PS5 Stick Drift Fix

Following-up on my PS4 charging port fix, I decided to double-down and fix the PS5 stick drift issue that one of the controllers still has even after endlessly pressing down and rotating the stick clockwise and counterclockwise (NB: this method did work for one of the two controllers). This meant taking the controller apart, which is absolutely a pain in the ass for the PS5 controller, especially compared to how simple it is to disassemble the PS4 controller. From hidden screws to removing shoulder buttons to various plastic clinches, be careful with this one. I used this video to take it apart, but take it with a grain of salt when he says it’s easy.

Once apart and the battery and circuit board removed you then need to identify the stick giving you issues. This should be easy enough given you should know already when you were playing a game and things went south (or north or east or west). That said, this gamepad tester site is a cool find as a result  of this process. It helps you identify even the slightest drift, but also lets you test every button or joystick on your gamepad to confirm all are working. Anyway, once the controller is apart follow along with this video which will explain the issue and show you how to both clean and/or replace the wiper and the track of the stick. I just cleaned the track and wiper with a bit of isopropyl alcohol and I was good to go.

Not much more to say, I’m really just using this post to save the gamepad tester URL and the two videos that helped with the fix. The thing that annoys me about this issue is it happened pretty much out-of-the-box. Rather than the normal wear and tear folks suggest as the cause, my controller had drift almost immediately. This smells more like a manufacturing fault or bad quality assurance than anything else.