DualShock 4 Buttons Replacement

Written By: Mark

Comments: 76

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

20 minutes

Introduction

Use this guide to replace or fix any buttons on the Dualshock 4 controller.

Tools

Parts

Step 1

Using the Phillips #00 Screwdriver, remove the four 6.0 mm screws securing the rear cover to the controller.
Do not forcefully loosen the screws, as it will amount to permanent damage of the threads, making removal impossible.

Yo usé un Phillips #000, ya que el #00 quedaba grande y podía dañar el tornillo.

Adolfo Gomez Toledo - 19/12/20

A plain #0 works way better for me

Jennica Tapia -

Step 2

Four fragile plastic clips hold the casing together. You can see their locations more clearly in this guide.
The clips help hold the seams together. If you break these clips, the controller will still work.
Beginning with the left handle:
Pinch the left handle of the controller to introduce an opening.
Wedge a plastic opening tool into the opening and slide it up towards the joystick.
Pull down on the plier to crack open the casing.
Repeat these steps for the right handle.

Shoulders are where L1/L2/R1/R2 are, not the %#*@ handles. Confusing instructions.

foxhoundunit89 - 13/07/15

Quick tip: Be VERY careful at this step not to dislodge the tiny spring attached to the L2/R2 buttons. While removing the cover, it's easy to pull off either L2/R2 button. Inadvertently pulling off either button will also remove the tiny spring as well. While not too difficult to reassemble, it's not obvious where the spring goes as the spring is almost completely hidden along the side of the button (on the inside).

I just successfully completed analog stick replacements for two controllers. I completed the first repair without any trouble but managed to dislodge (and almost lose) the spring on the second time around. Needless to say, I spent some time trying to figure out where the spring is supposed to go (no photos of this anywhere). By sheer luck, I figured it out on my own. :)

Good luck and take your time--especially the first time!

Michael Whang - 28/11/15

couldn't have posted pics for me? :D

kimsballs - 25/01/16

Golden tip but I would add a thing or two.

Most probably both triggers R1&R2 will stay in lower half of the pad case with springs hanging there.

You must take them of their lower case sockets before assembly and fit them bellow L1&L2

When you feel click when fitting them and spring works like on normal assembled pad you're done.

If thats not the case do not try to assemble lower casing half as triggers will not work properly.

Simon - 22/02/16

if you lost the springs unfortunately, the triggers would still work but it is harder to get to the precise digital press. In other words you will have hard time to create a light press than a hard press.

meaningless - 11/06/16

My controller broke

Gary - 28/03/20

So what I seem to see a lot of sources fail to mention with this model (and promptly break without noticing) are the two plastic tabs attached to the front shell on either side of the headphone jack ; in order to properly pry that section open, all you need to do is lightly push those plastic tabs in, and the section should open up easily. That seems to be one of the main things that prevent people from prying the shell open.

The updated models have the tabs as well, but aren’t as stubborn considering the bars between the shoulder buttons on those are inside as opposed to being a part of the shell.

Hope this helps, and feel free to discuss, especially if you’re more familiar with the issue than me.

Rifter - 11/11/20

Thank you so much for mentioning exactly where the internal tabs are located, I couldn't for the life of me get into the controller otherwise.

I found using two thin plastic guitar picks, the kind that bend more freely, worked very well to shimmy into place on either side of the headphone jack and pop the tabs to get the device to open.

I did break a small piece from one of the teeth on the back half of the shell that inserts into the tabs, but I believe this was accidentally done before I came across your comment and was prying with a spudger willy-nilly.

Gently wiggling the front half of the shell containing the main portion of the electronics allowed me to release the triggers and open the controller the rest of the way.

Fizzwidgy -

Step 3

Wedge a plastic opening tool into the case-splittings and pull down to crack open the casing near the following buttons:
Share button
Options button
Split the plastic covers of the controller apart, taking note that they will still be attached by circuit board ribbons.
Three small pieces are often released from the framework. To prevent loss, maintain a controlled work field.
2 Trigger Springs
1 Grey Reset Button Extension

You can't just pull the casing halves apart. There is a plastic bar that is part of the casing and separates the L1 and R1 buttons from the L2 and R2 buttons. To get this loose, pull the casing outward perpendicular to the L and R buttons until you can slide the L2 and R2 buttons from behind the plastic bar.

dzturbd - 02/05/15

SO yesterday replaced the thumb stick on my controller, and now the R2 button is stuck, know any way to remedy this?

