Making your wireless controllers work with your game console is a little different from just plugging it in, but luckily, console makers have made syncing wireless controllers pretty easy.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t issues with wireless controllers, though. On the Xbox One, syncing controllers is easy, but there are lots of ways to troubleshoot them if any problems arise. Here’s what you need to know to sync your Xbox One with your controllers, and deal with any problems that arise. And if you want to sync your Xbox controller to PC instead, we have a guide for that, too.
Power up your controller and turn on your Xbox One
Syncing your controller means powering it up. Xbox One controllers take AA batteries, but you can also get rechargeable battery packs for your controllers as well. Either way, make sure your controllers are juiced up before attempting to pair them — not enough power is often the cause of connectivity problems (or problems that seem like connectivity problems).
With the controller charged or fresh batteries in, turn it on by pressing the Xbox button in the center of it. Then hit the power button on the console.
Find the connect button on the Xbox One
To pair your controller to your Xbox One, you’ll need to activate the connection on both the console and the controller. First, locate the connection button on the console. On the original Xbox One, you’ll find that button on the left side of the console, near the disc tray.
On the Xbox One X and Xbox One S, the connection button is on the bottom right corner of the front of the console, beneath the power button. That should start the white Xbox logo blinking, indicating that the console is searching for a controller signal.
Press the connect button on the controller
Once you hit the connect button on the Xbox One, you’ll have 20 seconds to provide it a signal to make a connection by pressing the black connect button on the top side of the controller. Both Xbox logos on the controller and console will blink while they’re searching for connection; when they find each other, both logos will become solid, indicating the controller has synced with the console.
Repeat the process with any other controllers you want to sync to the Xbox, up to a total of eight.
Customize your controller profiles
After you’ve synced your controls to your console, you can also what happens when you turn one on. Press the Xbox button on the controller to bring up the main menu, then navigate to the gear icon to pull up the Settings menu. Find “Kinect and Devices” and navigate there to find your controllers. On the Controller menu, you can set which profiles, if any, each controller signs in when you turn it on once you’ve synced it, as well as security measures to control who can sign into different accounts on your Xbox.
Use a USB cable
You’re not stuck only using Xbox controllers wirelessly (and going through tons of batteries if you don’t have rechargeable battery packs for them). You can also plug them into your Xbox One with cables. Plug a USB Micro B cable into your controller and you can connect it directly to the console. The cable can act as a power source for the controller, so you won’t need batteries or a rechargeable battery pack, and you can still change controller settings in the Controller menu.
Update your controller’s firmware
If you’re having connectivity problems, it may be that your controller’s internal software is out of date. You can update that firmware from your Xbox One console, which can solve some issues. Head to the Settings menu and the “Kinect and Devices” menu, where you’ll find each of your connected controllers, either with a wireless connection or connected by USB. From this menu, select the controller you want to update and choose the “…” beneath the “Controller” button. From here, you’ll get a menu that allows you to check for firmware updates, which could potentially fix any issues you’re dealing with.
If your controller isn’t connecting, check for interference
When having trouble with getting your Xbox One controllers to sync with the console, you’ll want to troubleshoot the area where you play (if you’ve already made sure it’s not just that your controller’s batteries are dead, or that you’ve already synced the maximum of eight controllers with the console). First, make sure you’re playing close enough to your Xbox One — 19 to 28 feet is as far as the signal can reach, but walls, laptops, and even other accessories plugged into your Xbox One can interrupt the signal and mess with your controllers.
If you’re having issues, try moving the controller closer to the Xbox. Unplug any other USB accessories from the console, and try moving other electronics away from the Xbox One and the controller, to make sure there’s no other interference. You can also try removing metallic objects from the area between your controller and your Xbox One, and also try turning off the console and turning it back on to reset the connection.
If that still doesn’t clean up your connectivity issues, you might want to check Microsoft’s Xbox One support website for more possibilities, or start to consider that you might have a broken controller on your hands.
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