Did the Inhibitor Chips Start to Wear Off After Order 66, and If So-Why? Were They Deactivated, or Could They Still Be Re-Triggered?

I was scrolling through Reddit the other day and saw a really interesting post about the clone troopers and their inhibitor chips. The person asked something along the lines of: “If the chips were what made the clones turn on the Jedi in Order 66, what happened to them afterward? Did they wear off? Were they ever turned off? Or could someone just trigger them again later?”

I mean, we’ve seen a lot of clones post-Order 66—in The Bad Batch, Rebels, and the Darth Vader comics—and not all of them act like mind-controlled drones forever. Some start questioning things. Some break free.

But what really caught my attention in the Reddit thread was a follow-up question: “Would Wolffe try to kill Ahsoka again if he saw her? Would Cody try to kill Obi-Wan? Was it ever explained how this works?” Then they added something even more intriguing: “There’s also the fact that many clones start deserting—is that a direct consequence of the chip wearing off after Order 66?”

First Off, Clones with the Inhibitor Chip Still Act on Order 66

Let’s start with this: the inhibitor chips didn’t just switch off after Order 66—they remained active. We see this in The Clone Wars when Rex tries to resist but still pulls his blasters on Ahsoka. Even with everything they’d been through, the chip was too strong until Ahsoka removed it. Same thing in The Bad Batch, where Crosshair continues following Imperial orders long after the war ends—still acting on the chip’s influence.

But here’s where it gets even more interesting.

In Darth Vader (2017) issue #17, we get a crystal-clear example that the chips could still be reactivated. During a mission to hunt down Jedi Ferren Barr, Vader and the Inquisitors track him to Mon Cala. Barr, who had pieced together the truth behind the Jedi Purge, realized the Stormtroopers escorting Vader used to be clone troopers. In a last-ditch move, Barr reactivates Order 66—and the clones immediately turn their weapons on the Inquisitors.

This moment proves that the chips didn’t just stop working. The programming was still buried inside the clones’ minds, ready to be triggered again under the right conditions. Even post-war, even wearing Stormtrooper armor—they were still vulnerable to the same command that ended the Jedi Order.

Clones With Malfunctioning Inhibitor Chips Will Still Execute the Order

So we’ve already talked about how, after Order 66, clones with chips still in their heads can be affected—and even reactivated. But what about malfunctioning chips?

We get a clear look at this from two different characters in Star Wars: Tup and Wrecker.

Tup’s case happens before Order 66, during the Clone Wars arc in Season 6. His chip malfunctions early, and even without the order being officially given, he suddenly executes a Jedi—Master Tiplar—on instinct. He doesn’t know why he did it, and the whole thing kicks off a deeper investigation that leads Fives to discover the existence of the inhibitor chips in the first place. Tup’s behavior was extreme: headaches, confusion, and eventually a full-on breakdown.

Now jump forward to The Bad Batch, and we see something very similar with Wrecker. He starts showing early symptoms too—bad headaches, sudden mood swings—and eventually, his chip fully activates. In the episode “Battle Scars,” Wrecker snaps and turns on the squad, hunting Omega and trying to kill the others. It’s a terrifying moment because we’ve seen how loyal and protective he is toward Omega, and now he’s this mind-controlled weapon. The good news is, once they disable the chip with the help of Rex, Wrecker goes back to normal. But it shows that even malfunctioning chips can still trigger Order 66 behavior when the time comes.

That means we can now answer the big “what if” questions—like, if Cody were to see Obi-Wan again, and if Cody still had his inhibitor chip, could someone trigger it? Based on what we’ve seen, the answer is yes. The chip’s programming doesn’t just fade with time. If someone knows how to activate it—or if it malfunctions—it can still override a clone’s free will. Just like how Wrecker, despite his deep bond with Omega, became a threat under the chip’s influence. Or how Rex, even as one of the most loyal clones, was seconds away from killing Ahsoka before she removed the chip. The danger never really left—it just went quiet.

However, Some Clones Didn’t Get Affected by the Chip During Order 66

While most clones followed Order 66 without hesitation—because of the inhibitor chip—there were rare cases where it didn’t work as intended. Some clones either resisted the effects or weren’t affected at all.

One of the most talked-about examples is Captain Howzer from The Bad Batch. Stationed on Ryloth after the rise of the Empire, Howzer starts to question the Empire’s actions. He shows concern for the local people, refuses to blindly follow orders, and eventually defies Imperial command by helping Cham and Eleni Syndulla escape.

Now here’s the interesting part: Howzer likely still has his inhibitor chip, but we never see him triggered by Order 66 the way other clones were. And there’s a possible reason for that. During the time of the Jedi Purge, there were no Jedi stationed on Ryloth. That could mean Palpatine never issued a direct kill order to Howzer, the way he did with other clones on the front lines with Jedi Generals. Without a specific Jedi target, Howzer’s chip may have remained dormant.

Another example we can look at is Cut Lawquane, the clone who left the war entirely and started a family. He shows up in The Clone Wars and later in The Bad Batch, living a peaceful life on Saleucami with his wife and kids.

Cut was never affected by Order 66. In The Bad Batch episode “Cut and Run,” we see him after the fall of the Republic, and he’s completely free-thinking. No blind loyalty to the Empire, no trigger response, no signs of chip activation at all. He even warns Clone Force 99 about the dangers of the new Imperial chain codes.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9Lmy–LW9w

This raises a key point: Cut’s chip was probably never activated because he wasn’t in active service when Order 66 was issued. He had gone AWOL long before the command was given, so there was no Jedi nearby to “turn on” his programming.

So like Howzer, he might still have the chip in his head, but without Palpatine’s direct order and without being in the right (or wrong) place, it simply never did anything.