Steam Deck Tester and Specs
Steam Deck controls are not a USB gamepad you plug in. In Desktop Mode a Chromium browser can see them, often as a Steam Input virtual device with vendor 28DE or as an Xbox 360-style pad. Game Mode’s built-in browser is a poor place to run this test. Trackpads and gyro are Steam Input features, not standard axes.
{"waiting":"Press any button on the controller. Browsers hide gamepads until you press a button on this tab.","noApi":"This browser does not expose the Gamepad API, so the live tester cannot read inputs. The written checks on this page still apply.","insecure":"This page is not a secure context, so the browser will not share gamepads. Open the site over HTTPS.","privacy":"Inputs stay in this browser. Nothing is uploaded.","checkAgain":"Check again","layout":"Button labels","layoutAuto":"Match the connected pad","layoutPs":"PlayStation","layoutXbox":"Xbox","layoutNintendo":"Nintendo","layoutGeneric":"Numbers","player":"Controller","buttons":"Buttons","face":"Face","dpad":"D-pad","shoulders":"Shoulders and triggers","center":"Center and sticks clicks","extra":"Other buttons","sticks":"Sticks","leftStick":"Left stick","rightStick":"Right stick","up":"Up","down":"Down","left":"Left","right":"Right","stickHint":"Up on the plot is up on the stick. The numbers keep the browser’s sign: positive Y is usually down.","offset":"Offset","deadzone":"Inner deadzone","radial":"Radial","axial":"Axial","shape":"Deadzone shape","afterDeadzone":"After deadzone","inside":"Inside deadzone","measureDrift":"Measure drift (3s)","release":"Release both sticks and hold them still.","measuring":"Measuring resting offset…","trace":"Trace circularity","tracing":"Push the stick around the outer gate.","stopTrace":"Stop trace","vibration":"Vibration","strong":"Strong motor","weak":"Weak motor","duration":"Duration","play":"Play vibration","pulse":"Pulse three times","triggerRumble":"Try trigger rumble","rumbleMissing":"This browser did not offer a vibration actuator for the selected controller. Chrome and Edge usually do; Firefox and Safari often do not.","rumbleSent":"Vibration command sent.","rumbleFailed":"The browser rejected the vibration command.","triggerUnsupported":"Trigger rumble is not available on this actuator. Dual rumble still ran if the browser accepted it.","rate":"Browser-observed rate","sampleAge":"Sample age","moveStick":"Move a stick to measure the update rate.","rateNote":"This is how often the browser hands us a new sample. It is not the controller’s USB poll rate.","ageNote":"How old the newest sample is when the page draws it. This is not display lag and not in-game lag.","ageUnavailable":"This browser’s gamepad timestamp cannot be compared with the page clock.","gyro":"Motion","requestHid":"Request DualSense access","hidIntro":"Gyro, accelerometer, touch position, and battery are not part of the standard Gamepad reading. Chrome and Edge on desktop can request a DualSense or DualShock 4 over WebHID.","hidMissing":"WebHID is not available here. Use Chrome or Edge on a desktop computer, connect the pad by USB, and try again. Buttons and sticks above still work through the Gamepad API.","hidEmpty":"No device was selected.","hidOk":"The browser allowed access to {name}. This version confirms the device and does not stream gyro values yet, so it cannot show a wrong motion number. Buttons and sticks above stay on the Gamepad API.","hidDenied":"The browser blocked or cancelled device access. Gamepad readings are unaffected.","raw":"Raw data","rawEmpty":"Raw values appear here after a controller connects.","checkup":"Full checkup","startCheckup":"Start full checkup","resetMarks":"Reset marks","stepButtons":"Buttons","stepSticks":"Sticks","stepTriggers":"Triggers","stepRumble":"Rumble","stepDone":"Review","checkupIdle":"A short pass over buttons, both sticks, both triggers, and vibration.","checkupButtons":"Press every face button, the D-pad, bumpers, menu buttons, and both stick clicks.","checkupSticks":"Rotate each stick out to the gate.","checkupTriggers":"Pull both triggers fully.","checkupRumble":"Play vibration, then say whether you felt it.","feltYes":"I felt it","feltNo":"I felt nothing","checkupSkipRumble":"This pad has no vibration actuator in this browser, so that step is skipped.","announcePress":"{label} pressed","modelLink":"This looks like {name}.","openModel":"Open the model page","presetNote":"Labels are locked to this page’s layout. Change “Button labels” if they do not match the pad in your