Controller Deadzone Test.
A deadzone is the radius around centre a game ignores so a slightly off-centre stick reads as neutral. Set it too small and drift leaks through; too large and small aim inputs vanish. This test plots each stick's resting scatter on a radial map, measures how far it wanders at rest, and suggests a deadzone tuned to your own hardware — then lets you preview any radius live to see exactly which inputs it swallows. Runs in your browser on the Gamepad API.
Let go, then sample
Online controller deadzone test.
The shaded ring is the deadzone you're previewing. A dot inside it counts as centred; outside it, the input registers. Sample at rest to get a value tuned to your sticks.
Read your deadzone the right way
- Sample with your hands offThe suggestion is built from resting scatter, so it only means anything when you're not touching the sticks. Let both go, then sample — any nudge during the sample inflates the value.
- Let it watch for a few secondsDrift is often intermittent, so a two-second sample catches the worst resting moment, not just the first frame. The suggested radius sits a small margin outside that peak.
- Preview before you commitDrag the deadzone slider and roll a stick slowly outward. Watch where the dot crosses from ignored to registering — that's the exact travel your game will throw away.
- Match it to the gameGames express deadzones differently — a 0–100 slider, a percentage, or a raw value. Convert this percentage to whatever the game uses, and prefer a radial (circular) deadzone over per-axis where you can.
How to test and set your deadzone
- 1Connect and wake the pad. Plug in or pair the controller and press any button so the browser reveals it. The plots switch to live values.
- 2Sample the resting scatter. Take your hands off both sticks and hit Sample. Over a couple of seconds the test records how far each stick drifts at rest and sets a suggested deadzone just outside that peak.
- 3Preview a radius. Drag the deadzone slider and move a stick outward. Inside the shaded ring the dot reads as centred; cross the ring and the input registers — so you can feel exactly what a given deadzone costs you.
- 4Apply it in your game. Enter the value in the game's stick deadzone setting. If the resting scatter is large, your stick may be drifting — confirm with the stick drift test.
How the deadzone test measures your sticks
An analog stick reports an X and a Y axis, each from -1 to +1, with (0, 0) as dead centre. The test reads both axes through the Gamepad API every frame and computes distance from centre as √(x² + y²). A deadzone is simply a threshold on that distance: any reading whose magnitude is below the radius is clamped to neutral, so a stick that rests a little off-centre still counts as centred.
To suggest a value, the test samples your sticks at rest and records the peak resting magnitude — the furthest each drifts while untouched — then adds a small safety margin above it. That gives a deadzone big enough to swallow your specific hardware's resting wobble without throwing away real input. The shaded ring you preview is that radius drawn to scale, and the dot's colour flips as it crosses the boundary so you can see the trade-off directly.
The right deadzone is a balance. Too small and resting drift leaks into the game, nudging your aim or camera; too large and small, deliberate movements near centre are ignored, making the stick feel numb. A radial (circular) deadzone like this one treats all directions equally, which is why it feels cleaner than an older per-axis "cross" deadzone that can still let a diagonal slip through. This test hands you a number tuned to your own sticks rather than a one-size guess.
When to tune your deadzone
Your aim drifts slightly
A crosshair that creeps when you're not touching the stick usually means the game's deadzone is smaller than your stick's resting wobble. Nudge it up to the suggested value.
The stick feels numb near centre
If small, careful movements do nothing until you push further, the deadzone is too large. This test shows how much travel a given radius is eating.
A game has no auto-calibration
PC games and emulators often expose a raw deadzone slider with no guidance. Bring a measured value instead of guessing.
After finding drift
A drifting stick can be masked with a bigger deadzone as a stopgap. Measure the resting peak here to set the smallest deadzone that hides it.
Fitting Hall-effect sticks
Drift-proof sticks let you run a much tighter deadzone. Re-sample after fitting them and drop the value for a sharper feel.
Setting up a new controller
Every stick rests slightly differently. A quick sample gives each new pad its own honest deadzone rather than a shared default.
Deadzone glossary
- Deadzone
- A radius around centre that a game ignores so a slightly off-centre stick reads as neutral input.
- Radial deadzone
- A circular deadzone based on distance from centre, treating every direction equally — cleaner than a per-axis one.
- Resting scatter
- How far a stick wanders from centre while you're not touching it. The deadzone needs to be larger than this.
- Magnitude
- A stick's distance from centre, √(x² + y²), from 0 at centre to 1 at full deflection.
- Axis
- One of a stick's two values. X and Y each run from -1 to +1; combined they give the stick's position.
- Stick drift
- A stick reporting movement while untouched. A large resting scatter here is a sign of it — confirm on the drift test.
Frequently asked questions
What is a controller deadzone, and why does it matter?
A deadzone is a small radius around the stick's centre that a game treats as no input. Because no stick rests at a perfect zero, a deadzone stops that tiny resting offset from moving your character or camera. Set it well and the stick feels precise; set it wrong and you either get drift leaking through (too small) or a numb, unresponsive centre (too large). This test helps you find the balance for your specific hardware.
What deadzone value should I use?
Start from the suggested value here, which is measured from your own stick's resting scatter plus a small margin — often somewhere around 5–15% for a healthy stick, higher for a worn one. Then preview it: roll the stick out slowly and check the boundary feels right. If a game uses a 0–100 slider or a raw number instead of a percentage, convert accordingly, and pick the smallest value that fully hides your resting wobble.
How does this suggest a deadzone from my controller?
When you sample, the test watches both sticks at rest for a couple of seconds and records the peak distance each one drifts from centre. It then sets the suggested deadzone a small margin above that peak, so the radius is just large enough to swallow your hardware's resting wobble without eating deliberate input. Because it's built from your sticks, it's more honest than a generic default.
Is a big suggested deadzone a sign of stick drift?
Often, yes. A healthy stick rests within a couple of percent of centre, so if the sample suggests a large deadzone your stick is wandering more than it should at rest — the definition of drift. A big deadzone can mask it as a stopgap, but the underlying stick is wearing. Confirm it on the stick drift test, which scores the drift directly.
What's the difference between radial and per-axis deadzones?
A radial (or "scaled radial") deadzone measures the stick's total distance from centre and ignores anything inside a circle — it treats all directions equally. An older per-axis deadzone applies a separate threshold to X and Y, which forms a square dead area and can still let a diagonal input slip through near centre. This test uses a radial ring because it matches how modern games and well-tuned setups behave.
Is the deadzone test free and private?
Yes. It's completely free, needs no sign-up, and reads your controller entirely in the browser through the Gamepad API. Your stick positions are processed on your device to draw the plots and compute the suggestion — nothing is uploaded, and it's all discarded when you close the page.