Fix Oculus Quest 2 Controller Drift

Written By: Seizure Salad

Comments: 39

Difficulty

Easy

Steps

Time Required

5 - 25 minutes

Introduction

After long periods of using the Oculus Quest 2, controller drift can form, causing you to slowly move in-game when no input to the controller is provided. In this guide, you'll learn how to stop the annoying issue of controllers drifting.

Tools

Parts

Step 1

Open the battery compartment and remove the AA battery inside.

Step 2

Remove the black plastic faceplate using an iFixit opening tool, Jimmy, or even a flathead screwdriver.
The plate is secured with adhesive and might be difficult to remove for the first time. You don't need to worry as the plate is additionally held in place with plastic posts.

I can't even get the plate off without breaking it so now it's even worse thanks alot

Jacob Galloway -

with enough effort you can get it off without breaking it

Seizure Salad -

you can also use a lego brick dissembler

Quincy Epoo -

Step 3

Gently pull on the top of the joystick until the cap comes off.
There is a spring that's located between the joystick housing and the cap. Don't bend or break this spring as it controls the touch sensor.

Step 4

Start by spraying some compressed air into the joystick housing to get rid of any large particles inside.
Apply a small amount of contact cleaner or 90% or greater isopropyl alcohol to the joystick and move the joystick around, and then wait for it to dry.
Make sure to wait for the contact cleaner or isopropyl alcohol to dry before assembling.

This worked. Thank you!

robertaccomando -

Does the spring need to be reattach the casing of the joystick? Or is it fine if I just put the casing on

Parker Rist -

you don't have to worry about it just put it back on

Seizure Salad -

So if I only put on the alcohol and not the contact cleaner it will still work?

Grady Spencer -

By a small amount of contact cleaner do you mean like a few drops or a few ml

Dominic green -

Step 5

When reattaching the thumbstick on older Oculus branded devices, grab the spring and spin the stick clockwise (righty tighty) until the thumbstick and spring get reattached. If you don't do this, your finger sensor won't work,

You can't exactly "grab" the spring, can you elaborate because it's too small to just "grab"

james stoots -

How exactly should I attach the spring? I cant spin the stick once I attach it, and I cant raise the spring enough if I dont attach the stick.

インク（いんく） -

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Seizure Salad

Member since: 12/01/18

1554 Reputation

29 comments

I did that and it works, but now the touch sensor on the thumb stick doesn’t work. Any ideas?

briangerrard -

The spring that goes between the joystick housing and the cap is what connects the touch sensor to the controller. While i did not inspect the cap to see for myself i believe there should be a metal contact on the underside of the cap that the spring should be touching.

Tl;dr: Make sure the spring between the joystick cap and housing is properly connected to both sides.

Erik Sørhage - 26/09/22

Thanks, just what i needed.

Just one problem.

You never mention the spring that goes between the joystick housing and the cap. I understand that you took it off completely to get a better picture, but to me it seems better to not take it off completely and just let the joystick cap hang by the spring while you spray cleaner down into the housing. As long as you're careful not to bend or break the spring i believe this would lower the chance of the touch sensor not working like one of the users here already have problems with.

Otherwise the guide is good and on-point.

Erik Sørhage -

I should mention tho, i bought my quest on day one so perhaps my controller is an earlier model. On my controller the spring between the joystick cap and housing wasn't easily removable from either side, which is why i decided to leave the cap hanging. It could be that on later models the spring is not connected to the cap but instead is just pressing up against it.

Erik Sørhage -

The spring is still there! It might be a bit hard to see however and I’ll note that in the guide.

Seizure Salad -

after putting the faceplate back on the buttons are slightly shorter pls hepl

Balls HD 4K -

Make sure all the plastic posts click in place I and that you didn’t break any of the posts

Seizure Salad -

can you find a way you can do it without compressed air or any other paid air or cleaning products

Eli Brown -

Any suggestions for a broken thumbstick cap? The base is cracked and I can't seem to find anywhere that can replace or repair it.

Julie Eves -

AliExpress.com - original controller joystick cap for oculus quest 2. $7.99

Deborah -

When reattaching the thumbstick on older Oculus branded devices, grab the spring and spin the stick clockwise (righty tighty) until the thumbstick and spring get reattached. If you don't do this, your finger sensor won't work,

Lanes -

I did all of the steps correctly and it's still sticking what should I do now?

michael pepka -

I did all of the steps correctly and it is still sticking what can I do now?

michael pepka -

thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Martin Bunzl -

Thanks for the guide! Very easy and fast. I just applied 4 drops of isopropyl alcohol, moved the stick a few times and waited about 15 min. for it to evaporate - but I tested it BEFORE putting the plate back. I recommend doing this test even BEFORE you open the controller so you can see if (or how much) it improves afterwards: wearing your headset, go to Settings > Devices > Controllers > Thumbstick Range and Deadzone > Calibrate. Move the stick around and see how it behaves (or misbehave). In my case it was jumping around very erratically, but after the procedure it was working perfectly! :)

Ricardo Ferreira -

the controller still drifts a lot should i try to find a replacement joystick or just buy a new controller

elijah -

It worked! I figured out that it helps a lot if you keep the battery on the controller when you unassemble it and try to move the joystick around with the oculus headset on and seeing when the stick drift stops, and when it does stop completely you can reassemble everything and it should work good as new! It's a relief playing games without worrying about my movement going wonky, definitely works!

saint - 26/12/22

I wouldn't recommend keeping the battery in the controller however as you may damage it while you're cleaning it

Seizure Salad -

Worked superbly! As easy as this was, I honestly didn't think it'd work. It worked perfectly. Thank you!

Kitt -

Thanks! This worked for me. I didn't have the iFixIt spray so I just poured a bit of iso alcohol over the joystick and spring. Then all I did was fidget the tick around to distribute the alcohol and let it dry. Instant fix

Shlum Hum -

I'm having difficulty getting the cap off the thumstick

Matthew Mcintyre -

Me too. I tugged until I felt like it might break if I pulled any harder. Also tried unscrewing it since some of the comments say you have to screw it back on for older models (but nothing about screwing it off), but was afraid to put too much force on it.

Chez Arctica -

you should be able to just pull it right off

Seizure Salad -

Now my joystick drift stopped, but whenever I move my joystick anywhere except to the bottom right, my oculus doesn’t think it moves at all. Help me please.

Drew Carter -

It isn't a smart idea to tell people to take the controller apart this is absolutely terrible advice

Ms Bunny - 02/03/23

ok??? there isn't really a good way to actually fix drift without taking the controller apart

Seizure Salad -

how else do you think internals get fixed?

CEO Ofnerds -

Do you mean just regular stuff I put my contacts in or hydrogen peroxide

Quinton hillery -

if you put isopropyl alcohol in your contacts then you’d be blind and hydrogen peroxide would damage the controller

Seizure Salad -