Nothing is as annoying as your PS controllers dying in the middle of a game. Your character remains rooted in space, hanging, as if somebody suddenly, well, disconnected their controller.
If you get the battery low warning, you might think of juicing up the controller while still playing. Luckily, you can use your controllers when they are charging. Your options are:
- Scooting close to the PS4 and plugging in the controller to juice up as you play
- Pausing the game and waiting for the controllers to charge up
- Finding a wall outlet by your seat and plugging in the controllers to charge as you play
The third option is why people try to find out if they can charge their controllers from a wall outlet. First, let’s look at the mainstream way to charge your controllers.
How to Use the PS4 to Charge Your Controllers
Keeping the controller juiced up should be simple and convenient. All you have to do is plug the controller into your PS4 system with the provided USB cable.
The PlayStation must be on in Rest Mode (needs some configuration) to charge the controllers. You can check the battery level by pressing and holding the PS button on the controllers. A charge-level message will pop up on your display.
If the PS is in rest mode, you will see the light bar blink orange during charging and turn off when the controllers are fully charged.
- It will take up to two hours to fully charge the battery
- The controllers charge the most efficient between 50F and 86F
- Ensure you fully charge the controllers at least once a year
- The battery life varies depending on how much you use your controllers
ProTip: Don’t make a habit of using your controllers as they charge. Doing this repeatedly will either wear your controller’s battery out faster or damage the charging connector/dock due to all the motion and stress on the cable and port as you play
How to Charge Your Controllers from the PS in Rest Mode
Most people feel that charging their controllers from the PS4 while still on is a waste of power. If this is you, charging with the PS4 in Rest Mode is a good idea.
Select any other option instead of ‘Off’ in this setting
Settings > Power Save Settings > Set Features Available in Rest Mode > Supply Power to USB Ports.
What if I Don’t Have Clean Access to the PS4?
If you don’t want your controllers lying around the PS4 when not in use or you don’t have access to the PS, you could be thinking of charging alternatives.
Luckily, this is simple since the PS4 controller charges from USB standard power – like many smartphones and USB-powered gadgets.
This is 5V DC power at varied amperage. Any charging brick that produces steady 5V DC at least 0.9amps will charge the controller perfectly.
You can repurpose your smartphone charge or any USB power outlet to charge the controllers just fine.
Can You Charge the Controllers from a Wall Outlet?
Yes. You can charge your controllers from a wall outlet using a power brick that converts outlet power to 5V DC. Be careful and select a traditional charger block with no fast charge or any other speed charging tech. You want the basic 5V at around 0.9amp (900 mA) power.
This is as easy as repurposing a traditional smartphone charger block or plugging it into a wall outlet with a USB port. You will still need the USB cable you use to charge from the PS4.
Many gamers believe charging from a wall outlet is faster than the PS4 USB ports. While this could be real if the controllers can pull more amps from your charger of choice, it won’t give you fast charging as the controllers will only pull as much power as they can.
Tests show this is a fad since Sony matched their controllers to the power the PS4 USB ports can provide. So don’t expect charging any faster than 2 hours from a flat battery.
Broken Charges Can Ruin Your Controllers
Since Sony designed its controllers to work with predictable power from the PS USB ports, they might not be as resilient to power surges or dirty power from a damaged charger as your smartphone or other USB-powered devices that don’t ship with specific chargers.
A damaged USB charger can produce less or more power. Either scenario will be problematic to your controllers. At the very least, they won’t charge at all. The worst-case scenario is a ruined charging system in the controller.
ProTip: If your PS4 is on warranty (unlikely), using a third-party charger could also void your warranty.
Avoid SuperChargers or Fast Chargers
Superchargers provide up to 9V DC. While some devices can negotiate for 5V from the supply or simply have wide operating voltages, your PS4 controllers don’t
The extra voltage will overcharge the controllers and ruin the battery. Stick to older charging bricks from when fast charging wasn’t a thing. Alternatively, use 5V chargers designed to work with PlayStation controllers or legacy USB-powered devices.
Use Your Computer’s USB ports.
The simplest substitute for charging your PS4 controllers from the PlayStation is using the USB ports on your computer.
Check this too: How to Use a VPN on a PS4
USB is a uniform standard. The ports on your PC or Mac produce the same power and voltage as your PS4. The Ps4 has USB 3 ports. So any computer with USB 3 or USB 2 ports will charge the controllers. The USB 2 ports might charge slower since the 2 spec produces less amperage (power) than USB 3.
Bottom Line
If you must use alternative means to charge your PS4 controllers, I’d recommend using a computer with a USB 3 port. This is the closest you can get to simulating the power the controllers get from the PS4’s USB 3 ports.
Otherwise, go for a power brick that conforms to the 5V, 900mA power specifications of USB 3. Plug this into any wall outlet, and you will have the power to charge your controllers.