08/17/2025
For years, video games have had a huge impact on many people. But a common complaint and downside of controllers is they aren’t built to last. On average every 6 months the standard thumb-sticks start to fail, leading to a phenomena of “Joystick Drift”. Which is where the controller gets stuck permanently pushing one direction. Rather than replacing the joysticks with latest generation joysticks that are built to last, they use the same old sticks so people will buy more controllers when they inevitably fail.
I’m a fan of permanent fixes, where possible. This is where TMR(Tunnel MagnetoResistance) joysticks come into play. Rather than the traditional joysticks which rely on metal scraping against each other, TMR joysticks have very little physical contact since they utilize magnets, they no longer need to scratch against each other to read properly. Instead, they have plastic and metal to keep the terminals separate. This prolongs the time between replacements by a large amount, potentially a permanent fix.
I decided to give them a try and removed the old joysticks, which the left one had a 100% stick drift, pulling down the stick to the maximum level. After replacing the joysticks with TMR joysticks, stick drift is no longer an issue. And I’ve also noticed faster responsiveness, and less input-lag and less input-loss as well. Helping with snappy aiming in competitive online games.
If you’re interested in getting some installed into your controller, or have a specialty project you’d like to have completed, let Bryce’s Technology Repairs help you! Servicing devices in local Bloomington, Indiana.