You suffered from Derives from the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller? A further disassembly may have revealed why this continues to happen.
A new video from iFixit – a veteran channel that has been dismantling the technology and examining how it has worked for years – shows a disassembly of the PlayStation 5 DualSense that reveals why the new pad may be doomed to drift problems.
iFixit claims that PlayStation, Nintendo and Xbox controllers have “a long history of predictable and preventable problems”, thanks to the joystick hardware in stock on their pads.
As shown in the video below, DualShock 4, Xbox One and Xbox One Elite controllers “could easily exceed their lifespan by just over 400 hours of gameplay”.
As any dedicated player will tell you, it is not long for a pad that will cost $ 69.99 / £ 59.99.
iFixit dives into an information leaflet from the manufacturer of the joystick parts – a company called ALPS – that notes that the expected performance of a joystick would last about 2,000,000 cycles, with the ‘click’ of the joystick capable of lasting only 500,000 cycles .
This is because the potentiometer (a three-terminal resistor with a sliding or rotating contact that allows the joystick to move freely) wears out with repeated use and because the spring-loaded mechanism that centers the joystick begins to stretch and deform with the consistent use.
By iFixit analysis of a standard Call of Duty: Warzone game, this means that you will get about 417 hours of gameplay of the sticks before performance starts to deteriorate.
As the VGC points out, “if a PS5 player used his console for two hours a day, he would technically exceed the controller’s operational life expectancy by 7 months”.
So, what can you do if your block starts showing signs of drift? Check out the embedded video above – it provides clear and precise instructions on how to fix your pillow and keep it running.
“After this research, it is bizarre for us that console manufacturers do not consider joysticks as consumable parts and design them to be easily replaced,” concludes iFixit. “No device rated for a finite number of actions, especially one that lives close to so much contamination and withstands so much abuse, can maintain perfect performance forever.”
There are collective lawsuits in progress in several countries around the world against Sony and Nintendo in relation to the ‘major, serious and hidden defects’ that are behind the controller diversion problems.
Our own Alex Donaldson also notes that the pad’s battery life is not really what you would expect from a modern kit – despite the controller being one of the best he has ever used.