How to Replace Xbox One Controller Analog Joystick - NEW METHOD - Fix Stick Drift, Broken, & Loose

Upgraded Xbox One Joystick Replacement Kit: amzn.to/2KgYP0e
~$30 Soldering Kit: amzn.to/2Y05Kig
~$20 Soldering Kit: amzn.to/3LbFFTi
Helping Hands 1: amzn.to/2PQVBzO
Helping Hands 2: amzn.to/3VVSlF0
or
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Timeline:
Introduction - 0:00
Joystick Misconceptions - 0:40
Tools - 2:17
Testing Controller - 4:30
Taking Controller Apart - 6:02
Joysticks Removal (Normal Method) - 8:23
Joystick Removal (Disassembly Method) - 11:04
Putting in New Joystick - 13:45
How to Calibrate - 15:55
Potentiometer Demo 1 - 17:04
Potentiometer Demo 2 - 19:40
Potentiometer Demo 3 - 22:00
Potentiometer Demo 4 - 22:47
Potentiometer Demo 5 - 25:43
Potentiometer Demo 6 - 26:39
Controller Assembly - 27:50
Last Test & Outro - 29:30
Tired of having a non-working controller because the joystick isn’t functioning correctly? Replacing your analog stick will fix and repair many joystick issues and problems including but not limited to: stick drift, creeping, stuttering, blind spots, dead zones, no click, non-centered, broken, and loose joysticks. This method for replacing your joystick will fix these issues on Regular, S, and Elite model Xbox One Controllers. In this video you will learn how to test your controller, take the controller apart, remove the analog joystick, install and replace the joystick with soldering iron, use a multi-meter to measure the potentiometers, and manually calibrate the joystick.
Searchable Keywords: Xbox One Controller Joystick Potentiometer Alps Sensor Replace Fix Repair Install Replacement Open Remove Stick Drift Broken Loose Creeping Stuttering Blind Spots no Click Not Clicking Solder
DISCLAIMER: Some of the links on this channel are affiliate links which means by clicking on them and purchasing the items I get a small commission.

[@SOSSGAMING]

As always the links for the kits are in the description. Thanks for watching!

[@famoustiz4624]

@@SOSSGAMING hey how do you find the controller parts?

[@SOSSGAMING]

@Dank Meme Amazon: amzn.to/2KgYP0e eBay: www.ebay.com/itm/223831814472

[@SOSSGAMING]

@Dub Jubs Yep! They are the exact same joystick, minus the metal inserts in the joystick shafts on the elites (which are useless anyway). Doing this repair is actually how I got into soldering too so I'm optimistic you can pull it off as well. Best of luck!

[@Andronicus87]

What about the elite series 2 do you have to cut apart the thumbstick on that one as well? I have a series two that has a broken L3 button and I want to replace the thumbstick on it.

[@SOSSGAMING]

@@Andronicus87 If all you have is a soldering iron (no desoldering iron or heat gun) I believe that is the best technique to remove it. The through holes are very small on those controllers as well which can make it seemingly difficult to remove every bit of solder from each pin doing it the traditional way of removing solder. I believe those controllers also use lead-free solder so adding a bit of flux and extra solder should help to heat it up/remove it.

[@davesublette7447]

PS .... I am an 81 year old retired EE and ham radio guy. I still build and repair circuits that use surface mount components. I have a few medical issues but am blessed with steady hands and clear vision. I love a good project. What did we ever do before KZbin?!!

[@TheJuicebox111]

hell yea pops

[@segamatthews5023]

We winged it used voltage meters

[@rehdogg4life69]

"And now comes the fun part" After trying this a few times, he's not lying! Thanks, whoever you are, for legit creating a new hobby for me. I've repaired countless controllers with your help!

[@SOSSGAMING]

Awesome! Great to hear.

[@joshkennedy871]

Can’t wait to do it on mine. Once done successfully I’ll probably do commissions for friends and family 👌👌👌

[@MEXICANASSASSIN2]

@@joshkennedy871 have you done it yet? If so, any recommendations on oem parts

[@bkblindside3884]

@@MEXICANASSASSIN2 I've ordered both analogs and bumpers from SOSS and they're perfect. Some of their sets also come with all the tools you need to get the controller apart which is a nice bonus. The bumpers are better than OEM as they're made with better plastic and seem to fit more snugly but the analogs are the same ones used by Microsoft I'm pretty sure. There are no differences as far as I can tell. You'd be smart to order more analogs than you need for reasons outlined in the video. Swapping potentiometers may be necessary in some instances and having backups in case something goes sour like a pin breaking etc can save you time and frustration.