ScootsMcgoots - 03/05/15

I know you put a warning, but I lost the grey reset button extension. Any idea where to get a replacement part?

miamiman77 - 25/06/15

Hey, not even sure when you wrote this, but wanted to share my solution for this problem. I lost one of my reset button rubber pieces when I was doing a different repair, and found that a standard bamboo skewer is just about the perfect diameter to function as a replacement. Just cut it to the proper length and you should be able to get it in there and get your reset functionality back.

tcbrekke - 10/08/15

You don't really need it. A long paper clip will work fine.

Ron Smith - 29/09/15

I've removed and changed all buttons all seemed ok but now the options and share button don't work, as in when I pressed them down there is no longer a click (bounce) I'm certain it's back in the correct place and I don't think they can be put the wrong way up, does anyone have any advice please :)

Rachel - 20/01/16

My share button stopped 'clicking'. When I stripped the controller down I noticed a small copper coloured dimple on the motherboard was depressed instead of proud like the one for the options button. With bluetack I was able to pull it out but each time I tested it with my finger it clicked once and stayed depressed. I don't think there is a permanent solution to this as it's probably metal fatigue or similar so i put a tiny bit of blue tack overy the dimple so the plunger could push that bit further and hopefully pull it out each time. Seems to work as I reassemble the controller. Fingers crossed it holds out a while! I'd love to know if someone else had a different solution.

The5HD - 27/06/16

I had an extra part, and it wasn’t gray. Thank goodness for the picture of the black one. It’s rubbery. The small end should be inserted down towards the gold colored spot. It’s next to the word RESET on the mobo.

J Coyote - 28/12/17

When reassembling: If, like me, your R2/L2 buttons stayed with the bottom of the controller when you took it apart, it will be impossible to reassemble and get the tiny springs back in place.

To remedy, remove the buttons, and attach them, with the springs correctly placed, to the top of the controller. There are two tiny grooves, one on the button, and one on the controller top, into which the spring fits.

Jeff Human - 27/02/18

Jeff, we owe you a six pack for this comment.

James Goldie - 22/05/18

Thank You!! The spring came out and I looked for a way to reinsert it. So I led a thread through its opening (so it couldn´t jump away), and compressed it with pliers. So it was easy to put it in.

VauWeh - 23/09/18

Jeff, you've been a wonderfully helpful Human. Thanks for the ingenious tip.

Kris W - 15/09/19

Thanks man i was struggling there

Shut-_-Up -

My controller broke

Gary - 28/03/20

Something is stopping me from opening it cause it cut both by splitting tools

Josuke Higashikata - 03/08/20

Mine was also really really resistant to being pried open. In the end, i did my best to loosen the entire gap at least once, then inserted along the middle bottom and used more force than i would have been comfortable with. The plastic on the edges is slightly shot now and it’s not as smooth a grip-feeling anymore, but it came apart fine and I didn’t break anything important. There is just a lot of surface for a friction fit like this and the joysticks keep pulling it back down, which in combination makes it really resilliant. In my case it also was exuberated by a minor soda spill along the right handle which ‘glued’ it together, and i imagine that can also happen just with use and ‘hand cheese’, especially on the outer edges. There is a lot of surface area to stick together there.

Seleen Shadowpaw - 27/05/21

Step 4

Detach the motherboard ribbon connecting the two sides of the controller by pulling it straight out with your fingers.
Note the orientation of the cable and make sure it faces the right way when you reconnect it.
After the two halves are separated, place the top of the controller off to the side.

can you share the battery dimension?

luxusmirajane - 08/09/15

Step 5

Using the blunt forceps, remove the battery plug by gently rocking the forceps side-by-side to loosen the plug.
After removal of the plug from the motherboard, the battery can be lifted off of the controller.
Hasty removal of the battery plug could warp the plastic grips of the plug.

