Controller guides

Short, practical explanations of the things the diagnostics measure — written so you can act on a result rather than just look at it. Every guide ends in the matching test.

• How much stick drift is normal?

  Every analog stick reports a little movement at rest. Here is how to tell ordinary sensor noise apart from real controller stick drift, with the numbers to look for.

• What is controller deadzone?

  Deadzone explained in plain language: what it does, how to choose a value, why lower is not always better, and how it relates to stick drift.

• How to test a used controller before you buy

  A short checklist for inspecting a second-hand gamepad: resting drift, every button, full trigger travel and complete stick range — in about two minutes.

• USB vs Bluetooth for controller testing

  How connection type changes what a browser sees from your controller: update rate, jitter, vibration support and why wired testing gives cleaner readings.

• Controller not detected in the browser

  Why a connected gamepad sometimes does not appear on a web page, and the ordered checklist that fixes it: focus, first input, cables, pairing, Steam Input and browser choice.