it actually blows my mind that analog sticks havent been redesigned yet, especially since sony LOVES to needlessly stealth revise this controllers every year it seems. pots are by far not the most reliable electronic part, i mean i have to deoxit my guitar and amp knobs all the time and those are parts that dont really have to be precise like a controller has to be lol #drift
@@mattedious9378 that's the issue, they would still make boat loads of money. Controllers are sold at an unbelievable mark up. That's where the majority of MS and Sonys money comes from, Accessories and games. But things don't have to be that way! The sticks don't need to be perfect, lord knows no gaming peripheral is, but they certainly shouldn't be this unreliable for the prices they're charging for these controllers
There are types of pots that use much more durable materials to create the resistor. Obviously analog stick makers don't want to do the RnD to make a better pot. Most electronic parts are planned obsolescence, but capacitors having to be replaced after 10 years isn't nearly the same as an analog stick needing replacement after very little use.
I have two words for you. Planned obsolescence. They won’t redesign them anytime soon because they want them to wear out quicker so you can go buy another controller so they can make more money.
Buy some flux paste as well. Apply to the solder holes Flux basically “sucks” the solder into the joint. Makes a better connection just so you don’t have to take apart and redo if a joint fails. Science stuffs: Basically metals form a thin oxide layer when exposed to air and prevents the solder from bonding Flux when heated chemically removes that oxide layer so you can get a good bond.
@@MGrey-qb5xz flux comes in paste form or a syringe it's not a replacement for the solder tin. the paste is more economical some solder tin has flux in it but it's not a replacement for adding flux to the joint beforehand it will just help the tin flow a bit better there is also solder paste which is a replacement for solder tin but usually used for SMD components and a heated bed
@@MGrey-qb5xz haha yep. I used to use just the solder tin with flux in it thinking that was flux it was always really hard to solder my dad said I needed to add flux paste and bam. nice shiny joints.
This is super helpful, as my elite 2 has just started to give out on me. I nearly resorted to spending $258 on a scuff controller, until I saw this. This is why I’m subscribed to this man. Don’t ever stop making videos, you’re very valuable to gamers everywhere. Thanks again for the time and energy you spend time and time again just to help us out. Much love man.
@@Mike_Wazowskii7 I’m not sure what you mean, but yes my problem has vanished. I fixed the minor issues I was having myself instead of purchasing a new controller. I would rather invest in something much more efficient at a later time.
I'm not so sure this would be a long lasting solution because it's the pots themselves (there are actually 2 per thumbstick) wear out mainly because the carbon (resistive) material is bonded to a piece of thin flexible mylar (larger pots use rigid PCB material) and the carbon material wears away or pieces become unbonded from the mylar. While this trimpot solution may initially work (somewhat) the pot will continue to degrade until most of the resistive carbon material is gone which basically creates a huge deadzone. What I've been doing is instead of replacing the entire thumbstick which is a huge PIA because the metal frame is so hard to desolder, I just replace the X or Y pot that is acting up. You then only have to remove solder from 3 joints, pry the pot away from the joystick frame and pull it out, put the new one in and wiggle the stick a bit so it pops back in place and then add a little solder to 3 joints.
The real problem is they use dirt cheap open "dry" pots. If they used sealed greased pots this would not be as much of a problem. RC has been using japanese Noble pots for R/C radio sticks and as position feedback inside servos for decades and this has never been a problem except in low cost equipment that uses cheap noname pots. By greasing the wipers and sealing the pot to keep dirt out and the lubrication in the tracks are preserved for far longer.
It's very reassuring to know these exist. I'm one of the guys still using an Elite Series 1 even though I have the Series 2, simply because I really dislike the sloppy mechanical deadzone (central area with zero tension) created by those adjustable tension mechanisms. The Elite Controllers are an absolute nightmare to replace the analog sticks on due to the tiny pin holes/pads and tougher solder, so these PCBs will be a godsend when my Elite S1 inevitably develops drift. Thanks very much for the video mate!
Sounds like the Elite Series 1 controllers are made much better than the Series 2 controllers! I've had 4 of them, and all of them have had stick drift out of the box. They shouldn't be sold anymore imo.
