The PS5's DualSense is the latest controller to suffer from drift issues, but an iFixit teardown has revealed what appears to be the cause of this frustrating problem

iFixit noticed that there are many factors contributing to the DualSense's drift The main one seems to be that the potentiometer joystick module has an operating life of only 2 million cycles, meaning that it will eventually fail, especially during long gaming sessions

The potentiometer is made by Alps Alpine in Japan, and the spec sheet lists its operating life: 2 million cycles may seem like a lot, but iFixit has done the math and found that this is not the case

In fact, a person who plays games for two hours a day could see their potentiometer begin to fail within four to seven months, depending on the games they play Of course, this is an estimate, and potentiometers can fail before or after that time

iFixit was quick to point out that these modules are not exclusive to DualSense: the PS4's DualShock 4, Xbox One controllers (including the $180 Xbox One Elite controller), Nintendo Switch's Pro controllers are exactly the same as those used in the Pro controllers

Other factors that can affect drift include stretching of the plastic, stress on the spring mechanism that helps center the joystick, and general dirt and stains over time iFixit notes that the amount of solder used to connect these components to the motherboard the amount of solder used means that serious soldering gear is needed to replace them

Complaints about DualSense drift have increased in the months since its release One Reddit user claims that his controller began to drift within 10 days of purchase

Sony promised to repair all malfunctioning controllers within the warranty period, but for some this was not enough and the company is facing a class action lawsuit from disgruntled players

iFixit claims that this is not the way it should be The problem stems from the gaming company's use of inexpensive parts that are difficult to replace, making controller repairs expensive when those parts fail

The site notes that older controllers, such as those on the Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo 64, do not have the same problem The former uses magnets that can be easily replaced, while the latter uses optical sensors that seem to function accurately even after the analog sticks themselves begin to fail

Everything will eventually fail, but it is clear that more can be done to delay the inevitable