Gamepad test
The gamepad test tracks all buttons and sticks, plus a stick drift test and a rumble test. No install needed.
Runs in your browser. Test data stays on your device.
- Controller
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- Buttons tested
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- Not tested
- Tested
- Held now
- Left stick drift
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- Right stick drift
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- Suggested dead zone
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- Vibration
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How to use the gamepad test
- Connect your controller by USB cable or Bluetooth. On a phone or tablet, pair it in the system’s Bluetooth settings first.
- Click Start gamepad test, then press any button on the controller. Browsers show a controller to a page only after you press a button on it.
- Press every button once and move both sticks all the way round. A button’s dashed outline turns solid once it has worked, and Buttons tested counts them. Triggers show how far they are pressed, from 0.00 to 1.00.
- Put the controller down, let go of the sticks and click Measure drift. The measurement takes 2 seconds.
- Click Test rumble to feel both vibration motors for half a second.
With more than one controller connected, pick one in the Controller list; its results start from zero. If a controller drops out, the test keeps its results, and pressing a button after you reconnect carries on. Click Stop test when you are done. The test also stops when you switch to another tab or leave the page.
What the results mean
Drift, dead zone and reach are percentages of a stick’s full travel.
| Result | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Buttons tested: all, such as 17 / 17 | Every button the controller reports has responded at least once. | Nothing to fix. |
| Buttons tested: fewer than the total | The outlines that stay dashed belong to buttons that never registered. They may be worn out or stuck, or the controller may not report them. | Press them again, hard. If they stay dashed, clean or repair the button. |
| Stick drift: up to 10%, No drift | The stick rests within a normal distance of the center. | Nothing to fix. |
| Stick drift: more than 10%, Drift | The stick rests off-center by more than a small default dead zone covers, so a game may see movement you did not make. | Raise the dead zone in the game to the suggested value, then clean or repair the stick. |
| Stick drift: Unsteady | The stick kept moving while it should rest. At least one resting sample strayed more than 20% from the stick’s own average. | Measure again with your hands off the controller. If it repeats, the stick may be worn. |
| Suggested dead zone: 5% to 50% | The smallest dead zone that hides the stick’s resting offset and jitter, plus a 3-percentage-point margin. | Enter it in the game’s controller settings. |
| Suggested dead zone: a dash and the message “Over 50%” | The stick rests so far from the center that no dead zone up to 50% hides it. | Clean, repair or replace the stick. |
| Max reach below 100% | The furthest point the stick reached is below full travel. | Roll it in full circles; if it still falls short, it may not give full speed in games. |
| Vibration: Yes or No | Whether the browser offers this controller’s motors to the page. | See “No vibration” below. |
Stick drift is how far a stick rests from the center while nobody touches it. Healthy sticks rest within a few percent. Many games ship with a default dead zone of about 10–25%, so a larger offset can leak through as movement. The test decides on whole percent, so 10% still reads No drift and 11% reads Drift.
Suggested dead zone shows the larger of the two sticks, for games with a single setting. The line under it gives the left and the right value. When either stick needs more than 50%, the line asks for repair instead.
Max reach shows the furthest distance the stick has traveled, and the outline in each circle shows the range reached in every direction. Sticks with a round range read about 100%, and some controllers with a square-shaped range read above 100% in the corners. The circle also shows the stick’s recent path and the dead-zone ring.
Controller not working?
When the test cannot start, it shows the problem in place of the drawing, with steps to fix it.
Browser not supported
The test needs the browser’s Gamepad API, which current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari offer. If the page says your browser does not support this test, update the browser or open the page in one of them.
Controller not detected
The test waits with “Press any button on the controller” until the browser shows it a controller.
- Press a button on the controller, not a key on the keyboard.
- Use a data cable. Some cables only charge.
- Try another USB port, and plug the controller straight into the computer rather than into a hub.
- Close Steam and other apps that take over controllers, then reload the page.
- If a program adds a virtual controller, pick the right entry in the Controller list.
Bluetooth controller will not connect
Make sure the controller is paired with this device and not with a console nearby. Remove the old pairing in the system’s Bluetooth settings, put the controller in pairing mode and pair it again. Then press a button on it with the test running.
Wrong or missing buttons
If the browser cannot map the controller to the standard layout, the test says “Non-standard layout, raw inputs” and lists every button and axis by number. The drawing, drift measurement, dead zone and reach work only with the standard layout. On Windows, if your controller has an X/D or mode switch, set it to X (XInput) and reconnect it. Otherwise try a cable, another browser, or an update of the controller’s firmware.
Controller disconnected
If the controller drops out during the test, the page says “Controller disconnected” and keeps what you tested. Reconnect it and press any button to carry on. A loose cable, a low battery or the controller going to sleep are the usual causes.
Drift says Unsteady
The stick moved while it was measured. Check that your hands are off the controller and that it lies still, then click Measure drift again. If the result repeats on a controller nobody touches, the stick or its sensor may be faulty.
No vibration
Two messages say why. After you click Test rumble, a notice appears at the top of the drawing: “This browser cannot make a controller vibrate”, “This controller does not offer vibration to the browser” or “The controller did not accept the rumble”. Under the Vibration value, a hint gives the short version: “Not in this browser” or “Not on this controller”. The first means the browser offers no vibration to pages, and the second that the controller does not expose its motors to the browser. The last question below names the browsers that offer vibration.
How we measure
The test reads navigator.getGamepads() on every animation frame, because browsers send no input events for buttons and sticks, and counts a button as held from half its travel or whenever the browser reports it pressed. Drift is measured over 2 seconds of resting samples per stick: the offset is the distance of the average resting position from the center, drift means more than 10% of full travel, and Unsteady means a sample strayed more than 20% from the stick’s own average. A browser cannot see the stick’s mechanics, so it cannot tell a worn sensor from a touch, and it measures drift and reach only for controllers it maps to the standard layout.
Frequently asked questions
Does the gamepad test work with Xbox and PlayStation controllers?
Yes. Current browsers usually map both to the standard layout. Cross, Circle, Square and Triangle match A, B, X and Y, and L1/R1 and L2/R2 are the bumpers and triggers. A controller the browser cannot map is shown as a raw list of numbered buttons and axes, without the drawing and the drift measurement.
Why does the gamepad test not detect my controller?
Usually because the browser has not shown the controller to the page yet, or because the connection is faulty. The test lists the controller in the Controller list as soon as the browser shows it. The Controller not detected and Bluetooth steps above cover cables, USB ports, Bluetooth and Steam.
How do I check my controller for stick drift?
Put the controller on a table, let go of both sticks and click Measure drift. The test judges each stick on its own, so one faulty stick never hides the result of the other. Each stick gets a percentage and a label, either No drift, Drift or Unsteady. The table above gives the thresholds.
Can stick drift be fixed?
Sometimes, for a while. Blow compressed air around the base of the stick and roll it in full circles, then measure again. A larger dead zone in the game hides slight drift. If the drift keeps growing, the stick module needs a repair or a replacement.
What dead zone should I set in a game?
Start from the Suggested dead zone in this test. A dead zone is the part of the stick’s travel near the center that the game ignores, so a larger one hides drift but also ignores small deliberate movements. If the game has a setting for each stick, enter the left and right values from the line under the number. With a single setting, enter the number itself.
Why can’t I feel the vibration in the test?
Usually because your browser or your controller does not pass vibration on to web pages. Chrome and Edge do, while Firefox and Safari on iPhone lack the interface this test uses, and some controllers do not expose their motors to the browser even over a cable. If the Vibration value says Yes and you still feel nothing, try a cable instead of Bluetooth.