New Problem Crops Up For PS5's DualSense

Almost every new piece of technology suffers growing pains. Sony packed its new PlayStation 5 DualSense controller full of downright experimental features, including internal motors. Not only do these motors provide haptic feedback akin to a Nintendo Switch Joy-Con, they also deliver more immersive trigger buttons. But, the more bells and whistles a device provides, the more vulnerable it is to Murphy's law — and right now, the DualSense is the poster child for that reality.

Numerous reports are coming in from around the internet of malfunctioning DualSense triggers. Gamers are claiming that their triggers become extremely loose and weak after a mere 50-60 hours of wear and tear, resulting in either overly sensitive triggers or a complete loss of haptic feedback. According to tinkerers who cracked open their controllers (note: this is NOT recommended as it could void the device's warranty) the culprit is a dislodged internal spring. Somehow it deforms, springs free of its seating, and takes proper trigger functionality with it.

As with many mass-produced products, only a handful of DualSense controllers are affected. But, this handful is quickly growing into an overflowing armful. Nobody knows if the affected springs were installed incorrectly or if they were brittle lemons predestined for failure (or a combination of the two). All anyone can say for certain is that if you hear a "snap" while using a DualSense, then you just joined the crowd of busted trigger owners.

What makes this issue an extra-hard kick to the teeth isn't that it affects controllers during their infancy — it's that it isn't the DualSense's first tribulation. In November, reports drifted in of PS5 controllers suffering from stick drift while they still had that new console smell. Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons also exhibited stick drift, but only after several years of constant use. DualSense controllers, meanwhile, contracted the problem mere weeks after launch, and now you can add busted haptic triggers to its list of woes. Moreover, haptic triggers are a selling point of the PS5 and the DualSense. It doesn't look good when a controller's key feature also kills it.

While Nintendo was offered free repairs for defective Joy-Cons, Sony has remained silent on both DualSense problems. Still, because the problem is almost as recent as the PS5 itself, odds are good that the affected controllers are still protected under warranty. If you own a PS5 and your adaptive trigger suddenly snaps, turn to Sony and hopefully everything will get sorted out.