Gamepad Tester

Everything the controller is sending

Buttons light as you press them and stay marked once proved, so you can work through every input systematically. Analogue triggers show a percentage rather than just on or off, and both sticks are plotted on their axes with the raw values alongside.

Press a button before it appears

Browsers deliberately hide connected gamepads until you interact with one. It is an anti-fingerprinting measure: a page that could silently enumerate your controllers would learn something about you for nothing. So plug in, press any button, and the controller appears.

Why the button names may not match

The Gamepad API maps most controllers to a standard layout modelled on an Xbox pad. A PlayStation controller's Cross reports as button 0, the same index as A on an Xbox pad, which is why the labels here show both. Unusual or older controllers sometimes do not map cleanly at all, and then the indices are all you get — which is still enough to confirm every input works.

How to use it

1. Connect the controller and press any button to wake it.
2. Work through every button. Each stays marked, so you can see what you have covered.
3. Squeeze the triggers slowly and watch the percentage climb smoothly. A trigger that jumps from 0 to 100 has lost its analogue range.
4. Move both sticks to every edge, checking they reach ±1 and return to centre.
5. Let go entirely and look at the resting values — that is the drift check.

Common uses and tips

What each symptom means

• A button that needs a hard press — worn contacts or debris under the membrane.
• A trigger that jumps rather than ramps — the analogue sensor has failed and it is behaving as a switch.
• A stick that will not reach the edge — a worn potentiometer or a fouled gate. Games will feel unresponsive at full tilt.
• Sticks that do not return to zero — drift, which is the commonest controller fault of all.
• Nothing detected at all — try a different cable first. A great many USB cables carry power only.

Before you buy second-hand

This takes about a minute and catches everything worth catching: drift, dead buttons, failed triggers. Worth doing before money changes hands rather than after.

Questions people ask

My controller is not detected.

Press a button on it — browsers hide gamepads until you interact with one. If that does not work, try a different cable: many USB cables carry power only, with no data lines.

Why are the button names wrong for my controller?

The Gamepad API maps most controllers to a standard Xbox-style layout, so a PlayStation Cross reports at the same index as Xbox A. The labels show both.

Does this work with Bluetooth controllers?

Yes, once the controller is paired with the operating system. The browser sees it the same way as a wired one.

My trigger jumps from 0 to 100 %.

The analogue sensor has failed and the trigger is behaving as a plain switch. That is a hardware fault.

Can this test rumble or the gyro?

Rumble is supported on some browsers through the vibration actuator API, but motion sensors are not exposed to web pages at all.