The wired Xbox 360 controller is USB, so using it for PC gaming is easy–but things get a bit more complex if you have a wireless controller. Let’s take a look at how you can enjoy wireless gameplay on your PC while minimizing the headaches.
- Microsoft Wireless Controller Driver
- Wireless Xbox 360 Controller Charger
- Wireless Xbox 360 Controller Setup
Solve Xbox 360 controller not working problem on Windows 10 in two most effective ways fast and easily with step by step guidance. Xbox 360 Controller Driver Not Working on Windows 10 [Solved]. Windows will help you install the latest version of the Xbox 360 controller that it could find. But there is no guarantee that it will find the. Xbox 360 controller driver windows 10: Xbox 360 is a gaming console like PlayStation. We can play games with Xbox 360 controllers, these controllers are very comfortable to play with. The Controllers are basically wireless and use the battery to operate.
The Three Prong Path to Wireless Freedom
- I bought a wireless gaming receiver for my XBox 360 controller this week, so I can use it to play compatible games on steam. (If anyone wondering, it was one of these). Whilst it’s a cheap knock-off, it works just fine so long as you know how to install it.
- It's plug and play so it should work out of the box, at least my wireless xbox 360 controller did anyway My. Xbox driver fail. BlackroseMD1 said.
- To do this, follow the steps below. Step 1: Install the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows software. Step 2: Connect the Xbox 360 wired controller to your computer. Step 3: Test the controller. Step 1: Install the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows software. Step 2: Connect the Xbox 360 wired controller to your computer.
- Jan 24, 2019 Hi I have a wireless Windows controller and have a receiver plugged in and everything but I am trying to install the receiver driver onto my Windows 10 Pro Computer.
When it comes to wireless Xbox 360 on Windows you have three options: the expensive and easy way, the cheap and somewhat frustrating way, and the grey market middle ground. If you’re sitting at your computer desk and not across the living room, for example–then you might just want to skip the whole hassle, just buy an official wired Xbox 360 controller for $27, and be done with it. A wired controller is pure plug and play with no hassle–but if you absolutely must have wireless play at your PC, you’ll need to buy a USB-to-wireless adapter.
That’s right, you can’t just connect a wireless Xbox 360 controller to your PC using Bluetooth, or anything like that. Xbox 360 controllers use a propriety 2.4Ghz communication method that need a specific a USB adapter made for the Xbox 360 controller–no substitutes allowed.
This is where the decision making process gets slightly complicated. Microsoft doesn’t sell the adapter by itself. They sell it in a bundle with a wireless controller–but if you already have a wireless controller, you probably don’t want to buy another one just to get the adapter.
If you want to buy the adapter separately, you can, but you’ll either be buying a Chinese knockoff product, or an official adapter that’s been separated from its kit by a third party. Picking from these potential options is the most important step in the project.
The Official Bundle: Expensive, But Headache-Free
If you don’t mind paying a premium (and potentially buying an extra controller you don’t need) then the most frustration-free and guaranteed-to-work method is to buy the official Xbox 360 wireless controller for Windows bundle. Despite the Xbox 360 getting a little long in the tooth, you can still find official Xbox 360 “For Windows” controller packs both on the shelves at many electronics retailers, online, and directly from Microsoft. And hey, if you only need the USB receiver, you can always sell the controller on Craigslist and try to get your money back.
RELATED:I Got Scammed by a Counterfeiter on Amazon. Here’s How You Can Avoid Them
The MSRP of the official bundle $59.95, and you’ll usually find it at close to that price at places like Best Buy. If you can find it cheaper from a reputable retailer, then by all means jump on it. If you must shop on Amazon, be sure you’re buying a product marked “fulfilled by Amazon” and be ready to return it if it ends up that the product is not an official model. (Remember, “fulfilled by Amazon does not guarantee a genuine product.)
The Dubious Aftermarket Clones: Cheap and Doable, but a Headache
On the opposite side of things, you’ll find piles upon piles of knockoff USB receivers sold separately all over Amazon, eBay, and other big online marketplaces. Typically, you’ll find them ranging in price from $7-15 and they’re either flawless clones that are indistinguishable from the official adapter dongle or they’re terrible knockoffs that will give you a headache setting them up.