@@samir1281 Yeah, agreed. The poor analog stick re-centering due to that large mechanical deadzone makes the Elite 2 controller more prone to stick drift than any other modern controller I know of. I would've taken the Series X|S analog stick modules over the ones that come in the Elite 2 tbh. They don't have the adjustable tension thing but they have the tightest analog stick re-centering out of all the official Xbox controllers. 👍
Just bite the bullet on a cheap hot air station. Best money I ever spent. Makes the most difficult desoldering jobs a piece of cake. And frankly this isn't gonna stop your sticks from wearing out and getting loose, you are probably better off just replacing them. I am personally considering buying these to play around with because I am extremely anal and even brand new sticks are never perfectly centered.
If you contact helder, he'd probably he more than happy to send you a few pairs for a video. He's been looking creators to partner with, the stick drift fix is revolutionary for us Controller players! And I appreciate it man. I've watched quite a few of your videos over the years, it's crazy to see you here!
@@vCuda cracked the fuck up when you called yourself a bundle of sticks bro 🤣 I'm in nz so all of these fixes are pretty expensive. i found a 1 time life hack with controllers but pretty sure it's illegal
This is why I follow you and stay up on your content even when I'm taking a break. Always on point with real info. This is a game changer. I started out just completely swapping stick modules, but this will drastically cut down on downtime. It's not so much hard as it is just finding the motivation to deal with it yet AGAIN lol
This is a real gamechanger, kudos for hard working problem solver people in this world, imagine if this goes viral and everyone goes for this instead of buying another controller! #drift
Bro your channel is amazing fr, I legit thought we’d never see a permanent fix for stick drift. Crazy that this product has to exist instead of manufacturers just making better products, but hey I’ll take this over going insane due to stick drift ever couple of months.
I spoke with you a few months ago, and I'm considering sending you a custom elite PS4 controller in the next two month's or so, got a lot of stock and now starting to build custom PS5 elite controllers. This would be a good for you to review and for my small business I did watch your video on getting your hands on one, so I would be glad do your prefer to paddles or four from what I've seen, you seem to like four paddles best, I may be able to charge a little more but it'll be worth it since I've been thinking and looking for an idea to solve the issue, but the custom controllers still have to have the bells and whistles to be worth the prices the custom controller market is charging me included.
Hit me up on my Instagram man! It's in the description. I'd love to work with you, but I have 2 builders I've been planning on working with first. Which should be happening this month and with luck, the next So I'd definitely be down to work with you before the end of the year 😊
As for preventing drift, I will say that control freek rings can kind of prevent wear and tear from slamming the sticks to the wall. Usually I’d go through 2-3 controllers a year, but now I’ve used the same controller for 3 years and it’s been consistent and probably even keeping debris from getting in there
@@1760junior i could totally see that being a thing cause I did hear a lot of people say that pieces of the ring could fall into your controller from wear and tear. So far I haven’t felt any deviation though. I’ve been using the same series X controller since the consoles dropped last holiday season
@@christopherbassit2757 I upgraded to an Xbox series s and elite controller. The elite controllers stick tension feature kind of gives me wheat I was looking for out of the precision rings. but regardless I still never got stick drift in my normal xbone controllers. Not sure if just an anomaly or the rings actually helped but I would use soft ones for as long as I can remember and for the most part I tend to forget they’re even on there. My little brothers use them now.
Let me know if I missed anything, or if you yourself have a valid solution for stick drift, be sure to leave a comment about it! I'd love to see what else is out there. Stick drift isn't going anywhere anytime soon Also Im starting a "Pro Controller List" here in the comments and I'll update it as I continue to experiment! Some may need shell modifications to fit -Razer Wolverine V2 Chroma ??? (I have no fucking idea how to take this apart) -Razer Wolverine Ultimate ✅ (Dedictaed PCB on website now) -Razer Wolverine TE ✅ 1.1 PCB (They fit, but the shell may need modification for it to fit) PowerA Fusion Pro 1 & 2 ❌ PowerA Spectra ❌ ExtremeRate Kits ✅ 1.1 PCB (most of the time they work with these) Thrustmaster Eswap X/non-X Pro ❌
Bro i have the new best solution for stick drift, you dont buy new analogue sticks, you dont buy that chip, you fix it by.......wait for it................................. Buying a new controller. Best solution👏👏👌🏿👌🏿😅
Found this video because RU-vid said my viewers watched it and I wanted to check it out. Im ordering one of these kits to put on my sons PS5 drift controllers. Congrats on almost hitting 50k subs. Im totally going to cover this fix too!
