Microsoft Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 Core (White) Expired

Yep. It kind of makes this controller pointless, since the main benefits of the Elite Series are the paddles and swappable sticks. Not to mention, the Elite controllers are known for worse quality control and longevity than the standard $60 controllers. Buying the Elite Series 2 from Costco or Best Buy with the extended warranty are the way to go if you want an Elite. Hopefully they release a Series 3 at some point, preferably with better QC and hall-effect sticks. Plenty of 3rd party manufacturers have brought competing controllers with hall-effect sticks and mechanical buttons to market. If they don't do something, their sales are going to start dropping.

All first party controllers, including the DualSense Edge and Elite Series 2, use the exact same ALPS potentiometers. There's variation in all electronic components, just as there's the "silicon lottery" with computer chips. You just got lucky with your DualSense Edge. They're rated for 2,000,000 cycles, which comes out to ~4-6 months of playing 2 hours per day, everyday. At least the Sony pro controller has easily replaceable thumbstick modules for when they eventually develop stick drift. Most of the 3rd party controller manufactures have started releasing controllers with hall-effect sensors in their joysticks, which take decades instead of months to develop stick drift. Sega used hall-effect sensors in their controllers for the Saturn and Dreamcast, but Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo continue to use potentiometers because they make much more money selling controllers that only last a few months. Hopefully the influx of hall-effect controllers on the market will force Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo to finally switch to hall-effect to compete.

Its not pointless for those of us who need to replace an aging Elite 2 with stick drift. I already have all the extras. I had BB price match and added Geek for a total of $162.