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Has Sony fixed the peeling problem with the Dualshock 4?

Z

Z3M0G

Member
Wear heavily depends on the persons using the controller... i own two launch controllers and had no problems. But once certain friends played with them heavily they simply fell apart. Sweaty thumbs, etc.
 
D

DrRussian

Member
Neither of my controllers have had the problem and they are both over a year old. I did just put X1 thumbsticks on one of them just to try it, but I haven't had much time to see how it is.
 
rbanke

rbanke

Member
Picked up a couple of the aluminum sticks endlessflood recommended. Haven't had time to play anything with them yet but they feel good. Other than being cool to the touch they don't feel much different than the xbox sticks. Certainly not rough on your fingers as their image would imply. They feel much more like the xbox sticks than ps4 IMO. The grip seems to come from the lip of the ring and edge rather than the center (which is not grippy at all). As you can see in the photos, they are the same height as the stock sticks which was important to me. Not a bad way to go if I end up liking how they feel after a few hours.

PS4, Aluminum, Xbox style replacement

 
K

kuroshiki

Member
rbanke said:
Picked up a couple of the aluminum sticks endlessflood recommended. Haven't had time to play anything with them yet but they feel good. Other than being cool to the touch they don't feel much different than the xbox sticks. Certainly not rough on your fingers as their image would imply. They feel much more like the xbox sticks than ps4 IMO. The grip seems to come from the lip of the ring and edge rather than the center (which is not grippy at all). As you can see in the photos, they are the same height as the stock sticks which was important to me. Not a bad way to go if I end up liking how they feel after a few hours.

PS4, Aluminum, Xbox style replacement

Click to expand...

did you get alu version from amazon?
 
D

Dr. Kaos

Banned
rbanke said:
Yeah, I got the e-mods one (guessing their mostly all the same though)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K23LKK4/?tag=neogaf0e-20

I'll probably toss the dpad replacement, its cheap plastic and I'm not much for blinging my shit out lol. I couldn't find the gunmetal ones without it though.
Click to expand...

Metal thumbsticks are slippery, therefore you need to use covers on them to restore the friction that you NEED to keep your thumbs from sliding over the stick.

The reason for the DS4 fiasco is that Sony elected to go with something with a high degree of friction (good) that didn't last long enough (bad!).

I'm not sure if they sold them knowingly because someone calculated it was more profitable that way or if they honestly, royally fucked up product testing for whatever reason (production delays? unrealistic schedules? Lazy devs? ).

I bought rubber covers at my own expense after Sony refused to do their duty and replace my gamepad for a 2nd time. I will look for the first opportunity to financially punish SCE for their behavior. That is my duty.

Bad Sony! BAD! You should've extended the warranty on all launch gamepad to 3 years, same as the defective fat 360s.

Sony must be punished until they do what's right. PUNISHED!
 
L

lewisgone

Member
I bought my PS4 last November, but couldn't tell you because I was so paranoid about the problem that I bought covers for the sticks on day one of owning the thing.
 
rbanke

rbanke

Member
Dr. Kaos said:
Metal thumbsticks are slippery, therefore you need to use covers on them to restore the friction that you NEED to keep your thumbs from sliding over the stick.

The reason for the DS4 fiasco is that Sony elected to go with something with a high degree of friction (good) that didn't last long enough (bad!).

I'm not sure if they sold them knowingly because someone calculated it was more profitable that way or if they honestly, royally fucked up product testing for whatever reason (production delays? unrealistic schedules? Lazy devs? ).

I bought rubber covers at my own expense after Sony refused to do their duty and replace my gamepad for a 2nd time. I will look for the first opportunity to financially punish SCE for their behavior. That is my duty.

Bad Sony! BAD! You should've extended the warranty on all launch gamepad to 3 years, same as the defective fat 360s.

Sony must be punished until they do what's right. PUNISHED!
Click to expand...

Yea I was thinking it must have rubber to be grippy enough (see my earlier question about plasti-dipping these) but I think these are fine. The center is certainly very slick but I play with my thumb tips more than the center of my thumb so I don't really even use the center of the sticks. These are cheap enough that I may still mess around and see how plastidip works on it just to test, but really they seem fine. I'll see after some Batman tonight.
 
