The PS4 definitely has an edge over the XBOX One in terms of processing power, but when it comes to the controllers, the PS4’s Dualshock 4 controller has a short battery life. As stated by Sony, the Dualshock 4 controller can last upto 8 hours on a single charge. However in reality, it lasts anywhere between 4 to 6 hours.
To be precise, the previous generation Dualshock 3 controller could last more than 20 hours on a single charge. Its evident that Sony has included a poor battery with the Dualshock 4 controller. However there is no doubt that the Dualshock 4 controllers have way more features than the previous generation Dualshock 3 controller and all these features are what taking a toll on the Dualshock 4’s battery life.
Fortunately, you can tweak a few settings here and there and this will help you to increase the Dualshock 4 controller’s battery life by more than a hour or two. Here’s a list of all the settings that can be tweaked in order to extend the battery life of the PS4’s Dualshock 4 controller.
Decrease Dualshock 4 Controller Volume
Decreasing the volume of the dualshock 4 controller can help to save the battery life of the controller. Navigate to Settings > Devices > Controllers > Volume Control and decrease the volume as per your requirement.
Disable Vibration
The rumble effect on the Dualshock 4 controller does feel great when you’re playing games that support it, but it is in fact a major battery drain. So turning it off would definitely increase the Dualshock 4 controller’s battery life. Navigate to Settings > Devices > Controllers > to disable the vibration on the Dualshock 4 controller.
Reduce brightness of the light bar
The PS4’s light bar is not of much use unless you have the PS4 camera. While it cant be turned off completely, but the brightness can be reduced. Navigate to Settings > Devices > Controllers > Brightness of Dualshock 4 light bar and select dim to reduce the brightness of the Dualshock 4 light bar to the minimum.
Turn off PS4 controller
You can turn off the controllers when they are not in use by pressing and holding the PS button for 10 seconds. Alternatively you can even set the controller to turn off automatically after a certain time period. Navigate to Settings > Power Save Settings > Set Time Until Controllers Turn Off and select the time duration after which you want the Dualshock 4 controllers to be turned off when not in use.
Use a Battery Pack
The Dualshock 4 controller has a 1000mAh battery, but there are plenty of aftermarket battery packs available for it. Some of these can the Dualshock 4 controller’s battery life by 20 hours.
Charge the Controller with a Portable USB Charger.
If you can’t get your hands on a aftermarket battery pack for the Dualshock 4 controller, you can very well use a portable USB charge to extend the dualshock 4 controller’s battery life
