Help, my Dualshock4 controller turns on and off by itself! (a.k.a Fixing DS4 button issues by replacing the circuit board film)
Problems with PS4 controller (Dualshock 4) buttons
I recently had an issue with one of my Dualshock 4 controllers: it would turn itself on and off repeatedly, (turning my PS4 on in the process).
After a few basic checks (resetting the controller, trying to plug it in via a usb cable, turning off all bluetooth devices in the room…) it became quickly clear that “something” was wrong with my home button, and the fix was simple: buy a new DS4!
…Or so I thought, until I realized these things cost about 80 bucks nowadays unless there’s a sale. At that price, it was worth looking a bit deeper in what was wrong with my PS4 controller.
Repairing PS4 controller buttons acting weird
Buttons that act strangely on your DS4 can come from a variety of reasons, so it’s worth always doing basic checks before prying the thing open. But in my case, the problem was pretty apparent as soon as I disassembled the controller: the circuit board film had some sort of short circuit, due to what seems to be some burn damage.
Outlined is the most visible burnt section, but others appear along the line as well
I ordered a Dualshock 4 replacement circuit board film for about $5, and replacing it was surprisingly easy.
I won’t write yet another tutorial on how disassemble your DS4 or replace the film itself, there are lots of great one out there already. I used the following tutorial to disassemble the controller, and this tutorial to replace the film. The only point I want to make with this article is that this is surprisingly easy to do and will save you 70 dollars or so.
The Dualshock 4 was surprisingly easy to disassemble, with the right tutos. This is after removing the old circuit film
After placing the new film
Putting it back together, one layer at a time
A few learnings:
- The DS4 controllers are pretty sturdy, so even if you’re not used to dealing with delicate electronics, it’s reasonably easy to repair, if your problem is not with the electronics/motherboard. Replacement parts for the battery, buttons, or the circuit film are pretty cheap.
- I’d say only the flexible ribbons (that connect to the usb charger/led, and to the haptic pad) need to be handled with extra care.
- With that being said, I’m pretty sure I damaged some of the plastic parts outside and inside the controller, in part because I used a screwdriver to pop the thing open, instead of a flat plastic tool. No functional issue, but this definitely wasn’t a professional repair 🙂
Pretty sure I broke that plastic thing when opening the controller
- The circuit board film to buy depends on your model of controller. The model is printed on the controller’s motherboard, in my case it was JDM-040. When you order one (from eBay, Amazon, or wherever), make sure this matches your model.
- The Trigger buttons (L1/L2, R1/R2) also heavily depend on the controller you have. This means the technique for removing them and putting them back will depend on your model. I had the hardest time removing the L1/R1 buttons until I followed these instructions that told me to “gently flip it to the right”. On some controllers, it seems that the way to remove these triggers is actually to slide them, so be careful.
Functionally, my DS4 controller is now good as new, even if the plastic case is a bit damaged. That was totally worth it for about $5 instead of buying a new one. One remaining question is how the burn damage happened in the first place.
The burn damage is clearly visible after removing the old film circuit
It’s possible there’s something else that caused the issue initially (Spilled liquid or food? Issue with the battery?) and so the fix might only be temporary. If you have any theory or insight as to what might have caused this, let me know in the comments below 🙂
Though my controllers are fine the article is still helpful!
Hope to see more like these in the future.
Maybe pressed PS button for a long time? Placed a book on top of it or something other and button was pressed for a couple of hours.
Very possible. We store all the controllers in a box and sometimes it could happen that a controllers ends on top of another
Was it possible you used a phone charger, or something that has a very different power rating that could have cause it to burn out?
Thanks, that’s a possibility, I don’t remember. In particular I might have plugged it to my computer. Not sure I plug it to the wall through phone chargers though, not really my style.
To me it looks like a corosion.
Thanks, could be. But why only that one line, though… I though one of my kids might have spilled some juice on the controller, but I assume that would have damaged more lines.
It’s weird since only one trace was damaged, usually if the fault originates from liquid damage then there would be signs of it surrounding the burned trace, this one is clean and I don’t see any damage to the surrounding traces.
It might be just a manufacturing defect, where the coating on the traces wasn’t applied 100%, this could cause the copper to slowly oxidize, that would explain the color as thin copper traces turn black when enough oxidization has occurred.
The failed trace is also on a part of the film where it has the least amount of area, thus maybe being more prone to vibration damage.
A lot of ifs and maybes so probably just best to be happy with having it working again and not worry about the cause, if it would break again at the same place then there must be an underlying cause and would need to be investigated more closely.
Nah~ its normal for film type to have it like that. Even keyboard (those cheap keyboard using membrane not mechanical switchies) typically have it. You could try to repair it with conductive silver glue(or whatever it was called in your place) to repair it though I recommended to just replace new.
yeah… DualShock 4 controllers are of a rather poor quality.
since the PS4 has first launched i have been through at least a dozen controllers. ( not including exchanges ) and have purchased replacement parts several dozens of times. i have so many dis-assembled and broken controllers in the closet. along with a large variety of spare parts.
the very first DS4 controller with my PS4 didn’t even work. Sony would do nothing to replace it, putting the blame on me. after purchasing a new one at GameStop, it had to be exchanged 7 or 8 times before getting a controller that worked worth a damn.
and even then, there was still a flaw on the controller that was discovered when trying to play GTAV. that the right trigger wouldn’t let me accelerate to max speed. i assumed it was a problem with game, because acceleration worked fine in other games.
however, it appears that early DS4 models suffered from a flaw that affected about half of all produced controllers at the time. only REAL solution was to purchase multiple sets of pad replacements. then trial-and-error until getting a properly working set of trigger pads.
and the d-pad is terrible too. unless you press on a direction perfectly, it will get multi-direction input. in the past, the d-pad on PlayStation controller has always been the main appeal for me. on all previous PS controllers, you had to press very hard firmly on a single direction to do this. in other words, it was pretty much impossible to do on accident. whereas the DS4 requires perfection to avoid accidental multi-directional input.
over-all, i really don’t like the DualShock 4. *so sad*