Controller maintenance guides
Fixer-first answers for stick drift: symptoms, repair cost, Hall and TMR calibration on PlayStation USB, deadzone vs real fixes, DriftGuard alternative, and how Controller Health Score is built. Every answer has a path into the free Lab.
Diagnose and understand
Fix, calibrate, and repair
- When calibration will not fix driftWear vs centre offset, and when cal makes things worse.
- Hall / TMR calibration after a swapCentre and range on DualSense and DualShock 4 over USB.
- Stick drift repair costShop, DIY, and when a new pad is cheaper.
- Software cal vs Hall upgradeOffset fixes, wear, and when to change hardware.
- WebHID setup (Chrome / Edge)Connect DualSense or DualShock 4 over USB for writes.
- Xbox calibration in the browserWhat works on the web and what needs Steam.
- Is controller calibration safe?Bricking risks, NVS memory architecture, and warranty facts.
Compare tools and tiers
Troubleshooting and calibration recovery
- Calibration made drift worse?How to recover from false neutral writes and truncated range.
- Reset calibration to factoryHow NVS flash memory stores zero points and how to reset.
- Calibration Error 1 & write fixesFixing feature report failures, descriptor size, and clones.
- Stick jumps to cornerFixing truncated range boundaries and coordinate snapping.
- Calibration greyed outLaunch revision firmware gating and PC updater steps.
- Calibrate after module replacementPhysical trim-pot alignment before software calibration.
- Does PC calibration work on PS5?Hardware NVS writes vs PC software deadzones explained.
- PS5 no calibration menuCalibrating standard DualSense over USB without console menus.
- Fix drift without opening padWhat software can fix, when cleaning helps, and true limits.
Pick your controller
Test, score, and calibration writes differ by pad.
FAQ
How do I know whether to calibrate or replace the stick?
Run the scan first. Stable readings with an off-centre rest point point to calibration. Noisy, inconsistent readings, or drift that returns shortly after a fix, point to a worn module - replace it, then calibrate the new one.
I fitted Hall effect sticks. Do I still need to calibrate?
Yes, and it matters more than people expect. New modules rarely land on the exact centre and range the controller expects, so a freshly repaired pad can still read off-centre until it is calibrated. Run a scan, calibrate centre and range, then re-test to confirm the repair.
Does DriftNo fix stick drift permanently?
It depends on the cause. If the stick rests off-centre but is otherwise stable, calibration can correct it and the correction holds. If the potentiometer is worn (scratchy, jumpy, drift that comes back within minutes) no software can repair that. DriftNo tells you which case you are in instead of guessing.
What is Controller Health Score?
A single 0-100 rating DriftNo calculates from resting drift, circularity error, jitter and trigger behaviour, with a component breakdown underneath. It exists so you can compare the same controller before and after a fix instead of relying on how it feels.
What is the difference between Premium and DriftNo on Steam?
Premium (£14.99 once) keeps your work in this browser: profiles, health history, unlimited Auto Optimise, custom stick and trigger curves, per-axis sensitivity, and session PDFs. Nothing in Premium writes to Xbox or Nintendo pads for console transfer, and PlayStation USB transfer stays free. DriftNo on Steam (£24.99 once, coming) includes Premium and adds apply-in-game on Windows plus per-game profiles and deeper Xbox tuning. Both are one-off payments, not subscriptions.
Measure yours
A two-minute scan tells you whether this is a calibration job or a repair job.