T

ToastyBanana

Member
I just noticed my launch controller analogs had shrunk down to the plastic. It was a matter of time really as the fine rubber texture had been completely smooth for a while now. I'm out of warranty so I'm just replacing the analogs with Xbone ones.
 
H

Hawthorns

Member
My launch controller had peely analogs and the right trigger doesn't work properly either. I bought another (blue) one more recently and it's absolutely fine. Apart from terribly squeaky triggers.
 
N

nowheretorun

Member
endlessflood said:
They're great, they don't need anything.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't mind doing this to mine!

Had 2 ds4 since launch, swapping each as the other charged. I take really good care of my things - don't eat food, keep them dusted etc.

Anyway, playing TLOUR and every now and then it kept stuttering as I walked. I initially thought it was network problems but after research, someone who played the same game, said it was the ds4. Incidently, I'd recently just kept to using the same ds4 without swapping (as the other was in a drawer).

Anyway, after a serious bout of stuttering, I thought maybe it was the ds4. So I swiftly moved the left stick back and forth to see if it was just sticking - like you would years ago playing track and field sort of. Anyway, to my horror, the rubber cracked and is now fucked.

£50 for a new one - what a fucking rip off.

Not happy with Sony on this. I knew we were going to get nickel and dimed this generation off them considering the financial position but this is pure grade A bullshit. The quality is a disgrace and I will not be buying another at £50.

I now need to sort a way of fixing my ds4, which also has a sticky R1 button too :-(
 
ipukespiders

ipukespiders

Member
Off topic but does anyone else have issues using the option and share buttons on the ps4 controller? I can barely see the black on black and can barely tell by feel (darkened room).

I need to paint the buttons white or something. Or maybe get a new white controller, or at least a skin if they make them (cheaper option).
 
fran.fernandez

fran.fernandez

Member
bought my ps4 day one and one extra controller, i play it everyday and i have no problem, it looks like new.

funny fact is that the store gave me some "stick protectors" but i never used them because i don't like the plastic feel of it.
 
U

User 479360

Banned
I get sweaty hands sometimes, but I've never had an issue. I don't use the PS4 enough to really have it happen from lots of use, though.

Knock on wood
 
Jawmuncher

Jawmuncher

Member
I think they fixed the sticks. I have played just as much on my Urban Camo controller and some decent time into my Anniversary controllers with no peeling or wear on the sticks. Which on the launch controller happened quite quickly.
 
kraspkibble

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
Been using my controller since december '13 and it has been fine. I think there was just a faulty batch or it has to do with the sweat.

Don't really think there was anything to fix. You just got unlucky. Get it replaced if it's under warranty.
 
Bboy AJ

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Wtf my controller started peeling. I've played my ps4 so little, too. Weak.
 
K

Kuro Madoushi

Unconfirmed Member
Well. My battery and analog sticks are fine. However, the responsiveness of the left analog has gone to shit. I can't get a response of up and left. Sigh. I had a replacement sitting there for a year but I never thought I'd end up using it. Kinda sad really...I did open the broken one up to take a look at it. Pretty interesting stuff in there. I didn't see what was causing the problem though and besides physically pulling out that left analog and soldering a new one one there, it's done.
 
Nose Master

Nose Master

Member
There any way to use a PS3 or Xbone controller on PS4? There's a lot more wrong with it than peeling sticks. Huge dead zone on the sticks, the sticks themselves don't feel great, the d-pad has lingering inputs, etc. Never really noticed before Meat Boy / Spelunky / Geo Wars, but DS4 is probably the worst controller of the big three atm.
 
M

Mandelbo

Member
I've owned the same DS4 since january last year and there's no peeling whatsoever. It's still more or less as it came out of the box.
 
S

SictorVullivan

Member
Yeah, got a launch controller with the old sticks and a new white controller with the new sticks and no issues whatsoever, and this is playing every day for atleast a few hours.
 
Acquiescence

Acquiescence

Member
The only game I ever played where the rubber on the sticks started to peel off was OlliOlli 2. Literally no other game has had that effect on my controller. Weird. I guess all that flicking of the stick took its toll.
 
poodaddy

poodaddy

Member
antitrop said:
Don't trade the controller in, you can easily replace the sticks. Diablo III rubbed my shit raaaaaw, so I put Xbox One sticks on.