For the replacement battery I found that the Turnigy 2000mAh 1S 1C Lipo w/ 2 Pin JST-PH worked perfectly while also being a budget option at only $2.54 USD before shipping. However ONLY INSTALL AFTER CHANGING THE POLARITY OF THE CONNECTOR, this can be done with a pin or craft knife with relative ease. After doing this the controller has doubled in battery life. It required no modification to the controllers internals only extra care to ensure the longer cables didn’t get pinched in reassembly.

Ryan - 02/03/18

Got the battery detached without warping the plastic grips/ prongs, but it won't stick back to the board on reassembly. Is there an adhesive i should use?

Ferrum Phoxx - 02/05/19

Ferrum Phoxx - Did you just remove the plug from the socket? By that, I mean you didn’t pull the socket it was in off of the board too? If you did pull the socket off as well, I think that would require resoldering the socket to the board first. Tricky, but someone with some soldering experience ought to be able to fix it for you.

nowurgone - 13/07/19

I had trouble with analoge, I fixed that but FPC (flat connector) on mainboard broken and I soldered new 12 pin FPC on mainboard again, but in reverse!

then I put charging cable and the dualshock did not turn on , and I sensed that the dualshock is heating up, I remove charging cable as soon as possible.

problem is this : negative and positive putted in reverse.

I don’t kwow what happen if I solder new FPC in right position .

Does it work or somethings going to out of service?

sorry formy poor English language .

regards,

Hamed

hamed1379 - 26/09/20

I can’t pull the connector plug out of the socket. I’ve used my fingers, I’ve tried tweezers. I’ve been rocking it for 15 minutes but it won’t come out.

marcus2159 -

I found it difficult to unscrew the four screws on the back of my controller. I recommend a screwdriver that you can get a good grip on so you can turn it precisely.

My battery came with a screwdriver but when I turned it the handle broke in half. The second screwdriver came from an old set I'd got at Harbor Freight or somewhere. The screws stripped the screwdriver! Then I thought to get the screwdriver from the iFixit kit I'd used to replace the battery in my Galaxy S6 a few years ago. This worked much better. I might just buy a set of screwdriver bits here since both the bits and handle are far better constructed than the cheap stuff I broke.

Gary F -

Step 6

Remove the single 6.0 mm Phillips screw found below the battery retainer with the Phillips #00 Screwdriver.
Do not forcefully loosen the screw, as it may amount to permanent damage of the threads, making removal impossible.

Hello. I got a new graffiti controller (without hardware) and i wanted to switch my parts in the graffiti one. I have a PS4 Controller. Not a slim. But it seems like my motherboard screw is on the other side.. its on the right side of the motherboard and my graffiti is on the left.. what controller do i need to fix this?

TheTechnoMan - 14/06/17

Step 7

Gently detach the touchpad ribbon connected to the motherboard using the blunt forceps. The touchpad ribbon is connected to the motherboard by a connector that flips to tighten and loosen. During reassembly, to reattach the ribbon, the plastic tray will need to be gently removed from the motherboard and the flip-lock flipped up.

Be very careful when you detach the touchpad ribbon. You could disconnect the other end that is inside the touchpad. In fact I would recommend you use a plastic spudger to release the clips on the sides of the battery holder, and then lift the latch to the ZIF socket of the touchpad. If your touchpad is not working upon reassembly, then the other end of the ribbon cable my have came loose in the touchpad. Use a plastic opening tool to remove the back of the touchpad, and lift the brown latch of the ZIF socket and reinsert.

Patrick - 20/06/14

thanks for the advice

TMC - 22/07/14

currently doing this and have found the desoldering part the most difficult. i purchased a 40w solder on sale and attempted to remove with flux and wick to no avail. a buddy of mine tried with his station and no dice. at this point im thinking the contacts are lead? any advice?

swammieslippyslappy - 31/12/14

So the springs are annoying couldn't see were you talk about these as it's very fiddly to do the last step of putting it back together. Not just a reverse of taking it apart!

