Let's save some money! - Repairing Broken Controllers 

Important to note with USB wires, no one can seem to agree on the colors that should be used so you should always check with a multimeter what the wires are (unless they're actually labeled or something)

Here's something I came up with after years of fixing and refurbishing old controlers which might also help you: Even after you clean the conductive rubber pads with alcohol, the response might not be the best, the button might need a stronger press or respond a bit later than usual. If you look closer, the pads become shiny after a lot of use and you can actually see some marks that are the result of millions of presses against the copper traces on the PCB. Grab a piece of regular paper and rub the pads against it a couple of times with some preassure. The thin, shiny and less conductive layer should rub off and the pad will have matte look with no reflection as it originally did. You'll find that the response is a lot better.

Important note, if you're replacing a battery and the replacement lipo doesn't have a plastic shell, then put some thin plastic or foam between it and the backside of the PCB. If the solder joints on the back of the PCB poke through the lipo over time because of pressure and vibration, it's gonna let the magic smoke out in the most spectacular way possible o.O

So weird watching Linus talk about these but then have someone else's hands fix the controllers lol, it was a wait a minute moment! I have been Bamboozled. Great video, I have a fair few controllers that need repairing.

10:37 For anyone that will replace lithium batteries like this, make sure to put supportive anti-static cell foam between the circuit board and the battery pack. The pins sticking out of the circuit board can pierce and short the battery if enough pressure is applied (or if the controller is dropped)! Notice how the original battery is in a hard plastic case.

More right to repair content! I love learning about this stuff. It’s a great introduction to fields I never thought I’d be curious about!

Controller library is one of the best resources for GameCube controllers. So happy to see you mention it. There are so many controllers people don’t know exist and the owner spent years cataloging the information. It is/was quite the passion project.

Now this is a type of content I can wholeheartedly get behind. Raising awareness to normies that electronics repair is not some arcane magic for selected few is a good thing in my book. Hardware side of things is very straightforward, as anyone who makes custom controllers will attest that the decent software is the hard part.

Right to repair and reduction of e-waste are both noble goals. It may feel like you were preaching to the choir, but there are enthusiasts who don't realize how easy it can be with a little practice.

How did Linus just straight faced the line "dirty nipples"

I would've loved to see the video touch on the PhobGCC along with the discussion of hall effect sensors. It's an open-source solution to replacing the Gamecube controller's potentiometers with hall effect sensors. One of the best videos from LTT in a long time that touched on one of my favorite hobbies of fixing up old controllers.

I love how the cuts to soldering are someone else's hand. Obviously not the hands of Linus. Me too Linus. Me too. I can't solder worth crap. Unless it's pipe for plumbing. I'm a copper joint soldering wiz lol

I’ve been repairing and refurbishing older controllers for a few years now. Out of all of them, my absolute favorite to service has got to be the Dreamcast controller. Something about the way everything goes together just pleases my brain

I love how during the repair process, linus has lost his watch and his rings 😏 good job on the repairs! It's always satisfying and rewarding fixing your broken tech, highly recommended!

You can use membrane-repair kits to fix broken rubber membranes. It's a hassle but sometimes there's no other option. You can use contact cleaners (like DeoxIT or Stabilant 22) to clean and repair damaged contact pads or potentiometer wipers. If you use isopropyl then be sure you buy "electrical-grade" (99% anhydrous) stuff, not drugstore stuff which usually contains perfumes and other additives which will coat conductors with chemical residues.

I would love to see more Right to Repair videos, and more Controller videos as well. I'd also love to see you guys build some custom controllers if you'd be up for that. I've seen some cool ones Ben Heck made, and some cool fightstick videos on here, and I'd love to see some new projects along that vein.

Just a little heads-up on the PS3 controller: you might as well have popped the board completely, and put some padding on the front of the frame that holds the conductive pads. Sony put some foam there to maintain pressure, but the foam will slowly shrink over the years, resulting in ghost-clicks of your buttons. Add some padding (most of the time 2 or 3 small strips of electrical tape on top of the foam is enough), and you're good for quite a while. It's good preventive maintenance while you've got the controller open anyway. Fixed my PS3 controllers last year, haven't had an issue since. This trick also works for shifting C stick assemblies on GameCube controllers. Also, it's getting easier these days to get new springs for your thumbsticks, so if you've got no ghosting or irrisponsiveness, but just a floppy stick - sure beats having to either get a second hand stick or a crappy new one.

