A simple trick on PS5 should help your DualSense controller’s battery last longer

If you find that your PS5 DualSense controller isn’t lasting as long as it used to, there’s a simple setting you can change that should help.

In theory, your PS5 controller should technically last 12 straight hours on a single charge, but we all know that’s not the case. Regular updates mean the controller has more going on behind the scenes, so your battery could drain much faster than you’d like. But as YouTuber John Glasscock shared, it turns out there’s a simple setting you can change to do with the controller’s microphone that should make it last a lot longer.

The default setting on your PS5 for the DualSense microphone is on, but you can head into system settings to have it automatically mute when you sign in to your console. Just head into the sound settings on your PS5, select the microphone, and change the setting titled “Microphone status at login” to mute. As Glasscock pointed out, this is probably the biggest thing draining your DualSense’s battery life, though there are other ways to extend it as well.

Aside from the mute setting, another simple way to increase your controller’s battery life is to turn down the speaker volume. Again, just head into the sound settings, then the volume menu within that, and you can turn the controller speaker volume down to help with battery life.

Lastly, you can also increase battery life by reducing or turning off haptic feedback and the intensity of the activation effect. To do this, press the PS button on your controller, go to the accessory icon and click on the controller you’re using, and go into controller-specific settings. There, you can reduce or completely eliminate haptic feedback and the intensity of the activation effect, but Glasscock notes that putting them in the middle still has a good feel and helps with battery life.