To do so, insert a pin or a paperclip into the small hole on the bottom of the controller, just below the L2 button. Plug your controller into a different USB port on your PS3. If your controller isn’t charging, this will help determine whether or not the USB port is causing problems.

How can you tell if your PS3 controller is charging?

If the controller is off, four red lights on the top of the controller will flash red; this means that the controller is charging. If you’re using the PS3 controller while it is charging, only one light will flash. Wait about two hours before you unplug the controller from the PC.

You will need to attach a USB cable to the PS3 and the other end to the controller for them to sync up properly again. The other side of this, it’s that the batteries in the PS3 controller have potentially degraded to the point where they will no longer hold a charge.

How can I charge my PS3 controller without a charger?

Now, what if you don’t have the supplied USB cable with your PS3 controller? Fortunately, you can use any general USB cable with your PS3 controller. You don’t have to use the USB cable that came with the PS3 controller by default.

Controllers can only charge while the PS3 is powered up. Turn it off (standby mode), and the USB ports go dead.