PS5 Controller Test: Check Your DualSense

DualSense buttons in the browser

Browsers number the DualSense's buttons the way they number every controller's: by position. Web games read these numbers, so a game that shows Xbox prompts calls × "A" and ○ "B".

The left stick is axes 0 (left and right) and 1 (up and down), and the right stick is axes 2 and 3. Pushing a stick up gives -1 and pulling it down gives 1.

Connect a DualSense to a computer

With a USB-C cable

Plug the controller into the computer with a USB-C cable that carries data; some cables only charge. Windows 11 and macOS recognize the DualSense without extra software. A cable is also the quickest way to rule out Bluetooth problems: if the controller works on a cable and not wirelessly, the buttons and sticks are fine.

Over Bluetooth on Windows 11

1. Hold the Create button and the PS button together until the light bar around the touchpad flashes quickly.
2. Open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Add device → Bluetooth.
3. Choose DualSense Wireless Controller. Some versions of Windows list it as Wireless Controller.
4. When Windows says it's connected, click this page and press a button.

Over Bluetooth on a Mac

1. Hold Create and the PS button until the light bar flashes.
2. Open System Settings → Bluetooth, find DualSense Wireless Controller and click Connect.
3. Click this page and press a button.

To use the controller with your PS5 again, connect it to the console with a USB cable and press the PS button. The console pairs with it again.

What a browser can and can't check on a DualSense

• Touchpad. Pressing the pad down is one button, usually button 17 in Chrome and Edge. Browsers don't pass on where your finger is, so swipes and multi-finger touches can't be tested in a browser.
• Mute button. Most browsers don't report it, so it never lights up here. That doesn't mean it's broken: on a PS5, it glows orange when the microphone is muted.
• Adaptive triggers. The test reads how far L2 and R2 travel, from 0 to 1. A browser's controller support has no way to switch on the trigger resistance, so the effect itself only shows in games and apps that use it.
• Haptics and rumble. Chrome, Edge and Safari 16.4 or later on a Mac can send a simple two-motor rumble to controllers that accept it; Firefox can't. The detailed haptic effects PS5 games use aren't available to web pages.
• Light bar and player lights. Web pages can't change them, so the test doesn't check them.
• Motion sensors, speaker and headset jack. A browser's controller support doesn't include them, so they can't be tested here.

What the results mean for a DualSense

A button works if it lights up while you press it and goes dark when you let go. A button that needs a hard press, or works only when pressed from one side, is wearing out. The touchpad click and the PS button are easy to forget, so press them too.

DualSense sticks report 256 positions on each axis, so their readings move in steps of about 0.008, and a centered stick can read a few thousandths away from 0. That's normal. The drift test calls a stick normal when it rests less than 0.03 from center, slight drift from 0.03 to 0.08 and severe drift above that, and suggests a dead zone: the furthest reading plus 0.02. If a stick drifts, How to fix controller stick drift covers dead zones, cleaning, repair and the DualSense Edge's replaceable stick modules.

L2 and R2 should rise smoothly from 0 to 1.00 on a slow press and fall back to 0 when you let go. A trigger that stops short of 1.00 may be blocked by dirt or a worn spring; one that skips part of its travel may have a worn sensor. Run the drift test too: it also checks that both triggers read 0 at rest.