I have a wired Xbox 360 controller ^[1.1]^ that has some drift in both analog sticks ^[1]^. I would like to calibrate the deadzones ^[2]^ to fix this issue. How do you recommend doing this? I didn't see any controller calibration option in the KDE Plasma controller settings ^[1]^.
References
- Type: Anecdote (Screenshot). Accessed: 2026-03-24T23:10Z. Location: "KDE System Settings">"Game Controller". Author: Meta
- All input methods are at rest.
- Type: Text.
Device type: Game Controller
Xbox 360
- Type: Text. Publisher: [Type: Webpage. Title: "Understanding Controller Deadzones". Publisher: "Elevation IT". URI: https://www.elevationit.uk/understanding-controller-deadzones/.]. Accessed: 2026-03-24T23:20Z. Location: §"What is a Deadzone?".>¶1.
A deadzone is the small range of joystick movement that a controller or game ignores. It prevents unintended movement, such as stick drift, from affecting gameplay. […]
That's strange.
To make sure I'm not hallucinating, I booted a Debian Trixie installer live image just now and plugged in a game controller. Sure enough, lsmod showed the joydev module loaded, and /dev/input/js0 appeared. Between that and the Trixie system I mentioned earlier, I think I've confirmed that js devices are still created by default.
I wonder why your system doesn't have them.
Have you tested on a fresh boot, without starting any games or game-related software? I ask because it's possible that the device node is being created, but something else on your system is removing it. Do you use the Dolphin emulator by any chance?
Edit: I would expect the joydev module to remain loaded even if the device node was removed. This really does seem strange.