[@nightmaretribe2192]

@@SOSSGAMING I need help so I have an elite controller and did everything you did im at the part right after you get the posts out to put the new joystick in my post won't come out i have the small hole contorller posts, I've only got 3 out so far can you or someone else help me please and thank you

[@HeroMickeyYu]

my brain: yeah i got it my hands: no you dont

[@homebrewGT2]

Happens to me all the time. I see the technique for soldering and I'm like. Yeah I got it. Then I go and try and it's a complete shit show

[@-Sean_]

​@homebrewGT2 Have you tried using more solder when you're trying to desolder?

[@anikidwolfy]

30 minuets of knowledge, direction and no wasted time. Your instructions are spot on, methods of indestructible and destructive are appreciated as not always can people afford a hot air gun ontop of all the other stuff. I'm about to attempt this myself and was unaware that there's a high potential that the potentiometers need ajustment. Thanks.

[@TheOnlyUmagon]

I recently started fixing remotes and learned this the hard way. I had no idea they needed adjustment

[@vgrepairs]

@@TheOnlyUmagon dude yeah it's fxcking annoying. Even if you use a helder mod kit with adjustable potentiometers the dead zone could still be completely off whack!

[@MR_GT78]

Be careful because I damaged the PCB board and needed a replacement. It was the desoldering that caused the issue for me. I ended up damaging one of the holes, SHM. The rest looked great, but a small piece got stuck, and too much heat, well. I am waiting until the new part comes in. I ordered a heat gun and a desoldering gun for future projects.

[@7ChaosTheory]

You're probably the most patient content creator I've ever watched. I felt the struggle when you couldn't get the results right.

[@mnjrivera1]

Thanks for a great tutorial!! My son is heavy handed and got tired of buying new, managed to fix 2 of my controllers!! For anyone who will follow this tutorial, take your time and follow instructions , it’s not hard, just takes patience!!

[@Sarah-lm6tk]

Very thorough and patient with explaining every step. And being mindful with showing differences between each kind of controller. Extremely helpful and appreciated 👍

[@DaveNFamily]

Top quality knowledge and instruction. I really appreciate KZbinrs who don't add load music, speak clearly and show everything. I briefly considered replacing my sticks and could probably do this ok. Not the neatest at solder and the adjustment looks like a lot of effort so will look for a board instead. May be back to follow this if I start feeling cheap about it.

[@davesublette7447]

Excellent video. Just used it to repair a controller. Strictly speaking, one does not have to unsolder the motor wires. Taking care to leave the remaining half of the assembly flat on the table will prevent the headphone jack from falling out. Our calibration results were nearly perfect. The tool kit and repair parts kits were fantastic. Thanks!!

[@10100rsn]

If you're using just a soldering iron you can remove the joysticks without damaging them. First apply some new solder to each pin. Then apply some flux to your desoldering braid, press it to the pins you want to desolder and then apply a really hot soldering iron. I used about 420+ on my iron and the solder sucks right out of the holes and into the flux coated braid. Repeat this until all the pins are loose enough to pull the joystick out in one piece. Your iron will need to be really hot and the tip will need to be cleaned occasionally during the process but it works. It will take about 6 to 10 inches of desoldering braid per joystick but don't cut it beforehand, only cut off the used pieces of braid as you go and use a fume extractor or a fan... or just don't inhale.

[@originalmachowi4671]

That's what I was thinking. I haven't done my controller yet but I have desoldered many a module from pcb in my life and have never found it necessary to chop them up first. Just flux, heat and wick and it should come loose.

[@Flavio93Zena]

Honestly I'm a pretty decent solderer but FUCK THIS. Needlessly complicated, fucking idiotic design and absolutely not worth the time nor the effort.

[@idk-yh7dw]

Just used this process today to repair my Xbox One Wireless Controller that was drifting. It was a tedious process, but the outcome was great. Thanks SOSS Gaming for sharing your video!

[@TheThingOfDestiny]

First time doing an in depth repair and following this guide worked perfectly! I didn’t need to calibrate the joysticks fortunately - guess I was lucky. Thanks for making this guide - very useful

[@aHondaaa]

THIS IS AWESOME. I just wish I had searched for this like two weeks ago. I switched out the tension springs for my thumbsticks but the left stick was stuck down and I thought it was just broken but I guess all I had to do was recalibrate it! I supposed I can still fix em but I already bought two broken controllers that I've now fixed thanks to this vid

[@sparkster7744]

I just replaced the sticks on a 360 controller, preserving the original pots but forgot I had changed the sticks previously and they wouldn't center correctly, now I can correct them with this manual calibration trick. You're the best! PD: I can't believe how well that worked. This must be my best repair so far

[@Modern-Nerds]

Thank you for this video! I used it today in an attempt to fix stick drift in my right thumbstick. I was successful in fixing the issue. I simply replaced the potentiometer for the x-axis by desoldering the old one and soldering on a new one replacing the disc as well. After looking at the inside of the old one it seems there were scuffs where the metal on the disc would be touching and creating the issue of drifting. After replacing it all is well and works just like it did the say I purchased it!! Thanks again for all your help!!