hands.","mappingStandard":"standard mapping","mappingOther":"non-standard mapping","healthy":"Healthy","borderline":"Borderline","drift":"Drift","couldNotMeasure":"Could not get a still sample. Rest the controller on a table and try again.","suggested":"Suggested inner deadzone","coverageLow":"Keep tracing the outer edge. Too few sectors were filled to score the gate.","noPadSelected":"No controller is selected.","slotsLabel":"Connected controllers","noneConnected":"None connected yet","focusDrift":"This page focuses on stick drift. Every other check is still here.","focusDeadzone":"This page focuses on deadzone and calibration. Every other check is still here.","focusVibration":"This page focuses on vibration. Every other check is still here.","focusPolling":"This page focuses on the browser-observed update rate. Every other check is still here.","focusLatency":"This page focuses on sample age and input timing. Every other check is still here.","focusGyro":"This page focuses on motion. Buttons and sticks still use the Gamepad API.","focusButtons":"This page focuses on buttons. Sticks, triggers, and vibration are still here.","names":{"edge":"DualSense Edge","dualsense":"DualSense","ds4":"DualShock 4","joycon":"Joy-Con","switchpro":"Switch Pro Controller","bitdo":"8BitDo pad","deck":"Steam Deck or Steam Input device","series":"Xbox Series controller","xone":"Xbox One controller","xbox":"Xbox controller","nintendo":"Nintendo controller","generic":"generic PC gamepad"}}Labels are locked to this page’s layout. Change “Button labels” if they do not match the pad in your hands.
Inputs stay in this browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Press any button on the controller. Browsers hide gamepads until you press a button on this tab.
This is how often the browser hands us a new sample. It is not the controller’s USB poll rate. How old the newest sample is when the page draws it. This is not display lag and not in-game lag.
Buttons
Face
D-pad
Shoulders and triggers
Center and sticks clicks
Sticks
Up on the plot is up on the stick. The numbers keep the browser’s sign: positive Y is usually down.
Vibration
Motion
Gyro, accelerometer, touch position, and battery are not part of the standard Gamepad reading. Chrome and Edge on desktop can request a DualSense or DualShock 4 over WebHID.
Full checkup
- Buttons
- Sticks
- Triggers
- Rumble
- Review
A short pass over buttons, both sticks, both triggers, and vibration.
Raw data
Raw values appear here after a controller connects.
Specs and identifiers
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Virtual vendor often seen | 28DE (Valve / Steam Input) |
| What the browser usually gets | An Xbox-style gamepad |
| Trackpads | Not standard Gamepad axes |
| Gyro | Available to Steam Input, not to this Gamepad reading |
Works with
- Steam Deck Desktop Mode: open Chrome or Edge and press a button on this page.
- Docked to a monitor: same test, easier to read.
- External pads on a Deck: they show up as their own devices beside the virtual pad. Use the slots.
Browser support for this controller
You are often testing the virtual pad Steam created, not a raw HID report from the Deck’s microcontroller. That is still the right test if your games use Steam Input. If you want the lowest remapping, look at Steam’s desktop layout and turn off extra deadzones before the drift sample.
Known quirks
- Game Mode will not give you a trustworthy browser tester. Switch to Desktop Mode.
- A trackpad click may arrive as a stick click or a mouse click depending on the layout.
- Gyro-to-mouse moves the pointer. It will not orbit the stick scope unless the layout routes gyro to a stick.
Drift, repair, and warranty notes
Sample the sticks in Desktop Mode with Steam’s extra deadzone disabled. The Deck’s sticks can wear like any potentiometer pad. If the offset disappears when you change the Steam deadzone, you were measuring a software zone. Hall-effect replacement kits exist from third parties; retest after you fit them. Valve’s warranty is whatever your purchase region currently states.
Similar controllers
Same instrument, different hardware. Open a neighbor if you are comparing a replacement.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I open this page on a Steam Deck?
Desktop Mode, in Chrome or Edge. Game Mode’s browser is the wrong tool.
Why does the id say Xbox?
Steam Input is presenting a virtual Xbox pad. The physical device is still the Deck. The slot label will mention Steam when the id includes 28DE or Steam.