Left stick
Right stick
Triggers
In short: press any button so the browser shows the controller, then (1) press every button until all of them are outlined green, (2) roll both sticks around the edge, (3) pull both triggers all the way and check they reach 100%, and (4) run the drift test with your thumbs off the sticks. Anything that does not react here is not reaching your browser, and so not reaching browser games either.
Stick drift: what the test tells you
Stick drift is a stick that reports movement when nobody touches it. The drift test watches both sticks for five seconds while you keep your thumbs off and reports the furthest each one sat from the centre. As a rough guide:
| Resting offset | What it means |
|---|---|
| under 3% | No drift worth talking about. |
| 3–8% | Slight drift. Normal for many pads, and most games' dead zones hide it. |
| 8–15% | Noticeable. Raise the dead zone where the game allows it, or clean / repair the stick. |
| over 15% | Strong drift: games will steer or turn the camera on their own. |
The dead zone is the small area around the centre that a game ignores. Set it just above your resting drift and no higher: a bigger dead zone means more stick travel before anything happens. The dashed ring on each stick is 12%, the dead zone DRIFTIT uses for steering, so a dot that rests inside it will not steer the car.
Run the test twice, once by cable and once over Bluetooth if you use both. If the reading moves a lot between runs, or the dot wanders on its own, the stick is wearing out. Compressed air around the stick base helps sometimes; a stick that drifts more than about 15% usually needs repair, a replacement module, or the warranty.
Triggers: why the maximum matters in racing games
On Xbox and PlayStation pads the triggers are analog: they report how far you pull them, from 0 to 100%. Racing games read RT (R2) as throttle and LT (L2) as brake. The dashed line on each trigger bar marks the highest value it reached. If it stops at 92%, a game never gets full throttle from that trigger, however hard you pull.
The "steps seen" number is how many different trigger values the tester has received. Pull slowly from 0 to 100%: a healthy analog trigger gives you dozens of steps, while a trigger that jumps between a few values (or a pad with trigger stops switched on) gives you only a handful. In a drift game that is the difference between holding a slide on the throttle and spinning: our guide to drifting with a controller shows how much of the pull actually changes the slide.
Controller not detected?
- Press a button with the page open. Browsers hide controllers from a page until you press one, so a connected pad shows nothing until then.
- Try a cable. Some pads report fewer buttons, or none, over Bluetooth in some browsers.
- Close apps that take over the pad: Steam with Steam Input on, DS4Windows and similar remapping tools can hide or rename it.
- Use a current browser: Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari all read controllers. Reload the page after plugging the pad in.
- "Non-standard layout" means the browser does not know your pad's button names. Everything still works; buttons and axes are just listed by number. More on this in browser games with controller support.
Everything works? Take it for a drive
DRIFTIT is a free top-down drift game that runs in the same browser tab: left stick steers, RT is analog throttle, LT brakes, A is the handbrake. Twenty tracks, a ghost of your best lap and online leaderboards, no download.
FAQ
How do I test my controller online?
Connect it by USB or Bluetooth, open this page and press any button: browsers only show a controller to a page after a button press. Then press every button, move both sticks in full circles and pull both triggers all the way. Anything that does not light up or move here is not reaching the browser.
How do I check my controller for stick drift?
Press "Test stick drift", take your thumbs off both sticks and wait five seconds. The tester records how far each stick sits from the centre while you are not touching it. A few percent is normal; a stick that rests well away from zero, or wanders, is drifting.
What dead zone should I set?
Just above your stick's resting drift, so the car or camera stays still with your thumb off the stick, and no higher: a bigger dead zone means more stick travel before anything happens. The drift test suggests a value. DRIFTIT uses a fixed 12% dead zone on the steering stick.
Why does my controller not show up?
Press a button with the page open first. If it still does not appear: try a cable instead of Bluetooth, close apps that take over the pad (Steam with Steam Input, DS4Windows and similar), and use a current Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari. Reloading the page after connecting also helps.
Why don't my triggers reach 100%?
Some pads stop a little short of the full value, and worn triggers or trigger-stop switches cut the range further. If a trigger never passes about 90% here, racing games will never see full throttle or full brake from it either.
Does this work with PS5, PS4, Xbox and Switch controllers?
Any controller your browser can read works. Xbox pads and the PS4 / PS5 pads usually report the standard layout, so the buttons are named here. Other pads still work, but their buttons and axes are listed by number.
Is anything recorded or uploaded?
No. The tester runs entirely in your browser. Nothing about your controller is sent anywhere.