Charging Station

I had a Nyko drop-in charging cradle for my Xbox 360 controllers for a couple of years and always loved the convenience of being able to leave the controllers in the cradle when not in use and have them available with a full charge at any time. Alas, the relatively short battery life compared to rechargable AAs eventually made me give up a little convenience for the much longer battery life. I never saw any need for something of this nature with my PS3 controllers, as their 30-hours on a charge battery life made charging the battery a once a week at most affair. The 4-hour charge of the Dualshock 4 is a different story. An easy to use daily charging solution was needed. For awhile I used a 4-port USB hub located on the table next to my seating area, but the frequent use of the micro-USB port worried me when it came to the frequent charging required of this generation of controller. I looked at the various cradle types of chargers and found most had a feature that wasn't to my liking. Storing a controller upside down connected to micro-USB port on the top struck me as possibly too stressful on the port, with the port seemingly supporting the entire weight of the controller and had the same frequent insertion and removal of the USB cable as a potential problem. Perhaps this isn't an issue and I'm worrying where it isn't warranted,but the upside down positioning also seemed . . . inelegant. The Nyko drop in charger appealed due to its familiarity with a product I liked a lot, but the dongle constantly attached to the USB port looked ungainly and caused fear of putting undue stress on the port. The PowerA port seemed to be what I was looking for. It uses the sturdier port on the bottom of the controller, the spring-loaded design allows for easy alignment without close inspection, the controllers are stored in a more attractive (to me) upright position, and it has the drop-in functionality of my old Nyko without the dongle. It works just as I hoped. Installation was easy - plug the adapter into the outlet, the micro-USB cord attached to it into the port on the bottom of the cradle, and thread the cord through the channel built into the side for that purpose. The separate components area nice touch. Lose the cord and you can substitute any micro-USB cord to replace it. Lose or damage the cradle and the cord will still function to charge the controller directly. Use is simple. Drop the controller into the cradle, press straight down until it clicks. The flashing light on the controller itself tells you the charging status (flashing yellow - charging; off - charged), so there is no need for lights on the charger itself. One last note - the Dual Shock 4 comes with a lithium battery. Unlike older rechargabley nickel cadmium batteries, lithium batteries don't become "conditioned" by frequent charging and don't have a "memory". There's no need to periodically drain them completely to refresh the battery. It's perfectly safe to recharge them after every session and leave them plugged in (cradle down position) all the time, as the controller has a built in voltage regulator that turns off the charger when the battery is full. The spring loaded design is there to ensure that the controllers are aligned properly when seating them, not for storing without connecting to the charging port. There is no danger to storing your controllers plugged in (cradle down position) all the time, or to "topping off" the charge after a relatively short charging session. You do not have to drain the battery between charges, and shouldn't drain it completely. Lithium Ion Batteries are fundamentally different from the nickel cadmium batteries of some early smartphones, which would be damaged if left in the charger every night. This is not the case with any modern device with an internal battery, almost all of which now use lithium batteries. It can actually be harmful to fully drain them every session and they should be charged as soon as the "low charge" warning comes up rather than waiting for the controller to shut off completely. And to reiterate - there is no harm to charging your Dualshock 4 every day, topping it off, or leaving it plugged in all the time. None of this causes a lithium battery any damage or shortens its lifespan. There is a misconception regarding frequent charging shortening the lifespan of a battery due to frequent charge cycles. A "charge cycle" isn't every time you charge your battery, it's a full charge from an empty battery, or with some devices, from the point at which you get the "low battery" warning, usually at 15-20%. Thus, draining a battery halfway and recharging it is half a charge cycle. Store your lithium battery devices on their chargers while you're not using them. It does them no harm, doesn't shorten battery life, and you always have a full charge. Also note that if you use NIMH rechargably AA batteries, such as with a 360 or Xbox One controller, go ahead and empty those suckers completely between charges. Different technology, different usage.

