How to Test a Gamepad
A browser gamepad tester reads the controller the operating system already exposes to the page. You do not install drivers through this site — you connect a pad, press a button, and watch live input.
Use this page when you want a quick check that buttons register, sticks move cleanly, and triggers report analog values before you start a game or troubleshoot hardware.
What Does This Gamepad Tester Check?
The tester shows whatever the browser Gamepad API reports for the selected device. Layouts differ by controller and driver, so panels are generated from the live Gamepad object instead of a fixed picture of one brand.
Buttons
Each reported button index shows pressed/released state and its analog value when the browser provides one. Digital face buttons usually jump between 0 and 1; some triggers also appear as buttons with in-between values.
Analog Sticks
Stick positions come from axis pairs. The left stick typically uses axes 0 and 1; the right stick uses axes 2 and 3 when present. The circular visual moves with those values so drift or uneven range is easier to spot.
Triggers
On standard mappings, left and right triggers are often button indices 6 and 7 with analog values. If a controller does not expose triggers that way, the trigger panel stays hidden instead of inventing controls.
Axes
The axis table lists every axis the browser reports — including sticks, and sometimes extra axes for wheels, flight sticks, or vendor-specific layouts.
Controller Connection
Connection status updates when the browser fires connect/disconnect events and when polling no longer finds a pad at that index. Unplugging a USB cable or powering down a Bluetooth pad should clear the active device.
Vibration
When a connected pad exposes a vibration actuator, you can send pulse, weak, strong, and loop rumble tests from the Vibration panel. If the browser or controller does not support rumble, the panel explains that instead of failing silently.
How to Use the Gamepad Tester
- Open this page on a computer with Gamepad API support.
- Connect your controller with USB or pair it over Bluetooth.
- Press any button so the browser registers the device.
- Confirm the status card shows the controller name and counts.
- Press buttons, move sticks, and pull triggers while watching the panels.
- If more than one pad is connected, switch devices with the selector.
Why Is My Controller Not Detected?
Browsers only list controllers the OS has already accepted. If nothing appears, the pad may still be pairing, sleeping, blocked by another exclusive app, or unsupported in that browser.
- Press a button after connecting — many pads stay idle until then.
- Try a wired USB connection if Bluetooth is flaky.
- Close games or overlays that might lock the device exclusively.
- Retry in another up-to-date Chromium, Firefox, or Safari build.
- On some phones and tablets, gamepad support is limited or missing.
Supported Controllers
Any controller the browser exposes through the Gamepad API can appear here — common Xbox, PlayStation, and generic PC pads included when the OS maps them. Exact button labels and axis order depend on the browser mapping (often standard, sometimes unknown).
Gamepad Tester does not claim universal hardware support. If your device never shows up in the browser, this page cannot invent a connection.