PS4 Controller Test

Connect a DualShock 4, press any button and it lights up on a PlayStation-shaped diagram with PS4 names: ✕ ○ □ △, L1 R1, L2 R2, Share, Options, the d-pad, L3 R3, the PS button and the touchpad click. The triggers show their analog travel from 0.00 to 1.00 and each stick panel reports its rest offset, so a drifting PS4 stick is visible in seconds. The layout is locked to PlayStation on this page, with index 8 labelled Share as it is on the pad; Generic shows plain index numbers.

Both revisions of the DualShock 4 work, over a USB data cable or Bluetooth, in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. Chrome and Edge also expose the touchpad click and rumble; the other two read buttons, triggers and sticks only. The tool runs entirely on the browser's Gamepad API, so nothing is installed and nothing is uploaded. The general gamepad tester on the home page is the same tool with automatic layout detection.

How to test a PS4 controller

Plug the DualShock 4 in with a micro-USB cable that carries data, or pair it over Bluetooth, then press any button so the browser reveals it. The status line shows the controller's name, 18 buttons, 4 axes and the current report rate. Press each face button, both bumpers, both triggers to the end of their travel, every d-pad direction, Share and Options, both stick clicks, the PS button and a firm press on the touchpad. The Not pressed yet list empties as you go and the counter reads 18 of 18 when every control has registered.

If the pad appears under a different name, or the PS button opens Steam's overlay instead of lighting up, another program has taken it. Close DS4Windows, or turn off its option to hide the real controller, and disable Steam Input for PlayStation controllers while you test. With those out of the way the browser talks to the DualShock 4 directly and the labels match the pad.

DualShock 4 V1 and V2: which one do you have?

Sony shipped two revisions and they test identically, but the differences explain a few things people run into. The original V1 (model CUH-ZCT1, product ID 05c4) came with the launch PS4. The V2 (CUH-ZCT2, product ID 09cc) arrived with the PS4 Slim and Pro and is the one sold new since 2016.

The visible tell is the light bar: on a V2 a thin strip of it shows through the top edge of the touchpad, on a V1 it is only on the back edge. The V2 also sends controller data over USB to a PS4 console, where a V1 only charges; on a PC both revisions send data over USB and Bluetooth. The product ID in the raw data header, 05c4 or 09cc, settles it without looking at the pad.

PS4 Share button, touchpad and the standard mapping

The browser reports buttons by index and this page relabels them with DualShock 4 names. Share sits at index 8, the same slot the DualSense uses for Create, so games and remapping tools treat the two as one button. The touchpad click is index 17 in Chrome and Edge, and pressing anywhere on the pad surface until it clicks lights the touchpad on the diagram; finger position and swipes never reach the browser.

The DualShock 4 is a DirectInput device rather than XInput, which is why older PC games ignored it without a wrapper. Browsers do not care: Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari all recognise the DS4 and give it the standard 18-button mapping, so you can test it here without DS4Windows or Steam. The raw data grid at the bottom shows every index live if a tool or support agent asks for the numbers.

How does the DualShock 4 differ from the DualSense in a test?

If you also own a PS5 pad, the two look almost the same on this page, and the differences are worth knowing before you compare results.

• Same mapping, one label. Both report 18 buttons and 4 axes in the same order. Index 8 is Share on the DS4 and Create on the DualSense; everything else, including the touchpad click at 17, matches.
• Plain triggers. L2 and R2 on the DualShock 4 are ordinary analog triggers with a spring, so there is no adaptive resistance to miss. What the bar shows is the whole story of the trigger.
• Micro-USB, not USB-C. The DS4 port is the fragile micro-USB type and the pad only ships with a short cable. Charge-only cables are the most common reason a DS4 charges but never appears in the tester.
• Lower report rate. The DS4 reports less often than the DualSense over USB, and both drop further over Bluetooth. A lower Hz on the status line than a PS5 pad shows is normal, not a fault.
• Smaller battery, no browser readout. The 1,000 mAh cell lasts a few hours between charges. The browser cannot show the charge level; check it in the operating system's Bluetooth settings, which do report it.
• Same calibration route. Like the DualSense, the DS4 stores its stick centre in the controller and can be recalibrated from the browser, something no Xbox pad can do.

The PS5 controller test covers the DualSense-only features a browser cannot read, such as the adaptive triggers and the gyroscope.

Common DualShock 4 problems the test reveals

It charges but nothing appears. The light bar glows orange, so the cable carries power, but the tester never shows the pad. That is a charge-only micro-USB cable; use one that syncs a phone. If a known data cable also fails, the port on the pad may be worn, and Bluetooth is the way to test it.

Bluetooth will not pair or keeps dropping. Hold Share and the PS button until the light bar double-blinks white, then pick Wireless Controller in the computer's Bluetooth list. A pad that keeps reconnecting to a nearby PS4 instead needs that console switched off. Dropouts during the test, where buttons stop registering for a moment, usually mean a weak adapter or a USB 3 port radiating interference next to it; try a cable to confirm the pad itself is fine.

Sticks drift. Let go of both sticks and read the rest offset. Under 5% is normal and hidden by game dead zones; over 10% turns the panel red and will move the camera on its own. The DS4 is old enough that worn potentiometers are the most common fault on it, and the stick drift test grades the offset over ten seconds so you can see whether cleaning helped.

A button needs a hard press. The DualShock 4 uses rubber membranes over contact pads, and after years of use the membrane under one face button loses its snap. A button that lights only when you press hard, or lights on the second try, is a worn membrane rather than a dead switch, and replacement rubber sets are cheap.

Fixing a drifting DualShock 4 stick

Clean first: compressed air and a little isopropyl alcohol worked around the stick base clear the dust that causes a mild offset. If the offset stays between 5% and 10%, a dead zone in the game hides it. If it stays higher, recalibrate: the sister tool at dualshockcalibrationgui.com connects to the DualShock 4 in the browser and rewrites the stick centre, which removes a steady offset without opening the shell. When drift returns within weeks the carbon track is worn and the stick module needs replacing; the guide on how to fix stick drift walks through every step and when to give up on a module.

For an Xbox pad, the Xbox controller test uses the XInput names and explains why those sticks cannot be recalibrated.