Controller Diagnostic

Controller Vibration Test

Test your PS5, Xbox, Switch, or PC controller's vibration motors and haptic rumble online for free. Check left/right dual-motor pulses and haptic response instantly.

Connect a gamepad supporting vibration actuators...

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Heavy Rumble Motor (Left)

Tests low-frequency heavy rumble weight motor typically used for explosions & impacts.

Intensity 100%

Light Rumble Motor (Right)

Tests high-frequency light rumble motor used for subtle textures, gunshots & engine revs.

Intensity 100%

Dual Motor Haptic Sweep

Sweeps both motors simultaneously from 0% to 100% power over 2 seconds.

Haptic Motor Diagnostics & Benchmarks

Click the trigger buttons above to send vibration pulses through the browser GamepadHapticActuator interface. Evaluate your rumble feedback:

Dual Motor Balanced (Healthy)

Left motor delivers deep, heavy low-frequency rumble; right motor delivers crisp high-frequency buzz with no chassis rattle.

Chassis Rattle (Wear)

Motors vibrate but produce loud buzzing or plastic-on-plastic rattling. Caused by dislodged rubber isolation pads.

Single Motor Dead (Fault)

One grip fails to respond entirely. Indicates disconnected wire harness, blown MOSFET on PCB, or depleted battery.

How to Get Started

Just three steps to run a complete controller test and understand your controller's health status.

Connect Controller

Connect your controller to your computer via USB cable or Bluetooth. If the browser doesn't respond, press any button on the controller to activate the connection.

Button Detection

Press each button in the visual interface and confirm the corresponding area lights up on screen. This helps troubleshoot unresponsive or double-clicking buttons.

Sticks & Vibration

Rotate the sticks to check linearity and drift issues; click the vibration test button to feel if the left and right motor feedback is working properly.

What would you like to do next?

Select a diagnostic calibration suite, deadzone analyzer, or high-frequency overclock tool.

Fix

Repair & Calibration

Calibrate zero-point offsets or follow step-by-step repair guides.

WebHID Calibration

Optimize

Game Deadzones

Calculate exact radial vs axial deadzone overlays for Fortnite, Apex, & COD.

Deadzone Calculator

Telemetry

Overclock & Circularity

Verify browser-observed update timing Hz stability and statistical circularity grades.

Hz & Circularity Tools

Play & Practice

Practice what you just tested

Turn your test results into skill. These arcade games train the exact inputs you just measured — drift, buttons, triggers, D-pad and reaction time.

Browse all games

+75 XP

Beat Drop

Tap face buttons in time as notes cross the hit line.

Play

+100 XP

Nova Blaster

Twin-stick arena shooter — move, aim, and survive waves.

Play

How Gamepad Haptic Vibration Technology Operates

Tactile rumble feedback enhances situational awareness in gaming, communicating critical cues such as vehicle wheel slip, weapon reload confirmation, incoming damage direction, and environmental physics.

Motor Technologies: ERM vs. Linear Resonant Actuators (LRA)

Eccentric Rotating Mass (ERM) Motors: Standard in Xbox Wireless Controllers and DualShock 4. Small DC motors spin off-center brass counterweights. The resulting centrifugal imbalance creates strong, mechanical body vibration. The left motor uses a larger, multi-plate weight for heavy low-frequency rumbling, while the right motor uses a lightweight single-plate weight for high-frequency vibration.
Linear Resonant Actuators (Voice-Coil LRA): Featured in Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons (HD Rumble) and PS5 DualSense. Instead of spinning weights, an electromagnetic voice coil drives a suspended magnetic mass linearly against springs. This allows microsecond transient response and wide-bandwidth acoustic haptic feedback.

Technical Explanation of the Web Gamepad Vibration API

This tool communicates directly with your operating system's controller driver via the standard W3C GamepadHapticActuator interface using the playEffect("dual-rumble", ...) specification.