[@Red_AIert]

Damn this new method is awesome. I’m only missing a helping hand but I’ve never soldered anything in my life. I’ve replaced several bumpers but that’s way easier than what you are doing. Well done. Liked and subbed. 👍🏽✌🏽

[@bradenlynn3921]

Clicked on this video to happily find out I was misunderstanding an issue with my controller taken apart. Then just listened to his voice while I reassembled my controller…. Good vid 👌🏼

[@Aearian]

I just swapped the old ones with new sticks, and behold, no calibration needed, works fine! :) I actually did the repair before watching this video, but you show lots of useful tricks. :3

[@robyee3325]

Did you replace the sticks on an oem controller? I’m trying to do this on 3rd party controller but still huge deadzones

[@ianrumsey5359]

You are fantastic! You saved my custom "Yoshi edition" (design lab) controller, I was so bummed. Def the hardest project I've done, but this helped tremendously, very thorough and clear. Thumbs up!

[@lvanlol]

Under rated KZbind I thought by the quality of this video you would have 100k good job

[@theslambulance8984]

Awesome video! I ordered the parts and fixed mine. Biggest problem I had was sucking the old solder out of the holes using that little plastic suction thing it came with. I would recommend heating up the old solder and suctioning from the other side of the circuit board that was the only way that worked for me. Also, my potentiometers were nearly perfect once I bent the metal leads away from the joystick. I guess I got lucky with those. Overall it took me a while to fix but it is now 100% good as new.

[@SOSSGAMING]

Great to hear! Well done.

[@Otterbergv]

This video is great. I'm always going to try and repair what I have first before considering buying something new. Thank you!

[@O.G.Trashboat]

This is the best video I've seen on this subject! Very good explaining what you are doing. You earned a sub. Thanks for such an excellent video

[@legocircus]

Incredibly well-made video. Thank you so much for sharing! It was a flawless guide (for me anyway).

[@Knaeckebrotsaege]

One little tip for manually adjusting the pots without having to bend the pins (so keeping them more or less freely rotatable (if that's even a word)) is to use BGA solder paste to connect the pot pins to the pads. This is basically solder in spreadable paste form that melts into regular solder joints when heated, but is flexible and conductive before that, allowing for testing and adjustment without having to bend the pins over (or worst case having to tack-solder them in place multiple times even). Just don't make a mess with the paste as it's positive point (being conductive) can easily turn into a negative one (shorting things out)

[@TheCheech0203]

I’m gonna smear this paste all over myself and run into a thunderstorm

[@itsramee264]

This guide is really specific and helps me understand this better, I'm doing a small project to repair a BUNCH of my xbox controllers and will update by the end of this week!

[@SOSSGAMING]

Best of luck!

[@itsramee264]

@@SOSSGAMING I just finished my first controller, was able to get my thumbstick precisely centered on the first try. Thanks to you I became much more confident in soldering!

[@SOSSGAMING]

@@itsramee264 Awesome! Great to hear well done.

[@lewisvincent3290]

My kit just arrived and my controller has been fully restored using your method very pleased so thanks for saving me £40!

[@redhugh123]

Such a great comprehensive video! It made a great calming companion to my joystick replacing journey! Haha

[@bobbrown1885]

I just used this video to install your kit and it was WAY easier than I thought it would. I also am not an expert solder-er, but it was very simple following your example (after watching it like 50 times). The only think that I would add is that while the controller is open just go ahead and clean it. It will ALWAYS pay off!!

[@SOSSGAMING]

Great work!!

[@daltonaguiar5322]

Man, How I wish I had found this video before. I bought a used Xbox One controller for my PC, and the left stick was very bad. I bought new ones, and every single one I tried was drifting off. The seller send another ones after I complained they weren't good, but after seeing this I feel relieved, and kinda bad at the same time. I thought the parts were bad quality, and in the end they just needed to be calibrated... Well, living and learning. Anyway, thx a lot, I already left my thumbs up for you.

[@CxDOGxLEM]

Thank you so much!!!! I've been having so much trouble with these potentiometers. I got so tired of soldering and desoldering haha

[@maxroach8458]

1000th subscriber, so satisficing watching that go from 999 to 1K! Good luck!

[@SOSSGAMING]

Thanks so much! I guess this is the motivation I need to make more videos. I wish I didn't have so much else going on, but rest assured I'll make some more. Thanks again for the support.

[@alireza1234321]

Thanks a lot mate, I have been pulling my hairs out trying to find a way to centre the joystick and you showed me how.

[@Dronedudevideo]

Amazing video this is a fun project. What a clear video..better than what's available

[@2828moises]

before doing this i recommend to replace the joystick sensor inside the little green box on the sides! one of my scuff controllers had stick drift and changing the sensor fixed it! now with my other controller the left joystick was actually broken so now im watching this video to replace it! appreciate u actually telling us there is knock off joystick thats a life saver!

