The way you charge the PS3 controller is a bit weird to me. When I first bought my Playstation 3 I thought I would be able to charge my PS3 controller while the machine was off, that was a mistake because the next time I tried using the controller the battery was still at the same low level.
This makes absolutely no sense to me why would I charge my controller while my PS3 is on and I’m playing around with the machine, wouldn’t it make more sense if I could plug my controller into the PS3 while I’m not using it, so that the next time I do want to use the controller it would be fully charged and ready to go. And the usb cord they give you is so short I have to sit like two feet in front of the TV while I’m playing games because I’m charging the PS3 controller.
Ok, enough ranting. To charge your PS3 controller your PS3 will have to be on. Plug the controller into the usb port with the usb cord that came with the machine. When it’s charging the little red light on the controller will be flashing. Charging takes a couple of hours to fully charge.
You can also use other devices for charging the controller as well such as a computer, cable boxes with usb ports, and other types of charging devices that has a usb port.
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Can I charge my PSP with my PS3??
It seems that Sony wants you to buy the charging station. So they deliberately make it hard to chagerge
why not buy a second controller and charge one while you are using the other.
^Thats what a sucker does.. if i pay for a playstation that comes with a controller already.. why the @!#@ would i have to by another controller just to have one fully charged to play. Thats ridiculous. They should make it much easier to charge instead of trying to sucker people into spending more money.. what if i do have 2 controllers and 2 people wanna play? should i get a third ? should i get like 100 controllers just in case ?? lol
A many usb cell phone chargers work, though not all of them. If you have one, it’s worth a shot. Generally it’s already by your chair anyway.
Thanks for sharing this – I bought the ps3 when it first came out. I couldn’t work out for the life of me why my controller wouldn’t charge. I ordered a second controller because I thought it was a fault with the first, but when I had the same problem, I simply stopped using this £400 machine I bought. Until now… Months latter & they’ve devalued no end!
I feel very stupid now, after charging the controls via the usb port… Why on earth didn’t I think of this earlier! Well, I’m actually quite glad it didn’t sell on ebay as I had hoped. What a pain in the Ar*e !
GREAT!!! NOW I KNOW HOW TO CHARGE MY CONTROLLER! THANK YOU CAPTAIN OBVIOUS!
I currently have my PS3 controller plugged into my computer and it seems to be charging… fingers crossed.
Hello!
Just plug your PS3 Controller into another operating electronic device such as a Computer or the PS3 itself, and it will automatically charge and that’s it! It may differ with the “No Name” controllers like Madcatz, but, I know for a fact the regular PS3 controllers will charge by plugging them in with a USB cord.
Hello!
The one and only suggestion is that you get a USB adapter from the local store.Doesn’t cost much,And also you can charge you controller using any switch board.I really recommend buying that ^^
Sayonara
Its a pnp (plug and play item) just hook it up to the usb port on the front of your computer(with the same cable you’d hook it to the ps3) while you complain on here..then two hours from now you’ll have a fully charged controller…it was clearly stated in this article… i havent tried the cable box one with my direct tv tho.. or on my tvs powered usb port..
Playstation used to be my fav system w/ all my fav games but anymore playstation is a f*%king JOKE! Cant charge your controller while the system is off, I mean come on, so when your done playing you have to leave the system on for another 2 hours just so you can have a charged controller next time you want to play. Seems like they are just hopeing that the system will just burn up and you will have to buy a new one. I will never buy another Sony Product. I am very dissapointed in Sony. They can take there system and shove it up there a$$! Not like they give a f*%k anyhow. By the way PSN sucks too!
thanks sooo much 4 the idea for pluging into the computer it works like a charm!!!!!!
Oh ok it’s interesting it can’t charge when it’s on Standby, considering they went to the trouble of putting a mains switch on the back, whats the point of that? Since you said, I just charge mine on my PC cos it’s on more than PS3. Thanks.
Please stop changing the subject people.
My play and charge kit has a green light all the time and I have regular batteries. Since I’ve got mine off of buy.com and didn’t get rechargeable batteries, my batteries aren’t charging.
