Controller Moving on Its Own/Not Behaving Correctly in Game (Fix*)
Before we delve further into this issue, make sure you are not facing the infamous double input issue. To prevent double input issues, your real controller must be completely hidden before playing games using DS4Windows. We recommend using the HidHide driver to hide your real controller from your PC.
However, if you are sure that it is not a double input issue and your controller is still behaving unpredictably, continue reading below to check what could be the reason behind the erratic behavior and the fix for it.
Controller Behaving Unpredictably with DS4Windows [Fix]
Is the profile set up correctly?
There are chances that the active profile on DS4Windows is somehow misconfigured or accidentally certain settings have been tweaked. Hence, after making sure that you are not facing the double-input issue, the next step is to verify the profile. Follow the below steps.
- Navigate to the ‘Profiles’ tab on DS4Windows and tap on ‘New’.
- Create a new profile using a Preset.
- You can select the Gamepad preset for Xbox or DS4.
- Now save the Profile and activate the new profile on DS4Windows.
Creating a new profile clears any issue if it is related to accidental profile misconfiguration. Now, the next step is to check whether the new profile throws any issues/errors. Since we are clear of the double-input issue and the case of accidental profile tampering, it is easy to troubleshoot the erratic behavior of the controller on DS4Windows. Continue reading below to check the possible issues and their fixes.
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Issue 1 > Camera or Characters are moving on their own
If you are witnessing that the elements on your screen or the camera itself are moving or tilting on their own, then the most likely cause behind this is “stick-drifting.”
Stick-drifting can happen due to any of the two reasons.
- The stick of the controller not coming back to the center.
- The sensors of the stick are not able to detect its position properly.
Please note in a present Xbox profile the default dead zone is set at 8%. If the stock drifts below 8% then it will not be registered as a movement. However, above 8% will indicate that the user is moving the stick. However, in a DS4 preset profile, there are no dead zones configured by default. Follow the below steps to check whether the stick of the controller is moving properly.
- First, create a new DS4Windows profile and name it “stick-test”.
- In this new profile, both dead zones and anti-dead zones should be 0.00.
- This profile can be used to verify the stick behavior.
- You can utilize the controller testing website to check the movement of your stick.
- Simply, activate this new profile and navigate to the testing website.
- Test the stick thoroughly by moving it to various positions and then letting it snap back to the center.
- Do this at different times and immediately once you see the issue happening during a real game. Just do an Alt-Tab to switch to this profile and test immediately when the issue happens in a real gaming scenario.
Once you conclude that you are facing a ‘stick-drift’ issue, you need to bump up the values under dead-zone settings. Suppose the right stick resting position is correct and the left side is slightly drifting; you can easily clear this issue by increasing the dead zone of the left stick under profile settings.
Don’t miss to fix this issue with this simple tweak –
Issue 2 > Characters or cameras move on their own in random directions
Again, this issue is also related to ‘Stick-Drift’. As described in Issue 1 above, you require testing the controller stick in the same manner.
While testing if the stick position works in accordance with the real stick movement, we are good. However, if you see the stick position moving erratically on occasion and not responding to the movement of the real stick, it means your controller is faulty. You can either replace the controller or clean the internal resistor meters of the stick.
Issue 3 > Random Inputs Happening or Expected Inputs Not Working
Usually, the issue of random inputs is due to a faulty controller and not an issue with DS4Windows or its related drivers.
The best way to troubleshoot this issue is to create a profile on DS4Windows with a special action. For example, you can set up a special action of a profile switching to a different profile when a particular button is hit. This way, you can set up certain special actions and then just leave your controller. After this it’s just a wait and watch to check if random inputs come up. Alternatively, you can use the controller with a light touch on the buttons to register unexpected inputs.
If you happen to spot the issue here, then you must repair or replace your physical controller as the fix.
You should check out this –
Issue 4 > No Response from the Controller at Moments
In this case, if you are using USB to connect the Controller to the PC, check if the wire has become faulty. If you spot a fault in the wire, switch to a Bluetooth connection and see if that resolves the issue.
Again, here not just the cable but the PC’s USB port and even the controller’s USB port can be faulty. You can check that by switching the wire.
Once you locate the exact issue, that component needs to be replaced or repaired to resolve this issue.
Issue 5 > High Latency or High Input Delay in the Game
If while playing the game you can see that the game is slow to receive your commands and is exhibiting high latency or input delay, the first thing to check is whether it’s the issue with the game itself.
If the game settings are fine, then, in the case of a controller connected via Bluetooth, latency issues are common. To check how much latency you are facing, launch DS4Windows and hover the mouse cursor on the name of the controller in the DS4Windows pop-up under the Controller menu option. If latency is over 20 ms, then it’s an issue.
Furthermore, if you are facing latency of over 20 ms on USB, then it’s certainly USB at fault. Replace the wire immediately or switch to a Bluetooth connection.
Issue 6 > Rumble & Lightbar Pass Thru Not Working
Please note if you are using DS4 emulation, then you must know that Rumble and Lightbar Pass Thru are disabled by default on DS4 emulation.
This is due to an issue with the ViGEmBus Driver. Hence, in the latest update for DS4Windows, Rumble and Lightbar Pass Thru were disabled.
However, if you wish to have Rumble and Lightbar Pass Thru activated, then switch to an Xbox Controller as even though most games support both Xbox and DS4 controllers; Rumble and other related things work well on Xbox controllers.
Also, check out –
DS4Windows – Keyboard + Mouse Action Issues [Fixed]
Final Words
These are the common issues related to a misbehaving controller on DS4Windows. If you are facing an issue that is different from the issues mentioned in this post, please reach out to us via the comments section. Happy to assist you.