[@sandrochomaxidze2600]

Imagine that feeling when you know that you will never have to buy a new controller because of a Drift problem. I am going to try this method for the first time tomorrow, and I'm very excited. Actually I'm thinking about taking a new hobby, as someone already mentioned above me. Lot of people around me are having trouble with Drift and there are only few people who can repair them well. Thank you very much for such an informative and hight quality video. Wish you everything good in your life.

[@trashtronics1700]

This has been a huge issue since the 360 it just took longer back then to get drift if u want to practice soldering and desoldering I would say pick up old 360 controllers cheap and work on PC as well so you can still get use put of them also much easier to do the 360 ones as well

[@aliasdjavanguard]

Great work mate. I'm doing a controller repair as we speak - that HTML5 link is excellent thank you

[@robert_wolf6989]

I cant find the link where is it?

[@boprosplumbing]

great tips. i am actually pretty experienced at soldering and i can tell you nice job pulling that first joystick, a lot of people with no soldering experience aren't going to get it out that easily lol BTW in my experience, unless your just touching up a solder joint the flux is crucial, as in more than recommended. It lifts contaminants from the contacts to the surface of the joint and out of the solder, improves balling and so on and so on. i know the solder is flux-cored, but that is only enough to quickly make your joint.

[@SOSSGAMING]

Great additional input. Thanks!

[@charlesglader7473]

thank you i have looked for a decent video explaining this for years. awesome job.

[@BruTaLTrIcKzx]

Dude! I was mad as hell because I just bought a bunch of pots and all of them had some drift... I didn't know you could "calibrate" them like that. Thanks for the info.

[@xaytana]

Software for calibrating controller may not exist due to the lack of USB-based debugging on these controllers. I haven't looked to see if USB debugging exists on these controllers, and I'm not sure if this varies by model but I would assume each model is fairly similar, these controllers have SWD debug pads at the bottom of the main board next to the headphone jack; the silkscreen labels are 0/NA, RES, A14, A13, and 3V3. Through software, OpenOCD is a typical choice for this, you can find chip information, which is hidden under a blob of epoxy, and these controllers seem to typically use SMT32 chips. Through the software you can also access memory, of which you can dump, modify, and reflash, which SMT32 chips require a wipe before flashing to written memory. I personally haven't done a deep dive into the firmware, but recalibration through this method shouldn't be difficult assuming you're familiar with debugging. If there is USB-based debugging, that only makes the process simpler; but I personally doubt their is considering someone can brick their controller with a bad script, and scriptkiddies run rampant these days, it's probably a failsafe to deter this behavior by outright disabling USB debugging. I wouldn't be surprised if the various hacker and modder forums have already figured this out, long ago, as it's just a simple debug job over an SWD port. I also wouldn't be surprised if some repair shops don't do this also, as making a tool for this would be fairly easy, especially if you find a way to automate the process entirely. But the only issue with this is that Microsoft is constantly coming out with new versions of these controllers, and my main source of board information is currently unavailable so I can't just reference each version at the moment; this also assumes that Microsoft hasn't drastically changed the computing hardware either. Honestly I wish controllers would move to a better method for analogue sticks, as they're proving to be plagued with issues, especially when you deviate from the standard design, like with what Nintendo does. Even a hardware based recalibration would be nice, implement limit switches to measure min/max values when a calibration button is pressed; that kind of calibration button could also be hidden in the battery tray, or easily done through software.

[@SOSSGAMING]

Wow! So much information thanks for sharing.

[@lurkingtroll8715]

This is helpful! Thank you!

[@jamesocker5235]

your use of flux is very important as it spreads heat quickly and helps stop board overheating

[@edwardfulton1021]

Never used sober before in my life tried to do this and fried a mobo now l'll just pay to have someone else do It especially for my elite 2 to big of an investment to chance. Don't see why Microsoft doesn't make them modular snap in&outs, my bad we are talking bout Microsoft

[@Megapolomann]

This is one of the best videos I have seen in a long time

[@Archonaus]

Thanks for the amazing tutorial! I followed it and managed to fix replace a drifting joytick in my xbox elite controller. Not gunna lie... it was difficult, but very satisfying once it worked! I would have had no chance if it weren't for your careful, step-by-step instructions! Truly outstanding work!

[@SOSSGAMING]

Thanks for the kind words, and excellent job on the repair!

[@SteveGunderson26]

Great, real world tutorial. Thank you for your help boss!

[@roahnosh]

This is a good instruction video specially the method of disassembling (11:04). What most guide fail to explain is that the whole module will act as a huge heatsink hence why some people have trouble disordering and they end up damaging the board. Most casual people only have the cheapest and basic tools and with this method they'll be able to avoid damaging their controllers. Also for recalibration there's a new method for recalibrating sticks called Heller Drift Stick Fix but is quite expensive atm. Maybe there'll be a time when someone will mass produce these boards after all the PS5 joystick uses the same model as the ps4 so the drift issue will remain for the next 7 years or so

[@vgrepairs]

Aliexpress has very cheap alternatives to the helder kit. Also even with perfect centering using the helder kit the freaking dead zones don't get adjusted accordingly so you could end up with very limited range!!! It's trash!

