PS4 controller test
For the DualShock 4, both the first model and the one with a light strip on its touchpad. Each button by the name printed on it, both sticks, L2 and R2 in steps, and one plain result.
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.
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.
Triggers
Press each trigger all the way down. A trigger reports how far it is pressed, not just on or off.
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
- Connect it with a micro-USB cable that carries data, or pair it over Bluetooth: hold Share and the PS button together until the light bar flashes, then choose «Wireless Controller» in your device's Bluetooth settings.
- Open this page and press any button; the test names the buttons Cross, Circle, Square, Triangle, Share and Options.
- Press each of them, L1, R1, both stick clicks and the arrows. The PS button and the touchpad click are optional: a computer may keep the PS button for itself.
- Press L2 and R2 all the way down, run the drift check with the controller lying flat, and turn both sticks round their edges.
- Try the rumble, then print the report or copy it for the shop, a buyer or a repair.
What the results mean
- A cable that only charges
- Many micro-USB cables carry power and no data. If the light bar glows but the page sees nothing, the cable is the likely cause: try another, or pair over Bluetooth.
- Worn sticks on an older controller
- The DualShock 4 has been sold since 2013, and on a second-hand one the left stick has often done most of the work. Drift and a short direction are what a buyer most needs to know.
- L2 and R2 have springs
- Each trigger reports how far it is pressed. A tired spring or a cracked trigger lets it stop short or stay slightly pressed; the test shows the deepest press and whether it reached the end.
- What the page cannot see
- The motion sensor, the touchpad's position, the battery and the light bar's colour are outside what a browser reads from a controller, so the test does not claim to check them.
Questions
Which DualShock 4 do I have?
The second model, sold from 2016, has a thin light strip across the top of the touchpad. Both read the same here.
The light bar flashes but it never connects. What now?
It may be pairing back to a PS4 nearby: switch the console off. Then hold Share and PS again until the light bar flashes, and choose it in the Bluetooth list.
L2 or R2 feels sticky. Will the test show it?
It shows how far each trigger goes and whether it reaches the end. A trigger that returns slowly or sticks part-way shows as a press that never drops to 0 when you let go.
Does it work with a PS5 DualSense too?
Yes. The DualSense has its own page, which names its Create button and explains its adaptive triggers.