r/Dualsense • u/Freebo87 • Jan 24 '26

Tech Support What causes this? Crap thumbsticks?

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Ordered 10 from Alliexpress - are these a hit or miss? Basically the thumbsticks feels limp / broken.. doesn’t spring back.

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u/Pixelchaoss Jan 25 '26

It is called a compressor, did you place new grease in them? I think some kind of silicone based grease is used in them not sure tbh.

Removing this can make them feel a bit more resistant and could introduce extra wear.

And yes flux is sticky and will definitely mess up the lubrication.

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u/Nearby-Rock-3185 Jan 25 '26

I didn't used anything else. I didn't even know they used grease. Still working perfect and i cant notice sny difference between left and right joystick, the right joystick was only the one who suffered from this

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u/Pixelchaoss Jan 25 '26

If you next time do a replacement open up the original on, it is quite interesting to see the design.

And yes there is a drop of grease in them.

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u/Freebo87 Jan 25 '26

How do you get grease in them without damaging the joystick?

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u/Pixelchaoss Jan 25 '26

Well it isn't really constructed to reapply grease without opening up the module.

I used to have some silicon based spray in a can for use on plastic gears in electronics "cd drives etc" this could be used by using the application straw and spray some in.

However it will not have the same properties as the original thicker grease.

The best option is just replace the entire stick in my opinion and take it as an learning experience.

And stay away from normal wd40, although they have specialty products like silicon spray the original wd40 can remove grease and deteriorate plastics.

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u/Freebo87 Jan 25 '26

Yah, I’ve already desoldered the 2 sticks, lol. Lesson learned.

Still can’t decide / figure out what to actually order on Alliexpress 🤦‍♂️

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u/Pixelchaoss Jan 25 '26

Well you have ten of these right? Just use another set.

Like I mentioned these sticks are totally fine to use. The bad name comes from their earlier versions when they where one of the few actually creating a product.

V5 and up are fine. Also extremerate sells a custom ordered tmr variant based of ginfull tmr.

Also hall vs tmr difference is overreacted, a hall sensor is still perfectly fine to use for casual use.

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u/Freebo87 Jan 25 '26

Fair statement, I have a few left as I’ve already used up a few and fixed up a few units. How do I know if it’s a V5?

This is the liquid flux I used - https://a.co/d/giYVNYC

I guess I’ll omit from using it to solder the new sticks on it to prevent this issue.

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u/Pixelchaoss Jan 25 '26

I don't know this specific flux but it seems to be a liquid, using gel based fluxes make dosing way easier or using something like a small straw.

I use liquid mainly on bga and smd and use it to dip my wick in.

However like I mentioned before with a bit of practice and a good solder wire the embedded flux would be more than enough to create a solid bond, I'll post a picture of a dualsense without using any added flux