cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Oculus Quest Controler Drift

Smartyman16
Honored Guest
Hello
I have the oculus quest and my left controller is suffering from joystick drift.
I have been able to stop it for a long time by turning on a deadzone in steam advanced settings.
But it is now so bad that it is at 90% deadzone and it still happens
Is there a way to fix this
15 REPLIES 15

Rolin_
Protege
I was actually just about to start a thread about this and then saw your thread. I bought my Quest 2 at launch and after just 2 months, the left controller started experiencing joystick drift. It was a shock, because I owned the original Quest for nearly a year and it never experienced drift. Drift is often causing by dirty electrical contacts (sweat, dead skin, dirt, etc. that gets inside the controller), so that fact that my Quest 2 experienced drift so quickly must have to do with the difference in build quality between the 2 headsets and their controllers.

The way I resolve the issue is to use CRC Contact Cleaner. It is safe for electronics, and dries quickly. That said, you do not want to spray a lot. Remove the battery before using the contact cleaner spray. Tilt the joystick up, down, left, right and in each position spray an extremely short burst of contact cleaner into the small space around the edge of the joystick. Then click the joystick down a couple times and then let dry for an hour or 2 before putting the battery back in and using the controller. You can also use a can of compressed air to spray into the grooves to help dry any excess contact cleaner faster. Recommended that you wear some rubber gloves to avoid getting the contact cleaner on your skin, as it can cause irritation.

I have to do this once every 2 weeks when the joystick starts drifting again.

aguy10
Heroic Explorer
To Rolin: So you don't open up the controller in any way except to get out the battery?. Also what's the science behind it fixing it if you said it's not dust and stuff?.

Rolin_
Protege

aguy10 said:

To Rolin: So you don't open up the controller in any way except to get out the battery?. Also what's the science behind it fixing it if you said it's not dust and stuff?.


You just take the battery out as a safety precaution, because you don't want electricity flowing through it when you spray it with the contact cleaner. Do not take the controller apart or open it up in any other fashion.

I did not say that it's not dust and stuff. I said that was usually the cause, just that my original Quest never had the issue but my Quest 2 does. I'm assuming the Quest 2 controllers have slightly larger gaps around the buttons and joysticks, which allows dust and other particles to get in easier than the original Quest controllers. This is not to say that someone else's Quest won't get dirt and grime inside the controller, just that mine didn't.

aguy10
Heroic Explorer
So it starts working again presumably because it flushes out debris from the contact areas then?.

Rolin_
Protege
Correct.

standalonethinktank
Honored Guest
Did this work for you?

CRC Contact Cleaner does just that, it cleans the contacts. This stuff has been around for decades and decades. This is what you used to clean the contacts on an old rotary TV channel selector. The contacts get dirty from use, the CRC cleans them. 

Can i use CRC Silicone Spray instead of Contact Cleaner?

No CRC Silicone spray is different, it is a lubricate. Look for CRC Contact Cleaner.