After losing to the Elden Beast several times, you’ve finally understood its attack patterns, and you are now ready to beat it. As you try to dodge its Wave of Gold Attack, you get the notification: “Wireless Controller battery level is low.” You charged your DualSense Wireless Controller only a couple of hours ago, so how is this possible?
PS5 controllers die quickly because of next-gen haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. The battery life of the controllers depends on how heavily PS5 games utilize these technologies.
In this article, you’ll learn the factors that determine the battery life of your PS5 controller. It also teaches you how to check your controller’s battery level, along with tips you can use to make it last as long as possible.
What Is Causing My PS5 Controller To Die So Fast?
While gaming, there’s nothing more annoying than seeing the low battery notification on your screen—especially if you only got one controller with your PS5.
The battery life of your PS5 controller depends on how video games use adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. Video games that make heavy use of the DualSense Wireless Controller’s next-gen features can cause significant battery drain.
These next-gen features add to the immersive experience of gaming. For instance, you can feel the recoil of different guns in first-person shooters.
According to the PlayStation’s official blog, the DualSense controller’s battery life should be similar to DualShock 4. However, this is only applicable if you play games that don’t use the controller’s next-gen features.
How Do I Check the PS5 Controller’s Battery Level?
If you don’t want to charge your PS5 controller mid-game, you should check how much battery is remaining before starting your session.
The PS5 Controller’s battery level is accessible in the ‘Accessories’ tab, located in ‘Control Center.’ The battery icon uses up to three bars to show much charge is remaining on the controller.
Follow these steps to check your controller’s battery level:
- Tap the PS button located in the center of the controller (between the left stick and right stick).
- Once the ‘Control Center’ opens up at the bottom of the screen, navigate to ‘Accessories,’ using the analog sticks or D-pad.
- Select ‘Accessories’ to see the controller’s battery level.
The battery icon uses bars to indicate how much charge remains in your controller. If it’s three bars, don’t worry—the battery is full. If it drops to one bar, you’ll have to plug in your controller or use the DualSense Charging Station.
It takes around three hours to charge your controller completely.
How Can I Improve My PS5 Controller’s Battery Life?
If your PS5 controller isn’t lasting as long as advertised, there are several steps you can take to improve its battery life.
Disabling adaptive triggers and haptic feedback can improve the PS5 controller’s battery life. When video games use these features, they decrease how long the controller lasts on a single charge.
Here are a couple of adjustments you can make to improve your PS5 controller’s battery life:
Disable or Lower Next-Gen Features
The first thing you can do to get your controller to last longer is to disable or lower the following features:
- Adaptive Triggers
- Haptic Feedback
- Light Bar
All these settings are available under ‘Accessories’, located in the ‘Control Center’. Out of the box, all these features are at the highest setting. You can change them to ‘Medium’, ‘Weak’, or ‘Off’.
If you’re keen on improving your controller’s battery life, keep in mind that you may not have the same immersive experience as before. The next-gen features, designed to add to the video game experience, are part of what sets the PS5 apart from playing on Xbox and PC.
Reduce the Time for the Controller To Turn Off Automatically
Your controller won’t turn off by itself, even if you leave it idle for several minutes. If you want to change that, follow these steps:
- Select ‘Settings’ located on the top of your screen.
- Once ‘Settings’ opens up, choose ‘System’ from the side menu.
- Click on ‘Power Savings,’ which you’ll find in the side menu.
- Navigate to ‘Set Time Until Controllers Turn Off.’ By default, it’s at ‘Don’t Turn Off.’
- Select this option and choose ‘After 10 minutes,’ ‘After 30 minutes,’ or ‘After 60 Minutes.’
Your controller will turn off automatically based on this setting.
Related Content: What’s The PS5 Failure Rate?
What To Do if Changing These Settings Doesn’t Work
If you changed the above settings and didn’t notice any improvement in your controller’s battery life, there are still a handful of things you can do.
Here are three additional tips you can follow to see if your controller’s battery life improves.
- Update the controller’s software. Plug the controller into your PS5 using the provided cable. If there is an update, you’ll receive a notification. Updates contain the latest bug fixes for your controller, so if the battery drain is caused by a glitch, this should fix it.
- Charge the controller till the battery is full (three bars). Discharge the battery completely before plugging it into your PS5. Wait until it’s full before using it. A complete charge and discharge cycle may fix the battery drain issue.
- If all the above steps don’t work, get the controller replaced. Sony provides a one-year warranty for controllers from the day you purchase them. If you can’t claim a warranty, the only option left is to buy a new controller. I’d recommend going for the original PlayStation DualSense Wireless Controller (available on Amazon.com). I know you just had a bad experience with it, but it’s still leagues above third-party competitors.
Conclusion
The DualSense Controller offers next-gen features to improve immersion in video games. However, they can also be why your controller runs out of battery quickly. Disabling these features can improve battery life but at the expense of this console’s immersive experience.
Updating the software or performing a charge and discharge cycle may fix battery issues. If all these techniques don’t work, there’s a high chance your controller is defective. In this situation, you should replace it under warranty (if applicable) or buy a new one.