[@WerewolfMaster]

disassembling is TERRIBLE!

[@nerdstrangler4804]

@@vgrepairs Wow thanks for heads up about the aliexpress clones of the helder kit, just ordered one of every variety to test out. Wish I hadn't already wasted money on multiple helder kits. As much as I like supporting the inventor, his prices are highway robbery. And you are right, the helder kit can limit range. Luckily we solved this problem back in the xbox 360 days, as "slow turn" was common with 360 controllers. It requires a very advanced set of tools known as sandpaper. Just take the faceplate off, and whatever direction you are having trouble pegging the joystick in.... sand a little bit of material off the shell on that side to give the stick a little bit of extra travel distance. It is a helluva lot quicker and easier than all this cutting, bending and swapping potentiometer nonsense.

[@vgrepairs]

@@nerdstrangler4804 true, helpful advice. thanks man! good to know an occasional comment helps some folks.

[@vgrepairs]

@@nerdstrangler4804 i wish clients were open to letting me sand their controller housing to fix their lack of range.

[@frogfrog663]

Managed to pull it out first time, Love you dude, saved me some money on new controller, thanks for the video

[@JosueHDC]

Amazing job dude! Keep on doing your thing thumbs up!

[@goldweight6630]

My controller was a little too much for me to repair, thumbsticks were completely not working and some of the buttons weren't either. I guess that's what happens when you use it for 6 years😂. I just salvaged everything I could to put into my other controllers that needed repairs. I've now fixed them and countless others. Thanks for the help.

[@f3rns]

Thank you so much for this video. I didn't understand the values needed to have the potenciometers calibrated correctly. I never knew this had so much trouble and error, to tell you the truth I don't solder I'm a total noob. I hope to see more of this videos on ps4 dualshock 4 controllers. Great video.

[@d05music17]

Totally rad tutorial, great examples. I salute your work sir

[@jacobsmith3925]

This is the single best video I've seen on this topic, incredible stuff!

[@SOSSGAMING]

Thanks for watching and the kind words! Happy repairs

[@kbranchjr]

thank you this help a lot

[@twizz420]

6:48 I usually just cut an "X" over the screw with a razor, that way I can stick my screwdriver into the screw but it isn't very noticeable when everything is back together. Also, using a teflon razor helps a LOT with peeling off stickers. Especially "warranty" stickers.

[@deanmcleod7964]

That's a great video mate, and you def know your soldering stuff 👌

[@durimshahini268]

Beautiful video flawless execution and knowledge most people wont even attempt this but it was very helpful for me thank you

[@SOSSGAMING]

Glad you liked it. Thanks for watching!

[@kasimahmed3841]

Lifesaver man thanks! Saved me from buying a new controller

[@lobsterindatoilet9784]

This helped so much, I couldn't figure out how to reassemble, but realized I didn't fully connect the motherboard to the second pcb 😭

[@dennisgarciaii5290]

Saved my day today after replacing the pots in my controller and the centering was off. Thanks i really appreciate it!!

[@PaulStoppable]

I think I'm ready to try, will do my replacements in couple days! Thanks!

[@SOSSGAMING]

Best of luck! You got this.

[@DaRaFF79]

Thank you so much for this awesome tutorial! I looked into tons of analogue stick replacement tutorials (which helped me with the technique how to replace the stick), but this video gave a lot of insights on how one can calibrate the analogue stick (without calibration the rest does not help so much). What I'm wondering is: why does no one at least mention that you need to manually calibrate your analogue stick? They just replace it and bam everything works - But this is not possible out of the nature of an analogue stick.

[@SOSSGAMING]

My pleasure! Unfortunately it is not common knowledge. It's something that frustrated me so much when I was trying to repair my own controller. Thanks to some forums and some testing of my own I was able to figure it out. And it's actually what made me decide to make my own video on it and even sell the correct parts on the side.

[@EM83D]

Hi Ralph, as you wrote "nature of an analogue stick" I wonder why there is no software for autocalibration available. As these potentiometers are surely linear you should be able to "center" them with software once and for all without the hassle of soldering. :(

[@markvanwalsem3201]

Sadly most people do a full analogstick repair...but it's the potentiometers who causes drift.

[@tomzpl]

using nailclippers for cutting the potentiometer bumps is also neat.

[@SOSSGAMING]

Good idea!

[@YouthfulPat]

Thanks a lot for the tutorial! My controller's left joystick has been broken on the Y axis since like 2019 and now it's fixed! You can also just change the potentiometer instead of the whole joystick.

