Stick Drift Test: Check Your Controller Free

How to test your controller for stick drift in 30 seconds (free, in your browser)

By the OG Repairs bench teamPublished 6 November 20266 min read

The quick answer

To test for stick drift, connect your controller to a computer or phone, open our free Gamepad Tester, press any button, then leave both sticks alone. If a stick's dot sits off centre or creeps on its own, that stick is drifting. It takes 30 seconds and needs no download.

Is your controller possessed? Your character strolls off on their own, the camera slowly pans to the sky, menus scroll by themselves. It isn't haunted. It's stick drift, and you can prove it in half a minute.

PS5 DualSense controller on the OG Repairs DualSense upgrades tile

Key facts

Stick drift is your controller reporting movement when you aren't touching the stick. It's caused by wear inside the stick module, sometimes helped along by dust.
The test is free and runs in Chrome, Edge or Safari on a computer or phone. Nothing is installed, and nothing about your controller is recorded or uploaded.
It works with PS5 DualSense and DualSense Edge, PS4 DualShock 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox Elite Series 2, Switch Pro and most PC gamepads. Switch 2 Pro: see the note in step 1.
The tester shows the raw stick reading, before any game deadzone, so it catches drift earlier than you'll notice it in a game.
Cleaning can buy time; it can't undo wear. Replacing the stick fixes it. A TMR stick reads a magnet, so there's no track to wear and the drift doesn't come back.

How to test for stick drift in 30 seconds

Connect the controller. Plug it in by USB, or pair it over Bluetooth to your computer or phone. (If you pair a DualSense to your phone, re-pair it to the PS5 afterwards with a USB cable.) Switch 2 Pro Controller: test it on the console instead: System Settings, Controllers & Accessories, Calibrate Control Sticks. Our Switch 2 Pro Controller drift guide walks you through it.
Open the tester and press any button. Go to ogrepairs.com/pages/controller-tester. Browsers only reveal a controller after a button press, so tap one and it lights up straight away.
Hands off the sticks. Put the controller down on a table and run the drift test. Don't touch the sticks for 3 seconds. A healthy stick's dot stays dead centre and the numbers sit at or very near 0.00.
Read the result. If the dot rests away from centre, or wanders and flickers while nobody is touching it, that stick is drifting. The tester flags it for you.
Roll and press everything. Circle both sticks slowly all the way round, then press every button and trigger. A lumpy or flattened circle, or a trigger that never reaches 100%, points to other wear worth fixing at the same time.

What drift looks like on the tester

Healthy: both dots sit in the middle and stay still. The readings hover at 0.00 or flick between 0.00 and 0.01.
Drifting: a dot rests off centre (for example the left stick reads 0.08 up when you aren't touching it), or it slowly creeps in one direction, or it jitters around the middle.
Comes and goes: early drift can be intermittent. If a stick passes but your game still wanders, run the test a few times, and again after a long session.

Why drift hides behind the deadzone (and then creeps past it)

Every game ignores tiny stick movements inside a small circle around the centre. That circle is the deadzone. It exists because no stick rests at a perfect zero, so the game needs a little room to stop your character walking off.

Here's the catch. A standard stick reads its position from a carbon track, and a contact rubs along that track every time you move it. Over months the track wears, so the stick's "resting" reading slides further off centre. At first the drift stays inside the deadzone and you don't notice. Then one day it crosses the line, and the game sees it as real input.

The usual workaround is to raise the deadzone in the game's settings. It works for a while, but a bigger deadzone means the stick has to travel further before anything happens, so small aim adjustments feel sluggish. And the wear keeps going, so the drift catches up again. That's why the tester shows the raw reading: you can see drift coming before your game does.

Cleaning or replacing: what actually works

Worth trying first:

Recalibrate. DualSense, DualSense Edge and DualShock 4 can be re-centred over USB in our tester (Chrome or Edge). Switch and Switch 2 have a "Calibrate Control Sticks" option in System Settings. Calibration fixes a stick that's slightly off, not one that's worn.
Blow compressed air around the base of the stick, then roll the stick in full circles. This can shift dust that's causing a jumpy reading.
Never use ordinary WD-40 or other oils. They leave a film that attracts more dust.

When it's time to replace: if the drift comes back after a clean or calibration, the track inside the stick is worn. Cleaning can't put back what's been worn away. The fix is a new stick module, and you have two choices:

Standard replacement: new sticks of the same type. Drift-free now, but they wear the same way over time.

TMR upgrade: sticks that read a magnet instead of a rubbing track. Nothing touches, so there's nothing to wear down, and the drift doesn't come back. TMR (tunnel magnetoresistance) does the same job as Hall effect sticks; it's the newer type and uses less power.

Want to know more first? Our guide Can stick drift be fixed permanently? goes deeper on why drift comes back.

Fix it: prices for both sticks

Stick drift repair prices for both sticks
Controller	Standard stick replacement	TMR anti-drift upgrade
PS5 DualSense	£24.99	£34.99
Xbox Series X\|S	£19.99	£29.99
Switch Pro Controller	£37.99	£54.99
Switch 2 Pro Controller	£40.99	£58.99

Test your controller for stick drift

It takes 30 seconds and needs no download.

Gamepad Tester TMR stick upgrade page

Stick drift test FAQs

What does stick drift look like on a gamepad tester?

With your hands off the controller, a drifting stick's dot sits away from the centre or slowly moves on its own, and its numbers read above 0.00 (for example 0.08). A healthy stick stays dead centre. Our free tester runs a 3-second hands-off check and flags drift for you.

Does cleaning fix stick drift?

Sometimes, for a while. Compressed air can clear dust that makes a stick jumpy, and recalibrating can re-centre one that's slightly off. But most drift is wear on the track inside the stick, and cleaning can't undo wear. If drift returns, the stick needs replacing, ideally with a TMR stick that doesn't wear out.

Is there a stick drift test on PS5?

The PS5 has no built-in drift test screen. Pair your DualSense to your phone by Bluetooth, or plug it into a computer by USB, and open our free Gamepad Tester in the browser. When you're done, plug it back into the PS5 with a cable and press the PS button to re-pair it.

Why does my controller drift in one game but not another?

Each game sets its own deadzone, the small area around the centre it ignores. A game with a tight deadzone (common in shooters) shows mild drift that a game with a wide deadzone hides. The drift is in the stick either way, and the tester shows the raw reading so you can see it.

Is stick drift permanent?

On a standard stick, yes: the wear that causes it only gets worse, and a like-for-like replacement will eventually wear the same way. A TMR stick reads a magnet without anything rubbing, so there's nothing to wear down and the drift doesn't come back.