Do you people know where I can find some rechargeable batteries?
Really? You don’t have an open USB port around?
QQ my computer’s USB port won’t work when my computer is off…
BTW, a PS3 is just a Computer
fucken the controller had to die when i got hella far on dead ops
simple way and will cost you around £2.50 GBP / aprox $5 US from any pc shop or even supermarkets sometimes stock them.
all you need to do is get a extension for the usb lead you can pic up usb plug to usb soket leads from abought 1 ft long upto 20ft long.
all you do wiht this is plug the extension into the console and then the sony lead into the sokect of the consle and then atach the controler to the sony lead
sadly the sony leads are a difrent conector to the controler so thease are much harder to find other then short ones from sony directly
i recomend getting a 2m aprox 8ft as with the included ps3 suplied lead this will easily give you 10 ft of lead to play with. the joy with this is while playing your controler is also chraging and i find 1h of gameply with the lead conected will boost my controler charge for around 4h constant play afterwards and if it gets low pop the lead back in and problem solved.
the other simple way to keep the controler charged is to atach it to the usb ports that are on some types of TV. but if you realy want to play 100% wierless all the time then you will need to use a doking station while not playing.
the third and final option i have not tried it myself but i beleive that u can set the ps3 consle to power off after so long ie 30mins 1h 2+ of not being used so you can play for a hour or two then simply end the game and conect the contorler to the console it will give the contorler charge then power of the consle automaticly after the desierd time.
hope this helps
how did you know that the controller is charging?
Dude umm my controller only blinked like once is that good ,or bad?? . man seriously , if you have to leave the ps3 on to charge the damn controller then sooner or later the f*$%ing thing is gonna burn out ,well i swear to god , i will never want or be able to buy another ps3 , cause the one i got is a new one and it cost me an assload of money which i had to save for 8 months even tough i wanted to buy some cool shit of e-bay
guys, use common sense here. the PS3 controller is the best. the reason it doesnt charge when the console is off is because THE CONSOLE DOESN’T DRAW ENERGY WHEN IT’S OFF. the only energy goes toward the red light. its this new thing called conserving energy, you should all get into it. Jeez… if Xbox or Wii had rechargeable controllers (which they don’t, which is low) the same exact thing would happen, guarantee it. if youre really too lazy to carry the controller to your computer or other USB device, buy a freaking cable that goes from wall jack to usb port or something. common sense people.
da new updated system wont charge at all
The wii DOES have rechargeable batteries that comes with a station. but it does use up alot of energy. the ps3 is just about the best system to date and they are already cooking up plans for a ps4. just plug it in to your phone charger or computer and stop complaining. this is a great system. how could you say psn sucks? do you prefer xbox live that costs money to use? be grateful people. your getting mad over controllers. your just too lazy to find solutions yourself, so you go on the internet and whine. grow up.
Should we really be a all surprised with Sony’s arse backwards way of going about charging one simple controller.
This is the same company that thinks UNDERSCORES are cool in PSN ScreenNames instead of just using SPACES.
They seem to make things more difficult than they have to be in order to further infuriate the small userbase they might still have.
Example Numero Uno. The Huge Hacking Debaucle. All they had to do was update their security to something that at least resembled something from the year 2011, but instead they maintained that arrogant nature that has been the downfall of the PS3 since launch and made things all the more difficult for themselves as they have been all generation and as a result, thousands of PSN users (because that’s all there are of them) identities were stolen.
Sony knows we’ve had enough and are suffering for it.
As a result, there will not be a Playstation 4 thank god.
You’re all invited to Sony’s pity party though. I’m going just to point, taunt and laugh and shake the ground and watch them plummet between the cracks of yet another earthquake.
my controller simply blinks once, and when i check it, its never charged
people that are bitching are retarded. are you that spoiled that one tiny issue would make you flip out against the entire product?? the ps3 isn’t gonna burn out when it’s sitting there idle charging a controller. way to have a 1980′s mindset on technology. furthermore, omg newsflash, the controller will charge while it’s plugged into the system and you’re playing it. holy crap! lmao this system is great and you idiots need to use a little bit of common sense and realize this isn’t even an issue. it’s a mechanic that you are all too stupid/spoiled to deal with and therefore you think it’s an issue. get an education before a game system next time you want to spend money.
