Used Controller Check
Buying second-hand? Run this before you hand over the money. It takes about two minutes and produces a report you can keep as evidence.
Used Controller Check
A fast inspection before you buy a second-hand controller
- Connection check
- Resting stick drift
- Buttons
- Triggers
- Stick range
- Report
You can skip any step. Anything that is skipped or unsupported is marked “Not available in this browser” and lowers only the diagnostic confidence, never the score unfairly.
Controller status
No Controller Detected
Connect your controller using USB or Bluetooth and press any button.
- Browsers only reveal a pad after it sends its first input — press a face button or move a stick.
- Both USB and Bluetooth work. If nothing appears at all, reconnect the controller and press a button with this page focused.
- Some remapping tools claim the pad before the browser sees it. If nothing shows up, try closing them and reloading.
- Chrome or Edge expose the most controller features, including vibration.
Test history
Saved on this device only — no account, nothing uploaded
No saved results yet. Finish a health check and choose “Save to history” to compare before and after, USB against Bluetooth, or one controller against another.
Troubleshooting
Controller not detected? Work through this checklist
Nine checks covering focus, cables, Bluetooth pairing, background software, DS4Windows virtual controllers and browser support — open it only if your controller is not showing up.
What to check first
Drift is the fault that most often hides in a used pad, because it only shows when nobody is touching the sticks. Run the resting measurement before anything else.
Then press every button once, pull both triggers to their stops, and rotate each stick around its edge. Those four checks catch the large majority of worn controllers.
Keep the evidence
Download the report card before you complete the purchase. It is dated, names the controller and records every measurement, which is useful if you need to return the pad or raise a dispute.
If you are the seller, the same report is a straightforward way to show a buyer that the sticks and buttons behave.
Frequently asked questions
- What should I insist on testing in person?
- Resting drift on both sticks, every face and shoulder button, both triggers reaching full travel, and both sticks reaching their full range in all directions.
- The seller only has Bluetooth available. Is that enough?
- It is usable. Bluetooth updates less often, so treat borderline drift readings as worth retesting over USB later.
- How much drift should make me walk away?
- A steady resting offset above roughly 0.04 will be noticeable while playing and generally means a stick module replacement.
- Can I test a controller on a phone?
- Often yes, over Bluetooth in a mobile browser, but support is patchier than on a laptop. A wired test on a computer is the more reliable check.
Continue testing
- Controller Health CheckRun a guided full diagnostic and get a transparent controller health score with per-category results, a confidence level and a downloadable report card.
- Controller Stick Drift TestRun a timed resting measurement on both analog sticks. See average, median, peak and 95th percentile offset, plus a clear verdict on whether your controller is drifting.
- test a used controller
- Controller Button TestGuided gamepad button tester. Press each button once and see which ones register, which never respond and which appear to be sticking.
GamePadTestLab reports what your browser can see. It cannot repair stick drift, certify hardware, or read a controller's firmware. Read the testing methodology for exactly how each figure is calculated and where it stops being reliable.