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    PlayStation 4

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    PlayStation 4 is Sony's fourth home video game console, released on November 15, 2013 in North America, and November 29, 2013 in Europe. On November 10 2016, Sony released the Playstation 4 Pro, an updated version of the console targeting 4K gaming.

    DualShock 4 Shoddy Stick Quality

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    darthslughorn

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    #1  Edited By darthslughorn

    Tried searching, but was wondering if anyone else has had problems with their DS4's sticks. I've now had two where the rubber has worn through and exposed the plastic underneath. I sent one in for a replacement, and am about to do the same for the second. Is this a new thing, or does it always happen to controllers? I don't remember having any issues with the DS3 or 360 gamepad.

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    Jesus_Phish

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    Can't say I've had that issue with the DS4's.


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    JoeyIA

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    BasketSnake

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    #4  Edited By BasketSnake

    GET the fucking CQC kontrol freeks. They're fantastic! I use them on all my controllers. You won't look back

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    monkeyking1969

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    Nope, I wear out the bottom shoulder button though. I was always a one controller a year with DS1, DS2, DS3, but now I have need a new controller every six months with PS4 because I slam the right shoulder trigger....its my fault I'll admit.

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    deactivated-5fc86d541ecee

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    I've had the rubber on my left stick wear off a bit, but it doesn't really bother me and I very rarely notice it. I'll probably replace it at some point assuming they work out the issue in newer controllers, but it's not that big of a deal for me. Still, it's a really weird that this wasn't fixed before launch/hasn't been fixed this far after.

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    Seikenfreak

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    #7  Edited By Seikenfreak

    Yea I didn't like the stock sticks and I thought the DS3 pads were a better fit.

    Not because of the rubber tearing or anything but the DS4 sticks felt like they got greasy real fast and the concave, almost flat, shape didn't work well when slippery.

    Did a bunch of work and experimenting and ended up with this:

    No Caption Provided

    DS3 tops attached to DS4 bottoms. Was actually trickier than it sounds because you need to get the points where they attach perfectly level with each other and get the height just right. And of course they need to be perfectly centered on the DS4 stick base. I was using a digital caliper measuring to a thousandths of an inch. If they are off, you might not be able to really notice visually but you can feel it when using the controller. The tops also have to be from DS3 and not DS2. DS2 sticks are a little bigger and won't fit through the opening in the controller.

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    edoone

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    GERALTITUDE

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    ahh controller problems are such bummers. Have two controllers myself with no problems but maybe not as heavy a user as y'all. Have definitely heard of this in other threads though.

    Maybe it's a weather thing. Y'all in humid places? It's dry as shit where I am and the controllers are fine. In fact I've never had any weird controller issues ever, now that I think about it.

    Which is nuts. That's like 50 controllers.

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    darthslughorn

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    @geraltitude: Humidity is an interesting thought. I moved from Colorado to DC, so maybe that's contributing something to it?

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    flippyandnod

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    #12  Edited By flippyandnod

    Sony was talking about this problem right after PS4 came out. They acted like they had a fix for it. I'm surprised new DS4s still have the problem.

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    TheManWithNoPlan

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    Yep, it's totally happened to my controller and I'm too lazy to ask for a replacement. I'll probably just get some stick covers. Great controller, but they kind of dropped the ball in this respect.

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    Whitestripes09

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    #14  Edited By Whitestripes09

    Haven't noticed much other than that horrible squeaky noise that the triggers make. It seems to be going away though with use.

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    Corevi

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    I just got a DS4 last weekend for use with PC and PS3 and I much prefer the sticks on it to the DS3's, and my main DS3 had the stick covers come off a year into it's use

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    Sergio

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    I haven't had a problem.

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    Nags

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    Never had a DS4 with a rudder.

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    egg

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    OP obviously works for Microsoft

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    GunstarRed

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    #19  Edited By GunstarRed

    I hadn't even thought about this until I read this the other day. I was looking at it earlier and there does seem to be a considerable amount of wear on the stick for the amount of time I have used it. (Really not very much.)

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    Dussck

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    Have the PS4 since launch and no problem with the sticks so far (think they are great too), though I sometimes have a sticky button. Especially the shoulder buttons and somehow the X button seem to 'stick'. Most of the time it's gone after I press them hard a couple of times, but still a bit strange..

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    deactivated-63b0572095437

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    Yup. My sticks lasted 3 months before it wore down enough to rip through to the hard plastic. No, I wasn't hard on the controller and my hands don't get sweaty. I still have all of my original controllers from my old consoles in flawless condition. I take care of my stuff. A few hours of Resogun and watching youtube and the DS4 fell apart. That's the reason I haven't got extra controllers for local co-op games yet. No idea if this has been fixed. I was able to get a $60 refund from Amazon after Sony couldn't help (They said to ship my only controller to them at my own expense and wait 4-6 weeks to see if they would fix or replace it).

    DS4 is a decent controller, but the build quality on many of them are terrible. And Sony's handling of the situation has been poor. Still waiting to give them another $180 if they would acknowledge the problem enough to tell us whether or not it's been resolved.

    I'm in Las Vegas. It's not a humidity thing.

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    Humanity

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    @thatonedudenick: Weirdly enough this seems to be a common problem as it's not the first time I'm reading about it on forums, yet no one is writing about it.

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    LiquidPrince

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    Hasn't happened to either of my DS4's, but I have heard of some people having this issue.

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    darthslughorn

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    @thatonedudenick: Yeah, I just got my replacement back from Sony, and literally 4 days in I can feel it starting to rub off. Only on the left stick too (probably because it's more used. Maybe it's my imagination, but I've only played like four hours of Don't Starve plus menu navigation. Sending in my controller was only eight bucks, but even that kind of sucks.

