GRcade

Morning all. My son has two Dualshock V2 controllers and both have suddenly stopped charging. We've tried swapping USB ports, alternative USB cables, and alternative charging means (mains adaptor, laptop USB) with no luck, which would indicate it's a problem with the controllers themselves. Both of them. Which is quite the coincidence.

A quick browse of the internet would seem to suggest that it's a fairly widespread issue, however, aside from a few speculative ideas such as resetting the controllers, unplugging the console for ten minutes (suggesting it's a connectivity issue, perhaps), opening up the controller and removing the battery etc, there doesn't appear to be a definitive solution.

Has anyone else encountered this problem and can anyone offer any advice?

Ta.

Have they *completely* stopped charging, or are they charging but expiring much quicker than they should? My OG DS4 doesn't hold a charge for half as long as is it first did (apparently the longer you wait to charge them the worse they get at holding it) and so now I just play with a extra long cable attached.

Have you tried putting in a repairs claim? https://hardware.support.eu.playstation.com/#/

*Completely* stopped charging - brief flicker of light and then nothing. Exact same deal with both controllers.

Sounds like your kid broke them and is too scared to own up.

Whilst impossible to rule out, he's generally very conscientious and careful with all of his possessions. He didn't even know you could charge the controllers by any other means, other than the USB ports on the console, so it's unlikely he's fried them.

Johnny Jalfrezi wrote:*Completely* stopped charging - brief flicker of light and then nothing. Exact same deal with both controllers.

I thought the light didn't turn on unless you connected the controller to the console?

As in, the controller will charge with no light on unless you turn it on and connect it to the ps4

I'd double check that it's not the USB ports on the PS4 by trying to use the controllers on steam (which natively supports DS4)

It's not the USB ports (either of them) as they charge the headset fine. Another quick browse of the internet throws up the possibility of it being a damaged USB connector pcb in the controller. Seems an easy and inexpensive fix, if so.

Johnny Jalfrezi wrote:*Completely* stopped charging - brief flicker of light and then nothing. Exact same deal with both controllers.

Mine did this; I replaced the battery. Still isn't great (light doesb't seem to work, etc) but it at least holds charge for a while.

I use the official Sony docking charger thing. That doesn't use the usb port to charge, rather the area by the headphone inbetween the thumbsticks. Dunno if you can get one (or want to?) but could be worth it?

KingK wrote:I use the official Sony docking charger thing...

Spot-on, KingK. I've never charged my DualShock via the USB ports; I just leave it in the charging dock. It's a dull yet brilliant peripheral that I have sung the praises of in GR many times before .

Yep. Turns out I bought mine in Oct 2013. Never had an issue with any of my DS's, 1 of which is a launch one, the other a Pro. Battery life seems really good even now and I leave them permanently on charge when not in use

Just a quick bump, in the name of public service.

I finally got to the bottom of the charging issue and it appears that it's a bit of a known, if not especially widespread, problem. Turns out it was a connectivity issue with the console - I had to use another Dualshock (which crucially had never been used on that particular console) to connect to the console via USB and manually delete the Bluetooth connections between the console and the two 'faulty' controllers. I then re-connected and paired the controllers via the USB cable and everything was fine and dandy again. No idea what caused the glitch in the first place but glad it was a simple (i.e. cheap) enough fix in the end.

As you were...

That’s happened to me just the other day. A pad that I thought was dead has come back to life after a bit of pairing/unpairing. Completely accidental. That’s £50 saved.

Replacement batteries or thumbnail are pretty easy to do yourself. Plus the benefits of replacing your own battery is you can get a better one