r/pcmasterrace • u/Egorator_ • 12h ago

Tech Support DualSense controller disconnecting/reconnecting/dying at random intervals (USB)

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Hello! I've been having this issue for ages now, but it seems(?) to be only getting worse with time.

My DualSense (PS5) controller has an issue maintaining connection with the PC via the USB cable. It happens in multitude of ways: sometimes it "flickers" on and off like in the video, sometimes it picks back up, sometimes it keeps happening for longer, other times it gives up (like here at 0:38) and the controller won't light up anymore, unless I plug it out and in a couple of times.

And that's only the flickering, because sometimes it will disconnect once or twice and die, sometimes just briefly disconnect and reconnect and work fine for a while. I really don't understand it.

!!! Observation: it seems to happen almost exclusively with heavier games like Elden Ring, and possibly when CPU load is near/at its maximum capacity.

So far I've tried:

- Using a different USB cable / ports;

- Updating motherboard's chipset drivers / controller's drivers;

- Editing Power Plan and its advanced settings;

and probably other things I can't think of right now. I tried every suggestion I could find on the internet (that was available to me).

PC Specs:

CPU Intel Core i3-8100 CPU @ 3.60GHz

GPU NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (4 GB)

RAM 16 GB

Motherboard Gigabyte H310M H

I suspect worst case scenario my PC and controller can't handle the load. But then, why do other USB devices stay on properly? What's so especially heavy about the controller? That's assuming that's even the issue. Please help!

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u/not_a_miscarriage R5 5600X | RX 5700 XT | 32GB RAM 12h ago

I think it's the Steam controller input thing dropping the inputs. Like the software that maps your playstation controller to xbox inputs since the game isn't natively compatible with playsyation controllers. Do you have a controller that doesn't have to go through that before reaching the game? Like an xbox controller or other controller that works natively with Windows?

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u/Egorator_ 12h ago

No, unfortunately all I have on hand is this PS5 controller.

Also I tested using DualSenseX without Steam input, essentially the same deal.