dualsense tool: Browser Diagnostics for PS5 Controllers (2026)

If you have come from a DualShock 4 background you already know the four-axis, fourteen-button, two-trigger picture. A DualSense has all of that plus five subsystems that a DualShock 4 does not have, and a proper dualsense tool addresses each one independently.

A common assumption that does not hold is that DualSense is "just a DualShock with better rumble". Sony rebuilt the haptic and trigger hardware from the ground up: grip rumble is no longer eccentric rotating mass (ERM) motors but voice-coil actuators that can produce frequency-decoupled waveforms. The triggers contain miniature motors and gearboxes that can apply variable resistance to the L2 and R2 pull.

The W3C Gamepad API gives you the four sticks, fourteen buttons, two analog trigger values, and the standard mapping. It does not expose the touchpad, the IMU, the haptics waveform, the adaptive trigger configuration, or the lightbar. For those you need WebHID (Chrome and Edge) or a CLI tool from GitHub.

JoyCheck uses WebHID where available and exposes a DualSense-specific test page that addresses each subsystem one at a time. The browser path covers the same ground as any GitHub CLI for diagnostic purposes; you only need the CLI for protocol research or scripted automation.

Five DualSense-specific diagnostics matter, on top of the basic sticks and buttons.

Adaptive triggers. The L2 and R2 triggers contain a small motor that can apply five distinct resistance modes: off, feedback (constant resistance), weapon (resistance then break), vibration, and slope-feedback. Each mode takes parameters in HID output report 0x02 bytes 11 through 32 per the nondebug/dualsense reference.

Voice-coil haptic feedback. Two voice-coil actuators in the grips replace the DualShock 4 ERMs. They take amplitude bytes in report 0x02 bytes 3 and 4 (USB) or 0x31 bytes 4 and 5 (Bluetooth). A healthy actuator produces a clean, frequency-controlled buzz; a failed actuator buzzes at low amplitude and falls silent at high amplitude.

Touchpad. A two-finger capacitive touchpad reports finger positions as analog X and Y in the input report, plus the click of the touchpad button. The touchpad is not exposed through the Gamepad API; it requires WebHID for the full coordinates.

IMU (motion sensor). A 6-axis IMU (3-axis gyroscope plus 3-axis accelerometer) reports orientation and acceleration. Used by games like Returnal for aim refinement. Like the touchpad, it is HID-only, not Gamepad API.

Lightbar and player indicator LEDs. The DualSense has an RGB lightbar plus five small player indicator LEDs. JoyCheck cycles all of them through red, green, blue, white, and off to confirm each channel works.

The flow is the same as any browser-based controller test, with extra steps for the DualSense-only subsystems.

1. Open JoyCheck in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari. Adaptive trigger and haptic tests need Chrome or Edge for WebHID; the basic stick/button test runs on any browser.
2. Connect the DualSense via USB-C or pair over Bluetooth. WebHID will prompt for device access on first connect; approve the prompt.
3. Press any button to surface the controller to the Gamepad API. One press is enough; the security guard exists to prevent drive-by fingerprinting.
4. Run the stick test. Place the controller on a flat surface for five seconds. Each axis should sit inside ±0.03 of zero. A new DualSense centres inside ±0.005.
5. Run the button test. Every face button, every shoulder, every trigger. Each press should register a value of 1.0; a press below 1.0 is a worn microswitch or a worn trigger potentiometer.
6. Run the trigger resistance test. JoyCheck sends a "weapon" resistance profile to L2 and R2. You should feel the trigger resist, then break through. If the trigger feels normal with no resistance, the trigger motor is stuck or dead.
7. Run the haptic test. Three pulses (weak, strong, mixed) at full amplitude. You should feel clean, frequency-distinct buzzes from each grip.
8. Run the touchpad test. Drag a finger across the pad. JoyCheck shows live X and Y coordinates and the click state.
9. Run the IMU test. Tilt the controller in pitch, roll, and yaw; JoyCheck displays the gyro and accelerometer values.
10. Run the lightbar test. JoyCheck cycles the lightbar through R, G, B, then dims it. A channel that does not light up is a failed LED.

The full sequence takes about 90 seconds.

These come from the nondebug/dualsense reference implementation and the iFixit DualSense teardown.

If any reading falls in the failure column, the subsystem is the suspect. Most DualSense failures are stick drift (potentiometer wear) or stuck adaptive triggers (gearbox binding), not catastrophic motherboard failures.

The DualSense Edge launched in 2023 with hardware Sony built specifically to address the drift complaints that plagued the base DualSense. The two share a HID protocol, so the diagnostic flow is the same, but the expected results differ.

If a base DualSense shows drift outside the warranty period, the stick module wear is expected after 400 to 800 hours. The fix is a self-replacement (the iFixit guide covers it) or controller replacement.

If a DualSense Edge shows drift, that is unusual. TMR sticks do not wear in normal use because they are non-contact magnetic sensors. Open a Sony PlayStation support ticket; Edge units within warranty are typically replaced.

The Edge also allows hot-swappable stick modules, so drift on an out-of-warranty Edge is a sub-£25 swap, not a full controller replacement.

Adaptive triggers fail in three distinct ways and most owners blame the wrong thing. Naming each mode saves a controller from premature replacement.

The first mode is gearbox binding. Each adaptive trigger has a small DC motor driving a gearbox, and lubricant on the gears dries out after roughly 18 to 24 months of heavy use so the gearbox starts to catch. Symptom: the trigger sometimes resists when it should not, or fails to resist when the game requests it; JoyCheck's weapon-mode test exposes this directly by ramping resistance from 0 to maximum.

The second mode is dead motor. The trigger motor itself fails open-circuit, usually after a fall or moisture exposure, and the trigger feels exactly like a base DualShock 4 trigger with no resistance regardless of the requested profile. JoyCheck shows this by running a high-amplitude resistance command; if no resistance is felt, the motor is the suspect.

The third mode is potentiometer drift on the trigger itself. The trigger position sensor is a small potentiometer that wears like the stick potentiometers; symptom is that the trigger reports a non-zero value at rest, or caps below 1.000 at full pull. JoyCheck shows raw trigger values to three decimal places, so this is visible at a glance.

A diagnostic reads the controller. It does not repair the controller. Specifically:

• It cannot recalibrate worn sensors. Sony's HID protocol does not have a calibration-offset command for DualSense. No software tool can store a "set centre" instruction in the controller; the hardware does not accept one.
• It cannot replace voice-coil actuators or trigger motors. These are soldered to the mainboard. The iFixit DualSense guide covers replacement and is rated moderate difficulty.
• It cannot fix a snapped USB-C port. A common DualSense failure mode after heavy use; visible only in charging behaviour, not in input.
• It cannot fix Bluetooth pairing failures. Pairing flows live in the OS per Bluetooth SIG standards; controllers do not own the pairing.
• It cannot test the speaker or mic. Separate audio subsystem with its own failure modes.

If JoyCheck confirms a subsystem fault, the next stop is either a self-repair using the iFixit guide, a paid repair through Sony PlayStation support, or replacement. Either way you start with data, not a guess.

1. W3C, "Gamepad API specification": www.w3.org/TR/gamepad
2. Mozilla Developer Network, "GamepadHapticActuator": developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/GamepadHapticActuator
3. Sony, "DualSense Wireless Controller": www.playstation.com/en-us/accessories/dualsense-wireless-controller
4. WICG, "WebHID API specification": wicg.github.io/webhid
5. iFixit, "Game controller repair guides": www.ifixit.com/Device/Game_Console