How to Connect Wireless Gamepad to Pc

TheXbox Wireless Gamepad might accept Xbox in the name, but you aren't express to pairing it with just a console. The controller pairs to Windows x, too, letting you utilize it wirelessly with whatsoever compatible PC game. Here'south what you demand to do to offset using your Xbox gamepad with your PC.

Figure Out Which Xbox Controller You Ain

How to identify your Xbox One controller

To starting time, the Xbox Wireless Gamepad included with the Xbox Series Due south/X, and at present widely available every bit the Xbox Wireless Gamepad, is almost identical to the Xbox One'southward 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 1 controllers lack wireless connectivity, just the gamepads that shipped with theXbox One Due south and later consoles include Xbox wireless communication and Bluetooth. You can utilize both controllers wirelessly with your PC, simply the procedure is unlike; you must get a wireless dongle for the not-Bluetooth gamepads. The good news is that Bluetooth controllers have been in production for so long that if you picked yours upwards in the last four years, there's a practiced chance that information technology already has Bluetooth.

To decide whether you have a Bluetooth or non-Bluetooth Xbox controller, you need to expect at the plastic surrounding the Guide button. If it's the aforementioned plastic as the face of the controller, without any seams, you lot have a Bluetooth gamepad. If information technology'due south the same plastic as the bumper buttons, with a seam between the Guide push button and the controller's face, it'southward a not-Bluetooth gamepad. If it has a small, rectangular Capture button betwixt the Bill of fare and View buttons, and a USB-C port on the top instead of micro USB, it'southward an Xbox Series controller and also has Bluetooth.

Connect Your Xbox Controller to PC With a Wired Connexion

This is very simple, merely you do need a physical cable connecting the controller to your PC. Hither'due south how you lot do it.

Plug 1 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 end into your PC

That's it! It will automatically configure under Windows 10 and work with virtually any game on your PC.

Connect Your Xbox Controller to PC With Bluetooth

Pairing the Xbox controller with your PC over Bluetooth is virtually the same as pairing information technology with your Xbox I or Xbox Serial. You actuate the controller by holding down the Guide button, then agree the Pairing button for 3 seconds until the Guide button flashes. This means information technology's in pairing manner. If you're connecting the controller to a console, you lot hold the Pairing push button on the system itself. If you're connecting the controller to a Windows 10 PC, you demand to go through some menus. Yous also need a Bluetooth USB dongle if your PC doesn't have Bluetooth. Here'southward the full step-by-step process:

Hold the Guide button to turn on the controller.
Hold the Pairing button for 3 seconds until the Guide button flashes.
Correct-click the Bluetooth icon in your system tray.
Click "Add together a Bluetooth Device."
Click "Add together Bluetooth or other Device" and select Bluetooth.
Click "Xbox Wireless Controller." Wait until the Guide button is solid white, and the Bluetooth bill of fare says the controller is continued.

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

Connect Your Xbox Controller to PC With a USB Adapter

If yous have an older Xbox 1 controller, or you just desire to utilise your newer i with Microsoft's proprietary wireless connection instead of Bluetooth (and get headset connectivity), you demand to get theXbox Wireless Adapter for Windows 10. It'south a USB dongle designed to connect direct to your Xbox gamepad without whatever Bluetooth setup or pairing. All you need to practice is plug in the dongle and pair information technology to your controller just as if yous were pairing your Xbox, pressing the Pairing push on each device.

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This $25 adapter has some benefits over Bluetooth. For starters, you can utilize up to eight gamepads with the adapter, while Microsoft recommends using just i at a time with Bluetooth. The headset jack is also enabled if you use the adapter, with adjustable settings in the Xbox app for Windows ten.

How to Connect Other Game Controllers to PC

We as well 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.

One time you're gear up to showtime playing, check out ourfavorite PC games. And if you're a PlayStation gamer, read upwardly onhow to use a PS4 DualShock 4 controller on a PC. We walk you through the surprisingly complicated procedure.

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