For all the GameCube controller people, there's an open-source custom PCB that uses hall-effect sensors called the PhobGCC so you will never have a control stick degrade. Melee fam

11:16 Il like that the controller cable turns from black to white to black. Thanks editor

Controller repair is something that I became very passionate about during the pandemic. Due to the fact that I purchased a used PS4 and the controller that came with it had… problems.

I've been repairing Guitar Hero controllers since 2019, and it's one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done. Just being able to make them better than they were before and watch people enjoy the game again is amazing. We need more controller modders in general for everything.

I've been repairing my own (and my friends) controllers for years. Being poor makes this the only way. Nice to see this being pushed so much more these days, though, it's great to let folks know that this is a viable option, thanks Linus!

The GameCube controller has the same stickbox under the c-stick as the primary stick. Usually the stickbox under the c-stick is in perfectly good condition, so imo the best fix for GameCube controllers is to get one of the cheap stickboxes online and place that under the c-stick and swap the one from under the c-stick to the primary stick. It will make the controller feel pretty good without having to source scarce parts.

I love how Linus's hands change all the time when "he" fixes different controllers! 😏😏

After seeing a boom in repair channels like Odd Tinkering and the Right to Repair stuff here, I started repairing stuff myself way more. I've fixed about a half dozen PS1 and PS2s, and about a dozen controllers (mostly Switch JoyCons). Super rewarding and very cool!

Man i love how the anatomy of linus's arm and hand changes when he is fixing a controller.

Keep doing this off camera, I'd actually pay for you guys to help fix some controllers i still have. This shit will save so much money and make more controllers in use and drive prices down.

Really looking forward to a GuliKit video. I love my hall effect switch keyboard and I'm sure I'll love hall effect joysticks as well.

One tip I would like to recommend just in general taking stuff like this apart is to take photos of the wire layout and parts positions to reference when fixing and putting back together.

This is quite probably the video I’ve enjoyed the most of anything I’ve seen in the last past several months. I quite like informative videos about odd repairs, and even found myself wishing you’d slowed down and talked through some of your process a little more at various points, even though this wasn’t meant to be a strict how-to video.

It's good to see you covering more repair stuff Linus. I'd love to see some in depth stuff from you guys

So glad my nearly 20yo Wavebird still works pretty fine. I do have a third party Switch Pro like controller that started drifting on both joysticks, then the click on the left one broke that i happily repaired myself. Loved the video.

It’s important to mention that some membrane switches with a flexible metal coating on them can have that coating dissolve off with isopropyl alcohol.

Funny enough, the competitive Smash community actually makes quite a bit of money through repairing GameCube controllers. I remember seeing an entire stand at a tournament dedicated to fixing controllers. That said, my DualSense could already use a new analog stick. And as an aside, I’m curious about what Linus thinks about the official Nintendo reproduction of the SNES controller for the Switch.

This video boosted my confidence to repair my Steam Controller when it eventually does break down. Since the thing is no longer in production, it is more vital than ever to be able to repair the stupid thing. Unless somebody else comes up with a touch pad controller, but i doubt that will happen.

I have an offbrand xbox 360 controller that also has that intermittent connectivity issue. Glad to see the fix can be that simple.

This style of video is so fun to watch. Linus giving a full blown tutorial on how to do something. I like the content you guys normally do but this feels like 2015-2018 content and I like it

At 11:50 Linus does time travel and uses the bootstrapping paradox to fix the controller. Us home users may have trouble doing the same with consumer grade time travel equipment.

Used to do this growing up and managed to fix my first 360 controller just barely. The cable went bad and I never went back to it, I may grab my old controller and have some nostalgia and fix it up again.

I've been repairing not only gamepads, but the retro joysticks as well. It's often the same sort of problem - they could do with a good clean. Or, the microswitches have to be swapped out for new ones. It often means, you don't even have to get a soldering iron out. So it's something many should look into doing as well. The joysticks I'm talking about are basically the sort that work on Atari, Commodore, MSX, Amstrad, and Sinclair. Of course, making sure you keep the wiring the same for the console/computer you're using. Granted, there's still some waste, but at least it's not the whole thing all at once.

