How to Make Your PS5 DualSense Controller Battery Last Longer

The PS5 DualSense Controller packs a rechargeable 1,560mAh battery that can last between 12 to 15 hours, depending on usage. The way you use your controller affects how long its battery will last, and some games consume more battery life than others, so how can you make your PS5 controller battery last longer? We’ll show you how to check battery life as well as some tips and tricks to extend your PS5 controller battery life.

How to Check PS5 DualSense Controller Battery Life

It’s easy to check your controller’s battery life while it’s charging. Just press the PS button on the controller. While it’s charging, you’ll see an animated battery icon. Once the controller’s battery is fully charged, the battery icon will be static and display three bars.

How to Make Your PS5 DualSense Controller Battery Last Longer

You might be doing certain things that cause your controller battery to drain faster than normal — and you’re not alone. Luckily, there are steps you can take to make your PS5 controller battery last longer, and we’ll show you some tips and tricks below.

Set Your Controller to Turn Off Automatically

It makes sense that leaving your controller on for hours when you’re not using it quickly drains battery life. The best way to combat this is to set your controller to turn off automatically when you’re not using it. Here’s how to do that:

1. From the PS5 main menu, select Settings.
2. Select System > Power Saving.
3. Under Set Time Until Controllers Turn Off, you can choose After 10 Minutes, 30 Minutes, 60 Minutes, or Don’t Turn Off.
4. For maximum battery saving, select 10 Minutes.

Your PS5 DualSense controller will now turn off automatically after ten minutes of inactivity.

Turn Off Your Controller Manually

While you could set your controller to turn off automatically, you might prefer to do this manually, for example, if you know you’re going off to do something else and don’t want to wait the set time for it to turn off. Here’s how to turn off your controller manually:

1. Press the PS button.
2. Scroll to the right of the Quick Menu and select Accessories.
3. In the controller pop-up, select DualSense Wireless Controller.
4. Choose Turn Off.

5. When you’re ready to use your controller again, just press the PS button.

Automatically Mute Your Mic

If you’re playing solo and you’re not using a headset, the controller will use a lot more battery life constantly listening for voice commands. While you can press the mic button on the controller to mute it, you might forget to do that every time you’re gaming. You can set your mic to automatically mute, and here’s how:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Sound > Microphone.
3. Set Microphone Status When Logged In to Mute.

4. You can always quickly turn your mic on and off again using the button on the DualSense controller, if needed.

Change Haptic Feedback and Trigger Effect Intensity

Realistic rumble is all well and good, but the PS5 DualSense controller’s vibration and trigger effect intensity could be impacting battery life. Both of these are set to Strong by default. Here’s how to change them to eke more juice out of your controller’s battery:

1. Go to Settings > Accessories.
2. Select Controller (General).

3. Under Vibration Intensity, select from Strong, Medium, Weak, or Off.
4. Under Trigger Effect Intensity, select from Strong, Medium, Weak, or Off.

5. Though you’ll see maximum battery saving from Weak or Off, we’d recommend Medium for most players, as this gives a good mix of performance and battery saving.

Charge Your Controllers In Rest Mode

Ensuring your controllers are charging whenever your console is in rest mode is a good habit to get into. When you see the orange light on your PS5, it’s in rest mode. Here’s how to set your controllers to charge in rest mode.

1. Go to Settings > System.
2. Select Power Saving.

3. Choose Features Available in Rest Mode.
4. Under Supply Power to USB Ports, select Always, 3 Hours, or Off.

5. The controller should generally reach full charge within three hours, so it’s up to you whether to select Always or 3 Hours.
6. You’ll know whether your controller is charging in rest mode as its LEDs will pulse orange.

Reduce the DualSense Controller Speaker Volume

The controller’s built-in speaker can drain battery life so you can reduce this to save battery, or wear headphones so it isn’t used. Here’s how to reduce the DualSense controller speaker volume:

1. Go to Settings > Accessories.
2. Select Controller (General).
3. Scroll down to Controller Speaker.
4. Use the slider to reduce the volume.

5. You can also access this setting by going to Settings > Sound > Volume > Controller. Speaker.

Adjust Brightness of Controller Indicators

While this won’t make a huge difference to your PS5 controller battery life, every little bit helps. Turning down the brightness of your controller indicators could eke out a little extra battery life to see you through intense gaming sessions without the need to recharge. Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to Settings > Accessories.
2. Select Controller (General).
3. Under Brightness of Controller Indicators, choose from Bright (Standard), Medium, or Dim.
4. Medium is a good setting for most games.

Buy an Extra-Long Charging Cable

If you still can’t seem to get as much battery life as you’d like out of your PS DualSense controller, why not grab an extra-long charging cable? The one shipped with the PS5 is rather short, and buying an extra-long one (around nine feet) means you can carry on gaming while your controller is charging. If your PS5 controller isn’t charging, we’ve got some fixes you can try.

Whether you give a few of these tips and tricks a go or implement them all, you’re sure to notice an improvement in your PS controller battery life, so you won’t need to be constantly plugging your controller in to charge.