How to Fix Left Joystick Drift on a DualShock PS4 Controller Without Soldering

Written By: Anubhab Rahman

Comments: 25

How to Fix Left Joystick Drift on a DualShock PS4 Controller Without Soldering

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

20 - 45 minutes

Introduction

If your PS4 DualShock Controller is having the drifting joystick problem which is common—automatically moving without touch, becomes stuck once touched—use this guide to repair the issue without any soldering, which many people may not have experience in.

The controller will have to be dismantled completely so that the left joystick can be cleaned and worked on. This simple repair with minimal knowledge is an easy fix. P.S. the gloves are not required to wear when the controller is being worked on.

Tools

Step 1

Remove the four 6.0 mm screws on the back shell of the PS4 controller using the Phillips #00 screwdriver.

Step 2

Detach the back shell from the rest of the body by pulling the front shell and back shell apart simultaneously.

Step 3

Be very gentle when completely detaching the back shell because the blue ribbon could be damaged.
Lightly pull the blue ribbon to separate the back shell and the front shell.
The front shell housing the circuit board will be dismantled further.

Step 4

Remove the battery connector from the motherboard by pressing the two sides and pulling on the connecter in an upwards direction.
Be careful not to rip the black or red cables from the connector while removing the cables.

Step 5

Use the Phillips #00 screwdriver to remove the single 6.0 mm screw attached to the circuit board.
Once the screw is removed the battery holder is loosened, which allows for the holder to be removed by pulling it upwards.
Remove the battery cable.

Step 6

Detach the cable from the circuit board by pulling upwards.
Pull the circuit board away from the front shell so it is completely detached from all other parts.

Bis hier hin, bin ich gefolgt. Ich habe von diese Punkt an die Kontaktflächen der Druckschalter gereinigt, ( Isopropanol). Mit Wattestäbchen vorsichtig abgewischt. im abgenommenen Deckel die Silikonschablone mit den Gegenkontakten abgezogen und gereinigt (Isopropanol) und die Kunststoffknöpfe aus der Deckelhalbschale gedrückt. Danach alle Knöpfe und die Laufhülsen gereinigt ( Malzbier/Zucker entfernt) und wieder zusammengesetzt. Beim nächsten mal reinigen würde ich jetzt noch einen Stoß Teflonspray in die Hülsen geben. Nun alles rückwärts wieder zusammensetzen. Danke für die gute Beschreibung. (MaC)

Martin Carstensen -

Step 7

Remove the left joystick by pulling it upwards until it pops off.

Step 8

On each of the green chambers, there is a gap that separates the sliver body and the green chambers.
Use the flathead screwdriver to pry open the green chambers by sticking the tip of the flathead screwdriver in between the gap and pushing inwards.
Pry open very gently so the green chambers do not snap/break away from the circuit board.

Step 9

Once the chambers are open, use tweezers to grab and remove the white disk from each of the chambers.
Take a Q-tip and dip it in some 90% isopropyl alcohol.
Use the soaked Q-tip to clean the chambers thoroughly.
Let the green chambers dry for about 5-10 minutes before resuming the reassembly.

The white disk is an intricate part. Each contains 2 semi-circular <0.5 mm thick wires which are exposed and elevated, and serve to relay proportional motion to the motherboard, Do not tug, pull, press or break any of them as that may cause that plane of motion to be permanently disabled / enabled.

Ming L -

I just took apart my controller to clean out the analog part because I have a bad drift in my left analog and it's making me crazy. So I have all the screws in one spot and the white disks together in another I'm organized when I do this type of stuff, but when I looked again I only had 3 disks. There are 4 chambers and I'm positive that I took 4 disks out, but now I'm trying to convince myself there were only 3 to begin with which I know is wrong. Can anyone confirm if there are 3 or 4.

Tommy Levins -

There are 4. One for vertical and one horizontal for each analog.

This is why I do them one at a time. No point leaving the chambers open so that dust ir other things can collect in them while you work on the others, plus in just reduces the risk of misplacing or damaging one of the disks.

Clean one, place disk back in, snap shut, onto the next one. And only bother doing both sticks if both have a problem, don't fix what isn't broken. You want to open these chambers as little as possible as each time you do, the solder gets weaker and weaker from bending. Do this too much and you'll end up having to replace the entire analog stick.

darkseany223 -

For that matter, don't even clean both chambers on one analog if it's only Drifting in one single direction.

For example If it's drifting straight down with no diagonal tilt to it, there's no need to bother with both.