The official Microsoft Xbox 360, seen above left, is always branded as “Microsoft” on the front and says “Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver for Windows” on the back. The knockoffs are almost always branded “X360”, seen above right, and usually say “PC Wireless Gaming Receiver” or a variation on the back. Note the purposeful omission of any copy or trademarked names like “Microsoft”, “Xbox 360”, or “Windows”.
In general, we don’t recommend buying these. But if you already have one, we’ve got your back–scroll down for detailed instructions on getting it up and running, even when Windows doesn’t want to place nice.
The Official Orphans: A (Nearly) Sure Bet, as Long as You Can Find One
In between the expense of buying an official Xbox 360 Windows controller bundle and cheap $7 eBay specials, you’ll find a sort of grey market happy medium if you’re willing to make a small gamble. If you look on Amazon and eBay, you’ll find hundreds of official Microsoft brand Xbox 360 PC dongles that have been separated from their controller mates.
Your best bet is to look for listings that include not just the dongle (with proper markings and tags, as we saw above) but also include an official driver CD and booklet. While you don’t need either of those things to use the controller (Windows will download the drivers automatically), it’s generally a good indicator that the listing is legitimate. It’s not really profitable (or legally wise) for companies to go to the extra hassle of creating fake Microsoft support materials.
Just remember that Microsoft does not officially sell these separately, so if you’re buying one separately, you are taking a bit of a gamble. While we recommend you carefully study each listing, read reviews, and make sure there is a good return policy for whatever online retailer you’re using, we can say that we’ve had great luck purchasing these official adapters for $15 a piece off Amazon (specifically fulfilled by RushHourWholesalers). Every one we’ve ordered has shipped with a driver disc, documentation, and is identical in terms of branding, construction, and labeling to those found in the official bundle.
How to Install an Official Microsoft Adapter
If you’ve purchased the official bundle, got your hands on an official adapter, or just happened to have purchased a knockoff adapter of exceptionally good quality, then the installation process is incredibly simple.
On Windows 8 and above, you can simply plug the adapter right into your PC. A few seconds later, it will be automatically detected and Windows will install the drivers. You can confirm this by opening up the Windows Device Manager–press the Start button and type “device manager” to access it. Look down at the bottom of the hardware list for the Xbox adapter entry:
On Windows 7 and earlier, you’ll be prompted by the “Add Hardware” wizard to add the USB adapter. You can select “Install the software automatically”, and if your version of Windows has the drivers the process will continue automatically. If you don’t have the drivers already on your PC, you can either use the included driver disc or download the appropriate drivers from the official website here.
Once the adapter is installed (and you’ve confirmed its presence on the Device Manger list) you can jump down the section “Pairing Your Controllers to Your PC”.
How to Install a Knockoff Adapter
If you’re stuck with one of the lower-quality knockoffs, we’re sorry–by comparison, it’s a huge pain. Fortunately for you, it’s not hard to get them up and running as long as you know the completely non-intuitive way to do it.
First, plug your device into your computer. We recommend plugging it directly into a port on the back. If you must plug it into a USB hub, make sure it’s a powered hub. We’d also recommend picking a port that you’ll be able to leave the device more or less permanently attached to. Whenever you unplug it, you’ll need to repeat the annoying steps we’re about to outline–so you’ll want to leave it plugged in at all times, if you can.
Let’s emphasize that last point again: with the majority of aftermarket adapters we’ve come across if you unplug the adapter you have to repeat the annoying multi-step installation process. In my experience, it was worth the extra money to buy another genuine adapter just to avoid this hassle.
With the adapter plugged in, navigate to the Windows Device Manager. Press the Start button and type “device manager” to access it. Look under “Other Devices” in the list of devices under the entry for your computer.
We know it’s quite nondescript, but unless you have multiple Unknown Devices on your PC, that little “Unknown device” entry is your knockoff Xbox 360 controller adapter. Right click it and select Properties.
Select the Driver tab in the Unknown device Properties box and then click Update Driver.
When prompted to select whether you want Windows to search automatically or for you to browse your computer for the drivers, select “Browse my computer for driver software”. Don’t worry, you don’t actually need any drivers, as they’re already included with Windows. (On the off chance that yours have gone missing, however, you can download the drivers here.)
