Skip to content

Controller Detection

Focus on presence, identity, mapping, and connect/disconnect events.

Start testing Read guide
Controller Detection

Detection status

Start here when a pad will not appear in other tools.

Find out whether the browser lists any pad at all

Controller Detection answers the first question in every support thread: does navigator.getGamepads() show a device after a button press? If the list is empty, deeper button or drift tools cannot help yet. Fix enumeration first, then continue on Controller Tester or brand pages.

Common causes include sleeping wireless pads, incomplete Bluetooth pairing, exclusive capture by games or overlays, outdated mobile browsers, and permissions quirks. The Gamepad API generally requires a user gesture on the pad before snapshots populate. Waiting silently without pressing a key often looks like failure when the hardware is fine.

Detection recovery order

  1. Press any button after connecting.
  2. Switch to USB if Bluetooth pairing is doubtful.
  3. Close Discord overlays, exclusive launchers, and stuck game processes.
  4. Retry in a fresh Chromium or Firefox desktop profile.

Once detected, diagnose creep on Stick Drift and motors on Vibration. PC-oriented setup notes continue on PC Controller Tester.

FAQ: the OS sees it but the browser does not. Who is wrong?

Usually neither device is broken. The browser stack simply did not open the gamepad endpoint. Change browsers or connection mode before replacing hardware.