Frank Theplank - 14/05/15

I concur. The springs are the worst part of this job. It would be nice if someone edited this to add some tricks for reassembly.

raysmalley - 09/12/15

You just have to put the r2/l2 buttons on the top side. There's a space around that white rubber thing where you can just snap them in. So that you have all the shoulder buttons together before putting the 2 parts back together.

Flow Von D - 03/01/16

Tilt your controller and trigger so the triggers are pointing to the ground it stops the spring popping out so much place spring inside the trigger and clip on thats how i do it anyway :) the touchpad is my problem area replaced my stick covers and now it just doesnt work at all :(

drwhatfunk - 12/08/16

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9dWsZNn...

Dallas Smith - 26/12/16

Thank you for this recommendation. Made disassembly SO much smoother.

jeninholland02 - 22/11/15

What I did for the Springs was place the spring on the button. Turned the button to where the spring is up on top then attached the button to the controller this helps keep the spring in place as you reattach it that is really the only trick that I found to it.

Matthew Luna - 11/01/16

“The touchpad ribbon is connected to the motherboard by a connector that flips to tighten and loosen” —> Just fixed a controller I bought in 2017. There was definitely no flip connector there, the ribbon simply went in. I guesss the internals changed. So beware: don’t mess with the female connector on the motherboard if there’s no obvious flip switch.

jonl - 31/08/19

Thank you. I just broke a piece of the plastic because it will not flip. I could not figure it out and was wondering if the version in these demonstrations was different than mine. Thank you for addressing this.

nearthecross - 31/03/21

never had spring problem

DARKMATTER - 16/10/19

Just want to say big thanks to ifixit for mentioning the flap. It worked like a charm. I searched high and low on all the usual forums, Reddit, Youtube, you name it. Who knew it was as simple as flipping the flap and no one even thought of mentioning it until I found this website.

leehmclara -

I don't see a flap for the ZIF connector on the controller (CUH-ZCT2U) I'm working on, so I gently pulled it out with pliers. I may not have seen it, but I couldn't see a release mechanism.

Shane -

Step 8

Carefully dislodge the motherboard assembly from the front cover.
Vibration motors are loosely attached to the motherboard assembly. Provide support at the two ends to ease the separation.
When removing the motherboard assembly, try not to tilt the front cover upside down as the buttons and their covers may fall out.

Yeah, the factory solder job for those motors on the mobo is terrible. Every time I open these up, I add more solder to those joints just to be safe.

Robert - 02/04/21

Step 9

Successful disassembly of the controller will result in the following three parts, respectively:
Motherboard Assembly
Front Cover
Rear Cover

One day my R2 trigger refused to work all in a sudden. The second day it spread to my square button. I dissembled the controller to this step and found some liquid between the green motherboard and the black plastic holding it. I should not have bought a second-hand especially for a launch version. Anyways I cleaned it up and it still didn't work. I then went to ebay and bought a new motherboard. Basically it is a piece of delicate plastic like PCB. It is held in place by 3 plastic columns and 3 gaps for sliding underneath both triggers and the touch pad. Sorry for no pictures but a careful removal of the old one would give you the best illustration of how to put the new one back. First remove the rubber pads of the triggers, which allows you to slide in the PCB. Then there are another 2 small plastic columns at the back of the gap near the touch pad. There is no need to detach the rotors. A pair of tweezers would help greatly. My controller now works perfectly like new and thanks to the author.

meaningless - 11/06/16

Step 10

Remove the rubber covering concealing the buttons with your fingers.
Use the metal tweezers to then remove the button from its slot.

Step 11

To remove the arrow key buttons, use the same process you used for the control buttons by removing the rubber cover and pulling the button out with metal tweezers.

Step 12

For the share and options buttons, use the metal tweezers to grasp and remove them.

Step 13

In order to remove the PS button on the controller, you must first remove the rubber cover with your fingers.
Then using the metal tweezers, remove the PS button.

i have two ps4 controller and one of the r2 botton is mess up and it stuck and it is bent how can i fix that

damarco harris - 16/11/16

I have 2 PS4 controllers but the ps buttons are not working on both controllers. I tried checking the status of the controllers using my laptop, all the other buttons worked except for the ps button (13). I have dismantled the controllers to clean up dirts around the buttons but it still didn’t work. I need help to get the ps button working again. Thank you.

