The Dual Shock battery life is a damn joke

It used to fly in the past because we had no direct comparisons from other consoles. After all, the Xbox One/360 have a removable battery back/batteries that are much heavier as opposed to being built in.

That was a valid excuse until the Switch Pro controller came about which can apparently lasts up to 40hrs.

When fully charged, the battery duration for the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller can last approximately 40 hours. This can be shorter depending on the software application and functions being used.

Dual Shock 4 lasts 4 to 8 hours. Currently using it with my PC running DS4Windows and after 1h, my battery level has already dropped by 10%. It's a great controller otherwise but this battery life is awful.

16-20hrs would be fine and nobody would complain. Up to 8rs? lol.

Long enough to get you through a first party Sony exclusive if you skip all the cutscenes.

@mandzilla: There’s a couple that don’t let you skip the cutscenes. There is no way that controller is making it. Maybe this was Sony being slick by getting people to buy 2 controllers minimum.

It should be better but the answer is you should get a charging station if it annoys you that much.

@Nonstop-Madness: That's a pathetic answer. Sony wanted to save money and put in a battery half the size or less than it should have been.

@goldenelementxl: Oh right I see, well that's a bit of a bummer. They should make a holster belt holding 2 or 3 Dualshock 4 controllers for when you're playing RDR 2.

Yeah, it's awful. I bought a no-name longer charging cord for the controller and just leave it plugged in sometimes.

Not this shit topic again.

Seems i have a rare controller tha last 20 hours.

Mines always charging.

PC gamer using a controller, ?

Who plays longer than 8 hours at a time???

Watch me on weekends. :p

This, last time I played PS4 it was 9am and stopped playng 1am, still didn't need charging.

'But having AA batteries is so much last gen'

All about the right tool for the job.

I can usually make it 6-8 hours on a charge with my DS4 - I have the LED set to the minimum setting that still produces light. Good thing about PC is that if it dies I can just use an X1 controller, or a Switch Pro controller, or one of my 8BitDo controllers, etc you get the idea.....

The DS improved a lot over the DS3 but still the worst controller.

Another reason why I dislike the DS4.

I don't have any problems with it. On off days I've played all day no problem without my controller dying. Of course I also have the common sense to charge it whenever I leave the house. If you don't that's your problem. That'd be like someone not charging their phone then waking up like "this Iphone sucks" lmao

I swear, this same thread pops up every few weeks.

Anyway. Get two controllers, charge one while using the other, and vice versa. Problem solved.

Lol... that's your solution? Just buy another controller?

I'm sure you'd say the same thing if it was the XB1 or Switch controller.

@hrt_rulz01: I'd say the same thing. Even if it lasted 20 hours, I'd still have a backup one. People make ds4s battery life to be more important than it really is. 8 hours is plenty of play time in-between charges.

Dude the dual shock 4 is the most comfortable controller ive ever used in my life

I must admit it's a very good pad the battery life is ok doesn't usually last a full play time usually 4-5 hours.

No, no you don't.

@hrt_rulz01: Well,dude, in all fairness what else am I supposed to do? The dualshock lasts 5-6 hours for me usually. When I'm gaming for long sessions I need another controller, so.....I got another controller. If you want to game on PS4 for long amounts of time it's essential.

It's 2019 and we're still talking about this? *Yawn"*

I'm not sure why this topic has made a return for the billionth time. Yeah, the battery certainly does suck.

^^^^^^^

Boohoo. You can get a battery upgrade on ebay, with more than double capacity. Or you can just use a Powerbank. It's not a big deal. At least it doesn't use regular AA batteries.

@subspecies: Yes no doubt... but you have to admit it's a bullsh*t solution. You'd think by now Sony would've put a better battery in it.

They're too busy making games and not their 50th "elite" controller

Different departments entirely. A larger battery wouldn't be all that difficult to implement, as I don't see why you'd have to heavily adjust manufacturing lines to accommodate the transition.

Taking those controllers apart can be a pain for people more tech-savvy, let alone the layman.

I doubt mine lasts more than 4 hours.

I can easily play my Switch in portable mode all night without needing to charge it, but if I'm watching Netflix on my PS4, I need to charge the controller all the time.

@valgaav_219: Lol... I can't insert an eyeroll gif big enough to justify how dumb a response this is.

Leave your damn controllers plugged in and you never have to worry about dead batteries. My PS3/PS4/360/One are all plugged in via USB and I have never had a problem.

For those of you with kids/pets, get a USB breakaway cable for $1 at any dollar store or eBay.

For those of you who sit 20 feet away from your TV, you can get a USB extension cable also for a dollar.

There is no excuse to be mad. Quit making up fake outrage over the PS4 Controller. It works amazing. Grow up and be an adult. Leave it plugged in.

Is it though? There's plenty of data out there that shows the average gamers only plays about 1-2 hours a day. That should last you 3+ days of gaming even at 6-8 hours a charge.

Again, if this really annoys someone then they should get a charging station.

@ajstyles: Might as well not make it wireless.

I mean there's also the fact that it's standard for me (and probably for most gamers) to own at least two controllers for any given console. In fact I've never owned a console with only one controller, outside of the NES mini. But yeah, longer battery life would be great, but it is what it is. Doesn't really bother me.

I'm not sure how this has changed in recent years, but constantly charging a battery is bad for the life-cycle. Regardless, the PS4 controller is more than a few years old.

People probably wouldn't make an issue of this if cows didn't try to use the aa last gen excuse for the xbox controllers when this topic comes up. Honestly though if you are gonna seal the battery in you should be using higher capacity ones rather than the lower option. The xbox's last gen solution in infinitely better than the route Sony took. Especially when your competitors have 4 times the battery life.

It’s the track pad. Just dig deep and buy a second controller.

Fix is that easy. It sucks that the fix is $60 but at least it’s an easy one and it’s readily available.

Or, buy rechargeable AAs for drastically cheaper on the Xbox controller, or just have a competent Nintendo controller with a built-in battery that lasts as long as AAs (if not longer.)

Sony really stepped up their game with controller design on the DS4 (ergonomics,) but their battery decision was just garbage. It's a shame that the mass consumers are just so garbage that they buy this shit up, and don't levy complaints.

@that_old_guy: cause that's a good easy to send a message. Give them double the money because they cheapened out. Battery life will suck on the ds5 most likely as well.

Yeah it does not seem great

First world problem for everyone. Except me :)

I prefer Sony but they should definitely improve the battery life on the next one. I have to recharge every 4 hours with a 1st gen DS4.

I am lucky enough to be near a wall so sometimes I charge while I play and overall it's a minor inconvenience but I think it still should be improved.

24 hours per charge cycle would be nice and so would ultra fast charging that's safe. If you game 2-3 hours a day that should be good enough for once a week charging.

That's me. Unless the game is SUPER addicting, I don't think I ever break 4 hours. I don't have an issue with the DS4, I just charge it when I'm done.

I have 3-4 controllers for all my systems, a kinda short battery life doesn't matter much. Its damn near perfect otherwise so I'll live with 8 hours of battery.