This dual charging station is fantastic. The station is small in size, so it takes up very little table/counter space and the power cord gets tucked away underneath + to the side, so the cord being in your way is a non issue (assuming you use common sense to place it). Placing your controller into the charging station is very straightforward - simply place your controller(s) in their slot (which takes no effort), and gently push down. Once your controller is pushed down, the charging begins and the light on your controller will turn yellow, which provides a nice visual queue to know that your controller is indeed charging (some other chargers are not so obvious). When the controller is done charging, the light will turn off, so it is easy to see when your charge is complete. To release the controller out of the charging station, simply push down on your controller once more, which will pop the controller out of its locked charging position, allowing it to be picked up and moved. Simple as you like. I've owned and consistently used this charging station for 3+ years, and have yet to run into any problems with it. This charging station is everything I want in a charger. In addition to charging my controllers with ease, it provides a compact, safe storing area for my controllers as well. Even if your controllers are fully charged, you can keep the controllers locked in their charging position, and the charging light will remain off (it will flash once to show it is locked in place, but will not stay on if the battery is full). When both controllers are docked in the charging station, the controllers are placed back to back with each other and are each facing outward rather than upward, so it actually takes up less space than resting two controllers next to each other (loosely), while also locking them in place so you won't need to worry about accidentally knocking loose controllers off your table, or wherever you are storing them. There are only two things I can think of as potential negatives. Number one, the charger does make a slight high-pitched noise while charging. For me, it is quiet enough to not bother me while sleeping, and my charger is placed on a bedside table directly next to my pillow. If you are an extremely sensitive to noise while trying to sleep and absolutely need to charge the controller at night, you may want to place the charger away from your bed, or perhaps experiment with placing a towel or some type of thick cloth over it to reduce the noise. Number two is regarding the light, and again this relates to sleep. If you are somebody who can't stand a little bit of light in your room at night, this light may bother you a bit if you are charging your controller while trying to sleep. But again, simply place a cloth over your charging station to block the light, and that problem will be solved. My overall opinion: This is a perfect charging station, and a must-own for all PS4 owners.

This is the second PS4 controller charger I've bought, and it is by far the best one I've had. When I first bought my PS4, I immediately bought a second Dualshock 4 and with having kids, I had other items plugged into my PS4 (Skylanders Portal and Disney Infinity base), so I had to find a way to charge my controllers. I initially bought the Nyko Charge Base - PlayStation 4 and it worked for a while. I thought, "hey, I have the perfect set-up, just drop and charge" right? WRONG. First off, I noticed that the clips on the back of the controller were chipping and my wife was telling me the controller wasn't charging half the time. Turns out, the issues with THAT charger is that if you don't set the controller on the sensor JUST PERFECTLY, it wont charge, AND the slightest bump will take it off the charging mode. So needless to say, I'd put it in there to charge, and come back the next day and come to find out, something as simple as a strong gust of wind or a "house groan" would cause it to not charge. Imagine my surprise when I sat down to play and my battery was dead. :/ NOT ANYMORE. This PowerA controller charger ROCKS. No longer do you need the clips, no longer is the guessing game of "is it charging?" It's simple, it's easy. Set the controller in the molded slot and push it down. You'll hear a click. The yellow light bar will come on, BOOM, you're charging. The yellow light bar on the controller will fade in and out. That means it's charging. When it stops, it's charged. It won't "overcharge" your controller and it won't kill the battery life. AND it's endorsed by Sony. For $13 and change right now for Prime members, its a steal

I hate having to plug my controllers directly into my PS4 to have them charge. This station allows me to place my controllers onto the cradle after I'm done gaming and they will charge up and be ready for my next session. Unlike the charging station that was for the PS3, this doesn't require any additionally clips or attachments be added to the controller to use. You simply plug this station is and place your controller on the cradle. However, there is one additional new step. After you place the controller onto the cradle you have to actually press the controller down to lock it into place and engage it, and then push it down again to disengage and remove it when ready for use. My kids always miss this step and either don't engage it so it doesn't charge or they just pull it directly off the cradle without pressing down first. I don't know how critical this step is since everything still works fine, but it does take slightly more force to pull it off this way compared to disengaging it. So far nothing on the base or controller has been affected by them pulling it off this way, but I am trying to get them into the habit of doing it the proper way all the same. Also, I do have a custom Gimika controller with the butterfly paddle option...and this controller can not be used with the cradle as the paddle on the back prevents the controller from sitting on the cradle properly. I'd imagine this would be the same if you use a Scuf controller with their paddle option or any pro-gaming controller with paddles on the back...but I can't say that for sure. For the Gimika, the butterfly paddle definitely makes this charging station a no-go. Overall, great charging station that works well and I would gladly purchase again.

