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Something odd and I cannot find a straight answer anywhere. DualSense on my PC. Over Bluetooth, your vibration test does nothing at all, completely silent, both motors. Plug in the USB-C cable and both motors fire perfectly and the haptics feel great. Controller is fine on my PS5 wirelessly, rumble works there. So the hardware is clearly good. Is this a browser limitation, a Windows thing, or is my Bluetooth adapter not doing something it should? I would genuinely like to understand it rather than just work around it.
Your hardware is fine. The DualSense exposes its rumble and haptics over USB on a PC but not over standard Bluetooth, so no browser can trigger them wirelessly. This is expected behaviour, not a fault.
Nothing is broken, and this is worth explaining properly because almost nobody writes it down.
Rumble on a web page goes through the Gamepad API's vibration actuator, and that only works if the operating system exposes a writable output channel for the device. Over USB the DualSense presents a full report that includes the rumble and haptic output, so Windows exposes it, the browser can reach it, and our test fires both motors. Over standard Bluetooth the DualSense presents a reduced report. Windows reads your inputs from it quite happily, which is why every button and stick still tests perfectly, but there is no output channel for rumble. The browser then has nothing to write to and the test does nothing at all. Silence from both motors rather than weak rumble from one is the signature of exactly this, and it is what tells you it is not a motor fault.
Your PS5 works wirelessly because the console does not use standard Bluetooth for this. It uses Sony's own protocol over the same radio, with the full output report intact. Your Bluetooth adapter is not at fault and no driver will change this.
So the practical rule for PC: if you want rumble or haptics from a DualSense in a browser, use the USB-C cable. Test wired, play wired if rumble matters to you. Note that this is specific to the DualSense and DualShock 4. An Xbox Wireless Controller connected through the Xbox Wireless Adapter does expose rumble, and over Bluetooth it varies by Windows build, so the same symptom on an Xbox pad is worth testing both ways before you conclude anything.
Tested on: DualSense CFI-ZCT1W firmware 0460 over USB-C and over Bluetooth 5.3, plus Xbox Wireless Controller Model 1914 over Xbox Wireless Adapter and Bluetooth, on Windows 11 24H2 and macOS 15.3, in Chrome 141, Edge 141, Firefox 144 and Safari 18.3.
Checked by Simon Fletcher on . How we verify answers
Haptics And Rumble Test Engineer at Gamepad Tester
Camila works on vibration and haptics, with a background in audio and signal work that transfers directly: a rumble motor is a frequency-and-amplitude problem, and the difference between a weak motor, a flat waveform and a browser that is not sending anything is audible and measurable before it is visible. She tests both motors independently, the DualSense haptic layer and the adaptive triggers, across the connections that support them and the ones that silently do not. On Gamepad Tester she owns the vibration test and the rumble faults topic.
Each answer is written by the specialist who owns that part of the hardware, tested on a real controller, and checked by a second team member. How we verify answers
Answers are free general guidance from the Gamepad Tester Team and the community. Opening a controller or replacing a thumbstick module can void your warranty, so check the maker's support or warranty first. Battery and soldering work carries a real risk of damage or injury.
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