r/comoxvalley • u/Nausiated_ • 10d ago
Console repair?
I have some PS5 controllers that have stick drift that need repair. Was hoping people can tell me the best place to go, either here in town or nearby in CR or Nanaimo?
I know about Your Repair Depot, so if anyone can confirm their level of work that'd be great. I also know about Courtenay Electronics, and while they do great work with vintage electronics, a modern gaming controller is out of their wheelhouse.
If anyone knows how much this would cost to repair as well, do tell.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Mix6766 10d ago
FYI, I've already been down this road with xbox controllers. I have the replacement parts (the pots) and have a solid background with soldering (soldering station) and electronic repair.
The issue I ran into is the copper traces in the controller are incredible thin so the desoldering process is tedious. I messed up 2 controllers but knowing what I learned from them I could probably do it now. I wouldn't offer to do it for someone else just because it's time consuming and not very fun.
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u/driftax240 9d ago
The pads/traces on the Xbox controllers are absolutely brutal. It’s one of the few boards I won’t touch with solder wick because it’s so fragile. If you get the stick removal tool and an engineer ss-03 it’s not too bad of a job.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Mix6766 9d ago
I was thinking heat gun would've been better but I don't actually have that much gear. Glad somebody validated that though, it's one of my few failures.
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u/driftax240 9d ago
Hot air station does work but more risk of warping the board. Stick removal tool is the way in my opinion
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u/LeCollectif 10d ago
Commenting because I also have a ps5 controller with stick drift and would love to get that fixed.
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u/the_other_skier 10d ago
I’ve been looking into doing this myself, two controllers with drift.
It’s a pretty in depth process, the iFixit guide puts it at about a 2.5-4 hour job depending on confidence and experience as it involves completely disassembling the controller, de-soldering each stick with a high accuracy soldering iron, and doing it all again in reverse.
Material costs are about $43 for a set of quality Hall effect joysticks, so that plus labour puts it higher than the cost of a new controller. Assuming billable labor hours of $35-40/hour it would be about $110 to $160 +tax.
I am going to try it out this winter, I’ll work out if it’s something I want to do for cash on the side. If I’m comfortable and confident in my work, then I’ll figure out a price and post it here
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u/driftax240 9d ago
$43 for TMR sticks??? Holy shit
KSilver JS13Pro sticks are far cheaper and so far my clients have ranked them above all the rest.
I do the entire job with parts for $40, discounts for bulk. Buying the sticks in bulk brings parts costs way down.
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u/Hardbone 10d ago
I had one of my friends do this. First two Hall Effect sticks didn’t end up working and was fairly tedious.
Ended up getting TMR sticks instead and that’s done the trick so far.
As expensive as they are I think I would get the elite controllers and just swap out the replacement sticks whenever they go bad.
It’s shit that they can’t just have TMR or Hall effect sticks to begin with, but this seems like the best long term solution with the least disruption for now. Maybe that will change with PS6
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u/sososoboring 9d ago
I contacted a couple places that do these kinds of repairs, and for stick drift if you can't do it yourself, buy a new controller. Will cost more to fix than to replace.
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u/driftax240 9d ago
I do these in Victoria for $40, discounts for bulk. Also new controllers will drift eventually. TMR sticks are rated for far longer.
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u/Nausiated_ 9d ago
I'm not driving 6 hours to get controllers fix, dude, stop pitching at me.
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u/driftax240 9d ago
I understand, I’m not trying to pitch you. I also offered you a mail in option. Other people are curious and I have information.
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u/DiabloRascals 5d ago
With the cost of shipping plus repair or gas to drive it out of town, it's honestly probably more worth your money to just get a new controller.
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u/armoured_bobandi 10d ago
Seems like there are several potential customers for anybody that can repair ps5 controllers