I would like to start off by saying that I take good care of my controllers. I never throw them and they are always properly stored. In the past 35 years of gaming I may have replaced 2 controllers total.

With that said I have broken two Xbox One controllers since launch. Both of the left thumb sticks broke with normal play (One was broken playing Killer Instinct and the other was broken playing Dragon Age).

After a quick google search it appears that I am not alone. . .I am just wondering if any Giant Bomb community members have had the same issue. Will this become another Red Ring fiasco?

I have had no issues with either of mine that I bought at launch, and one of them survived a throw from an angry wife that sent the batteries flying.

I am also really hard on controllers. I must have gone through a dozen PS2 controllers, and I believe four 360 controllers. The Xbox One's controllers seem pretty robust to me so far.

The left stick is a little loose and the A button has gotten annoyingly squishy on one of mine. I got it at launch, so it's been in rotation for about 18 months. Durability wise, that's about on par with a 360 controller.

Nope.

@kanerobot said:

I realize that busted controllers won't be as big of an issue as a red ringed console. However, if a large percentage of controllers start to break in the next year or two, it may become a big deal. I guess we'll see.

How did it break? Can you post a picture.

I have noticed a considerable amount of slop on the right stick of my Day One controller.

@dwigtk My controller's got the loose analogue sticks too. I replaced them with some metal ones which are tight but extremely slippery.

Probably went through one 360 pad a year when I was using them and the problem was usually analogue stick related.

I believe that i may have pushed down too hard on the left analog stick on my first controller. It's hard to describe what is wrong with it. My best description would be that it's a bit springy/wobbly after you click in the analog stick.

My other controller floats up occasionally while playing. If i push the thumbstick around in different directions for a bit, the problem goes away.

the controllers are way weaker than the 360 ones. But much more precise and confortable.... sort of a trade of I guess.

I haven't had any problems with mine since launch, but then I haven't even changed batteries in it once either. Xbox One not getting much use.

This reminds me of that guy who destroyed 6 ps4 controllers and kept saying it wasn't his fault (not saying yours is the same situation, just made me laugh at that).

Unfortunately i haven't had my xbone controller for awhile so can't speak on its reliability. Did feel pretty solid while i was using it; shame about the dead zone. Kinda made Geometry Wars 3 unplayable.

No problems here. My PS4 controller is still okay too minus the squeaking of the triggers. I hated the 360's problem with the loosening analog sticks. I dread the day it happens on my xbox one.

Since day one the left stick on my controller clicks in this uncomfortable way whenever I move it down or to the right. It hasn't resulted in any loss of function or anything significant, but the quality seems lesser regardless.

After watching a few online videos I think I might take one of them apart this evening and try to fix it. We'll see how it goes.

My PS4 controller has an R1 button that sticks, and a really shitty battery.

My Xbox One controller is fine.

@skadave: They're as easy to take apart as the 360 pad and a lot easier to put back together. Just be careful when you're prising off the grips - I've got a couple of nice scratches on mine because I used a metal tool and not a plastic one.

Thanks for the advice. . . i appreciate it.

The controller that came with my launch One had issues so I sent it off to MS to be replaced.
Two weeks later I find out they lost it.
Weeeeeeeee!
After three weeks the controller I got back was obviously a refurb because it was faulty as well.
After multiple conversations with three different customer support folks I find out I can just bring it to my local MS store.
An option I suggested in the beginning but was told that wasn't an option until the third person I dealt with.
Went to the MS store, had it replaced, still have the same controller now just a little over a year later.
The left thumb stick now sticks sometimes when I press to the right or like 3 o'clock.
Time to get a new one.
Oh well, shit happens, no need to reach for my torch and pitchfork.

Just out of interest, has anyone tried a third party pad? The one I'm thinking of is the Horipad.

Triggers aren't analogue though, and every third party pad I've tried for either Playstation or Xbox has huge deadzones on the sticks.

My launch controller broke due to some frustrations I encountered one night playing the MCC......

Other than that mine have been great.

My Xbone controller hasn't seen much use outside of a few sessions of FarCry 4 on PC. So it's only got about 9 or 10 hours on it.

My Day One controller has been a little wonky with the sticks (some drift on the right stick) since, well, Day One, but it's gotten a lot worse recently. I really should grab another and put it away. It's pretty irritating for any game with right stick camera control that you aren't constantly controlling. So for CoD it's actually not too bad most of the time, but for Dragon Age, yeesh, lots of suddenly looking at butts and sky/ceiling.

i treat both my controllers like garbage, have dropped them multiple times. they still run perfectly fine.