When the pandemic started I ordered a cheap soldering kit. Resoldered a Gamecube rumble motor that I'd torn one of the wires for by accident, and cut out a section of a PS2 controller cable that had gotten so twisted that it actually pushed through the rubber and made a wire tumor. DEFINITELY learned the value of some clamp arms and a magnifying glass by trying to solder all those wires back WITHOUT that for help. I was fully prepared to junk the controller, but with older hardware getting so scarce I'd rather learn how to maintain than replace. I haven't had any Joycon drift yet, but it's nice to know about that trick where you put a business card behind it to increase the pressure. Counterfeit controllers are another really good reason for this. Bought a reasonably expensive PS3 controller on Amazon that turned out to be the BAD kind of fake (joysticks have at best 8 way directionality instead of the fine control a normal PS3 controller has). I would have returned it if not for a combination of laziness, and the fact that having the fake on hand was actually beneficial for comparisons with other controllers I ordered down the line. On that note, for anyone who doesn't know, DsHidMini can actually detect fake PS3 controllers, haven't had to test it with anything else though. The gamepad tester site is also really good for testing possibly broken/fake/low quality stickboxes ( I had a PS5 controller where the right stick only got to 75% pushing up that was within warranty, and it was a great indicator of how bad that fake PS3 controller was). Love to see more of this kind of content, never know when I'll need to fix something because it's cheaper to buy the tools than the replacements.

I like how Linus changed his shirt and freckles to solder on the new USB cable on that xbox controller. Impressive, very nice.

Yeah, I had the same issue with one of my used SNES controllers as did a friend of mine with his controller. I just opened them up and cleaned them and everything has been fine. I've kind of started doing that pretty regularly anytime I get used game consoles, games, and controllers. I once had a dead spider in my used N64 console that works just fine that I had no idea was there until I cleaned it.

Loved this video. Thank you. And yes the Dreamcast Hall effect joystick sensor was the best

I love how Linus is pretending the whole video that he’s the one actually repairing these.

This is an issue with N64 Controllers. I'm glad you were able to get a fix for them. Also retro brighting makes all the difference with yellowing plastic

10:11 Once bought a 3rd party replacement flatpack that was fine for the first week (new factory battery lasts 12h, this one did last 14h) end of second week it only did last for 8h. After 3 month it did only last for 10 minutes. (old factory battery, 34 months in use, still lasted 3 hours)

OMG I had that same exact PS2 controller with the dual pistol grips and screen. $5 at Future Shop circa 2009. Thing was sick for the 3 or 4 months it lasted

I've been waiting for retro gaming to get to the point it is now!!! Thank you rapid prototyping, and all the developers out there!

I love how many repair / diy videos Linus has put out recently they are perhaps my favourite type of LTT video :)

Yes, please, more videos like this! Thanks! Regards from Tabasco, México [Land of The Olmecs]!

Thank you for that awesome info dump on that topic!

Batteries being easily replaced in Xbox controllers is one reason why I love them. Pairing it up with Xbox’s official rechargeable battery pack is perfect. Not only is it rechargeable through the micro USB port but it’s also easily replaced with no tools at all. So when it does die getting a replacement is simple and very quick to do

Can we get an f in the chat for all the controlers that get thrown at the wall on a daily basis?

I just repaired a PS3 controller yesterday which didn’t charge (or hold a charge). Well, instead of replacing the battery, I charged it with a LiPo charger, tested the capacity with it, and the battery still had its full capacity. Put it back together and now it’s working fine again. So before buying a new battery, check if it’s actually dead (if you know what you’re doing). I suspect the controller won’t charge anymore if the voltage dropped too low. LiPos do take damage from overdischarge, but often can be recovered from very slowly recharging them.

Tip for drifting or unresponsive sticks such as on PS4 or ps5, spray deoxit around the inside of the opening between the stick and the case and give the stick a good wriggle to ensure the deposit makes it way between the carbon contacts (by all means, you can dismantle the case for better access, it just takes longer). Stick should now be perfectly responsive for a couple of months of heavy usage before repeating cleaning process.

I picked up a PS3 controller for £5. It was untested and found out it had a mind of its own. Turns out there's a squishy pad that wears down. Added some small strips of post-it note to thicken it up and it's worked perfect since.

I actually just started doing that on my ps4 controllers and was amazed at how easy some of repairs really are

I still currently run that exact blue rock candy controller, it's pretty okay! My favorite 360/pc controller is the Razer Onza, but it suffers from major stick drift issues pretty quickly...

I remember trying to fix the switches on an old Guitar Hero controller. I was lucky to find a website that specialised in repairing Guitar Hero controllers which sold the replacement part I needed. For other guitar models the switches are long out of production.

12:01 - That controller might be better than you give it credit for, given that it can change its cable's color...

Love how companies advertise for ecology but try to fight right to repair which is literally "why throw out and buy new when you can fix the old therefore saving resources". Wish the automotive world understood this..

This bring back memories, I started doing that with the Atari 2600 controllers. Broke a lot of them and my dad refused to buy more, so I started to fix them (2 bad, make one good). I think it's how I started in in this.

