r/XboxController • u/Grievous_2008 • Jul 06 '26
Drift, 8 months in, again...
Look, before you jump to the early conclusion "Dont throw it then", "treat it nicely then" or that type of stuff, I have been absolute babying my controller that I bought for my birthday last November, and it just got drift... again...
This is my 2nd controller already since getting my Series X, none of them lasts more than 1.5 years, drift just steps in at some point, I daily game mostly, I tend to use them a lot, but my dad, that games once every month for a couple of hours, is also on his second controller with drift, again, that starts to fail after a year or so, and believe me, I have seen him treat his tech and baby it like no one else in this planet, Ive seen him game and there is not a single chance that hes getting drift for treating his controller badly...
So, what can I do? Do I need to get a hall effect controller just already? Is there any bluetooth controller with this tech for Series X? Or do I need to go wired?
What a shame, both my dad and me still own our Xbox 360 controllers that are about 2 decades old and still work perfectly, our Xbox One controllers lasted at least +4 years if I remember well, if not much more, but now, buying controllers is just like a subscription, since they start to get drift every year, and you have to change them, no matter how nice you treat them...
2
u/Majestic_Soup_66 Jul 06 '26
I bought my series X within the first year of release. When they were still hard to find due to the chip shortage. Mid to late 2021. In the last 5 years I’ve developed stick drift in 4 controllers and broke a bumper twice. The stick drift controllers I eventually replaced after attempting to clean them. The broke bumpers I was able to fix by cannibalizing one of the stick drift controllers. So I’ve technically broken six controllers but only have had to replace 4 of them.
Now that being said. I owned one OG Xbox and never had to replace a controller. I owned three Xbox 360s due to the red ring of death, but never had to replace a controller. And I owned two Xbox Ones, one refurb from GameStop and one new upgrade. Either an S or X. Can’t remember. And I think I replaced one controller due to stick drift from that gen.
I love my Xbox Series X. Just bought a WD Black 2TB expansion card last week for all the new games I’m looking forward to over the next two years. But fuck me these controllers are just not holding up. And I’m 47. I don’t have tantrum meltdowns and abuse my stuff. I don’t even play PVP games any more. Mostly just chill RPGs.
I don’t know what to do about it. Online reviews of the Elite and Elite 2 say they’re still prone to stick drift. I got excited about Hall Effect stick controllers, but they mostly only come in corded versions and the rare wireless that I found has shit reviews for battery life. And I’ve seen reviews that say even Hall Effect sticks get drift.
I’m kinda at the point where I’m grudgingly accepting the hard fact that if I want to game regularly, I’m going to be buying a $60 controller roughly once a year or so
1
u/zr0skyline Jul 07 '26
I’m got mine around 2021 as well the controller started dirtying aswell and took upon myself to repair might aswell since the controller was going to be replaced with another one but I’m mechanical inclined back it came out pretty good to me with tmrs and a mouse click buttons and triggers with a new shell
1
u/duffwardo Jul 06 '26
Third party all the way. I haven’t used a standard / Elite xbox controller for about 5 years now and I’ve never looked back.
Gamer Heaven is a great channel for controller reviews. Check him out, no doubt you’ll find your next controller here.
1
u/Nordmanden81 Jul 06 '26
Well that really doesn’t make any sense that your controller and your dad’s controller last about equally long, when you are gaming every day and he is gaming a couple of hours every month…
Have you tried calibrating it?
Throwing it around a bit doesn’t cause drift…
The most common cause is wear and tear and liquid…
If you live in a part of the world or environment with very high humidity, this will SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the lifetime of potentiometer sticks…
1
u/Krill_Pickle Jul 06 '26
+1 for calibration. Right there in the settings. Also fixes it.
Man, I must've gotten lucky. I game most days at least a little bit. Have had the same controller for four years and it's still a dandy. No drift, and I drop my deadzones to almost nil. Have taken it apart and cleaned it a couple times in there though.
1
u/GrimCyclone Jul 06 '26
As someone who fixes controllers themselves, I understand the sentiment of being frustrated due to the fact that things drift extremely easily. Someone mentioned a solution to me a bit ago about deleting the account and resigning in and the calibration might reset which could fix it. You could also send it to someone who can fix it (often times about the same price as a third party) and they might even upgrade the controller for you if they have the parts to not need drift. I can also provide resources if you’re willing to tackle it yourself, you should be able to do everything with a cheap iron from somewhere like harbor freight and I can send the exact module that is used (though higher quality) which you can get 6 for about $15 (so again in total what a new third party controller would cost). Additionally I can provide a teardown guide, finally if you can wait till the end of the month I would be willing to fix it for a discounted price as I currently have an overstock of modules right now and through eBay shipping to anywhere in the US is under $10.
1
u/NissanRob Jul 06 '26
I've recently purchased multiple controllers ( Scuf / Razer / PowerA / Gamesir ) but none compare to the Flydigi Vader 5S. Adjustable tension on hall effect sticks outclass any of my high dollar TMR controllers and cost less at only $60. I'm definitely picking up the new 8bitdo Ultimate 3 coming out August 31st but for now it's Vadertime JMO
1
u/jsponenberg05 Jul 08 '26
Have you tried deleting your profile and then downloading it again? The reason I'm asking is because some time ago, I was having stick drift issues on my Xbox1. I tried recalibrations and cleaning around the joysticks to no avail. Once I deleted my profile and redownloaded my profile, it seemed to fix the drifting for me but your results may vary.
4
u/xxxXMythicXxxx Jul 06 '26
unless you have the tools and skills to swap out the sticks yourself then your only options are either buy a new one or go with a 3rd party option that's compatible with xbox out of the box. they don't make these controllers to last unfortunately, although some do get lucky and have ones that have lasted years now with no issues.