How to Fix Xbox One Wireless Controller Drift

Written By: Julian Echevarria
  • Comments: 21
How to Fix Xbox One Wireless Controller Drift

Difficulty

Easy

Steps

5

Time Required

5 minutes

Introduction

Growing up, I have always played Xbox, and one problem that I've consistently had has to do with the joysticks of the controllers. The problem that I experience the most is referred to as a drift stick, which is when your character in the game moves or looks around when you're not touching the controller. This can become extremely frustrating in first and third person video games, and make it difficult to play well. I decided to create this guide to help others running into the same issue. Fixing the problem doesn't take long, and you only need 70% isopropyl alcohol, and a few cotton balls.

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    • Remove the batteries from the controller.

    • If you are using a wired controller, disconnect the wire.

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    • Pour 70% isopropyl alcohol on the tip of a cotton ball.

    • Keep the item away from children and avoid touching your face and open wounds while using it.

    I only have 91 isoproyl alcohol

    Linus Shoup -

    91 is perfect. I would avoid using rubbing alcohol (70%). In general for electronic devices you would use minimum 91% Isopropyl Alcohol. This will flash off much faster and create better cleaning action, and leave less water residue (i.e. the other 30% of rubbing alcohol)

    OnePhatMutha -

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    • Rub the cotton ball all along the edges of the thumbstick.

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    • Let the controller dry for 40-60 seconds.

    • Repeat Steps 2-4 two more times or until the thumbstick no longer drifts.

    Again, I don't recommend rubbing alcohol at all, but if you do, it is important to allow a good time to dry before putting the batteries back in. Dirty sticks aren't the only cause of stick drifting, if it is that, do the job properly and take the faceplate off and clean the parts thoroughly. You can also inspect the pot and solder contacts which is another common cause of this problem.

    OnePhatMutha -

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    • Connect your controller and see if there are any drift stick problems on any game.

    My brother and i tried this and the drift is still happening any other solutions you may recommend for us?

    Mat1da C -

    I tried this but with 50% isophyl and a cotton swab instead since it was the closest i had. It worked but not for long, how long would it last if i got 70% isophyl and a cotton ball?

    Supreme 7XII -

    Völliger Quatsch, da sieht man das du kein Plan hast wodurch ein Stick-drift zu Stande kommt !!!

    Orginal 68er -

    I tried this for my son’s controller- it did nothing, I came across a software driftaline that did job within seconds saved me from buying a new controller

    Sophie29 -

    Le problème se résout par remplacement des potentiomètres du Joystick en défaut ! Unique solution pour une précision comme au premier jour.

    Les potentiomètres sont les boîtiers verts se trouvant collés au module joystick. Il y en a deux, des 10K chacun. Un pour l'axe des "x", un pour l'axe des "y".

    Ils possèdent à l'intérieur deux bandes de graphite qui s'usent très vite..

    Je remplace moi même mes potentiomètres et après à peine 1 mois de jeux, le problème revient toujours par usure.. !

    Ça rend fou !

    Ce sont les potentiomètres qui sont mals conçus.. Vous aurez donc toujours des problèmes de manette.

    Vidéo de l'usure, de ma réparation visible sur mon tiktok :

    Belgian_dreams

    Bonne galère à tous !

    David Dungelhoeff -

    I tried it with 50 percent instead of 70 and ear swabs it worked of 1 minute but then it went back to normal i tried it again it went closer to the x

    Jovon Page -

    No mi amigo lo que necesito saber es como repararlo no como limpiarlo

    Vic -

    ITS bullshi....

    A Drift comes From INSIDE Behind The Stick Front!! U must Open the Controller and clean the electric/mechanic Behind The Stick, Button or Trigger!!!

    Your way ist a normal optical cleaning !!!!and Not a Drift fix!!!!

    marcel schoenen -

Conclusion

After fixing the controller, if there are any more problems, later on, repeat the same process to have it working again.

Author

Julian Echevarria

Member since: 26/01/22

384 Reputation

10 comments

would hand sanitizer be a good substitute?

just me -

Personally wouldn't recommend using hand sanitizer. IPA of various concentrations is already cheap and readily available in every pharmacy section, or a can of WD-40 Specialist Contact Cleaner is also around $5. In theory, hand sanitizer would "work" if it's ethanol/isopropyl alcohol based, but there's such a broad range of hand sanitizers, it would be irresponsible to make a blanket statement that they're all safe/unsafe for electronics. For example, many brands include fragrances, moisturizers, vitamin-E, etc. to keep your hands from excessively drying out, which can end up leaving residue and gumming up your electronics' contacts further.

SPARTAN VI -

I had actually been dumb enough not to look this up, so I just replaced the thumb sticks and it had made it better, but it didn't fix it. Any recommendations? I've had the controller since around 2016 or 2017. Original controller that came with the xbox.

Chill Doggo -

The original Xbox one controller is notorious for getting stick drift. Only way to fix that one is the re-Solder the thumb stick back on. Like remove it and re-solder it.

Carlos Ramos -

THANK YOU!!!! Bruh….thank you.

Nick Ikombe -

Thank you for this guide! My controller was having issues with drift and the sticks weren’t responsive. Using alcohol helped with drift and blowing into the controller itself helped clean the dust.

Nabeel Kamal -

I've been like forcefully pushing the sticks in thinking it was because it was stuck funny, for years x_x thank you sm for this

Melina Sterling -

It's very unlikely that applying isopropyl alcohol this way will actually get under the joystick caps and into the stick's box itself. I'd recommend taking off the front shell and the caps. It's only held down by 5x T9 screws, pop the faceplate off, pop the joystick caps off, and get some 99% isopropyl alcohol (or BW-100 of WD-40 specialist contact cleaner) directly into the stick housings themselves.

SPARTAN VI -

Does it have to be 70% Isopropyl rubbing alcohol or will any percent do? I only have 50% and 91% in my cabinet, no 71%

Mark Baltazar -

Does this also work on Xbox Series X controllers?

Aaron -