When you trigger a vibration test, the browser sends two normalized intensity parameters:

startDelay: Latency offset in milliseconds before motor activation.
duration: Total duration of the vibration burst in milliseconds.
weakMagnitude: High-frequency small motor intensity (0.0 to 1.0).
strongMagnitude: Low-frequency heavy motor intensity (0.0 to 1.0).

Troubleshooting Gamepad Vibration Failures on PC

Low Battery Lockout: Many controllers (including Xbox and PlayStation) automatically disable rumble motors when battery charge drops below 15% to conserve logic power.
Browser Permissions: Ensure you are using a Chromium-based browser (Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera) with gamepad input permissions granted. Safari and Firefox currently do not expose the GamepadHapticActuator API.
Bluetooth Driver Limitations: Certain generic Bluetooth dongles lack support for HID output report packets, preventing vibration commands from reaching the controller. Connecting via USB cable immediately restores rumble functionality.

Controller Hardware Glossary & Tips

Stick Drift & Deadzones

Stick drift occurs when analog sticks register input without being touched. This is typically caused by physical wear in traditional carbon-film potentiometers. A deadzone is a software-level threshold (e.g., 5-10%) applied to ignore these microscopic false inputs.

Hall Effect Sensors

Unlike traditional ALPS potentiometers, Hall Effect modules use magnetic fields to measure stick position. Because there is no physical contact or friction between the internal components, they are virtually immune to wear-induced stick drift, drastically extending the controller's lifespan.

Polling Rate (Hz) & Input Latency

Polling rate is how often your controller sends data to your device, measured in Hertz (Hz). A standard Bluetooth connection yields around 125Hz (8ms latency). Overclocking or using a wired USB connection can push this to 500Hz-1000Hz (1ms-2ms latency), critical for competitive gaming.

Circularity Error

When you rotate a joystick along its outer edge, a perfect module should trace a mathematically perfect circle. Circularity error measures the deviation from this perfect circle. High deviations (>15%) can result in uneven diagonal movement speeds in FPS games.

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about testing your controller.

Why does my controller not vibrate during the web rumble test?

Browser-based haptic vibration requires a browser that implements the W3C GamepadHapticActuator API (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, and Opera). Additionally, ensure that vibration is enabled in your Windows/macOS Bluetooth settings and that the controller battery is above 15%.

What is the difference between heavy and light rumble motors?

Standard gamepads use two asymmetric motors. The left grip contains a heavy eccentric rotating mass (ERM) motor tuned for low-frequency rumbles (explosions, terrain impacts), while the right grip contains a smaller motor tuned for sharp, high-frequency cues (gunfire, ricochets).

Does this test support PS5 DualSense and Nintendo Switch HD Rumble?

Yes. The tool sends dual-rumble commands to DualSense, Xbox Wireless, and Switch Pro controllers. DualSense advanced voice-coil haptics will execute standard low and high frequency baseline rumble when connected via USB to PC browsers.

Can running repeated vibration tests damage my controller?

No. The pulses generated by the tool adhere strictly to the controller manufacturer’s standard duty cycles and thermal limits, identical to in-game rumble events.

How do I fix a controller motor that rattles loudly during vibration?

A harsh rattling sound usually indicates that the brass eccentric weight has loosened on the motor shaft or the rubber isolation dampener surrounding the motor has degraded. Disassembling the grip and securing the rubber sleeve resolves the rattling.

How this test works & its limits

This test reads your controller through the browser's standard Gamepad API — no drivers, no installs, nothing leaves your device.
Readings depend on connection mode: Bluetooth reports at lower rates than USB. Compare like-for-like (wired vs wired).
We measure the input reaching the browser — display lag and game-engine queues are outside this test's view.
A clean reading now does not guarantee no drift in-game: deadzones differ per game, and wear develops over time. Use the Drift Timeline to track yours.
This is a diagnostic, not a hardware-lab certification. For repair or RMA decisions, confirm with a second run or second tool.

Read the full methodology

100% Client-Side

All Gamepad API data stays in your browser. Zero tracking or data collection.

Instant Results

No downloads, plugins, or software installation needed. Works instantly.

Free Forever

No paywalls, subscription requirements, or hidden usage limits.