    @egg: Hahahahaha, you got me. Microsoft paid for my sub. I bow to your forum post number.

    @nags said:

    Never had a DS4 with a rudder.

    You should probably get one.

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    Evilsbane

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    Yea my left stick had a small piece fall off only 2 months into use, it hasn't gotten worse but it is pretty sad its a great controller.

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    Sooperspy

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    My sticks are fine after a bit more than a month of having a PS4, but my L2 is squeaky as shit. Other than that, no problems. It's such a fantastic controller

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    spraynardtatum

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    Yep, this can totally happen. It's almost like they dissolve. It was happening to the controller I got with the PS4 and then my dog ate it so I bought another one. It looks like it's starting to happen on the new one too.

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    NegativeCero

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    #28  Edited By NegativeCero

    I haven't played my PS4 enough to have had problems. Although my R2 and L2 buttons are both squeaky. Is that a common thing with anyone else?

    Edit: Found a few people mention the same issue. Hopefully they won't stop working or something.

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    Counterclockwork87

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    Y'all must have some sweaty fingers...launch ps4 and have 2 controllers and both look as new as the day I bought them. I play everyday as well.

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    spraynardtatum

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    @counterclockwork87: I have a friend who uses the top of her thumbs when she plays. And also my hands sweat a lot...but I'm going to contend that sweaty hands are gaming tradition.

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    Counterclockwork87

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    @counterclockwork87: I have a friend who uses the top of her thumbs when she plays. And also my hands sweat a lot...but I'm going to contend that sweaty hands are gaming tradition.

    Perhaps! I play with the thumbsticks at the very bottom of my thumbs, almost near the hinge of the knuckle. I have pretty long thumbs/hands so its the best way to hold a controller for me, so it could be due to how I hold the controller. My hands also never ever sweat unless I'm doing super hard labor or something.

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    Ozzie

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    Yeah I had the same issue it kind of sucks.

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    RonGalaxy

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    They feel fine to me, but I havent had my ps4 for long (almost a month using it pretty much every day). They don't feel susceptible to peeling at all. Maybe you guys slide your fingers across the sticks too much? I dunno. Hopefully my controller stays intact. If not, it's a good excuse to get one of the blue ps4 controllers.

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    Dinosaurs

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    #34  Edited By Dinosaurs

    Ran into this issue tonight. It isn't pretty. I'm looking into alternative sticks to replace the stock ones with and will likel just buy a stock of DS3's and avoid this issue completely since I use them for PC use.

    No Caption Provided

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    Zombified

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    The only issue I have found with DS4 is my L1 trigger gets stuck a lot. Have yet to find a fix other than disassembling and doing a bit of sanding.

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    BasketSnake

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    The only issue I have found with DS4 is my L1 trigger gets stuck a lot. Have yet to find a fix other than disassembling and doing a bit of sanding.

    Takes you a few seconds to remove the L1 / R1 buttons and half a minute to clean it up. No disassembly. It's all on youtube.

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    Shindig

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    Yeah, my unit is a preowned console so the left stick is a bit worn.

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    kaos_cracker

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    My left stick is rubbing away, but every game controller I ever had does that pretty frequently that it doesn't bother me.

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    Nodima

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    My first controller in the box started peeling two days after I got it. I ordered a second controller in late April and it was fine until a couple days ago when I noticed the left stick was beginning to tear. It's a real bummer, especially since Sony wants you to send the controller in of your own volition and then wait two months for a replacement.

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    buttmonk3y

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    #41  Edited By buttmonk3y

    Same problem here. But i called Sony and they will replace them. Just have to send the controller back which is a pain as i dont have a replacement atm,

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    Goldone

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    @buttmonk3y: How easy do they make the replacement? I'm currently on hold trying to talk to them about a different controller issue with the sticks, is it not like when they replace the console and send you out a replacement when they collect the faulty item?

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    amafi

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    cloudnineboya

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    #44  Edited By cloudnineboya

    @dinosaurs: holy moly are your fingers made out of sandpaper plus that is one gross looking controller dude .

    for me the rubber fades a little so that the rough texture fades off. had to replace my controller cause the trigger broke so i bought a fancy red one and i noticed the the rubber was different to the last one. the first one had little grooves on the outside part but the new one does not. it needs to be more durable thats for sure with better texture grips and more curved out in the center .

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    briggs713

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    Just had the left stick on my first controller start to wear a couple days ago. It seems to be a prevalent problem. The guy at EB Games said they continue to sell out of the stick covers regularly. I ordered a 2 set of Grip-Its for my two controllers, which have been reviewed well.

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    musubi

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    My issue with the DS4 are the triggers I've had now two right triggers blow out on me.

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    Grillbar

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    i have not had any issues.
    people said the same about the ds3 but never had a problem with any of those 3 contollers i had either.well on one of them i could get the left stick to get stuck if i wanted to but nothing that impacted anything.

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    KamasamaK

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    #48  Edited By KamasamaK

    I just have one DS4, and do have this issue with it. So far it's just the left stick.

    No Caption Provided

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    Lysergica33

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    Yeah, both of my DS4's have had this quality. They need to use a thicker material I reckon. I have zero issue with the controller aside from those. Left stick on both of them too, seems to be fairly common.

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    Reddonkeyham

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    Mine starting coming away a week after release and didnt even play the console all that much. Have seen elsewhere people sending of their controllers for them to be fixed/ been sent a new one. Any one know about this in the U.K? And know how I go about getting it sorted?

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