Just remember that the chamber on the SIDE controls vertical and the chamber on the TOP controls horizontal. So in this case, clean the one on the side as it is the source of the downward drift.

darkseany223 - 22/04/23

With my Dualshock 4 controller, the drift problem was not resolved after cleaning the disks and chambers. On a second try, I switched the disks on the joystick (disk from left chamber went into top chamber and vice versa) and that resolved the drift problems for me. Or I cleaned better the second time, could also be.

Johan -

Always keep your busted remotes. Never know when a spare part can come in handy. Ribbon cable stop working or fried battery? Thumbstick rubber peeling off? Tried to fix a drifting mote but accidently bent the metal on one of the discs? Snag em from your old dead water damaged remote.

Frankenstiening motes has saved me hundreds.

darkseany223 -

Step 10

Place the two white disks back into the green chamber using the tweezers.
Close both chambers by pressing hard towards the sliver box until they click in.

When putting those discs back in place be very careful not to bend the semi circular “springs” out of shape. If they get out of shape they will need replacing. Also, make sure that both clips on the disc pass through the hole on the plasic chamber. It may appear to “click” back into place but the chamber won’t sit right and this will affect the efficacy of the repair.

Richard Donaghue -

Hello, my discs were black and not white, but it must depend on the version of the controller. However, the circular spring of the disc seems to me to be in bad condition, not quite flat. Is this normal? Also, where can I get some?

Pierre Toscane -

Step 11

Take the left joystick and put it back on until the click is heard which confirms that the joystick is firmly held on.

Step 12

Loop the cable connecter into the circuit board hole from the front shell to attach both parts.
I personally used tweezers to get the cable connecter from the front shell to the circuit board.
Place the connecter into its socket and press downwards to connect it back.

Step 13

Take the battery holder and place the pegs into the hole for the proper alignment.
Replace the 6.0 mm screw onto the battery holder back using the Phillips #00 screwdriver so the battery holder can be held firmly in place with the circuit board.

Step 14

Place the battery into the holder.
Connect the red and black wire of the battery into the socket by pressing downwards.

Step 15

Place the ribbon attached to the back shell on the circuit board and press down so both compartments get attached.

I had a controller where an attempt was made to repair and they replaced this ribbon back to front. Needless to say it wouldn’t work at all. Just make sure the metal bits of the ribbon are on the side of the contacts.

Richard Donaghue -

Step 16

Snap the front shell and back shell together.
Screw the four 6.0 mm Phillips screws on the back shell screw holders using the Phillips #00 screwdriver.
Your controller should be all ready!

Author

Anubhab Rahman

Member since: 17/01/21

2242 Reputation

15 comments

does this work with the right joystick too?

long tran -

Yes! Both sticks seems to be identical. Did my right one and it fixed the drift.

raltamimi0001 -

i fix my brothers ds4 with your tutorial. Thank you very much.

Bryan Avila -

Thank you so much for this amazingly well made guide. I just fixed my PS4 controller and it surprised me how well it works, absolutely no drift whatsoever. I should note that i’ve done the same steps on the right stick as it’s the one broken for me.

raltamimi0001 -

I just followed the guide and the drift problem is gone! A really throughout guide with all the details and warnings. Thank you for this.

Diego Costa -

This works. Thanks to the poster, bought some really cheap controllers off facebook and repaired them following this. Thank you!

Manu facturer -

dident try but man the comments look pleasing though i wont do it cuz im not ryna break it and i dont havbe 90% isopropyl alcohol but yeh look good enough

Hamza Dardar -

Would regular rubbing alcohol work instead of isopropyl?

heezkd -

Both ethanol and isopropyl are very suitable, although isopropyl will evaporate less quickly and leave less residue. Ethanol is often used to clean glass, while isopropyl is more often used in the production of electronics.

Toon Konings -

Lo hice, y me anduvo muchísimo peor, al punto que lo tuve que tirar. Algo debo haber hecho mal. La guía 10 puntos, igual. Abrazo.

Gaston Gherardi -

Thank you for this tutorial which works perfectly. I managed to make my son's Dualshocks look young again. Be careful, the part where you have to open the green covers is very complicated. Be thorough. In addition to the iso alcohol, I added a special contact product

cyril.blot -

What’s the special contact product you used does it help

Sharon Denise Keef -

What should I do if there is still a drift in my controller even after fixing it like you said

Umamah Shakeel -

Is there away to prevent this from happening to being with

Sharon Denise Keef -

Is there anything that can be gone to prevent this from happening it’s getting old having to do this so often

Sharon Denise Keef -