I actually feel like im having better luck with the xbone controllers than i did with 360 ones. I went through a good number of those, pretty much one a year. The only problem ive had with the xbone controller is sometimes it doesnt seem to notice that i plugged the mic in, so ill have to do it several times before its detected i guess? Its getting worn out. Ive felt cursed with bad controllers before, i feel your pain and hope your luck turns

The right bumper on my launch controller is busted and will only actually read a click on it 1 in 20 times, but I ended up buying the blue camo one from best buy on black friday to replace it.

Never had a problem. An annoyingly loose bumper sure, but nothing broken.

I took my controllers with me in my backpack across the country, and my container of creatine exploded and got all up inside the controllers and they're a little janky now. But I kind of only have myself to blame there.

The controller that came bundled with the console has a 'floaty' LB, as in it works but it's somewhat mushy and doesn't click like it's supposed to. The second controller I have, which I bought separately, its left analogue stick has a serious clicking problem. Pushing the analogue stick to the left makes it pop a little and causes an audible noise, and rotating the stick between west and north causes it to click. If I had to guess, the clip that holds the stick in place is either slightly broken or half-way popped out of its place on that side. So yes, disappointing for me that I'm now 2/2 on controller issues for the Xbox One, seeing as I've never had any problems with any of my controllers on any of my other consoles. I should add that I too take extremely good care of my belongings, and neither of the issues were a result of mistreatment, intentional or otherwise, as they both had their respective problems right out of the box.

@skadave: I had something similar happen to one, it had so much drag I had to send it back, then another one that I admittedly chucked at the floor broke after just one time doing it, I literally never lost a 360 controller like that, after years of chucking them across the room a couple times a year after a frustrating multiplayer match.

They're not very tough.

I have not had any issues with my launch controller. Though, my Xbox One isn't exactly my go-to console right now, no issues with my controller.

The first batch of controllers seemed to have some manufacturing tolerance issues; loose casing and the not perfectly smooth stick motion others mentioned. All those issues seem to have been worked out since that first batch though. My Titanfall controller is near perfect. Problem is there still seems to be some of those first runs out there if you buy a standard black controller.

So I spent a decent amount of time last night dissecting my controllers.

My Day One controller had a broken piece in the left thumb stick mechanism, it was a 1/8" grey square that held the left side of the stick in place. I ended up fixing it with a piece of cardboard (it works fine now).

My second controller had a loose thumb stick knob. . . I fixed it by applying some electrical tape to the shaft. That appears to have done the trick.

I think both consoles are suffering from "lets make these comfortable" syndrome. Joypads were pretty much perfected. Sure, there are little size issues that Sony had to deal with, and everyone this round made the response time a few milliseconds faster, but really joypad close to optimum. So both companies tried to make the controllers just a bit more comfortable and just a bit easier to hold. They used more rubber and less hard plastics and different types of materials. In the end the controllers are nicer, but they are likely somewhat less durable.

I made a post a few months ago about some 3rd party making super premium joypad. These joypads would exactly duplicated the official pad in feel and weight, but would be made tougher. You would pay a premium for them but they just would be super tough using more precisely machined/polished titanium parts were the plastic pins, rockers, levers, and trigger were located. The shoulder buttons, sticks, buttons, USB ports would just not break or bend.

Hell, why say a 3rd party has to do it. Why not have MS and Sony make them. They can call them "Competition Level" and charge $200 for them. Same sensors just ruggedized, and with the basic moving parts done in high grade steel or titanium. The 'competition level' specs are important, they have to be LEGAL to use in tournaments without any extra sensitivity or improvements. In other words need to run stock while being better mechanically. And if you don't think normal people would buy a joypad that cost 3x as much you wrong, if it last 10x as long and is perceived as premium... people will want it. Hell I'd even say the profit margin on them woudl be huge maybe $3 extra in parts/labor/manufacturing but selling at three times the price.

I would buy a $100 premium controller. . . $200? No.

My XBone controller is less than a year old and i've noticed some looseness. Has led to some frustrating moments playing AC: Chronicles.

For $50 you would Microsoft could build a more durable controller.

​There are many discussions about the problems with the left thumb stick failure. If you play fifa nhl or madden be prepared to be buying a new controller every few months....no joke. Advice to you is buy the warranty. There should be a class action lawsuit brought against Microsoft. Now before all you idiots start commenting saying you dont take care of your controller or that you still have your original controller or your to rough on you're controller see other threads on the subject. It seems to be a problem with certain games as mentioned above. Left thumb will fail click grind and stick. I can screenshot anyone who disbelieves my bestbuy receipts. 8 controllers exchanged in last 6 months best warranty i ever bought. Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for putting out such a garbage product. Test the controller with the games mentioned above for a few months before you make a stupid comment on this thread. Thanks in advance