Gamepad test
Press any button on your controller to start.
Connect a controller and press any button on it — browsers only show a controller after a button press
Nothing leaves your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. What you type, play or record here stays on your device: nothing is uploaded or saved on a server.
Example
Example: telling stick drift from a stick that is fine
A controller whose character creeps forward in games, connected by USB. Press a button, then leave both sticks alone for a second. The page reads: left stick x 0.08 · y −0.13, right stick x 0.02 · y 0.01. Dead zone: 0.1, the default.
- The resting offset is the distance from the centre: √(0.08² + 0.13²) ≈ 0.15 for the left stick, 0.02 for the right.
- The left stick rests outside the dashed 0.1 circle, so it reads “Drift 0.15”; the right one reads “No drift”.
- Set the dead zone to 0.2 and the left stick reads No drift too: that is the dead zone a game would need to ignore it.
| Resting at (x · y) | Offset | Dead zone 0.1 | 0.15 | 0.2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.02 · 0.01 | 0.02 | No drift | No drift | No drift |
| 0.05 · 0.06 | 0.08 | No drift | No drift | No drift |
| 0.08 · −0.13 | 0.15 | Drift 0.15 | Drift 0.15 | No drift |
| 0.21 · 0.05 | 0.22 | Drift 0.22 | Drift 0.22 | Drift 0.22 |
The left stick drifts by about 0.15, enough to walk a character in a game with a 0.1 dead zone. A dead zone of 0.2 in the game’s settings hides it until the stick is cleaned or repaired.
How it works
- Connect the controller by USB or Bluetooth and press any button: it appears on the page.
- Press every button and pull the triggers — each lights up, the triggers fill with how far they are pulled. Move the sticks around the edge.
- Let go of the sticks for a second: if the dot rests outside the dashed circle, the stick drifts. Press Vibrate to test the rumble.
Frequently asked questions
- What is stick drift?
- A worn stick that reports movement when you are not touching it — your character walks or the camera turns by itself. The test measures where the stick rests; outside the dead zone means drift.
- What is the dead zone?
- The small area around the centre that games ignore, so slight wear doesn’t move anything. If the resting dot stays inside it, games won’t notice; raise the dead zone in the game’s settings if it doesn’t.
- Why doesn’t my controller show up?
- Browsers only reveal a controller after you press a button on it. If it still doesn’t appear, reconnect it or try another browser; some controllers need their PC mode or a driver.
- Why doesn’t vibration work?
- Not every browser can make every controller vibrate; some report success even when nothing shakes. If Vibrate does nothing here, the rumble may still work in games.
- What do the numbers under each stick mean?
- Where the stick is, from −1 to 1 on each axis: x runs from left (−1) to right (1), y from up (−1) to down (1), and 0 · 0 is the centre. A healthy stick at rest reads within a few hundredths of 0.
- Why does it only judge drift after I let go?
- Because drift is measured at rest: no button pressed and the stick within 0.04 of one spot for a full second, nearer the centre than 0.6. A thumb never holds that still, so a stick in use is never mistaken for one that drifts.
- Is anything sent anywhere?
- No. The test runs in your browser; nothing is recorded or uploaded.