PS4 replacement sticks

XB1 replacement sticks

Tutorial for disassembling the DS4
Click to expand...

This man understands. I found a guy on Cag who actually does custom snap on Xbone joysticks for the Vita and I can't state enough how great of a decision that was. I personally have had zero problems with my DS4 in terms of stick peeling, but I can vouch for Xbone joysticks as replacements for other sticks; they're fucking quality.
 
B

Black Hat

Member
I have a Blue DS4 which I bought earlier this year for which I've had no issues with the sticks.

3 out of 4 of my controllers from launch have all had the stick peeling issue though.

Looks like it they changed the material after the first batches.
 
S

Shin-chan

Member
No issues with the pad I got in March with the console, or with the blue pad I got last holiday for my PC. I'm constantly wary it's going to happen but no signs of wear as of yet.
 
G

Gradon

Member
My nephews grinded down both my black and blue controllers when they played it once. But I guess that also builds upon my two year use of them. I replaced them with Xbox One sticks, now the grip is fabulous.
 
S

Sniffynose

Member
I had 3 launch controllers all wear out, my main controller even got broken triggers from so much dps lol, but like others have said just buy the replacement parts and fix it up yourself if the problem happens.

I got different coloured sticks for each controller on ebay for a few bucks and they have lasted months without wear so far, also got new triggers + springs too ftw!
 
O

Oscar

Member
Nope.

Recently bought a new DS4 because my husky tore the original up. Still peeled fairly quickly and I only played Destiny and Super Meat Boy this month.

I installed XB1 sticks on mine. They're amazing. Worth the $4 with Prime shipping.

tiNDEaC.jpg
Click to expand...
 
M

myco666

Member
Got my PS4 in March this year and bought second controller at the same time. Analog sticks on both controllers still look good.
 
V

vg260

Member
Came here to ask about this. Just picked a anther one, but it feels like one of the launch ones I got rather than one I got later.

What is the significance of the first digit of the serial #?

I have one that starts with a 3 and its share button is much easier to press and the L1 and R1 buttons don't stick.

However the one I just got starts with a 1 and feels much like the launch ones I had to replace. Did I get old stock?
 
GribbleGrunger

GribbleGrunger

Dreams in Digital
Liamc723 said:
Today I moved onto my 5th PS4 controller since launch thanks to this problem. It's a complete joke that this keeps happening.
Click to expand...

It definitely must be something you are doing if it keeps happening to you. I've been playing for two years with the same controller and nothing.
 
E

endlessflood

Member
GribbleGrunger said:
It definitely must be something you are doing if it keeps happening to you. I've been playing for two years with the same controller and nothing.
Click to expand...
I feel confident in saying that Liam isn't the only person in the world with this problem. We knew about it prior to launch even, I remember some GAFers posting pics from one of the game shows where a kiosk controller had the same thing after only a couple of days. There's probably variance in the quality of rubber from controller to controller (some being better, some being shit), hours of use, and games being played. I know in my case that Infamous, Killzone, and BF4 seemed OK (just the shininess/tackiness starting to creep in), but once I started playing AC4 the stick seemed to deteriorate incredibly quickly and split soon after.

It seems pretty silly to say "it's something you're doing". Unless you're Edward Scissorhands or operating your controller with your teeth, these things should be designed to withstand anything else, that's what they're for. Can't deal with fingernails, or sweaty hands, or pizza grease? Those are normal operating conditions for a controller. If your controller can't handle them then your design is fundamentally flawed, and you need to fix it.

I've been a console gamer since the Atari 2600 and the DS4 controller is the only one I've ever had that suffered a material failure like that. My megadrive pad did become less sensitive after years of abuse, and one of my DS2 sticks eventually became so loose (after God knows how much use) that I bought a new one. The DS4 rubber sticks just weren't fit for purpose.

The best thing I ever did was get those aluminium sticks, I just wish Sony had designed a controller that I didn't need to fix for them. That's really the only disappointing thing about the PS4 for me, all of the other hardware stuff they nailed.
 
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