[@CuttinInIdaho]

You are a quality dude for putting this together

[@StevenNi_]

Great video helped me out a lot, however, I was trying out another method. Instead of manipulating the potentiometer itself, I manipulated the white nub that turns the wipers. So far, my method has worked and tbh a lot less tedious, however, testing will still have to be done as im not sure if deforming the plastic nub a certain way is a long term solution.

[@SOSSGAMING]

I've tried this before with only temporary success. Personally, I don't think it's a very reliable way of doing it as per my experience, but maybe there's a way of making sure the new deformation is stable.

[@jacobr7120]

Thanks for the guide. Will be starting on my 4 broken controllers, 1 is snapped off need a whole new joystick and 3 have drift thanks to my toddlers dropping them off the couch etc.. wish me luck. Down to 1 controller and not buying more lol.

[@SOSSGAMING]

Best of luck!

[@topgeardo]

Hi, I manged to center perfectly an xbox one controller using your technique It took me about 3 hours I used the soldering at 300 C to avoid damaging the board and very carefully testing as you described thank you very much for your knowledge!!!!

[@SOSSGAMING]

Awesome! So glad it worked out for you. Well done.

[@MegaStupidMonkeys]

Amazing. The steps are so detailed.

[@saabbutt1382]

I wish i can help u and donate u but i am low at my budget.but really love u and appreciate ur work.

[@SOSSGAMING]

Thank you for such kind words! Honestly I'm just glad to help :)

[@raamrosa]

I did it!!!!! I fixed my elite 1 i spent $40 and 2 hours. Great tutorial!!! It was fun

[@axiomh5805]

Amazing video bro. I'm about to fix my controllers and this is just what I needed.

[@FunFactorRC]

That's amazing. I'm glad I know how, but dang, there has to be an easier way lol

[@rm6058]

Wow... this was difficult. I had never soldered before. This was tough, but I got it done. One of the joysticks that came in the package was defective and after already installing the right successfully, the left was registering as if it was clicked in. I thought I damage the board and it definitely looks a little beat up, but I swapped it out and you know what? I freaking got it fixed. I did get a couple small burns on my fingers, but I learned a new skill and fixed my stupid $120 elite controller! I would highly recommend NOT bending the pins on the green parts all the way down to make the connection. This can mean some serious damage to the board if you are not careful and you will have to disassemble the whole joystick if it is really stuck. I simply plugged it in, to get a reading, then removed and moved the pins to the left or right, stuck it back in and when it was acceptable, just soldered it in. Thanks for the video!

[@ChrisHorne24]

This was very detailed....thx man!

[@osonoKurt]

thanks very much!! I was about to buy a new controller, but with this video now it is back to live!!

[@Pathfinder5k]

Super helpful video and my repair went (almost) perfectly. Managed to get the left stick centered at ~0.01851x by ~0.02269y. The only problem is that the x-axis now has a huge dead zone on the right side (which I naturally didn't notice until I finished reassembly). The dead zone changes a bit depending on the y-axis input but no matter what it won't read past 0.67880. All other metrics seem to be fine. Is the fix for this to just swap out that potentiometer?

[@SOSSGAMING]

Congrats on the project! Good numbers. That's a great question, though. I've never seen it limited that bad before. I would first check to make sure the face cover/thumbstick is on correctly etc as restricted movement of the joystick could also be a contributing factor but that's probably not the issue but worth double checking. After that yes, I would then look at swapping out a potentiometer or two to see if that helps, and lastly the joystick if it doesn't.

[@Pathfinder5k]

Swapped out the bad potentiometer today (even got lucky and didn't have to adjust the calibration at all) and it's sitting pretty at -0.02571x with no outside dead zone. Thanks for your reply and for making the video!

[@SOSSGAMING]

@@Pathfinder5k Awesome! Glad it worked and glad to help.

[@cheater00]

