“How to tell if PS4 controller is charging” is a frequently asked question by people having issues with their Dualshock 4 controller.
In this post, we have prepared several methods to ensure that your PS4 is charging properly so you can be confident that your device won’t get disconnected in the middle of a game.
You can tell that a PlayStation 4 controller is charging by the slow blinking light, but it could be misleading as the blinking light also indicates that the device is looking to pair.
The best way to know that your PS4 controller is charging would be to hold the PS button and check if it is charging on the top right corner of your screen.
How To Tell If PS4 Controller is Charging Well?
The recommended way of charging your PS4 controller remains by connecting it via USB-A cable to your PlayStation.
The PS4 has to be turned on or in rest mode and your controller light should be slowly blinking as an indication of charging.
Once charged the light will either fade (if the controller is not currently used) or it will stop blinking in a static color.
Here are a few signs that your controller is being charged the right way:
- Slowly blinking light (color does not matter).
- Indication PS4 sound upon controller charging
- Indication on the top of your PS4 screen that your battery is filling
Now when you know what are the signs of a properly charging PS4 controller it is time to check some scenarios in which the controller will not charge as expected.
How To Tell If PS4 Controller Is Charging Badly?
If you are not able to see an indication of charging, we will introduce the most common issues where the PS4 controller is not charging as intended.
Each of the causes below contains a quick tip or solution related to it so make sure to apply all of them before moving on to our troubleshooting steps.
Faulty Battery
If your controller is properly charging but it disconnects from your PS4 immediately after you unplug the charging cable, you might be having a faulty battery.
Try charging it directly from a charger supply or a PC to understand the issue further.
Faulty USB-A Cable
Feel free to try charging your PS4 controller with a proven USB-A cable in order to identify if the issue is related to it.
We recommend changing the charger head as well to eliminate the possibility of a malfunctioning charger.
Faulty Charging Ports
The issue might be coming either from your PS4 USB slot or controller charging port.
To ensure that the issue is not coming from the USB-A slot of your PS4, feel free to plug your Dualshock 4 directly into a power supply and let it charge.
If the controller is still not being charged, unfortunately, this is a sign of a problem with your PS4 controller charging port.
How To Fix PS4 Controller Not Charging?
We assume that by now you know how to tell if a PS4 controller is charging properly and you would know if there are any issues.
Dualshock 4 is one of the most reliable joysticks on the market with better performance than all of its competitors but after all, it is a piece of technology that could eventually fail.
It is not certain that the issue you’re having is related to the controller, but here we have prepared several methods that will tighten the circle enough to identify where the issue is coming from.
We recommend applying our methods in numerical order for best efficiency when troubleshooting.
Method #1 Restart Controller
It is a rare occasion but sometimes the controller could glitch and behave strangely, especially when being charged.
In that regard, we are going to perform a restart to eliminate the possibility of a severe glitch.
To restart your Dualshock 4, Press & Hold the PS Button until the controller light completely fades out. At this point, your controller should disconnect and unpair from your PS4.
Then wait for about 2 minutes and hold the PS Button again until the controller boots up and pairs with the PS4.
Note:
If your PS4 controller is not working unless it is plugged into a power supply, keep it plugged until restarted, and then try using it without being charged.
Method #2 Connect Controller To PC
If your controller is not being charged at all, you can connect it to your PC and check if it is recognized.
Sadly if your controller could not be recognized by a PC, it certainly means that there is something wrong with your PS4 controller’s hardware.
If you are wondering “how to tell if PS4 is charging on PC”, it is the same as it is connected to the PS4.
If the light is slowly blinking it means that the controller is charging. Upon full charge, the lights should fade away or remain static if the PS4 controller is in use.
Method #3 Upside Down Charging
It might sound really weird but some people with a Dualshock 4 charging issue actually managed to get their controllers charging again by leaving the device upside down while charging.
The technical explanation here would be related to the way the current is entering the PS4 controller, but we will not go in-depth with this one, but it is worth trying.
Simply put your controller upside down and make sure no buttons are pressed, then plug the charging cable. After a while, take the charging cable out and check if the issue is still there.
Method #4 Battery Replacement
The inquiry “how to tell if a PS4 controller is charging?” often ends with battery replacement as this is the most vulnerable part.
If you have come that far in this post and nothing to this point manage to identify your PS4 charging issue, by replacing the batteries the issue will most certainly go away.
As this is the last resort we recommend going over all our methods and tips above so you don’t spend any money if not necessary.
Tip:
If you don’t want to spend any money, and your PS4 controller actually works when plugged in, there is nothing wrong with using it while charging.
You can also use the closest stationary power socket to plug your controller and use it from there.
Method #5 Contact Sony Official Support Team
The official Sony support team will provide you with a list of troubleshooting steps for you to apply, which are highly likely to get your PS4 controller charging again.
We have summarized all of the methods we have found that actually resolved issues like yours, but Sony most certainly know better.
It is worth trying as some people recommend contacting Sony support right away as they were able to help a lot of people with similar issues.
Bottom Line
We hope our post managed to answer the question “How to tell if PS4 controller is charging?” and hopefully resolve any issues.
If your PS4 controller still does not charge properly, you might need a hardware inspection to identify the cause of the issue.
Read Next: Learn how to troubleshoot PS4 share play not working.
