Gamepad Tester: Check Your Controller

How to use the gamepad tester

1. Connect your controller by USB cable or Bluetooth (see below), open this page and press any button on the controller. The badge turns green and the controller appears.
2. Press each button and pull each trigger. On the diagram pressed buttons light up, the triggers fill in proportion to how far you pull them, and the sticks move. Choose Labels to show Xbox (A B X Y), PlayStation (✕ ○ □ △) or Nintendo names.
3. In All buttons and axes, every button you have pressed gets a green outline, so you can see at a glance whether one never responds.
4. Under Sticks and drift, put the controller down and press Test drift: let go of the sticks for 3 seconds. The tool records the largest value each stick reports while untouched and suggests a dead zone.
5. Press Circularity test and slowly rotate each stick around its outer edge a few times to draw its range outline.
6. Use Vibration test to fire the weak, strong or both rumble motors, and Update rate to estimate how often new data arrives.

With several controllers connected, each gets its own tab at the top of the tester.

Why you have to press a button first

The browser Gamepad API hides connected controllers from a page until you press a button while the page is open. That stops websites from silently fingerprinting the devices plugged into your computer. Some browsers need a face button rather than a stick movement, and none report input to a background tab.

What the readings mean

• Mapping: standard means the browser recognised the controller and arranged its inputs in the standard layout (buttons 0–3 are the face buttons, 6 and 7 the triggers, axes 0–3 the two sticks), so the diagram is accurate. Otherwise only the generic list of raw inputs is shown, numbered by the controller and driver.
• Stick X and Y are raw values from −1 to 1, shown to three decimals (up and left are negative). Distance is how far the stick is from the centre, from 0 to about 1.
• Max drift at rest is the largest distance seen during the 3-second drift test. As a rule of thumb, values under about 0.05 are normal sensor noise, values up to roughly 0.15 are usually hidden by a game's dead zone, and higher values often cause the camera or character to move on its own.
• Suggested dead zone is the drift you measured plus a small safety margin, rounded up. Many games and Steam Input let you set a stick dead zone; use the suggestion as a starting point.
• Circularity error compares the outline you drew with a perfect circle. A few percent is normal.
• Update rate is how often the browser delivered new readings. Browsers poll controllers at their own pace, so it can be lower than the controller's USB or Bluetooth rate.

Connecting your controller

Then add the controller in Windows Settings → Bluetooth & devices, macOS System Settings → Bluetooth, or Android Settings → Connected devices → Pair new device. A controller that charges on a cable but never appears may need a data cable rather than a charge-only one.

Browser support

Chrome and Edge on Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS and Android have the most complete Gamepad API support, including the standard mapping for common Xbox and PlayStation pads and rumble through vibrationActuator; on Windows they can also drive the trigger motors of Xbox One and Series controllers. Firefox supports buttons and sticks but not rumble by default, and maps fewer controllers to the standard layout. Safari on macOS, iPhone and iPad supports the controllers Apple supports (Xbox, PlayStation and MFi pads); vibration depends on the version. If a feature is missing, the tester says so.

Stick drift: causes and fixes

Stick drift is when a stick reports movement while nobody touches it. The common causes are wear of the potentiometer tracks inside the stick module, dust or debris, a stick that no longer springs back to the exact centre, and sometimes outdated firmware or bad calibration. Fixes to try, from least to most invasive:

• Update the controller firmware (Xbox Accessories app on Windows, the console for PlayStation and Switch) and recalibrate if your platform offers it.
• With the controller off, rotate the stick fully several times and blow compressed air around its base.
• Raise the stick dead zone in the game or in Steam Input to just above the suggested value.
• If drift is large and growing, check the warranty; replacing the stick module is a soldering job best left to a repair shop.

Check other devices on the device tests page, for example the keyboard tester, the mouse test or the reaction time test. Lagging in online games? Run the internet speed test to check your connection too.

Privacy: the tester runs entirely in your browser using the Gamepad API. Controller input is read locally and nothing is sent to a server or stored.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my controller not detected?

Press a face button while this tab is in front: browsers only reveal a controller after a button press. If it still does not appear, try a different USB cable (some are charge-only), re-pair Bluetooth, close apps that take exclusive control such as DS4Windows, and try Chrome or Edge.

How do I test my controller for stick drift?

Put the controller down and press the drift test button. Without touching the sticks for 3 seconds, the tester records the largest reading of each stick. Values under about 0.05 are normal noise; clearly higher values that make games move by themselves indicate drift.

Can I test a PS5 or PS4 controller on a PC?

Yes. Connect the DualSense or DualShock 4 by USB or Bluetooth, press a button and choose the PlayStation labels. Chrome and Edge recognise both with the standard mapping, so every button and trigger appears on the diagram.

How do I test controller vibration?

Press Weak, Strong or Dual rumble in the vibration section. Rumble needs a browser that supports vibrationActuator, such as Chrome or Edge; if your browser does not, the tester tells you so.

What is a good dead zone for stick drift?

The smallest one that stops unwanted movement: the measured drift plus a small margin, as the tester suggests. A larger dead zone hides drift but makes fine aiming less precise.

Does the gamepad tester work on Android or iPhone?

Yes. On Android use Chrome with a Bluetooth or USB controller; on iPhone and iPad, Safari supports Xbox and PlayStation pads. Press a button after pairing so the page can see the controller.

Updated 2026-10-15