You’ll be given the option to search for the drivers in a location you specify or you can pick from a list of device drivers already installed. We want the latter, so select “Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer”.
Scroll down the list until you see “Xbox 360 Peripherals”. Double click on it.
Note: These screenshots are from the setup process on Windows 8 and 10; under Windows 7 it’s possible that you may need to look under “Microsoft Common Controller” instead of “Xbox 360 Peripherals”.
On the next screen, select “Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver for Windows Version 6.3.xxxx”. Click Next. When prompted by the driver update warning, click Yes. The hardware signature of the knockoff doesn’t, in fact, match the driver signature, but it will work fine just the same.
You’ll receive a confirmation that the device was installed properly.
If you get the error “Xbox 360 Controller for Windows / This Device Cannot Start. (Code 10)”, then you’ve accidentally selected the drivers for the controller, not the receiver. You’ll need to go back into the device manager, delete the erroneous entry and repeat the tutorial from the start.
Back in the Device Manager, scroll down to the bottom and double check that there is now an entry for the Xbox receiver:
If you see that entry, you’re in business–it’s time to add your controllers to your PC.
How to Pair Your Controller(s) to Your PC
The only thing left to do at this point is to sync your controller to the new wireless receiver. If you’re an Xbox 360 user porting some or all of their old controllers to their PC, then this process will seem very familiar, as its only a hair different than the process of pairing controllers with the actual Xbox 360.
Press the button on the receiver (the light will blink) then, immediately after, press the connect button on your wireless controller (located at the top of the controller just above the battery pack).
The green ring of lights on the Xbox controller will rotate around and then the controller will signify which controller it is by lighting up the appropriate quadrant (the wireless receiver will support up to 4 controllers for those rare multiplayer PC games).
One final step you may wish to take, even though it’s not required to get the controllers to work, is to download the 360 for Windows controller software, it adds in a really convenient function: you can tap and hold the Xbox logo on the controller to get a battery status check.
That’s all there is to it! Before you dash off to play, however, we strongly recommend bookmarking, Evernote clipping, printing, or otherwise saving this tutorial if you have an aftermarket dongle. As we mentioned at the start, if you unplug the receiver you have to go back into the Device Manager and install the drivers again.
Connect xbox 360 controller on PC:Hey gaming geeks let’s see How to set up an Xbox 360 Controller for Windows and you can also download xbox 360 controller driver for windows 10/8.1/8 here.And I have also explained how to resolve xbox 360 controller driver issue if they are failed to install properly.
Many PC games will allow you to play with an Xbox controller instead of a keyboard or mouse. The Xbox 360 Controller for Windows can be quickly and easily installed on any PC that has an available USB port and is running Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later.
Xbox 360 Controller for Windows- A step by step guide
Contents
- 1 Xbox 360 Controller for Windows- A step by step guide
- 2 Setting up a wired Xbox 360 Controller for Windows:
- 3 If the xbox 360 controller diver failed to Install Follow below steps-Update the drivers manually.
- 4 Setting up a wireless Xbox 360 Controller for Windows:
- 4.2 Step 1: Connect the Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver to your computer
Topics
- Setting up a wired Xbox 360 Controller
- Setting up a wireless Xbox 360 Controller
Setting up a wired Xbox 360 Controller for Windows:
Step 1: Install the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows software
Note A standard Xbox 360 wired controller can be connected to a Windows PC by using the USB port, but drivers must be installed before the controller will work.
Use the installation CD that came with your Xbox 360 Controller for Windows before connecting the controller to your computer:
- Insert the installation disc in the CD or DVD drive on your computer. an automatic setup program will prompt,If the setup program doesn’t automatically start, browse to your CD or DVD drive and run the setup program.
- On the setup screen, click Install and follow the next steps on the screen til it finishes.
- The Xbox 360 Accessories setup program installs the necessary files to your computer.Note You might be prompted to restart your computer after the installation is complete.please restart your computer to finish the installation things.
Don’t have a installation disc,CD or DVD for your Xbox 360 Controller driver follow below steps.
If you don’t have an installation disc for your Xbox 360 Controller for Windows, don’t worry you can download and install the software online:
Please Visit official Software section of the Microsoft Hardware website.
- Select Gaming as the product type.
- In the search box type Xbox 360 Controller for Windows as the product or alternately you can also select Xbox 360 Controller for Windows from the listed menu.
