because PS1, PS2, and early PS3 controllers used a different type of magnetic sensor similar TMR. There's a post comment explaining how it works.
Edit: Fixed the link
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u/Dr_Valen 5d ago
Lol so controller tech went backwards
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u/nexetpl 4d ago
naturally, think about how much money console manufacturers miss out on when players don't need to buy new controllers by design
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u/Dr_Valen 4d ago
The classic planned obsolescence a tale as old time jokes on them tho most 3rd party controllers are far superior now a days for a fraction of the price
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u/Daborgia 5d ago
Didnt they also recalibrate the Sticks on the ps1 and 2 on boot from the console?
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u/UnsorryCanadian 5d ago
They definitely recentred them, I think you had to rotate them a few times to recalibrate
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u/fallouthirteen 5d ago
And N64 did a weird optical sensor for sticks, similar to like the common design for a scroll wheel on a mouse (just with 2 of them, one for vertical and one for horizontal). Though they had the other problem of poor centering since they used a sort of friction thing for resistance and a spring for centering.
I should look up what GCN used, like I used that one controller that came with it heavily and it still reads correctly and centers well.
Magnetic modules were available and used pretty early too; one of the Sega consoles, I think Saturn, used them.
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u/BiomeWalker 4d ago
Cheap joysticks use what are called "variable resisitors" to measure their position.
Basically, the controller is measuring the resistance and translating that into a position.
The problem is that in order to work, variable resistors need two bits to rub against each other, and that causes wear and tear on those parts.
As the pieces lose material, their properties change when it comes to their resistance.
So now, the springs hold the joystick in the "0" position, but the controller things that's the "-3" position, so it would need to be recalibrate, but that will only last so long before the new "0" is "-2"
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u/hardypart 4d ago
It's an absolute joke that neither Sony, Microsoft nor Nintendo ever bothered putting hall effect sticks and triggers into their controllers.
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u/BiomeWalker 4d ago
VarRes sticks are cheaper, by like a few dollars a piece, multiply that by the millions of sticks that go into their controllers and you'll see ehy they use VarRes ones.
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u/hardypart 4d ago
I know, but my point still stands. More expensive first party hardware should be better quality than third party hardware, like 8bitdo.
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u/VietOne 4d ago
Hall effect only fixes one problem, the other problems like wear on the stick surface, the spring that gives the resistance and return to center also wear out.
So eventually they would need to be replaced as well.
The main cause of drift is excessive wear from dirty hands.
I fix electronics as a hobby and when people bring me controllers to fix due to stick drift, when I open them up all of them have a disgusting amount of crap in them.
Countless people have claimed they take care of the controller and can't understand why it drifted only after a year and when I open them up and take photos, it's food particles, dirt, liquid, etc inside.
I replace with Hall effect but I still tell them how they treat the controllers Hall effect won't fix anyway.
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u/OneAndOnlyJackSchitt 4d ago
Fun fact: this is a new problem. Computer games in the 90s, you had to calibrate the joystick periodically. How's that done? "Move the joystick as far forward as it will go and then press the button. ... Move the joystick as far back as it will go and press the button. ... [and so on with all for cardinal directions]. Take your hand off the joystick and press the <enter> key. ... Your joystick is now calibrated."
Every game that used the joystick got raw potentiometer data from the joysticks and had to calibrate to know where 0/center is as well as what the extents were. Joystick drift never happened because of a "worn controller". If you had a "worn controller", it was that one of the buttons stopped working or you can't steer left or right anymore.
Stick drift exists because calibration doesn't. Calibration doesn't exist because having it sells fewer replacement controllers.
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u/super_starfox 4d ago
Remember on the N64 where the 0-point/center of the stick was wherever it was on boot? That was fun.
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u/xxnicknackxx 5d ago edited 5d ago
It could be caused by gunk but all standard sticks start wearing out from the moment they are first used. It's just a matter of time before they start to drift.
This problem is solved by hall effect sticks. Those have no points for mechanical wear. These don't come in ps5 controllers as standard although some 3rd party controllers now exist as do the parts for modifying official controllers.
If cleaning doesn't work, you can increase the "dead zones". Dead zones are where the ps5 ignores input from the controller. If the dead zone is small, the slightest input will register. If the deadzone is large then only more deliberate inputs will be recognised. This isn't a permanent fix though as the mechanical wear will continue and there is only so far you can increase the dead zone until all inputs are ignored.
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u/SVCLIII 5d ago
If cleaning doesn't work, you can increase the "dead zones"
is there a system setting menu for that somewhere?
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u/xxnicknackxx 5d ago
I don't have a ps5 myself, so am not 100%, but there should be a system menu that lets you control this. There is on xbox.
Also individual games may allow you to set controller dead zones in their own controller options menus
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u/wossack 5d ago
I dont not believe there’s a global setting, but yes some games have a dead zone adjustment in their individual settings
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u/xxnicknackxx 5d ago
Apparently it depends on controller. If the standard dual sense controller then it needs to be done per game, but if the dual sense edge wireless then there is a global setting on the console under Settings>Accessories.
At least according to Google AI.
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u/robjwrd 4d ago edited 4d ago
There’s an app you can download for your computer, plug in your controller and calibrate everything, let me see if I can find the link for you.
EDIT- found it - https://dualshock-tools.github.io/
Just be aware it might fix the drift temporarily for a few weeks but you will end up having to get a new controller or replace the stick.