Just thought I’d chime in here are some people here are really lost. Most computers now days do have USB ports that provide power while off. The Xbox 360 powers the play & charge kit while it is off, consuming only the power needed to charge the controller. You don’t have to charge your controller on your ps3 you can use any dang usb port you want, anywhere. You don’t even have to use the cable that comes with it. Any USB->mini USB cable will work just fine. You can get an adapter to plug a USB cable right into a wall outlet if you want for less than $5 US.
Does the controller need to be turned on for it to charge? As many people here say that you can charge thru pc’s but does the ps3 need to connect with the controller in order to charge it?
Sheesh people way to hate on Sony . I bought the damn charging station and I happen to love it . Works well for me . I’ve never not once charged my controller through the PS3 itself. The battery life last forever . I sometimes sit and play for 8 hours or so . I only have to charge it like every other week . Bite the bullet and by the docking station and quit being whine ass about inconsequential crap. By the way my docking station is DreamGear and cost a whole 25 dollars…. and only takes an hour to charge with every device on it . Get a grip and bone up some dollars !
hey there, I am currently trying to charge my dual shock 3 controller on my dell studio 15, and nothing appears to be happening at all, I also have my ps3 turned on, i also have a blackberry, and a ipod touch, i have been having trouble for months with it, I live in the uk by the way.
roflmfao omg wtf people here let me school you people on the playstation 3 system ok? for some of you who are too damn stupid to know what 1 is or how to use it you might wanna read the fuckin manual that came with your system FFS i swear. 1st off like jen said you can buy a 3rd party docking station and yes i do have one. mine is energizer i forget how much but i bought it at gamestop last year i think. as far as bitchin your ass off like a fuckin 2 year old “omg i cant charge my controller while the ps3 is off” GOOD I DONT WANT YOU TO CHARGE THE FUCKIN THING WHEN ITS OFF… IN STEAD I GOTTA BETTER IDEA: have you heard of just pluggin it in to your ps3 while your using it? when im usin my ps3 it is always on wired mode unless im using my cable for my card reader… thats right you can use a card reader with your ps3 as well but of course youd know that if you read the manual and obviously you didnt cuz if you did youd know how to charge your busted ass controller its that simple. hopefully ill have a new ps3 on halloween 2011 or november 1st. psn id is UNCLE_HANN add it up and reference this post when you do.
ps i love using the controller wirelessly but i figured why do that when my ps3 is right here in front of me? thank you.
Ok i just tested this and pay attention i just tried to use my samsung galaxy tab 10.1 USB wall charger to charge my PS3 dual shock 3 controller that came with my PS3 and it did nothing. http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-tab-accessories/ETA-P10JBEGSTA?from_mobile=true I also tried another USB wall charger I had and that also did nothing. So, i plugged the USB plug the one that came with my PS3 and plugged the USB into my tv’s USB slot and it is now charging my PS3 controller. How do i know its charging because all 4 red dots are blinking on my controller. At least i am pretty sure that’s what all 4 blinking lights simultaneously on mean. Once there is only 1 red dot blinking i am also pretty sure that means it is fully charged. Can someone confirm my blinking dot theory. Is there a menu or something to see how much juice your PS3 dual shock 3 controller has (im talking about the PS3 controller that came inside the box when i bought it). Hope this helps out the majority of everyones questions.
I’ve had my controller plugged into a USB port all night and it didn’t seem to charge for me. No lights turn on when I plug it into the port. Kinda of frustrating. Any suggestions….?
Hey folks i had the same problem while trying to charge my ps3 controller, i checked the cable by trying to charge the playstation move controller and it charged that ok, so i went and got a longer thicker usb cable and its happily charging my ps3 controller. i dont know why the other cable works with certain things but im guessing the thing im saying is try a different cable and see if it works because it did with me.
