One of the coolest thingsabout the PS5you can’t see in commercials or reviews is how immersive the newDualSense controlleris. Yes, things like adaptive triggers, haptic feedback, and motion control all sound like gimmicks, but in the games that do take advantage of them, you’re in for a real treat. Even though there are many alternatives out there, including Sony’s own more expensive controller theDualSense Edge, most people will be perfectly happy with the default controller the system comes with. Well, until one big problem starts to present itself.
Unlike stick driftand other faulty parts, the one thing everyone who owns a DualSense will experience is the dreaded notification that the controller’s battery is low. Even after a full charge, you will be shocked at how quickly it will fall to empty and need to be plugged back in. Since the battery is completely internal, there’s not even an option to swap out the battery to keep playing. All you can do is plug it in and wait. We’re all hoping the PS6 will bring about more long-lasting controllers, but until then, we have the best tips you can put into practice right now to extend the life of your DualSense controller.
What’s your favorite limited edition colorway?
With Sony announcing a new Astro Bot-themed DualSense controller today, I’ve been thinking about some of the best limited-edition colorways from the past. You know, the ones that turned a decent – if boring – design into something fun and memorable. Who, for instance, could forget about Nintendo’s Funtastic line during the N64 era? I’m still sad I lost my purple one when my family moved between homes. Do you have a favorite controller or console colorway you remember fondly? Do you plan to buy the Astro Bot DualSense controller?
Even utilizing all these tips, you shouldn’t expect a drastic increase in your DualSense battery life. At best, you can squeeze out an extra two or three hours per charge.
PlayStation DualSense Wireless Controller
1Turn down the light bar brightness all the way
Sadly, you can’t turn it off completely
Initially, there was no way to do anything about the light bar
Eagle-eyed readers will notice I left off one feature of the DualSense that I didn’t consider a gimmick, which is the light bar. Sony introduced this with the DualShock 4 as a way to allow your controller to be picked up by a PlayStation camera. However, if you don’t have or use one of those, it just ends up being an annoying glare on your TV screen. Even worse, it’s a battery drain. Initially, there was no way to do anything about the light bar, but a later update has allowed us to at least dim it to conserve some power. Here’s how to do it:
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2Adjust your haptics and adaptive trigger settings
If you can live without them, you’ll get better battery life
All of those cool rumble and trigger functions of the DualSense do take a toll on the battery. While there are some games where I wouldn’t recommend turning them off, there are plenty where it won’t hurt the experience all that much to play without those bells and whistles. You also have some options here besides a binary on or off state so you can find a happy medium if you still want to feel the controller do its thing. Here’s how you can find these settings:
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3Make sure your controller turns itself off
If you ever forget to power it down, it won’t run itself dry
We’ve all accidentally walked away from our consoles and forgotten to turn our controllers off, or had something come up and need to suddenly step away without time to do it. Whenever that happens, you will always come back to a dead or dying controller since it was waiting so patiently for you to come back. Luckily, there’s a way to have your controller turn itself off after a set amount of time of not reading any inputs. This is more of a failsafe option since it would always be better to turn your controller off every time, but still very handy and can save a ton of battery. Here’s how to set it up:
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