Hi, great video, thanks a lot for making it! Based on what you show in the video, i think there might be an even better way to do this without trial and error, that I wanted to share with you. I hope this helps you. the potentiometers are voltage dividers. the motherboard firmware will contain the following numbers: 1. max 2. min 3. center. they correspond to voltages located on the wiper. so desolder the joystick in full and reassemble the controller. the connections for the potentiometer will have 0V (gnd), +Vpp (probably something like 3.3V or 1.5V, measure it with the multimeter and write it down) and the middle between them will be the wiper. so you will want to put voltage into the wiper connection that is between 0V and Vpp. while looking at the calibration app, figure out the voltage you need to get the joystick to center in the calibration app. measure the voltage with the multimeter (don't use the display on your power supply, you'll see why later). write the voltage down, call it Vcenter. make sure that your adjustable power supply never goes above Vcenter or you'll fry the motherboard. next, get a power supply that can output Vpp (that you wrote down earlier). take a new joystick. remove the 3 nubs. take 3 pin headers from an IC socket (with the machined flat spring clips) and solder 3 wires to 3 adjacent pins. plug the joystick's potentiometer into those 3 pins. set your power supply to output vpp and connect its ground to where ground would be on the potentiometer if it were in the controller, and Vpp where it would be on the potentiometer if it were in the controller. finally, clip the multimeter between 0V and the wiper. with the joystick in the center position, turn the potentiometer around until you get the same voltage you wrote down earlier (Vcenter). fixate it using hot glue or super glue or tape or whatever. The joystick will now be perfectly centered when you put it in the controller, and it's way easier and faster to do that than the trial and error method you show. You can remove the hot glue / tape after soldering the joystick in place, it's going to stay calibrated now, because it's rigid through the solder joints. But bear in mind that I've never done something like this, so I can't really know if it will work. One advantage of this is that you can just set up your IC socket and power supply and multimeter, and plug in different joystick potentiometers until you find one that is the right voltage without needing to have its nubs cut off. Which saves a lot of time and fiddling as well. you also save a lot of soldering, and every time you heat up those tiny plated through-holes the glue holding the copper to the fibre glass heats up and degrades and eventually you get a lifted pad or trace or a stripped through-hole. bear in mind that your multimeter and your power supply might display slightly different voltages, so when you figure out the calibration voltage Vcenter and later calibrate the pot by moving it around so that it outputs Vcenter, you need to be using the same measurement device.

[@SOSSGAMING]

Not going to lie I'm a little lost but I think I get it. I think I would have to see what you are talking about in action though to grasp the idea completely haha. I'm actually able to whip through joysticks now with this method, so for me personally it's not an issue but still if it's an easier way I would definitely enjoy seeing it. Thanks for sharing!

[@cheater00]

@@SOSSGAMING alright, what are you lost on? you can talk to me on twitter my user name is plt_cheater that should be easier - i don't check youtube comments too much

[@divine1gore]

Should definitely pin this comment as it explains a much more analytical approach to solving the problem, makes sense -- though would be benefitted for sure with its own video

[@eternalydamned3197]

Thanks this was extremely useful. And decently my new hobby

[@MrCrackowacko]

Thank you for the wonderful and detailed tutorial. I shall get a new controller.

[@loren481]

Great video, just swapped out the left thumb stick on my friend's series 1 elite controller, which had the small pins. I have a couple observations and a couple questions: The larger solder tip is very helpful for desoldering the thumb stick body mounts. They have a lot of heat sinking into the board so the extra thermal mass of a larger tip helps a lot. I used a pretty fine tip and ended up switching to a chisel tip (not as big as yours) at the end and it made soldering the new stick on a lot faster. I also had to bump my Hakko up to 400 C, though with a larger tip, 350 C would probably work fine. I got lucky with my potentiometers. The x-axis was dead-on from the start, and though the y-axis was off, I just swapped in another unmodified potentiometer and it was within 0.06. I definitely recommend bending the pins outward, as it makes it easier to swap the potentiometer in and out if needed. Would it be a good first step to try cleaning the potentiometers with IPA when you have them opened up? They looked pretty dirty inside, so I'm wondering if a clean would get rid of any errant copper particles that could be causing the drift. Why replace the whole joy stick if its functional? If the drift problem is caused by the potentiometers and the stick is otherwise okay, it would save a lot of soldering and parts to simply desolder the potentiometers, pull them out, put in new pots, then calibrate as needed. Cheers for the video, I'm going to see if I can find some cheap broken controllers to repair now :)

[@SOSSGAMING]

You are correct. I should have been more clear that if only addressing drift, you can just change out the potentiometer causing the drift. When I was doing repairs, I'd always switch out the whole thing anyway, but it's not necessary as you've figure out. Well done on the repair!

[@richstrike8418]

@@SOSSGAMING I've replaced two potentiometers, one thumbstick worked with the new one while the other was unresponsive so I removed that joystick completely and did this method but I still have the same issue

[@SOSSGAMING]

@@richstrike8418 Sounds to me like one the through-hole pads are damaged. They are a bit finicky. Feel free to email me a picture at my gmail sossgamingcs if you want and I'll see if I can spot it. It can be "fixed" with a tracer wire(s).

[@richstrike8418]

@@SOSSGAMING I had already emailed you a day ago and have been waiting on your response since

[@richstrike8418]

@@SOSSGAMING also what is this "tracer wire" that you speak of and where can I get it?

[@nofelomar5447]

I really am impressed by the quality of ur videos, u should have a minimum of 10k subs. I have several questions, 1. I want to change the potentiometers instead of the whole stick, should I go for the white ones or the old oems? Are the cheap quality sticks the actual analogs or the sensors itself, Thanks,

[@SOSSGAMING]

Thanks! Go for the oems. There are white ones that are oems (from the ps4's) that are the same, but 99% of the white ones on the market are the bad potentiometers with the deadzone. There are subtle visual differences. The cheap sticks are mainly an issue because of the sensors, but also the R3/L3 push button commonly has issues as well.