I bought two of these devices because they utilize the fast-charging connector, and I wanted to have something to charge all four of my family's PS4 controllers. I also appreciated the inclusion of a true AC adapter instead of relying on yet another USB cable with yet another wall charging brick. I also liked the fact that they used the fast-charging EXT port on the rear of the controller, next to the audio port, instead of the rear micro-USB connector. I mentioned I ordered two, well the first one was inoperative on arrival and promptly returned. But the working one still had problems. The design of this product is just bad. Whether I am using Sony-branded DualShock 4, or 3rd party compatible controllers, they do not slide onto the EXT charging connectors properly, and just won't charge. You would assume that because they are oriented vertically, that gravity would help the controller sit onto the charging port better, but in fact, it's at a slight angle so you have to keep fiddling with the controller's position in the dock to get it to actually charge. I should have anticipated there would be a problem, as the PowerA-branded "Darth Vader"-style Wii Sensor Bar Holder is also a bad design. Unfortunately, it took far too long for me to figure this out, and now I cannot return it. The whole experience has really soured me on PowerA products. I purchased an OIVO charger that uses the same EXT connector and it works great out of the box even with 3rd party controllers. My advice is to stay away from this charger. (I bought this in March 2025, review written April 2025)

Going from a cord used for charging to this charging station has been revolutionary! It's not as convenient as it could be simply because you cannot charge and use the controller at the same time like you can with a charging cable. If you have 2 controllers though, that shouldn't be an issue at all! I leave one controller on the charging station at all times (there's an intermediate 'setting' on the dock which lets you set the controller within the docking cradle, but not set it far enough down to initiate charging) while I use the other controller. With the amount of life that one controller gives, I can fully charge the other controller a few times over and just switch them out when the one I'm using gets low! It's a basic thin, plastic base which feels cheap-ish, but that's negligible to the amount of use you get out of it! It prevents you from having to plug your wireless controller in to charge. It gets rid of the unsightly/annoying cord draped over your lap. It looks sleek while also being useful! How-to: Set your Ps4 controller into one of the cradles. Push the controller down into the cradle until you hear/feel a solid 'click'. If you do it right, the controller's light bar will start pulsing a dim yellow/orange to let you know it's charging. When charging is complete, the light bar will no longer pulse. To release: Push down on the controller again and you will hear/feel another click and will be able to lift the controller out of the station. Pros: Controller light bar will pulse a gentle yellow/orange while charging to let you know it's working Can hold a controller without having to charge it (see above notes) Looks good next to the Ps4! Charges your controller within an hour or two and lets you get back to gaming quick! There's a slight divot in each cradle that has an indication as to where the 'PS' button will go to make lining up easy Has a notch on the bottom for the cord so it sits evenly on the table Cons: Relatively cheap material Doesn't have an extra 'hook' for headphone storage

This is the charging station to get. Period. Compared to some of the other models out there, and the official Sony charger (as opposed to officially licensed like this one is), this charger works exactly as I expect it to. The controllers sit upright in the holder, not upside down. The nice thing about this design is that not only is feel natural to place the controller that way, it leaves the light bar on top which gives you indication of the charge status (slow flashing glow indicates charging, no glow indicated charge complete). The controllers plug directly in through the bottom port (the one to the left of the 3.5mm headphone jack on the controller) to charge, so there are no clip on or additional items to plug in. It fits in a solid manner, and there is never any fumbling around to line it up. Some other notes that aren't apparent from the photo/description, the cradle actually rises and drops. Essentially you place your controller on the cradle and then press it down and it drops into place, seating on the prong to charge. When you want to remove the controller you don't just pull it up (you can, but that is more work than needed). You actually press the controller down like a button and it pops up out of the charging prong and you can easily remove the controller from the cradle. There is a little flex in the base as well (you can see the middle section is raised slightly from the sides in the picture). That flex assists in the springy inserting and removing of the controller. The only caveat I would give here is that if you use or intend to use a plug in keypad, those typically plug into that bottom port on the controller so this wouldn't work for you unless you remove the keyboard first (which is a pain). In that case, you would probably want one of the versions where you place the controller in upside down. But to be honest, the keypads I have seen just seem so lackluster and cumbersome for the amount of typing I do with the PS4 so that probably isn't an issue for most people.

Maybe a little late, but 10 years strong, and it's still going!