Thumbstick Replacement

This guide covers replacing the thumbstick modules on a DualShock 4 or a DualSense to permanently fix stick drift and provide the most accurate tracking experience using hall effect joysticks. Previously, you had to use calibration flex boards that attach to the underside of the thumbsticks. However, developer the_al created the DualShock Calibration GUI — a tool to adjust the center and circularity of thumbsticks by adjusting the firmware of the controller through software.

Required Materials

• Hot air station and desoldering pump OR desoldering iron
• Soldering iron
• Kapton tape
• Isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs
• USB cable to connect your controller to a PC
• (Optional) Chip quik or similar low-melt solder paste

Installing Thumbstick Modules

1. Disassemble your controller to get to the controller motherboard and expose the bottomside of the thumbsticks.
2. Use kapton tape to cover all nearby components from hot air.
3. Apply chip quik to the pins of the joysticks. Use hot air or a desoldering iron and lightly pull to remove each thumbstick.
4. Clear each thru-hole using a desoldering pump or a desoldering iron.
5. Clean the area with isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs.
6. Insert the new joystick and solder into place.

Calibration

1. Connect a USB cable to the controller and your PC.
2. Navigate to the DualShock Calibration GUI with a Chromium-based browser (such as Chrome or Edge), click "Connect" and choose your device from the list and click Connect. Press a button on your controller and move the thumbsticks around to verify that it is reading your controller inputs.
3. Note the detected position of the thumbsticks when you let them go.
   • If they are not centered, click "Calibrate stick center" and follow the prompts. Check that it fixed the detected center of both thumbsticks.
4. Check the "Check circularity" box. Move the thumbsticks to cover the full range of the sticks.
   • Ideally, the max range of the sticks should align with the circle in the diagram. If it doesn't match the circle, open DualShock Calibration GUI and click "Calibrate stick range" and follow the prompts. Check the circularity again of both thumbsticks again.
5. Once both the stick centers and circularity is correct, click "Save changes permanently". This will write the new settings out to the controller firmware.