My Xbox S controller I got for Christmas (2022) is not working right.

Joseph Ferland · Jul 17, 2023

Thumbsticks wander all over the place. I used canned air to clear away dust and then used IPA 70% to clean around thumb sticks. Still wandering all over the place. Numerous games I can't play due to this issue. Any suggestions?

:)

WattyNuela

Hello, Joseph. As a last resource, you can try downgrading your controller firmware.

You can review how to do this by visiting this article:
https://support.xbox.com/help/hardware-network/...

Otherwise, if your controller is within warranty, you can opt for requesting a replacement:
https://support.xbox.com/help/hardware-network/...

Joseph Ferland

My wireless controller is not functioning correctly no matter where I connect. (I only use it here at home and have tried several modern televisions.) The entire right side of the controller is very sensitive to touch. The left is better after cleaning but not perfect.

There were no updates showing for the controller.

SigmaTheDJ

If it's not under warranty still and cleaning hasn't helped, it's likely caused by the carbon tracks on the stick modules being worn. The modules have an operating life of 2,000,000 cycles, but that doesn't translate to years of gameplay - in fact, depending on how often you play, it might only be a few months.

Replacement stick modules are really cheap (a dollar or two each), but it requires fairly advanced soldering skills to be able to remove the old ones and fit the new ones. There are third party repair places that can do it for you, but some of them charge more than the cost of a new controller, which is obviously not worth it.

WattyNuela

Hello Joseph, this is Manuela. I'm an Independent Advisor and community user like you, ready to assist with this.
Not a Microsoft employee.

I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble when trying to use your controller. Let’s try to sort this out.

However, before that, I would like to ask some questions:

Is your controller not working as expected no matter where you connect it?
Additionally, did you remember receiving a firmware update for your controller before the inconvenience happened?

crazydude1965

Recently had same problem bought a xbox controller toolkit from Amazon stripped controller down checkout YouTube for this cleaned all thoroughly reassembled worked again ok but if your like me I go through about 3 a year but I’m not complaining im disabled and I play everyday some times I canabalise controllers for useable parts

My Xbox S controller I got for Christmas (2022) is not working right.