Troubleshooting Your PS4 Controller: Solutions for Connection, Calibration, and Cleaning

If your PS4 controller isn’t working, or at least isn’t acting the way you would like it to, it will significantly reduce the fun of the game. There can be many reasons for this. A speck of dust often blocks sensitive sensors and thus temporarily interrupts the connection.

In this case you should actually open the controller. However, this can have a negative impact on your warranty claims. Alternatively, you can also try the following options.

PS4 Controller does not connect – this is how you solve the connection problem!

If your PS4 controller fails to connect, start troubleshooting with a reboot. This is how you identify possible sources of problems or exclude them. Proceed as follows:

1. To do this, disconnect the controller from the console.
2. Turn off and unplug your PlayStation.
3. Wait a minute.
4. Now reconnect your console to the power supply.
5. Now reconnect the controller to the USB cable and plug the cable into the console.
6. Turn the PlayStation back on.

If that doesn’t work, first swap out the USB cable and then – if possible – the controller. This way you can check if the problem is caused by one of the two components.

Carry out a reset: This is how you reset your controller

If a restart doesn’t change anything, a hard reset that resets the controller to the factory settings may help. All you need is a cable and a paper clip. Do the following:

1. First turn off your PS4.
2. You will find a tiny hole on the back of your controller. It’s in the center to the right of the Sony logo. Unfold the paper clip and poke the hole until you feel resistance. Hold the pressure for about five seconds.
3. Now connect the controller to your console with the cable.
4. Turn on your PlayStation 4 and wait for it to fully boot up.
5. Then press the PlayStation button on your controller to connect it to the console. You have to wait for the light bar to light up.

At best, errors that have occurred should now be a thing of the past. This method works well to fix stick drift of your PS4 controller for example.

Calibrate PS4 controller

If resetting your controller still doesn’t fix the error, there is another troubleshooting option: calibration. You don’t need any more for this method aids. Thats how it works:

1. Pick up your controller and push in the two analog sticks from above. Hold it down for ten seconds.
2. Pull up the analog sticks in the next step. This creates an opening into which you carefully blow. Be careful not to get saliva in the opening.
3. Now turn both sticks clockwise for about ten seconds.
4. Then you turn them in the other direction for ten seconds.
5. To finish, move the sticks forward and push them in.

Clean controllers

However, if dust or other dirt is the cause of the problems with your controller, cleaning the hardware will help. You don’t even have to unscrew it for this. All you need is a standard cotton swab, compressed air aerosol and some rubbing alcohol. If you have everything at hand, proceed as follows:

1. Dab the cotton swab with the rubbing alcohol.
2. Use it to carefully clean the analog sticks. So that you can get to any spot, you push and turn it in all possible directions. The lower area in particular is very important: this is where dust or other dirt often collects. If your cotton swab is dirty, use the other side or a new swab to avoid smearing extra dirt into the gap.
3. Now shake the can with the compressed air aerosol.
4. Hold one of the two sticks aside and spray the aerosol into the gap. Make sure that you hold the can as vertically as possible and leave a little distance to the controller. Otherwise icing can occur.
5. Twist the stick and spray into the opening from each side.
6. Repeat the process for the second stick.

PS4 controller won’t turn on – you can do that!

In the worst case, your PS4 controller won’t turn on at all. This can indicate several causes. In this case, however, your options for troubleshooting are limited. Even if it is obvious: First make sure that your controller is charged. If the battery is empty even though you have connected it, the battery itself or the cable can be the reason. Therefore, first replace the cable and check whether this is the source of the error.

PS4 or PS5 does not turn on: causes and solutions at a glance

If this is not the case, unfortunately you cannot continue to troubleshoot the problem on your own. To replace a defective battery, you have to open the controller and thereby accept a loss of warranty. We advise you to take the device to a professional for repairs. This is the only way you can protect your warranty claims.