- Select the version of Microsoft Windows you’re using on your computer, select your operating system language, and then proceed to Download.
- Click Run.
- The Xbox 360 Accessories setup program installs the required files to your computer.Note You might be prompted to restart your computer after the installation is complete restart to finish the installation process. sometimes xbox 360 controller driver will be failed to install
If the xbox 360 controller diver failed to Install Follow below steps-Update the drivers manually.
if the xbox 360 controller driver are not installed properly you will get error message like this int he screen shot
- Then we have to install the xbox 360 controller driver manually goto computer–>manage
- click on the device manager
- click on the unknown source device–>update driver software
- click on ” browse my computer for driver software”
- click on ” let me pick the driver software”
- choose ” Microsoft common controller for windows class”
- choose xbox 360 controller driver windows version latest
- proceed to update
That’s it the xbox 360 controller driver will be installed successfully on your computer.
Microsoft Wireless Controller Driver
Step 2: Connect the Xbox 360 wired controller to your computer
After you have installed the software, plug in your Xbox 360 wired controller’s USB connector into a USB 2.0 port on your computer.
Step 3: Test the Xbox 360 controller
To test your Xbox 360 wired controller on your computer, follow below steps:
Wireless Xbox 360 Controller Charger
- On your computer, click Start, next type Run, type joy.cpl, and then press ENTER.
- Select Xbox 360 Controller application, and then click on Properties.
- Test your Xbox 360 wired controller by pressing a button, pulling a trigger, or moving a stick on the controller or do whatever you want just to check whether it’s working fine or not. If the controller is functioning correctly, you’ll see the corresponding action light up in the application simultaneously.
Setting up a wireless Xbox 360 Controller for Windows:
Set up a wireless controller
Note “A standard Xbox 360 wireless controller can be connected to a Windows PC, but to connect xbx 360 controller you must have anXbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver along with the Xbox 360 Play and Charge Kit”.
Step 1: Connect the Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver to your computer
- Remove the green label from the wireless gaming receiver.
- Insert the gaming receiver’s USB connector into a powered USB 2.0 port on the computer also it should work any of the usb port available.
- If the Add New Hardware Wizard starts automatically, select Install the software automatically (Recommended), and then click Next. If the wizard installs the software successfully, click Finish and then
If the wizard fails to install xbox 360 controller driver software I’ll show you what to do just follow the below steps.
if the software installs successfully you can skip the below step and continue to the next step.
Step 2: Install the Xbox gaming receiver software
If you have the installation disc that came with your Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver, Please insert the disc and install the software.It’s not a problem even if you don’t have the disc because all the softwares available on Microsoft software download section.
To install the software from a disc:
- Insert the installation disc into the CD or DVD drive of your computer. If the setup program doesn’t automatically start, browse to your CD or DVD drive and run the setup program.
- Follow the on screen steps to install the software.
Note You might be prompted to restart your computer please restart your computer after the software installation.
To install the software by downloading it online:
Wireless Xbox 360 Controller Setup
- First visit Software section of the Microsoft Hardware website.
- Select Gaming as the product type.
- In the search box Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows as the product or you can click on the same wireless controller in the listed menu.
- Select the version of Microsoft Windows you’re currently using on your computer, select your operating system language, and then click Download.
- Click Run.
- The Xbox 360 Accessories setup program installs the necessary files to your computer.
Step 3: Connect the Xbox 360 wireless controller to your computer
- Turn on the Xbox 360 wireless controller by pressing and holding the Guide button, which is the larger circular button located in the middle of the controller near the top.
- On the receiver, press the connect button which is a circular button located near the middle of the receiver. The light will flash green.
- Press the connect button on the controller, which is a small circular button located on the front edge of the controller as you hold it in your hands.
Green flashing lights on the controller and on the receiver indicate that the device is trying to establish a connection. When the light stops flashing and remains lit, the controller is connected. (On a wireless controller, one of the lights around the Guide button will remain lit.
hope you liked the guide on how to connect xbox 360 controller for windows both wired and wireless and also i have explained how to resolve xbox 360 controller driver issue.if you are facing any issue please comment below i’ll be happy to help you and if you have any suggestions for this article please mention i’ll update the post accordingly.