What is Controller Diagnostic Lab?
A free, browser-based tool to diagnose, calibrate, and repair your PS4 or PS5 DualSense/DualShock 4 controller — no software install needed. Test every button, check analog stick drift, run haptic vibration tests, read raw HID data, and write calibration offsets directly to your controller's memory.
No Controller Connected
Controller Diagnostic Lab requires an active WebHID or Gamepad API connection to run diagnostics. Please connect your advanced controller over USB or Bluetooth.
How to get started:
- Connect your controller to this computer via a USB cable (recommended for calibration) or Bluetooth.
- Click the Connect Controller button below.
- Select your device from the browser popup list and click Connect.
Controller Connection
No Controller Connected
Please connect a PlayStation controller using USB or Bluetooth and click Connect.
Device Overview
Help & Quick Start
- Ensure your controller is connected to this computer via a USB cable (recommended for calibration accuracy) or Bluetooth.
- Click Connect Controller in the sidebar or landing page to trigger the browser's pairing prompt.
- Select your controller from the list (e.g. "Wireless Controller") and click Connect.
- Use the sidebar tabs to navigate through stick drift analysis, trigger force feedback, RGB lightbar pickers, haptic patterns, and EEPROM calibration.
Use WASD/Arrow keys & Space/Enter on your keyboard to simulate controller inputs.
Controller Live View
Calibration Tools
Recalibrate the stick center, range, or fine-tune individual potentiometer outputs. Note: Calibration writes directly to the controller's permanent storage (NVS) mirror. Use with care.
Analog Stick Center
Aligns drifts or offset center positions of both analog sticks. Standard 4-step sampling routine.
Analog Stick Range
Calibrates the maximum circular bounds by rotating sticks to outer edges. Ensures 100% outer range coverage.
DualSense Fine-Tune Calibration
Manually input raw calibration values to adjust potentiometer offsets on the DualSense controller.
Left Stick Offsets
Right Stick Offsets
Controller Live View & Drift
Real-time Center Offsets:
Warning & Guide
- Unlocking NVS allows permanent writing to EEPROM storage.
- Clones and Edge models have write limitations.
- Run the **Drift Check** tab to store permanent glowing drift markers on the controller sticks.
Controller Map
Button Grid & Counts
Analog Sticks Coordinates
Left Stick
Right Stick
Input History (Last 30 Events)
Direct Motor Controls
Haptic Presets
Custom Pattern Builder
Design sequences of motor vibrations. Define the duration of each phase and how much power goes to the left and right rumble motors.
| Duration (ms) | Left Motor % | Right Motor % |
|---|
DualShock 4 / DualSense Touchpad
Draw on the controller's touchpad area. Visualizes up to 2 coordinates with touch trail tracking. Recreated using absolute coordinates read directly from the HID input reports.
Touchpad Diagnostics
The PlayStation touchpad operates with absolute coordinate grids:
- Width (X): 0 to 1919
- Height (Y): 0 to 943
Touch coordinates are extracted from byte offsets 33-42 of the raw HID input reports on USB, enabling 12-bit absolute mapping precision.
Stick Drift Checker
Test the stability and precision of your analog sticks. Keep the controller on a flat surface, release both analog sticks, and click Check for Drift. The test will record 180 samples over 3 seconds to calculate maximum center deviations.
Left Analog Stick
Right Analog Stick
Drift Severity Index
3-Axis Gyroscope & Accelerometer
Visualizes motion sensors in real-time. Hover mouse or move the controller to rotate the 3D projection wireframe cube below.
Diagnostic Report ✓ Healthy
- Gyro Noise (X/Y/Z SD): 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00
- Accel Noise (X/Y/Z SD): 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00
- Gravity Vector Magnitude: 1.00 G
DualSense Adaptive Triggers (L2 / R2)
Configure and test force-feedback resistance profiles on the triggers (requires DualSense over USB).
LED Lightbar Status Indicator
Test the RGB LED lightbar. Click presets or select a custom color.
Built-in Speaker & Microphone Diagnostics
Speaker Diagnostic Tone
Generates diagnostic audio frequencies. Ensure your system audio is outputting to the controller speaker device.
Microphone Oscilloscope
Captures and visualizes vocal frequency patterns. Speak into the controller mic to verify input.
