Understanding Your Grade
Your grade evaluates the geometric perfection of the thumbstick module's outer boundary.
A+ (Esports Ready) means the stick achieves a flawless circle, critical for consistent diagonal movement in games like Apex Legends and Rocket League.
F (Defective) indicates severe asymmetry, meaning diagonal inputs will hit their max value prematurely or not at all.
Since you're using a PS4 DualShock 4 with a Potentiometer module, you can expect the underlying tech to be prone to slight asymmetry and physical wear.
DualShock 4 sticks are among the most frequently reported for diagonal asymmetry in community teardowns — a low grade is common and generally means module wear, not your technique. Because the DualShock 4 is typically several years older than current-gen pads, the wear pattern is usually clearly one-sided: the axis you use for running (usually the left stick) grades noticeably worse than the aim stick.
Potentiometer (pot) sticks read position from a wiper sliding over a carbon track, and that friction is exactly where circularity degrades over time. A fresh pot module can trace a near-perfect circle, but as the track wears, the wiper loses contact at certain angles and the ring starts to pinch into a squircle — usually first visible near the 45-degree diagonals. Wear is rarely symmetric between the X and Y axes, so a lopsided grade on a pot module is the classic signal that the stick has been played past its best range and is a stronger candidate for replacement than for recalibration.
Pot modules degrade along a predictable path: the carbon track wears where the stick spends the most time, so the ring pinches first at your dominant input angles, and the wiper's lost contact produces small flats on the circle before full drift appears. Because the wear is physical, no software setting can restore the geometry — recalibration only recenters the zero point, it cannot grow the worn track back. A lopsided grade between the X and Y axes on a pot module is therefore the most reliable hardware-wear signal this tester can show, and the replacement decision is generally clear once the ring shows a visible flat.
For the DualShock 4, age is the dominant variable: these pads are the oldest in the set, and their potentiometer sticks have typically seen the most total play hours. A one-sided grade is the classic signature — the run stick reads worn while the aim stick stays round. Because DS4 modules are cheap and widely documented, a failing grade is one of the most cost-effective replacement decisions on the list; a replacement module usually restores a clean A-grade ring immediately.
The DualShock 4's age is the dominant factor in its circularity, and because these pads have often passed through multiple owners, a low grade reflects cumulative play hours more than any single incident. The left stick is the usual casualty — it carries forward input in nearly every game — while the right stick often grades notably cleaner, which is exactly the asymmetric signature this grader is built to expose. If the DS4's left stick shows a one-sided flat, replacement modules are inexpensive and well documented, making the fix decision far simpler than on a newer pad.