Xbox controller test
For Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One controllers, and the Elite. Drift measured against the dead zone Xbox's own interface uses, both triggers in steps, A, B, X, Y and the rest by name.
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
- Plug the controller in with its cable, or pair it over Bluetooth: hold the pair button on its top edge until the Xbox button flashes fast, then choose it in your device's Bluetooth settings.
- Open this page and press any button; the test shows it with Xbox's button names.
- Press A, B, X, Y, LB, RB, View, Menu, both stick clicks and the arrows. The Xbox button is optional: it often opens the system's game bar instead.
- Press LT and RT all the way, run the drift check, turn both sticks round their edges, and try both motors.
- Copy the report into a warranty request or a sale listing, or print it.
What the results mean
- Xbox's own dead zone
- Xbox's controller interface names a dead zone of about 24 % for the left stick and about 27 % for the right. The outer ring on each stick is the smaller, 24 %: drift inside it is hidden by both, drift past it moves on its own in games that use them (the right stick only once past 27 %).
- Bluetooth or the wireless adapter
- Controllers from 2016 on, with the plastic round the Xbox button part of the face, have Bluetooth. Earlier ones need a cable or Microsoft's wireless adapter.
- The trigger motors
- Some browsers can run the small motors in the triggers too. The test offers «Trigger motors» only when the controller says it has them.
- The Elite controller
- Its paddles repeat other buttons, so a paddle lights the button it is set to. Its trigger stops shorten the press on purpose: open them before testing the triggers.
Questions
The controller does not appear. What now?
Press a button after the page opens. If it was paired with a console nearby, it may have connected there instead: switch the console off, or connect with the cable.
A trigger stops short of the end. Is that a fault?
On an Elite, check the trigger stops on its back first: they shorten the press on purpose. On other controllers, a trigger that stops short after a firm press is worn or blocked.
Does it work on a Mac or an iPhone?
Yes, in Safari and Chrome. Rumble runs where the browser can drive the motors (Safari 16.4 or later on a Mac, Chrome and Edge), never on iPhone or iPad.
What about third-party Xbox controllers?
Licensed controllers usually show the same names; others may show positions instead (bottom, right, left, top), which test the same buttons.