EnvyEyes – you are teh proud winner of the tard of the year award!
Now fuck off and sniff some more bicycle seats you TWAT!
dumm girl trying to charge my ps3 remote.dont no how to tell its chrgeing can some on please help me???????i have tryed looking on the internet bet theres no vids for dummies.lol.dose the red light need to be on or flashing the hole time.HELP ME SOMEONE PLEASE……..
We have an adapter that has USB capability, and you just plug it into the wall outlet. I personally find it annoying that the controller doesn’t charge when the ps3 is off, but appreciate that it doesn’t draw unwanted energy. Just got our system today and hope that it’s worth the $$$$.
Its a bummer you cannot charge the ps3 controller via the console when its on standby. For the first time I charged it fully was yesterday via the pc in standby mode. Notice all four lights lit and started to blink. The blinking stopped just under 2yrs and that is when I disconnected the controller knowing its fully charged.
This is great!!!!11 I went through 3 PS3′s thinking they were all faulty as they wouldn’t charge the controller overnight and now I discover the stupid machine has to be turned on! That’s just crazy right there. Well, at least I have a PS3 in every room now.
Controller will only charge if it’s plugged in to the ps3. Don’t know wtf you guys are talking about.
Glad I found this. What a dumb way to design the system. oh well. A friends old one has a I/O power switch on the back of the unit. If he leaves that on, then he can charge controllers. Guess they have to cheapen everything up.
Well, I have a suggestion. If you have any AC adapter that accepts USB, just plug it in and press the middle button. If all 4 lights are flashing, it means that it’s charging.
BTW, for those who doesn’t know how to verify how much charge your ps3 controller has, here’s how. At the menu or while playing a game, just press and hold the middle button on your controller. It’ll show how much juice it has at the bottom left corner. I’ve only had my ps3 for about a week now and I figure all this out by myself. You just have to mess with the buttons a little.
Hey people, just stop bitching about Sony and the evil conspiracy. All PS3 controllers, including the “move” ones can be charged from ANY of the two USB sources:
1. Active (powered up) PC or PS3
2. Sony’s charging adapter (charging dock).
Go to eBay and buy one for under $10. With such an adapter you can charge all your controllers while your PC or PS are off.
Can someone please help me heres my issuse.. Ok I got a ps3 for x-mas 2011 and it works great.. So then down the road i got another ps3 controler and i couldn’t figure out how too get the new contoler too work on my ps3 so i called tech support. (Got it figured out), So the controler that came with my system starts too die i plug it right into my usb port on my pc and boom it charges. But my new contoler gets low and it won’t charge. ubs ports and etc won’t pick it up. I got a dual charger for it samething. It reads my old controler but not my new one. Any tips??
I charged my ps3 bluetooth headset today via powered usb hub and the mute button was flashing red like normal every few seconds but it wouldnt stop flashing after like 4 hours of charging i knew it was fully charged because it takes usually only 3 hours to charge from a low battery state…anyway the flashing was different because it stayed solid red for a few seconds and then would start flashing again it kept on doing this so i figure that if u charge via powered usb hub, the red light has to stay solid for at least a few seconds then you know its fully charged havent tried charging my controller this way yet because it still has 3 bars left so im trying that next when that goes on low battery hope it works like normal where the red lights all shut off when fully charged man why they gotta make ps3 so gay like that i dunno nobody knows
Would it be better if I bought a new ps3or refurbished?
I have a USB port that goes into a wall outlet so you plug it to that and it will always charge. I do it overnight
I was wondering why I wasn’t getting any response from it when I was trying to charge it. My cell phone uses a Mini-USB charger too, but it didn’t respond to that.
Plugging it into my computer’s USB port worked.
Ironically enough, the PS3 Blu-ray remote uses standard batteries, so I can just throw some eneloops in there just like the Xbox and Wii controllers.
And here I thought universal USB chargers were goign to make my life simpler…
My Sony LED TV has USB port, it can charge PS3 controller!
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