How to Fix PS5 DualSense Stick Drift
Open a PS5 DualSense controller, clean dirt and oxidation from the analog stick potentiometers, and restore accurate stick centering without soldering.
- Read the tools, materials, safety notes, and steps below for free.
- Tap Start Camera Coach when you want hands-free voice help.
- Allow camera and microphone. Point your phone at the work; the coach watches your progress and tells you the next step.
🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Phillips #00 precision screwdriver
- ✓ Plastic spudger or pry tool
- ✓ Curved fine-point tweezers
- ✓ Cotton swabs
- ✓ Canned compressed air
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ 99% Isopropyl alcohol
- ✓ Lint-free microfiber cloth
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Ensure controller is disconnected from USB power and fully turned off before disassembly.
- • Do not puncture or bend the lithium-ion battery when lifting it from the internal tray.
- • Handle ribbon cables only with plastic tools or smooth tweezers; never pull on the flexible traces.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (6 Steps)
Remove Front Trim and Shoulder Buttons
Insert a plastic pry tool under the tip of the bottom black trim on both handle grips and lever upward to release the clips. Gently pull the entire black faceplate away from the controller body. Use the spudger to pry straight up underneath the L1 and R1 shoulder buttons until they pop out of their sockets.
- • Black V-shaped front trim completely detached from the controller
- • L1 and R1 button caps removed, exposing silver screw heads beneath
- • Prying with metal screwdrivers which gouges the decorative plastic
- • Yanking the trim sideways instead of straight forward, snapping retaining tabs
Unscrew and Remove Rear Shell
Remove the four Phillips #00 screws: two located where L1/R1 were removed, and two revealed at the bottom tips of the handle grips. Insert your plastic pry tool into the seam along the bottom of the controller shell and separate the back cover clips. Lift the rear shell off carefully.
- • Four identical screws placed securely in a parts tray
- • Rear white shell completely removed, exposing the internal grey battery pack
- • Using the wrong screwdriver size and stripping screw heads
- • Forgetting bottom handle screws before prying open the casing
Disconnect Battery and Remove Battery Bracket
Grip the white battery connector plug firmly with fingers or tweezers and pull straight out of the motherboard socket. Lift the battery out and set it aside. Unscrew the single Phillips screw in the center of the plastic battery tray, unclip the microphone ribbon cable from the tray slot, and remove the plastic bracket.
- • Battery completely unplugged and removed from work area
- • Grey battery cradle removed, exposing the green main circuit board
- • Pulling the battery out by the red and black wires instead of the plastic plug head
- • Tearing the small microphone ribbon cable looped over the bottom tray tab
Access Potentiometer Housing
Pull the thumbstick caps straight off the metal joystick shafts on the front of the board. Locate the drifting stick module; each stick has two green plastic potentiometer sensor boxes (one on the side for horizontal axis, one on the bottom for vertical axis). Use a fine spudger or fingernail to gently pry the green outer gate of the offending sensor outward until it hinges open 30 to 45 degrees.
- • Thumbstick cap removed from post
- • Green sensor gate hinged outward, revealing the small metal circular wiper disc inside
- • Prying the green casing too far past 45 degrees and snapping its bottom solder pins
- • Dropping or losing the tiny circular wiper disc resting inside the housing
Clean Sensor Track and Wiper Contact
Dip a cotton swab in 99% isopropyl alcohol until damp but not dripping. Gently wipe the black circular carbon resistive track inside the green housing to remove graphite dust and debris. Use tweezers to carefully inspect the small metal wiper disc, wipe it clean with alcohol on a cotton swab, and blow clean air through the housing before snapping the green gate firmly closed.
- • Black carbon ring inside housing is clean and free of dark residue
- • Green potentiometer housing fully clicked back flush against the metal joystick frame
- • Soaking the swab with excess alcohol, causing liquid to pool under other PCB components
- • Bending the delicate micro-fingers of the circular wiper disc
Reassemble Controller and Calibrate
Press the thumbstick caps back onto the joystick shafts. Reinstall the plastic battery tray, screw it into place, reconnect the microphone ribbon cable, and plug the battery back in. Snap the rear white shell back on, insert the 4 screws, reinstall L1/R1 buttons, and click the black front trim into position.
- • All shell seams flush with no gaps
- • All 4 screws fully seated
- • Buttons click crisply without sticking
- • Pinching the microphone or trigger ribbon cables between the shell halves
- • Forgetting to seat the battery connector all the way into its socket
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by John Hammer — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Plastic spudger? Guitar pick or expired credit card
- No 99% Isopropyl alcohol? Specialized quick-drying electronic contact cleaner (BW-100 or DeoxIT)