Adeola Adegoke - 27/11/18

Thank you ifixit.com

Nait brahim - 18/02/19

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Mark

Member since: 21/01/14

6932 Reputation

22 comments

I pulled out my touch pad along with the motherboard when it was still attached how can I put this back in

Landen Nipper - 29/07/16

Pull out the ribbon the way the tutorial says and then you can place the touchpad back correctly. It needs to be put in from the inside of the controller, not the outside.

Luis Rodriguez - 18/03/17

where is how replace L2/R2? D=

ps4 - 31/12/16

This guide could be enhanced by showing the L1/L2, R1/R2 button cluster in some photos. I needed to replace the silicone grommet underneath the buttons due to Sony's design flaw of having R2/L2 press on the silicone with a blade shaped extension.

Joseph Bruni - 31/12/16

What to do If after cleaning some buttons no longer work? I was very careful when disassembling and reassembling the remote.

Amanda G Clark - 05/02/17

You might wanna make sure that flimsy plastic lining the buttons push is in its proper place. Sometimes it moves and if it doesn't line up just right it won't work.

Luis Rodriguez - 18/03/17

I took the "caveman" approach to this tutorial because I spilled soda near the controller and the circle button was sticky. It was an emergency operation done with a Phillips one size too large, a pocket knife for a spudger, and my cigar fingers for forceps. I must say, after some initial confusion, this tutorial helped me put it back together easily without breaking anything (a minor miracle all on its own). Thank for this.

Luis Rodriguez - 18/03/17

I need help. The up and right direction on the d-pad are not functioning. I took controller apart and made sure everything was clean and unfortunately did not fix problem. My question is has anyone else had this issue and if I buy a new silicon part for the d-pad will that fix it?

Borg914 - 11/06/17

My R2 button is constant being pressed. Even after I opened it and cleaned it. Please help me with this??

I connected it to pc and even removed the R2 button while checking for the buttons on pc,and button 8 (I.e R2 button on controller) shows as pressed all the time even when it's not there.

Obaid Haideri - 16/06/17

The “up" button on my d-pad has not been working recently so I followed the tutorial (helpful by the way), found no obvious problems, put it all back together, but the button still will not work. Any tips?

Fragasha - 28/10/17

Are the contacts lining up right? That might be the problem.

Luis Rodriguez - 27/12/17

how to clean the green circuit board because ps button is unresponsive? the true circuit button how to clean or repair it? cause mine is not responding in the motherboard assembly

ruzzyricor - 15/01/18

My vibration motor has fallen out and the wires are disconnected, how can I fix it?

Morris Vahla - 17/02/18

After I did this my right dpad button stopped functioning, is there a way to fix this?

maltamirano26 - 21/05/18

Where can I buy Grey Reset Button Extension

mcj0064 - 30/06/18

This is the original model. How about an update since there have been about 3 new assemblies and a new version of the DS4?

Eli Hanson - 28/07/18

Here is a solution to a broken R2 button. Really simple fix.

https://youtu.be/Lx3La8a169Q

Alex Manzano - 21/09/18

My PS4 is registering R2 button input without me pressing anything on the Dualshock 4. How can I fix it? This is only apparent when I play games… For example, when I play Spiderman where R2 is used for sprinting and web swinging, Spiderman will alternate between running and jogging, without me actually providing any kind of input via R2.

vinaymenon64 - 15/12/18

I have a triangle button sticking when i play a combat game it just happen the other day.

It seems stuck down in the controler it still work but it hard to press down when i need to use it.

What do you think the problem is?

jac02874 - 22/07/20

Thank you so much

Hussain Safaa - 15/08/20

After reassembling the controller won’t connect to the ps4. It will connect to the iPhone though.. what can I do?

ren smith - 16/01/21

Le bouton carré ne fonctionne pas, que dois-je faire ?

adel25001 -