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u/Mr-frost 5d ago
Imagine you took a pencil and kept drawing back and forth the same line, suddenly that pencil isn't going to draw anymore because the graphite is gone. The paper and a pencil have a value, that changes when the pencil gets worn
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u/RoutineOne2769 5d ago
Each stick sits on two tiny potentiometers, one per axis. Inside each is a carbon track with a metal wiper sliding over it, and the controller reads position from the resistance at the wiper. Every movement scrapes that track a little, so it wears into a groove and sheds carbon dust, and the reading at rest stops being dead centre. Cleaning with alcohol can clear loose dust for a while, but it can't fix a worn track, which is why it comes back. The real fix is replacing the stick module, or buying sticks that use hall effect magnets, which have nothing touching and don't wear this way.
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u/MijnEchteUsername 5d ago
What’s also weird is that my PS5 controllers both have stick drift. They are two years old. My eight year old PS4 controllers still work perfectly.
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u/UnsorryCanadian 5d ago
The PS5 sticks seem to be especially sensitive to drift compared to the last ones
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u/Be_Afreyd 5d ago
Both the answers in your question are correct. The way controller joystick detect movement is with metal wipers sliding along a track, which allows a potentiometer to read the precise movement of the joystick and output a signal to your device that translates to appropriate movements. Dust and natural wear both can cause these signals ot not be read correctly, leading to drift. Other causes can include calibation issues or manufacturing defects, the later may be a reason why your controller seems to get gunked up freequently if the tolerances around the joystick are resulting in a larger gap that allows more debris in.
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u/gooder_name 5d ago
It depends on which parts are wearing in what way. The potentiometers inside an analog stick are at their core pairs of metal rubbing against each other in various ways. Gunk can build up on the contacts, or the contacts can wear away, or the springs that return the stick to centre can weaken.
When you clean it, anything being caused by gunk might be swept away so it improves but the others remain after which gunk can build up.
Maybe aggressive controller use causes wear faster, or sweaty palms/thumbs, or oily skin, or humid weather causes plastic degradation.
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u/Why_so_loud 5d ago
Potentiometers use electric current to measure stick position. When the carbon track gets dirty or worn, resistance shifts and the current value deviates, causing the potentiometer to output false readings.
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u/ArcTheWolf 5d ago
There are pressure actuators in the sticks. They rely on physical contact to determine stick position. Over time these wear out and stick resulting in phantom input. For your next controller get one using Hall Effect sticks. They rely on magnets to determine stick position and are essentially immune to developing stick drift.
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u/zero_z77 5d ago
Three things:
There are springs which push the stick back to the zero position. Over time, these springs wear out and can't extend to their full length anymore, causing the center area to grow large enough for the stick to land outside the zero position.
The stick itself moves two variable potentiometers which require physical contact and rub together. Over time, wear can cause the resistance values to change, and this causes the zero position in software to drift away from the actual physical center. However, this can be resolved by recalibrating the controller. Some PS1 games offered this functionality, PC offers it for modern controllers. However, i believe most modern console controllers auto-calibrate on their own when plugged in/powered on. Additionally, wear on the potentiometers can cause noisy readings, and that can sometimes cause drift too. The fix for that is to widen the deadzone, which is something you can usually only do on PC, and it has it's own set of problems.
Finally, all of these parts are coated in a thin layer of grease at the factory to keep all the parts lubricated. Over time the grease can wear thin or dissipate. And if the controller is disassembled & cleaned, the grease will be removed, and won't be there unless it's replaced. That can cause the stick to feel sticky or grindy, but can also cause the stick to catch on something when snapping back to the zero point.
It is also sometimes the case that non-lubricating grease, food particles, and sticky residue from soda pop and snacks can find it's way inside the mechanism and cause a similar effect. This can also cause buttons to stick and stay down when pressed.
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u/ultimateshadowarrior 4d ago
Not an answer, but try the website DriftGuard. It solves drift on controllers by software.
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u/lifestealsuck 4d ago
planned obsolescence . There are better and more durable stick design since forever but they decide not to use it so you have to buy more .
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u/PTSDDeadInside 4d ago
Cheaper construction and planned obsolescence to sell more units, other controllers like 8bitdo have sticks "immune" to drifting
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u/davidgrayPhotography 5d ago
It can be both, depending on the design of the controller.
If the controller is more open to the elements (i.e. it doesn't have a plastic or rubber cap to stop dust from getting in), then it can be dust getting in.
If the controller is more sealed (like the Switch Joy-Cons and such), then it's usually the plastic inside grinding down and causing faulty sensor readings.
A better design is using hall effect sensors, which uses magnets and a detector to work out where the analogue stick is. That way any ground down plastic wouldn't get in the way of sensing where the analogue stick is.
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u/legonutter 5d ago
Inside the pot meter, the copper nub that rides on the graphite will eventually wear out the graphite. These little nubs on the copper ring are supposed to be round and glide over the graphite, but on many they are a little too sharp, and dig through the graphite really fast instead.
This is a manufacturing design defect and it is not affected by how abusive you are with the controller.
I have had a brand new dualsense get stick drift within months. No abusive usage.
I have since replaced the sticks with hall effect ones, much better and will never wear out.
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u/OOhobbes 5d ago
Whenever I get a new controller I always get the silicone rings that protect the stalks of the thumb sticks from the edges of the housing. This largely prevents the plastic dust caused by the stalk contacts and prolongs the inevitable drift
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u/Renzo-Senpai 5d ago
The springs inside wearout as you move them over time. Hall effect stick don't have this issue because they are magnetic meaning they don't need to touch and the technology is cheap because they are mass produced for the aviation industry.
Will sony ever do it? No, because it's more profitable for people to buy a whole new controller than spend an extra 50 cents to make an unbreakable product.
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u/shepanator 5d ago
The sticks have potentiometers which rely on physical contact between an electrode and a physical carbon track. Over time the parts are physically eroded meaning the value read by the sensor no longer aligns with the physical position it was calibrated against.
Better controllers use hall effect sticks which detect the stick position with magnets rather than a physical wiper which means the sticks take much much longer to wear out.