Stick Drift Test
Leave your sticks untouched and see whether they still report movement.
Connect a controller and press any button to begin.
Browsers only expose a gamepad after the first input.
Your test runs locally in your browser. No device data is uploaded.
How to use the stick drift test
Connect the controller, press a button so it is detected, then let go completely for thirty seconds and watch the maximum drift values.
What this test checks
Analog sticks report a position even at rest. A healthy stick sits very close to zero, typically under 0.05 after the driver deadzone.
Drift happens when the potentiometers inside the stick module wear down and report a false offset.
Raw axis values are shown so you can see exactly which direction the stick pulls.
Common stick drift problems
Persistent drift above roughly 0.1 causes in-game movement without input. Cleaning around the stick can help, but a worn module usually needs replacing.
Frequently asked questions
- What is stick drift?
- An analog stick that reports movement while you are not touching it. The sensor under the stick wears, so its resting position stops reading as exact centre and the controller keeps sending a small input — which a game reads as you slowly pushing the stick.
- How much movement at rest is normal?
- A small amount of jitter close to zero is normal and every controller has some. What matters is whether the value sits consistently off-centre, or wanders in one direction, rather than hovering around zero. Rest the controller on a flat surface and do not touch it while reading.
- Why does my controller drift in games but look fine here?
- Games apply a dead zone that hides small offsets, and this test deliberately does not, so it should be the more sensitive of the two. If a game drifts and this does not, check that game's own dead zone and sensitivity settings first.
- Can stick drift be fixed?
- Sometimes. Cleaning around the stick with compressed air or isopropyl alcohol clears debris that causes false readings, and some controllers offer a recalibration. Genuine sensor wear needs the stick module replaced — hall effect replacements do not wear the same way.