Checking the battery level on the PS3 controller is as easy as pushing a button. When the PS3 is on in the main menu press and hold down the “PS” button for about 2 seconds, the “PS” button is the little circle button in the middle of the Playstation 3 controller.
When you hold the PS button for a couple of seconds you will see a little battery icon on the upper right screen of the TV. The battery icon is divided into 3 bars, 3 bars means the battery has a full charge, 2 bars means the battery has about half a charge, 1 bar means there’s still some charge left and should probably be charged soon, and the last one is zero bars and this obviously means the the PS3 controller battery is almost drained and needs to be charged immediately.
To charge a PS3 controller use the usb cord that came with the PS3, there’s a mini usb port on top of the controller and a regular usb port on the PS3. Charging the PS3 controller to a full charge takes a couple of hours, although I have unplugged the usb charger only after 1 hr and that gave it 3 bars of battery power.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks so much. Been Wondering how to check battery levels for a few days. Very helpful.
Thanks man.I agree lead is very short and no charging when whilst in standby mode is a real bummer!!.
Thanks for advice, I had no idea how to charge it until now so thanks a bunch
what does it mean when theres a dash on the charge level?? what do i suppose to do?????
I would bet that Sony engineered the PS3 to recharge controller only when powered up to prevent overcharging. If everyone left their controller batteries on charge all the time it would probably cause everyone’s to prematurely stop holding a charge, and that would be a bad thing. If you have to leave the PS3 turned on to charge then you are more likely to be aware that you’re charging it. Over charging is not as huge a problem anyway with new battery types, but there would also be risks with everyone always leaving them charging unattended.
Thank you so much for this information it has been very useful!
Have you any idea that a Sony ps2 audio connecter will work in my ps3?
Thanks again!
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Can someone answer TJ’s question?
I have the same problem…
When the PS3 controller is connected to the USB port and the PS3 console and I check the battery level, it shows “Charge Level” then a dash ( – ) right next to it:
Charge Level -
What does this mean?
What do I have to do?
Is the controller charging?
Is the controller broken?
Please answer quickly… It’s really annoying.
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