Controller trigger test
Press each trigger slowly all the way down, then let go. The bar follows it; the result says how deep it reached and whether it pressed in steps or only on and off.
Press any button on the controller
Browsers show a controller only after a button is pressed, so that pages cannot list your devices unasked. Wired or Bluetooth both work.
This browser cannot read controllers.
Try a current Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari on a computer, Safari on an iPhone or iPad, or Chrome on Android.
The controller was disconnected. Connect it again and press a button; your results are kept.
Result: No problem found so far
Press every button, then run the checks below: the result is written here as you go.
Triggers
Press each trigger all the way down. A trigger reports how far it is pressed, not just on or off.
Sticks
The rings are dead zones: the inner one 10 %, which many games use, the outer one 24 %, Xbox's standard for the left stick (27 % for the right).
Drift check
Put the controller down and do not touch the sticks. The check reads them for three seconds.
Range check
Push each stick to its edge and turn it slowly round, two or three times.
Buttons
Press each one. A button turns blue while held and stays ticked once it has worked.
Rumble
Each button runs a motor for one second. The tab must stay in front while it runs.
This browser cannot run this controller's motors: Firefox and the browsers on iPhone and iPad run none, and Chrome and Edge on Windows do not run a PS5 controller's. The rest of the test is not affected.
Report
For a return, a warranty claim or a sale: print it, save it as a PDF, or copy the text.
How it works
- Plug the controller in or pair it, then press any button: the triggers' bars appear.
- Press the left trigger slowly all the way down, and hold it there for a moment.
- Let go and watch the bar: it should fall back to 0 %.
- Do the same with the right trigger.
- Copy or print the report: it gives each trigger's deepest press and how it travelled.
What the results mean
- How deep is deep enough
- A trigger in good order reaches 100 % at the bottom of its travel; the test counts 98 % or more as full, as a sensor rarely reads exactly 1. A trigger that stops short reads as a light press in games: a car that never reaches full speed, a bow that never draws fully.
- Steps, or only on and off
- Most triggers are read in steps, so a game knows how far you pressed. A Nintendo Switch controller's ZL and ZR are only on or off by design. A trigger that should press in steps but reads only 0 or 100 % has a sensor that has given up the levels between; on an Xbox Elite or a DualSense Edge, first check that a trigger stop is not set short.
- When it does not come back to 0
- A trigger that stays above 0 % after you let go keeps pressing in the game: a car that creeps forward, a weapon half aimed. Let go fully and watch the bar; the test does not guess this one, as a finger held still and a stuck trigger read the same.
- Trigger-stop switches
- Some controllers, such as the Xbox Elite and the DualSense Edge, have switches on the back that shorten the triggers' travel. Set them to the longest travel before the test, so the reading is the trigger's own.
Questions
My trigger stops at 90 %. Is it broken?
Check any trigger-stop switch on the back first. Otherwise, the sensor may be out of line or the spring worn; on many controllers the system's own calibration can fix it, or a repair can.
Why does my trigger read only 0 or 100 %?
On a Nintendo Switch controller that is how ZL and ZR work, and many arcade sticks and pads in an Xbox mode work the same way. On an Xbox Elite or a DualSense Edge, a trigger stop set short shortens or flattens the press: move it to the full travel. Otherwise, press it slowly once more: if it still jumps from 0 to 100 %, its sensor no longer reads the levels between.
My trigger stays at a few per cent after I let go. Does it matter?
Xbox's own controller interface suggests games ignore a trigger under 30 of 255, about 12 %, so a trigger resting under that moves nothing in many games. One that rests higher keeps pressing: a tired spring or dirt under the trigger, worth a cleaning or a repair.
Can it test the DualSense's trigger resistance?
No. Web pages cannot set or read the resistance some triggers have in games; the test reads how far the trigger goes.