Cannot Connect Xbox 360 Controller to PC? Here’s What You Should Do
If you plan to play games on a Windows 10 system with a gaming controller, an Xbox controller is what you should buy to go with it. It will connect easily and it is supported out of the box. Xbox and Windows 10 are both developed by Microsoft which makes an Xbox 360 controller the perfect controller for gaming on a PC.
Connect Xbox 360 controller to PC
Connecting an Xbox 360 controller to a PC is fairly easy. Both the wired and wireless version will be able to connect to it.
- Pair the controller if it’s a wireless controller and make sure the controller is On.
- Connect the controller and make sure its light turns on i.e., the X on the controller lights up.
Give Windows 10 a few minutes to set up the new device and check if it works. You can check controller input outside of games.
- Visit Gamepad tester.
- Your controller should be detected automatically.
- Press the buttons or one of the control sticks and you should see input on the screen.
If the controller lights up but no input is detected during tests, the controller hasn’t been set up correctly. If the controller input has been detected but it isn’t working in games. Try the fixes below.
1. Check Xbox controller support
Not all games, no matter how much you want them to, will support a controller. Games like Among Us or Inside are best played with a keyboard. Check if the game you’re trying to use the controller in has support for a controller.
You can check this by going to the game’s settings for control/keyboard/mouse. If a game explicitly says it is best played with a keyboard, it is best to not try to play it with a controller.
2. Steam controller support
Steam can add controller support for any and all games. Normally, it is enabled by default when you connect a controller however you may have to manually enable it.
- Connect the controller to your system.
- Open Steam.
- On the menu bar, go to Steam>Settings.
- Go to the Controller tab.
- Click General controller settings.
- Enable support for Xbox controllers.
- Restart Steam and your system.
3. Manually install Xbox controller drivers
Drivers for the Xbox may not have installed correctly or at all. In this case, it’s best to manually install them.
- Connect the controller to the PC.
- Open Device Manager.
- Expand Other Devices.
- You will see an ‘Unknown device’ listed below it.
- Right-click it and select Update device software.
- Select Browse my computer for driver software.
- Select the ‘Let me pick from a list…’ option.
- Scroll down and select the Xbox 360 peripherals option.
- Select the newest driver that is available.
- Install it and accept any prompts that you see on the screen.
- The driver will be installed and you’ll be able to use the controller with your games.
4. Change USB port
A wired Xbox controller needs power to run, just like a wireless controller. The wired controller gets power via the USB port it’s connected to.
Make sure the USB port that you’re connecting the controller to is the charging port. It is normally indicated by a thunderbolt or similar symbol. If you’re not sure which one it is, turn the system off or put it to sleep and connect a phone to the port. If the port charges the device even when the system is off, it is the charging port. All other USB ports will not charge a device until the system is powered on.
5. Turn of Game bar
The Windows 10 Game bar was added so that users could record and broadcast games using native tools instead of installing third-party apps like OBS. Unfortunately, the Game bar is hit and miss. Sometimes it works and other times it causes problems.
- Tap the Win+I keyboard shortcut to open the Settings app.
- Go to Gaming.
- Select the Game bar tab.
- Turn the switch at the top off.
What should I do if my Xbox controller is detected as a mouse and keyboard?
This may occur for any number of reasons. Try uninstalling the driver for the controller and installing it again to see if that fixes the problem. You can uninstall the driver from the Device Manager in Windows 10. If that doesn’t work then the problem might have to do with Steam. Use the following steps to check Steam:
- Open Steam and from the Steam menu item, go to the app’s settings.
- In the Settings window, select the Controller tab. Click the ‘General Controller Settings’ button. Alternatively, just click the controller button at the top right next to the minimize window button.
- On the general settings screen, uncheck the ‘Xbox configuration support’. This should fix the problem and Windows will stop thinking your controller is a mouse or a keyboard.
How to Use Xbox One Controllers Over Bluetooth on Linux
If your Xbox controller isn’t connecting to your Linux PC, there could be various reasons for the issue. Unlike other Bluetooth controllers, the Xbox One controller will not interact with Linux without modifications. The reason? The Bluetooth chip inside of it has a DRM feature enabled, which prevents it from pairing successfully.
To fix this issue, we’ll go over 2 methods to disable the DRM feature that makes it impossible to pair your Xbox One controller to Linux over Bluetooth.
Method 1: Temporarily disable Ertm
If you do not plan to use the Xbox One controller via Bluetooth on your Linux PC a lot, the best course of action is to disable Ertm, rather than shutting it off forever temporarily. To disable Ertm temporarily, start by opening up a terminal window. To open up a terminal window, press Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, follow the step-by-step instructions below.
Step 1: Elevate the terminal session from your Linux PC’s user account to Root. Accessing Root is a must because it is not possible to shut off Ertm without doing this.
sudo -s
Step 2: After gaining Root access in your Linux terminal, use the bash command below to shut off the Ertm feature in Bluetooth temporarily.
echo 'Y' > /sys/module/bluetooth/parameters/disable_ertm
Once the command above is run, the Ertm feature will be temporarily disabled, and you will be able to connect the Xbox One controller to your system. However, keep in mind the command will only work after you reboot your system.
Method 2: Permenantly disable Ertm
If you’re a heavy Linux gamer, the best course of action is to permanently disable the Ertm feature so that you no longer have to deal with it. There are many different ways to shut off Ertm. However, the best approach is by installing the Xpadneo kernel module. It automatically disabled Ertm and adds in some Xbox One controller enhancements as well. To get Xpadneo working so that Ertm is permanently disabled, follow the step-by-step instructions below.
Step 1: Open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, using the installation commands outlined below, install the dependencies required to build Xpadneo.
Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install dkms git linux-headers-`uname -r`
Fedora
sudo dnf install dkms make bluez bluez-tools git kernel-devel-`uname -r` kernel-headers-`uname -r`
Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S dkms linux-headers bluez bluez-utils git
Step 2: Using the Git tool in the Linux command-line, download the latest release of Xpadneo to your PC.
git clone https://github.com/atar-axis/xpadneo.git
Step 3: Move the terminal window into the xpadneo folder with the CD command and run the install.sh script to install the Xpadneo kernel module, effectively disabling Ertm forever on your Linux system.
cd xpadneo sudo ./install.sh
When the installation of Xpadneo is finished on your Linux PC, reboot it. Upon logging back in, Ertm will be shut off and your Xbox One controller will be ready to pair.
Conclusion
An Xbox controller, once detected, will not cause problems. Setting the connection up is where you might run into trouble but installing the driver for it manually is a sure-fix. Make sure the hardware i.e., the controller itself isn’t damaged and all buttons are working. If you’re running apps to remap the controller, quit them all.
