Gamepad tester: is your controller working?
Plug in or pair your controller and press any button. You see every button, both sticks and triggers live, then can test stick drift, circularity, vibration and polling rate.
Connect a controller by USB or Bluetooth, then press any button on it.
Left stick
X 0.000
Y 0.000
Right stick
X 0.000
Y 0.000
Left trigger0.00
Right trigger0.00
Buttons Press each one. A green outline means it worked.
Let go of both sticks and put the controller down. The test records each stick for 3 seconds at rest and reports how far it sits from the center.
Push each stick to its edge and rotate it slowly, two or three full turns. The trace shows the shape of the outer edge. A perfect circle scores 0%.
Left stick
Average error rotate the stick
Right stick
Average error rotate the stick
Hold the controller and press a button below. You should feel the motor you picked for one second.
Press start, then keep moving a stick in fast circles for 2 seconds. The test counts how often your browser receives a new reading.
- Click on this page once, then press a face button such as A or Cross. Browsers hide controllers until a button is pressed.
- Over USB, use a cable that carries data. Many charging cables do not.
- Close Steam, DS4Windows or other remapping apps, then reload.
- Still nothing? See controller not detected.
Runs in your browser. No inputs or device names leave your device.
How do I test my controller?
Connect it, wake it with a button press, and work through the tabs. A full check takes about two minutes.
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1
Connect and press a button
Use a USB data cable or pair over Bluetooth. Browsers only show a controller after you press a button, so press A or Cross once.
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2
Press every button and move every stick
Each button lights up on the diagram and gets a green outline in the list once it has worked. Pull both triggers all the way and watch them reach 1.00.
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3
Run the tests
Stick drift with hands off, circularity by rotating each stick, vibration for the motors, and polling rate while you move a stick fast.
What each test tells you
Every test reads the same raw numbers a game gets from your controller. Sticks report two axes from -1 to 1, triggers report 0 to 1, and buttons report pressed or not pressed.
| Test | What it checks | What a healthy controller shows |
|---|---|---|
| Buttons | Every button registers, with no double presses or dead spots | Each button lights up the moment you press it |
| Triggers | Full travel of LT and RT (L2 and R2) | 0.00 at rest, 1.00 when fully pulled |
| Stick drift | How far each stick sits from center when you let go | Under 0.05 on both sticks |
| Circularity | The shape of the outer edge of each stick | A smooth, even outline with a low average error |
| Vibration | The strong and weak rumble motors, and trigger motors on Xbox controllers | You feel each motor for one second |
| Polling rate | How often the browser receives new readings | A steady number. It depends on your browser as much as on the controller |
How do I know if my controller has stick drift?
Let go of both sticks and run the drift test. If a stick rests more than 0.10 away from the center, games will usually read it as movement, which is the camera creep or slow walk you notice in play. Between 0.05 and 0.10 counts as mild drift that most games hide with a deadzone. The stick drift test page has the test on its own, with more on how to read the numbers.
Drift almost always comes from wear or dirt in the small sensors under each stick. It often starts on the left stick because it moves the most. Our guide on how to fix stick drift goes from free fixes like cleaning and calibration to repair.
What does stick circularity mean?
Circularity is how round the outer edge of a stick's movement is. When you push a stick to its edge and turn it, a perfect stick would trace a circle with a radius of exactly 1. Real sticks bulge at the diagonals or fall short in some directions.
The tester splits the circle into 72 slices and keeps the furthest point you reach in each one. The average error is how far those points sit from the perfect circle, as a percentage. Under 10% is a round, even stick. From 10% to 20% you may notice that diagonal movement feels stronger or weaker than straight movement. Above 20% the stick is shaped by its hardware or worn. Some controllers round or square the output on purpose, so compare two controllers of the same model before you blame one.
Why can a browser test my controller at all?
Modern browsers include the Gamepad API, the same interface browser games use. It gives a page the button and axis values of any controller you have connected, once you press a button. Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari all support it on computers, and Chrome on Android and Safari on iPhone and iPad support it too.
Browsers differ in the details. Chrome and Edge give the most complete picture, including vibration. Firefox and Safari read buttons and sticks well but may not drive the rumble motors. If a controller uses a layout the browser does not recognise, the tester shows its raw buttons and axes by number instead of the diagram.
Which controllers work?
Any controller your computer or phone sees as a gamepad: PlayStation 5 DualSense and DualSense Edge, PlayStation 4 DualShock 4, Xbox Series, Xbox One and Xbox 360 controllers, the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller and Joy-Cons, 8BitDo, PowerA and most generic USB pads. The labels on the diagram use Xbox names. On a PlayStation controller, A is Cross, B is Circle, X is Square and Y is Triangle. To set up a DualSense, follow how to test a PS5 controller on PC.
What should I check before buying or returning a controller?
Run every test twice. Note the drift numbers and take a screenshot of the result, since a repair desk or seller will want something concrete. Press each button while you watch for flicker, which points to a worn contact. Pull each trigger slowly and check the value climbs smoothly from 0.00 to 1.00 without jumps. If any of that fails on a new controller, it is a fault, not normal wear.
Frequently asked questions
How do I test my controller online?
Why does the gamepad tester not detect my controller?
How much stick drift is normal?
What does stick circularity mean?
Does this work with PS5, PS4, Xbox and Switch controllers?
Why does the vibration test not work?
How accurate is the polling rate test?
Is the gamepad tester free and private?
What next?
Looking for something else? See our other free tools.