Can An Xbox Controller Work On A Pc

The Xbox Wireless Gamepad might have Xbox in the proper name, but you lot aren't limited to pairing it with just a console. The controller pairs to Windows 10, too, letting yous employ it wirelessly with any compatible PC game. Hither'due south what you need to do to starting time using your Xbox gamepad with your PC.

Figure Out Which Xbox Controller You Ain

How to identify your Xbox One controller

To start, the Xbox Wireless Gamepad included with the Xbox Series South/Ten, and now widely bachelor as the Xbox Wireless Gamepad, is about identical to the Xbox One's controller. They both support Xbox wireless advice and Bluetooth, and the methods for connecting them to your PC are identical. The instructions hither apply to both gamepad generations.

Original Xbox Ane controllers lack wireless connectivity, simply the gamepads that shipped with the Xbox One Southward and later consoles include Xbox wireless communication and Bluetooth. You can use both controllers wirelessly with your PC, but the process is unlike; you lot must become a wireless dongle for the non-Bluetooth gamepads. The adept news is that Bluetooth controllers take been in production for and then long that if you picked yours up in the final four years, at that place'due south a good chance that information technology already has Bluetooth.

To determine whether you lot accept a Bluetooth or non-Bluetooth Xbox controller, you demand to look at the plastic surrounding the Guide button. If information technology'south the same plastic as the face of the controller, without any seams, you have a Bluetooth gamepad. If it'southward the same plastic equally the bumper buttons, with a seam betwixt the Guide button and the controller's face, it's a non-Bluetooth gamepad. If it has a minor, rectangular Capture button between the Bill of fare and View buttons, and a USB-C port on the top instead of micro USB, it's an Xbox Series controller and besides has Bluetooth.

Connect Your Xbox Controller to PC With a Wired Connection

This is very simple, but you exercise need a concrete cable connecting the controller to your PC. Here'south how you lot practice it.

Plug ane end of your USB-to-micro USB or USB-to-USB-C (depending on the version of controller) cable into the controller.
Plug the other cease into your PC

That's information technology! It will automatically configure under Windows 10 and piece of work with virtually whatever game on your PC.

Connect Your Xbox Controller to PC With Bluetooth

Pairing the Xbox controller with your PC over Bluetooth is about the same equally pairing it with your Xbox Ane or Xbox Series. Yous activate the controller by belongings downwards the Guide button, then hold the Pairing button for three seconds until the Guide button flashes. This means it'south in pairing mode. If yous're connecting the controller to a panel, you hold the Pairing button on the system itself. If yous're connecting the controller to a Windows x PC, you lot need to get through some menus. You also need a Bluetooth USB dongle if your PC doesn't have Bluetooth. Here's the full footstep-by-step procedure:

Concord the Guide button to turn on the controller.
Hold the Pairing button for three seconds until the Guide button flashes.
Right-click the Bluetooth icon in your arrangement tray.
Click "Add a Bluetooth Device."
Click "Add Bluetooth or other Device" and select Bluetooth.
Click "Xbox Wireless Controller." Await until the Guide push is solid white, and the Bluetooth bill of fare says the controller is continued.

You lot tin at present employ the Xbox Wireless Gamepad with your PC, and play the vast majority of modern games that support controllers. However, you can't utilize the headset jack on the gamepad, just like Sony's DualShock 4 and DualSense controllers. Although you lot can apply a wired gaming headset with a controller and its associated game system, sound isn't sent through the jack when it'southward connected to a PC via Bluetooth.

Connect Your Xbox Controller to PC With a USB Adapter

If you lot have an older Xbox One controller, or you just want to use your newer 1 with Microsoft's proprietary wireless connection instead of Bluetooth (and get headset connectivity), you need to get the Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows 10. It'due south a USB dongle designed to connect directly to your Xbox gamepad without whatsoever Bluetooth setup or pairing. All you demand to do is plug in the dongle and pair it to your controller merely as if you were pairing your Xbox, pressing the Pairing button on each device.

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This $25 adapter has some benefits over Bluetooth. For starters, yous can utilise up to eight gamepads with the adapter, while Microsoft recommends using just ane at a time with Bluetooth. The headset jack is as well enabled if y'all use the adapter, with adaptable settings in the Xbox app for Windows x.

How to Connect Other Game Controllers to PC

We besides have tips for connecting Nintendo Switch and PS4 controllers to your PC. For more controller advice, check out our guide on how to choose the right controller for your PC.

Once you're gear up to starting time playing, bank check out our favorite PC games. And if you're a PlayStation gamer, read up on how to utilize a PS4 DualShock 4 controller on a PC. Nosotros walk you through the surprisingly complicated process.

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