PlayStation 3 Controller battery/charge issues.
This isn’t so much a question, rather I am posting it here in case anybody searches for possible solutions to this seemingly common problem.
Recently I had a problem where my PS3 controller battery ran so low that it could not even turned on in order to charge the battery. Even charging from a PC USB plug, which I often do, would not work.
The solution which worked for me, after about an hour of online research and contact with Sony:
1. First, turn off the PS3 and disconnect the power cord to the PS3 itself. Unplug the controller charge cable from the USB port (or PC if you use a PC to charge). Make sure you do not have anything else plugged into the PS3’s USB ports, including any USB mouse, keyboard, sound devices or other controllers.
2. Wait about 10 seconds and then plug the PS3 power cord back in and then turn on the PS3 using the power button on the PS3.
3. Plug the controller’s charge cord into one of the PS3’s USB ports. This should get the PS3 to actively look for the controller and the controller’s lights should then flash.
4. With a small, but not too sharp object, (like a toothpick, or small unfolded paperclip), press the tiny reset button on the bottom of the controller and hold it in for about 5 seconds. (It is located to the right of the middle screw on the bottom of the controller). This should reset the controller and ensure a connection to the PS3, just as a new controller would for it’s first initial charge.
* Sometimes the controller may ~appear~ to flash and work when skipping a step or two, but will then stop charging and still shopw as having a dead battery after the lights flash for several minutes to an hour, so to be sure, please follow all steps and save yourself the time and frustration of having to do it over again or save yourself from having to replace the rather pricy controller.
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*NOTE*
According to Sony, the DS3 controller’s battery is designed to resist degrading from frequent charges, charging while not needing to be or running completely dead. It is extremely rare to simply have a bad battery, so do not believe everything people tell you about it being a bad battery or about overcharging or burning out the battery, try this fix first to see if it works and if not, then consider contacting Sony for a replacement as it is not entirely impossible that you may be one of the rare cases. Attempting to replace the battery yourself may void any warrenties or free replacement options as well as costing you more for buying a battery, than what Sony often offers for free replacement.
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I hope this helps and it seems to have worked for about 90% of the people who mention this problem online as well as it having worked to fix my own controller. Feel free to respond with your own success or lack of success in trying this as well as any suggestions or other experiences in repairing other PS3 Dual-Shock 3 controller issues.
Have fun, happy gaming and I hope you get many trophies and headshots. ;)
(If you play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, look me up. I am Chaos_Zen and I use the clan tag of [WTF?], which all are welcome to use if they wish. Voice also available when the kids are not making too much noise in the house.)
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tech writers
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