A demolition of the DualSense controller for the PlayStation 5 seems to have reduced to zero several factors that contribute to the joystick drift issue.
First, a certain context: the launch of the PS5 just a few months ago, but it didn’t seem long before the players began to report stick derivation problems. Now, Sony is facing a collective process related to the problem. Immersing themselves in the technical functionality of the DualSense controller, the repair people at I’ll fix it identified several issues that may contribute to the problem together. But, interestingly, the biggest seems to be that the potentiometers in the DualSense joysticks will inevitably fail.
iFixit has identified the manufacturer of joystick modules in DualSense – and other controllers from various hardware manufacturers – as a Japanese company for electronic components and Alps Alpine components. Citing an Alps specification sheet for joystick potentiometers, iFixit found that the company lists a service life of 2,000,000 cycles on its RKJXV series.
After estimating iFixit, after measuring the interactions of the controller of one of its engineers, this could mean that someone who plays for two hours a day could start having problems in just 4 to 7 months, depending on the game. iFixit noticed, however, that the potentiometers could fail before or after that window.
Perhaps the wear of the joystick potentiometers is not the only problem that contributes to the drift. iFixit mentioned that the plastic stretch, the stress on the spring mechanism that helps to center the joystick and the dirt accumulated with normal use can also contribute to the problem. In any case, the complicated process of tackling these issues – especially without soldering tools – is a problem.
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Sony did not immediately return a request for comment regarding iFixit’s findings or the process related to its warranty agreements.
The class action lawsuit related to the PS5’s DualSense controller was filed last week in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The main accusation The complaint is that Sony is and has been aware of this problem, namely as a result of “thousands” of consumer complaints. It is also looking at what it considers to be a difficult customer support process and the costs for which Sony does not reimburse them.
“Even for warranty repairs for Drift, customers have to pay to ship the controller to a Sony repair center – a cost that varies depending on a number of factors, including the location and total weight of the package – and Sony does not reimburse customers for these shipping costs, “the complaint states.” As a result of Sony’s unfair, misleading and / or fraudulent business practices, the owners of DualSense controllers, including the complainant, were affected by Sony’s behavior. “