Port & Connectivity Details
Professional Documentation
Reading Analog Drift Values
Analog stick values range from 0 to 255 in raw 8-bit output, with 128 representing the center. Any deviation from 128 when the stick is untouched is considered "drift." Small deviations (124-132) are normal and typically mitigated by in-game deadzones. Values frequently fluctuating beyond this range indicate potentiometer wear.
Vibration Diagnostics
The vibration tester allows you to send precise pulse-width modulation (PWM) signals to the Left (Heavy) and Right (Light) ERM motors or Voice Coil Actuators (VCAs). Use this to identify rattling, loose counterweights, or weak motor responses across different frequency patterns.
NVS Calibration Warning
Non-Volatile Storage (NVS) writing modifies the controller's factory flash memory to alter analog center offsets. This is useful for correcting physical drift without replacing the potentiometer. Warning: Always ensure the controller has sufficient battery before writing. Do not disconnect the controller during an active NVS write cycle.
Adaptive Triggers
Adaptive triggers rely on a geared DC motor. The force-feedback test sends resistance profiles (Continuous, Rigid, Pulse) directly to the trigger motors. A grinding noise indicates gear tooth wear, while no response indicates a failed flex cable or burnt motor.
Raw HID Reports Log
Real-time dump of packets and bytes received over the WebHID interface. Useful for testing firmware responses and reverse engineering.
Legal Compliance & Terms
Independent Utility: This application is an entirely independent, open-source hardware diagnostic utility. It is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc., Sony Group Corporation, PlayStation, or any of their subsidiaries or affiliates. All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners.
Open Web Standards (No Proprietary Code): This utility is built solely upon standard Web APIs (WebHID, Web Audio, and Web Gamepad API) to communicate with connected devices. It does not distribute, execute, host, or package any copyrighted firmware, binaries, encryption keys, or Sony intellectual property. All device interactions are compliant with standard client-side hardware repair protocols.
Right to Repair Compliance: The stick calibration and register modification capabilities are designed in accordance with global Right to Repair standards, enabling consumers and independent repair technicians to service, calibrate, and extend the lifespan of their analog controller hardware locally and safely.
Privacy & Security: Zero data is transmitted to external servers. All diagnostics, calibration readings, and log events are processed locally on your machine within the browser sandbox.
Disclaimer: This tool is not affiliated with, maintained, authorized, endorsed, or sponsored by Sony Interactive Entertainment or any of its affiliates. "PlayStation", "DualShock", "DualSense", and the action button symbols are registered trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment. All product and company names are the registered trademarks of their original owners.
What is Controller Diagnostic Lab?
Controller Diagnostic Lab is a free, browser-based tool for diagnosing and calibrating PS4 and PS5 controllers — the DualSense and DualShock 4. No software installation or driver downloads required. Connect your controller over USB, open the tool in Chrome or Edge, and instantly test analog stick drift, run haptic vibration tests, check adaptive trigger resistance, calibrate stick center offsets, and read raw HID data packets directly from the controller's firmware. Everything runs locally in your browser — nothing is sent to a server.
How to Fix PS5 Controller Stick Drift
Stick drift — where your analog sticks move on screen without you touching them — is usually caused by worn potentiometers or accumulated dirt under the thumbstick cap. You can diagnose and often correct it without opening the controller:
- Connect your controller via USB cable to your computer (USB-C for DualSense, Micro-USB for DualShock 4).
- Click "Connect Controller" on the landing screen and select your device from the browser's HID pairing dialog.
- Navigate to the Drift Check tab and run the automated drift analysis — it measures resting stick deviation over 3 seconds and flags any axis reading outside the normal center range.
If drift is confirmed, use the Calibration tab to write new center-point offsets directly into the controller's non-volatile storage (NVS), correcting the drift at the firmware level without hardware repair.
Supported Controllers
- DualSense (PS5) — Full support: calibration, haptics, adaptive triggers, sensors, touchpad, RGB lightbar.
- DualSense Edge (PS5) — Full diagnostic support; NVS write requires hardware modification.
- DualShock 4 (PS4) — Full support: calibration, vibration, touchpad, lightbar.
- Other WebHID-compatible gamepads — Basic input testing via the Gamepad API fallback.
Controller Diagnostic Lab is an independent open-source utility. Not affiliated with Sony Interactive Entertainment or PlayStation. "DualSense", "DualShock", and "PlayStation" are registered trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.