Hey Linus... Great knowing I'm not alone stuck in the past XD. Late 90s to mid 2000s were the best gaming years man!

I really do love the right to repair content. Nice seeing a larger channel like LTT putting out videos like this. As a side question, when will the next million dollar unboxing video release?

Can we just get more videos of Linus fixing older things, I really enjoyed this one!

Nice video. I had to teach myself to repair my original NES controllers years ago...replacements were available, but nothing feels like the originals.

Contact cleaner is a godsend for a lot of electronic repairs. I have a PS4 controller which had bad stick drift on the right analogue stick. Taking off the back and giving a quick spray with the straw nozzle under the PCB did the business. Seemed to move whatever crud was causing the issue. It also worked perfectly for sticky trip computer buttons on a motorcycle dashboard. As a general rule for almost all repairs under any circumstances: it is a good idea to try the quick and easy solution first by cleaning the problem before you order the expensive replacements and the soldering irons and other tools you will need to go deeper. TLDR: if it doesn't move, hit it. If it does move, stick it. Always clean it.

13:38 Alex caught it as if his life was on the line

Honestly, most of the time a soldering iron, screw driver kit, the internet and time can fix most broken or malfunctioning controllers. It's a good way to pass the time and a fairly solid way to learn how to solder in general because chances are nothing you do is completely irreversible and if you do mega screw it up, oh well, it was bound for the trash anyway. You at least tried.

Is it just me or am I an absolute god at keeping my ps3 controllers working. The batteries still last a VERY long time and they are easily at least or over 10 years of age. The look like brand new and I PLAYED them when I was a little kid, and currently still do

Was hoping to hear more about stick drifts. Has been such a huge issue for many years for me. Even had to learn how to solder. But I'm glad to hear some companies are trying to fix this issue. It almost feels like there's a joystick conspiracy going on, with how much the top controller brands refuse to use anything other than potentiometers.

Controllers are huge business, I know a guy who built entire business around repairing controllers which hugely BOOMED in 2020 during lockdown, like whole population was living for games, some said that's like a wife or a car, you get used to one and maintain it rather than switching for new one, even for same model... P.S.: Oh, and about the hull sensors, they were dumped for a reason, and that's as usual, money... You don't sell many if the don't break, right?

I LOVE THIS KIND OF VIDEO! You should so do more videos like this in the future. I can't stand how hard it is to find decent analog replacements or batteries! The Xbox Elite Series Controller with the internal battery pack is impossible to find a battery replacement!

So glad of the support for right to repair!

okay I'm here because I really wanted to fix my dual shock from drifting but ended up watching the whole thing. I now have the knowledge to fix controllers that I don't own. neat!

This was fantastic! i'd love to see a similar video disecting old handleld consoles. In particular the DS and GBA SP

Alps part number for new style analog joystick _without_ pushbutton is RKJXV1220001 ... Note, this _should_ work with GameCube but I'm not sure how much the footprint has changed. These are modern sticks with 10k linear B taper pots which is pretty standard. These are the sticks that I would try to make work as a modern replacement part for the GameCube style controllers. Fitment of toppers is also questionable but Xbox style toppers might be useable on old GameCube controllers if you use these analog sticks as replacements. For modern consoles there is also the RKJXV122400R which is _with_ the pushbutton. So this would work with modern Xbox/360 controllers or any modern controller with a pushbutton style analog stick. Mouser carries both of these and they are in stock. Haven't seen them at Digi-Key but I'm sure other suppliers will stock them. Suppliers usually order them in batches of 1420 at a time so your sure to find a supplier. These are the more modern versions of the sticks from Alps and the RKJXV122400R is the one that I use in Xbox/360 controllers as replacements... If the sticks do not center properly after replacement because of calibration differences then I add multi-turn pots in parallel with the new ones on the stick and adjust for perfect center. Would be great if they made hall-effect direct replacements of these...

My Valve Index controllers ended up developing stick drift (which is a common failure points). The fix ended up being buying the same stick bases (I think it was $10 for a pack of 10), carefully prying open the sensors on the joystick, and then transplanting the actual halifax sensor from a donor. Been going strong for about a year now.

This was a needed video, in the last two years i have had to replace Two brand new XBOX one controllers, im very easy with them and very good, I play tons of racing games and after about 6 months each time i get stick drift!!

2:55 Linus really gonna say "dirty nipples" and not even make a face? dang

I took apart my old MS Sidewinder flight stick from the 90s because it was feeling crunchy. To my surprise, it uses optical encoding. The crustiness was from dried up lube. A few minutes of minor cleaning, and it was working just like in 1999.