Cuda thank you for promoting this product that’s literally going to save so much money while not getting rid of a controller you genuinely like playing with! Huge thank you to all 3 Goats! #Drift
I'm still not sure what workaround this does in order to fix the drift problem, but it seems amazing. I thought drift was caused by wear and tear on the potentiometer.
Make sure u get a temperature adjust soldering iron. Flex PCBs are very sensitive to excessive heat and just set the iron to a bit above the melting point of ur solder
I would love to call this a permanent fix but I still have to open up the controller every time I get stick drift so in that time I could just replace the potentiometers instead of soldering these on and changing the tension. The problem still remains until we get a real fix real soon. 😢
There has always been a fix. The sega Dreamcast has it already in 1999 and the solution was discovered in the 1800s. Hall effect sensors are effective and fully immune to stick drift.
I was a little skeptical but it worked. Took me about an hour and a half start to finish including programming it. So happy I could save my elite controller for under $50 including the part, tools to disassemble, and a soldering iron.
5:23 You are actually funny af bro, don't ever change man. We need more people who just say what they want because it is funny and self deprecating humor is the best humor! 10/10 would laugh again. #Drift
Words don't hurt people out here in the real world. I could care less what he says or believes in , that's not why I watch him. I watch his videos because they entertain me.
@@GooGz see... Spot on man. Nobody really fucking cares it's just a small group of sensitive bitches that make a big deal out of edgy humor and spicy jokes.
Even though I already have a bunch of alps analog stick replacements, this'll be perfect for the orange FavorUnion analog sticks seen on some ps4 and ps5 controllerd#drift
#DRIFT - love the channel and your very blunt and honest reviews can’t stand the false “everything is great” reviews most content creators make just to keep companies happy - thanks man 🙏
#Drift Broo I'm impressed how these guys will absolutely change controllers, they should sell a whole controll haha. But well, I hope to get the giveaway, thanks for the content and help!
Stock controller solder is coated with a clear heat shield... So use FLUX to make the solder stick/bond better... Use some new flux also.... Mix the old solder with flux and new solder and works every time
If no one will take after SEGA and make their sticks magnetic instead of with accelerometers, the least they could do is have something similar to these modules built in.
...even this is not permanent, only real permanent solution is what Sega DreamCast and some generation of DualShock 3 controllers had, called hall effect "contactless" potentiometers...
More than 2 minutes in: As much as hardware level reclaibration is great, the main problem with drift comes from the sticks carbon pads wearing out. If you want to fix the problem the better way is to buy replacement sicks that use electromagnets rather than using a stick that will keep breaking. IFixIt and other creators I can't remember covered about the tech and where my point comes from. That being said, it's amazing that solutions like this were created. If you really REALLY want to still use your current stick and don't mind soldering, maybe try this out.
Who sells hall effect stick boxes for Xbox elite v2 controllers? I've seen them for steam deck and joycons but not the Xbox patterned stick boxes that follow the Alps stick box foot print. If you've seen something I haven't point me at please. I can't find them.
Ive had my Elite Series 2 for well over 1.5 years now and it is finally starting to get stick drift, everything else works perfectly still. Just ordered and eswap s but I might get some of these pcb for my elite so I can always have a backup controller. Thanks for the helpful vid!
This will be the best $15 I’ve ever spent, so glad I saw this vid. Subbed to you helder and solder king. Respect for combatting shitty planned obsolescence, the ability to recalibrate should be built into them from the get go, but then you wouldn’t buy a new one!!
Kind of a late reply but there is a youtuber named “marius heier” who is working on a hall effect analog module for ps4 and xbox controllers. He already sent out prototypes to his patreon members. And now we are just waiting for the Version 1 of it to release.