[@nofelomar5447]

@@SOSSGAMING thanks for the help, you helped many people fix their controllers

[@dedoss94]

@@SOSSGAMING you know about the yellow stick or black stick for ps4 on aliexpress? i wanna know about it

[@SOSSGAMING]

@@dedoss94 I do not, sorry.

[@Talbotographer]

Straight up fantastic man

[@leopoldogonzalez5444]

Wow great video i learned something new today

[@blackanimedragon1452]

Said this on an older video but, puncturing that warranty sticker does not, I repeat, does not void warranty, look it up of you dont believe me

[@Todomo]

well if you had a warranty you could just replace the drifting controllr

[@helifixer206]

Thank you for the great video! Am I correct in thinking that if Microsoft would provide the proper calibration software for the controllers we wouldn't have to do all of the manual potentiometer adjustments to correct for centering? If we had access to the proper calibration software we would just have to check the new control stick for proper operation/operating resistance before installation to ensure you are not installing a faulty part, then the software can compensate for the inherent manufacturing differences in the potentiometers? I really like your videos and I have learned a lot from them. I hope in the future that right to repair laws get better so the manufacturers have to provide all the information necessary to repair their products.

[@SOSSGAMING]

Yes, you are correct! Thank you for the support. Let's cross our fingers that the laws get better.

[@adamneff1600]

yah i wish there was calibration software, I found there is a setting in windows for calibrating for different controllers but it changes the pc not the controller. Also, it's not just the potentiometer differences there are differences in the actual joystick centering. I've been soldering on the potentiometer only then swapping out tons of joysticks untill i find one that is decent enough center.

[@Tomeqf]

@@adamneff1600 Have anyone actually managed to get the windows 10 calibrating tool to recenter the stick? I see everywhere people talk there is that solution as long as you play on the PC, but personally the calibration does nothing to me. It still behaves as per default settings aka drifts to the right 6-11% after releasing it.

[@housepete2758]

Video was very good. Keep up with good work

[@beaconing7689]

Nice and detail explanation 👌

[@hippo4g93]

Hahahaha this guy is a mad man , that’s way tooooo much of a headache but thanks tho 🙏🙏 ! I’m surely buying a new controller lol

[@ghostsallday]

Lmaooo

[@hippo4g93]

@@ghostsallday he definitely is a soldering god

[@nameloc1000]

If you don't have the tools or the desire to learn the skill that's cool but I personally always upgrade other shell parts and buttons while I have it apart. Maybe find someone who does want to fix it and either have it fixed or give it to someone who can fix it. I've been paying more attention to wasteful products and trying to fix things or find someone who can rather than toss it.

[@ninjaslash52_98]

Same souldering iron I got xD

[@mohannadsadeddin8201]

Bro u saved me really appreciate your efforts 🙏

[@savagellama8931]

Thank you so much it helped and I learned something new 😁

[@TheGameMage_]

6:44 Fun Fact: That Sticker is Not legally Binding according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Companies can't claim you voided the warranty for tampering with that sticker.

[@yoladatti5556]

Super helpful, thanks man.

[@michaelbrown8122]

Hey I actually just bought your oem kit off ebay and randomly found your guys video on here. Nice

[@SOSSGAMING]

Awesome. Good luck on the repair!

[@ineedfiles]

i got lucky and didn't even have to calibrate anything!

[@bradleymasterson7366]

I think I’ll just buy a new controller!

[@kosztaz87]

And this is exactly the kind of attitude what Microsoft expects. This is why they don't provide a simple solution with a freely downloadable software, where you could calibrate the thumbsticks. They love their minions keeping buying their crap. Fuck them!

[@Clone_of_Darth_Revan]

Another problem is the fact that they don’t provide the key tool to open their original Xbox controller. I have to not only waste time going to the store to find the right size, but the money I spend. Meanwhile multiple fake and trash brands are selling their cheap but shitty controllers like hot cakes. I have one of the shittiest brand controller called PowerA and their controllers are known to have sticks that fuck up so easily... Seriously Microsoft, get your thumb outta your ass and make a controller we can take apart for maintenance or make a controller with better quality that’s affordable.

[@Clone_of_Darth_Revan]

@@kosztaz87 I couldn’t agree more

[@dwainheat2178]

No dont

[@jjames4661]

@@keanuvernon6114 i have 4 how much would you offer lol. Two black controllers, 1 red gears of war edition and 1 blue gears of war edition. Controllers look great with no marks i just have drift on all of them.

[@soihavetoplay]

Very complete video thanks!!

[@Wex883]

Amazing video, fixed two of my controllers that had stick drift. One of them was a series X|S controller as well. Thanks a lot!

[@SOSSGAMING]

Great job!

[@noonenoesbutme]

It's criminal that MS doesn't release the software that can reprogram the calibration