This video was amazing!!! Commenting just for engagement so that this gets more coverage, should always support right to repair, especially in easy jobs like this that can bring soo much satisfaction if you get your controller back in working order

I didn't get a Switch or PS5 til just this year (my last Xbox was the 360 which died back in 2013). But I will say though, the Switch Pro & PS5 controllers are probably my new favorite feeling when playing. Shame knowing that they use the crummy potentiometer in their build. Whereas my Gamecube and PS2 controllers joysticks have held up absolute champs after 16 and 20 years (respectively). The original controllers that came with the console itself have no drift or anything. While my PS4 left joystick has such a deep groove carved into the shaft of the joystick that if pushing forward and going to click in L3 when playing, it doesn't click in. I should get some replacement sticks for it. But man, just feels like corporations make things to not last on purpose (looking at you Apple). But knowing that folks out there make 3rd party replacement parts is just awesome. I salute y'all. I've been eyeballing one of those all metal sticks for the N64.

Yes! More controller/console hardware tweak videos like this please!

I'd love to see you guys do a video on controller customization. Imagine making a custom LTT controller either with off the shelf parts or make them yourself

Amazing video, thanks for pointing out how good the N64 sticks were! Optical sensors still beat potentiometers any time!

Couldn't agree more with the thumbnail, the pillars of waste management should also include repair, where applicable of course. Thank you for making this video.

I have couple of 8Bitdo SF30 controllers and i found out that they pretty much use same replacment components as standard Snes and Super Famicom controllers and those are pretty accessible with how active retro community is. Although only thing that i had to replace so far is rubber bits on buttons, because everything else is suprisingly durable.

The rock candy xbox 360 controllers were brilliant. Dirt cheap and worked well. You can still get them brand new in stores if you're lucky. Mine has developed stick drift however. I've since upgraded to an official xbox one controller.

Note that on a CFW'd PS3, plugins exist to use other controllers with it, however a PS4 controller will work aside from the PS button and rumble on a stock PS3 as well. With said plugin you can use other controllers fully and as well as other PlayStation controllers.

I repair most my controllers, especially now. I save old ones, and even if it's cheap, it's worth it. I need to swap out two DS4 analog sticks, which I'm planning to do here soon(I have the orange sunset controller which goes 120+ "refurbed" by Amazon). I've also done a number of mods to controllers, starting with the 360 for rapid fire. I'm looking at adding back paddles and rapid fire to my Dualsense as well.

2:47 I have a feeling that this is going to be clipped.

Fixing our things shouldn't be something that some people are into it should just be a thing we all do, the more right to repair friendly content the better. Normalize it until the idea of not being annoyed at companies preventing people from fixing stuff is as ludicrous as not minding that someone is smoking in a restaurant.

My favorite shortcut for degreasing is the purple/silver can of WD-40 Industrial Degreaser. Of course you still need plain-soap for 'dirt/soil' because most degreasers don't work on dirtsoil type stuffs. Is good to carry a soap AND a degreaser for both use cases

My old 360 controller also had a bad cable, but instead of soldering on a new cable, I soldered an mounted a micro USB socket in the controller at the cable entry point. This way I can disconnect the cable when not in use and change the length to whatever I need at any moment

2:28 how did he keep a straight face

Kudos to LTT for a repair video.

I've found a lot of controllers in the trash (bulk trash, people clean out their homes and put it on the curb). Some work, some don't. Just recently I tried to fix a Dual Shock 2 where the left analog stick was stuck to the right (not physically though). I popped off the pots and carefully cleaned both them and the wipers. No change. I then took the analog stick out of a cheap Chinese USB controller that was broken and no longer worked, soldered it in place of the original and... Same damn thing! So I unsoldered the cord from the board and put it on another DS2 that someone had cord the cord off from. That one works 100%. What gets me is that if I rubbed my finger across the contacts for the horizontal pot while it was plugged in, but with the wiper out, I'd get horizontal movement, yet the moment I put the wiper back in, it would immediately go to the right. I also fixed a Logitech Rumblepad 2 by puttng a new USB cord on it. Scrappers had cut the cord off, and I couldn't find any info online, so all I had to go by were the wire colors on the board. They used the standard USB colors, so I soldered a cable on, crossed my fingers, and it works perfectly. Good controller, but the case gives me a sore knuckle. I've also fixed a couple gameport, 2-axis, 2-button joysticks that needed new cords. They're simple enough that they work with gameport to USB adapters.

12:30 ive been using those rock candy 360 controllers for years. they came out with a model that had micro usb which is a huge design flaw, so i just superglued the microusb and have been gaming with it ever since.