Phase Drift Explained: Why It Happens and How to Stop It

Understanding “Drift” with Phase: where it comes from and how to fix it

Most of the time, when people mention “a drift,” they’re referring to a gradual misalignment between the position shown by the Phase Remote and the actual playback position in the DJ software. This can sometimes lead to precision issues during performance.

Now, this symptom can have different causes and understanding where it comes from is key to preventing it.

1. Drift caused by calibration issues

One of the most common causes of drift is improper calibration of the Remote’s sensors. 

If the sensors aren’t calibrated correctly, the position data sent by the Remote won’t be 100% accurate, which can lead to those precision problems.

To avoid this:
Make sure to properly calibrate your Remotes before each use. This means leaving them completely still while Phase is initializing. Calibration is essential and only takes a few seconds, but it makes a huge difference.
You can find the full calibration process in this article: How to calibrate the Remotes' sensors

This is by far the most frequent cause of drift, and fortunately, it’s also the easiest one to fix with the right setup and usage.

In rare cases, some calibration values may not be saved correctly to the Remote due to a firmware-related bug. When this happens, you might notice persistent drift even after following the standard calibration steps.

Here’s what to do in that case:

• Use the Reset Remote feature in Phase Manager. This will clear any corrupted calibration data and restore default values.
  
  

• If the problem continues even after the reset, we recommend reaching out to our support team so we can provide more advanced troubleshooting steps to resolve the issue for good.
  
  

2. Drift caused by radio signal interference

Another potential cause of drift can come from radio packet loss between the Remotes and the Receiver. This usually depends on the environment where Phase is being used.

Even though Phase uses a highly advanced wireless protocol designed for ultra-low latency and stability, it's still sensitive to physical interferences, just like any wireless system.

Common example:
If your Receiver is placed under a metal surface (like a turntable or a metal stand), it can interfere with the wireless signal and cause packet loss.

To avoid this:
Try to optimize the position of the Receiver in relation to the Remotes. Avoid placing it near or under metal surfaces, and keep the area around it as clear as possible. We’ve put together a full article with best practices to help you optimize the setup: I have accuracy and playback issues (drift, jumps, skips), what can I do?

If you’ve already optimized the Receiver’s placement and the issue still occurs, there’s one more workaround you can try to reset the radio channel Phase uses for communication.
To do this, simply place the Remote back into the Receiver and perform a new pairing, as shown in this video: How to link a Remote to the Receiver?

This won’t necessarily guarantee a better channel, but in some cases it can help resolve minor signal issues, so it’s worth a shot.

3. Drift caused by bad DJ software transcription

In some cases, drift may be the result of how the DJ software interprets the position data sent by Phase when used in DVS mode (with the RCA cables). The software's ability to accurately process digital vinyl system (DVS) signals can vary depending on multiple factors, such as system performance, software settings, or even minor bugs in the software itself.

When the DJ software fails to register all the movements transmitted by Phase, it can create the illusion of drift. This can happen if the software experiences processing delays, struggles to handle high data rates, or applies incorrect time-stretching algorithms when decoding the timecode signal.    

To avoid this:

• Ensure your DJ software is fully updated to the latest version, as developers often release fixes and optimizations that improve DVS accuracy.
  
  

• Check your software’s timecode settings and make sure they match Phase’s specifications. Some DJ applications offer different latency settings, or buffer size settings.
  
  

• Optimize your computer’s performance by closing unnecessary background applications and ensuring that your audio interface is properly configured for low-latency operation. A poorly optimized system can introduce processing lag, affecting Phase’s real-time response.
  
  

If you’ve confirmed that your software is up to date and optimized but still experience drift, Make sure to use the HID integration (if available) to get the best Phase performance. The HID protocol allows for quicker data exchange and better performances with the DJ softwares that support it.

If you’re still experiencing drift after trying the above solutions, don’t hesitate to contact us directly. We’re here to help and will do everything we can to get you back to smooth, accurate performance.