Stick Drift TestIs your stick drifting?
Measure it in 3 seconds.
Connect your controller, let go of both sticks and press Test for drift. You'll see exactly how far each stick rests from center.
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Controller input is processed locally in your browser and is not uploaded.
Stick drift
Let go of both sticks and do not touch the controller for 3 seconds.
Left stick
0.000, 0.000Connect a controller to measure.
Right stick
0.000, 0.000Connect a controller to measure.
The dead zone slider only changes this display; raw values are always shown. Controller hardware, browser mapping and calibration can all affect readings, so treat results as a measurement, not a diagnosis. Ratings: under 2% excellent, 2–5% minor, 5–10% moderate, 10%+ significant.
Stick range
Roll each stick slowly around its outer edge.
Left stick
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- Right0%
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Right stick
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A direction counts as reached at 90% travel. Many sticks read slightly past 100% on diagonals; a stick that stops well short in one direction may be worn or obstructed.
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Y +0.000
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Buttons tested
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Controller check
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Results appear here as you test: buttons, both sticks, triggers and vibration.
This summary only reports what the browser observed. It can't detect every hardware fault, and readings depend on the browser, driver and connection.
Vibration
Connect a controller to check vibration support.
Raw input
No controller connected.
What stick drift is
An analog stick measures its position with sensors — usually potentiometers, sometimes Hall-effect magnets. When those sensors wear, get dirty or lose calibration, the stick reports a position other than center while it's untouched. That's drift.
In games it usually looks like one of these:
- the camera slowly turns on its own,
- your character walks or creeps when you're not touching the stick,
- menus scroll by themselves,
- aim pulls slightly in one direction.
Drift can also be intermittent: fine one minute, then noticeable after the stick is flicked hard. That's why it helps to run the test a few times, including right after moving the stick around.
How the browser drift test works
- You press Test for drift and take your hands off the controller.
- A 3-second countdown gives you time to let go completely.
- For 3 seconds it records both sticks' X and Y values on every frame, usually 150–180 samples.
- It averages those samples to find the neutral position, then measures its distance from true center. That distance is the neutral offset.
It also records the peak (the furthest single reading) and how much the reading wandered. If the stick moved during sampling, the test is marked invalid and no drift rating is given. A resting position can't be measured while the stick is moving, so just run it again hands-off.
How to interpret neutral offset
Stick values run from −1 to +1 on each axis, so an offset of 0.05 means the stick rests 5% of its full travel away from center. The test labels results like this:
- Under 2% — Excellent. Very small neutral offset. Typical of a healthy stick.
- 2–5% — Minor offset. Normal for many used controllers; almost every game will ignore it.
- 5–10% — Moderate offset. Games with small or adjustable dead zones may pick it up.
- 10% and above — Significant offset. Consistent with drift you'll likely notice in games.
What dead zone means
A dead zone is a radius around center where a game treats stick input as zero. It hides the small offset every stick has at rest. For reference, Microsoft's XInput documentation suggests default dead zones of roughly 24% for the left stick and 27% for the right, though many modern games use much smaller ones for precision.
The slider in the drift card draws a dead zone on each target so you can see whether your stick's resting point falls inside it. It doesn't change the measurement. If your offset sits comfortably inside the dead zone your game uses, you won't feel it. If it sits outside, you will — and raising the dead zone in the game's settings is often a workable short-term fix.
If you find drift
- Rotate the stick firmly around its full range a few times, then test again. Debris sometimes shifts.
- Check the controller's own calibration tools (on Windows, some drivers include one).
- Increase the in-game dead zone if the game allows it.
- Check whether the controller is still under warranty before opening it.
- Use the stick range card to confirm the stick still reaches full travel in every direction.
Frequently asked questions
How much stick drift is normal?
A resting offset of a few percent is normal, even on new controllers. Offsets under 2% are excellent; under 5% are rarely noticed. Anything above 10% is likely to show up in games.
Why does the test ask me not to touch the controller?
Drift is only meaningful when the stick is untouched. Even resting a thumb lightly on a stick can move it a few percent, which would look like drift.
My stick shows drift here but not in games. Why?
Games apply a dead zone that hides small offsets. The browser shows the raw value, so it can reveal an offset that your games are already filtering out.
Can the browser test fix drift?
No. A web page can only read the controller, not recalibrate or repair it. The test tells you how large the offset is so you can decide what to do.
Does the result depend on the connection?
It can. Drivers, remapping software and different browsers may process stick values slightly differently. If you're unsure, compare USB and Bluetooth or test in a second browser.