Controller Deadzone Test
See where your stick rests and the smallest push it reports.
At rest
0.0%
Smallest detected
—
X / Y
0.00 / 0.00
Controller
none detected
Let go of the stick to read the resting value, then push it as gently as you can to find the smallest movement that registers. The dashed rings mark 10% and 25%, the deadzones games commonly apply — a resting value outside the inner ring is drift rather than deadzone.
Your test runs locally in your browser. No device data is uploaded.
How to use the deadzone test
Connect the controller and press a button so the browser exposes it, then start the test. Let go of the stick completely to read its resting position, then push it as gently as you can to find the smallest movement that produces a reading. Switch sticks with the buttons underneath.
What the rings mean
The dashed rings mark 10% and 25% of full deflection, which is the range most games use for their own deadzone. A stick resting inside the inner ring is normal and any game will ignore it. A stick resting outside it is drifting, and that is what the stick drift test looks at specifically.
The smallest detected reading is the more interesting number for precision. A stick that only starts reporting at 15% of its travel gives you far less fine control near centre than one that reports at 3%, regardless of what any game does on top.
Hardware deadzone against game deadzone
This test applies no deadzone of its own, so you are seeing what the controller reports. Games layer their own on top, which is why a controller that looks slightly noisy here can feel perfect in play, and why raising a game's deadzone setting is usually the right fix for mild drift.
It also explains the opposite case. A game with a very small or disabled deadzone will expose movement this test treats as ordinary jitter, which is when a controller that seems fine everywhere else suddenly feels unusable.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a deadzone?
- A band around centre that is treated as no input at all. Games apply one so a slightly off-centre stick does not cause constant unwanted movement. This test shows the hardware underneath it: what the stick reports at rest, and the smallest push that produces any reading.
- What resting value is normal?
- Close to zero, with a little jitter. The dashed rings mark 10% and 25%, the deadzones games commonly use. A stick that sits outside the inner ring when released has drift rather than deadzone, and the stick drift test covers that specifically.
- Why does my game still drift when this looks fine?
- Games with a very small or disabled deadzone expose movement this test treats as normal jitter. If a game drifts and the resting value here is near zero, raising that game's deadzone setting usually fixes it.