Luckily I've been able to work with Marius the past few months, I even have a pair of these thumbsticks on the way! I'm extremely excited to make a video about them
I’ve used these for a while and I don’t think it translates the exact way that you would believe it to. If you do this though it maybe advantageous to cut out a small section of the back shell to be able to adjust them without taking the controller apart
Hey it's me again and my guy this video showed up in my recommended at the perfect time since my ps4 controller has been having the worse stick drift I've ever experienced and nothing I've done that was semi free has fixed it
I’ve been saving my controllers from stick drift by using QD electronic cleaner. Most of the time it’s just dust and shit in the analog that’s causing it.
So I decided a year and a half ago to do a little experiment. I decided i would...gasp actually take care of my controller. I have 2 fusion pro controllers bought after my second elite went bad. I decided I would never under any circumstances drop the controller from any height. No dropping it from 8 inches onto the bed or couch etc. When I'm done using it I set it on the entertainment center face up. I have 0 stick drift on either controller and I play apex legends and warzone daily. I still press r3 and l3 harder than I should but I'm getting better at not doing that I set my deadzone to 0 in every game I play and have 0 stick drift. It's amazing how much damage that 6 inch drop onto a pillow or something does to a controller. Youd wouldnt think it would do anything but it does.
Do you know if it would fit in the power a spectra infinity enhanced for the series x/s? I see you have the power a spectra for the old gen xbox but what about the new one for next gen?
I went to the website I see the option for Drift Fix X1 $15, AND Drift Fix X5 $65 I don't even know whats going on... I want to fix a ps4 controller to use on PC.
I’m confused.. my stick drift isn’t something that sits in one spot.. it kinda depends on my previous action so wouldn’t this just change where centre is?
Dude, Ai been reading my mind again. So happy I found your channel was Sick of buying controllers with all the zones dead af. I’m willing to try this for sure. Thanks
Im still not sure how this is fixing the problem. Can you lead me to an explanation? You basically say in the video that it does not make a larger dead zone but how is it fixing the stick drift then?
I’m not finding much about using this on a scuf instinct pro. It mentions something about using etape on the items page but nothing further. Is this the same as the standard series x controller?
This does not solve the problem of wear on the potentiometer which is the main cause of drift on older controllers, just get a pack of potentiometer sensors and replace it (ebay sells em), no soldering and at around 75c each way cheaper AND you end up with a new sensor! However this method is good for fine tuning
I remember soldering my first dead NES Contra cartridge many years ago re-linking one of the traces to the connections and voilà, the game worked! Kinda sloppy soldering but saved the game and I learned something!
If i soldered it on and still doesn’t work is it bc I didn’t put it on good enough like bad connection or because I should put the other one. My left stick seems to be the one drifting more
Isn't there any way to figure out an analog stick variant of optical (or hall-effect) switches (like how we have analog-capable hall-effect switches in keyboards like the Wooting & SS Apex keyboards?). That would quite literally solve most issues, perhaps replace a spring here or there to keep the resistance and tension okay and you'd be done. Honestly I *would* pay a good sum extra for something like that. It's the reason I currently use one of those E-Swap Pro controller where I can toss out a module if it fails me, but that has some downsides too.
I spoke with helder about this, and apparently this is something he's exploring. The problem with hall Effect sensors is A, no one wants to use them anymore because they're better than ALPS and B, you'd have to Install them yourself. Installing them yourself is also kinda difficult though, because they require more power than normal thumbsticks to operate and you'd need a Soldering Iron capable of higher temperatures to melt the Solder on the bottom of the thumbsticks on the controller. They're a great alternative, but it requires some work to get them to function properly
Hey could you review audio jacks in Xbox controllers? I have multiple controllers and their audio jacks failed within 2-4 months of playing. I need options for my next paycheck. Thx!
It should be mentioned that a little bit of flux would make the solder job MUCH MUCH easier and cleaner! Other than that great video and FINALLY!! #Drift
So what Ive noticed after the instal. My elite series 2’s left analog stick is EXTREMELY sensitive. Like on gamepad tester it’s like. .0467 or less of a movement will register….. It’s insane. Like. Touching the stick. Not applying force at all? I don’t get it…. I think I’m gonna have to replace the actual potentiometers?
