Since Xbox One is Microsoft’s own flagship controller, it did work but had many problems too. One of the problems which the users experienced the most was that the controller would disconnect randomly after playing for long periods of time. After you turn it on, it will function properly for a short time before disconnecting again. This caused a lot of frustration among the gamers as Xbox One controller is one of the most used controllers in the gaming industry. It behaving randomly and causing problems means that you cannot use it without any interruptions as you did before.
We have listed down some of the fixes that you can try and implement on your PC. Before you go over this guide, refer to this one, and try the methods listed. If they don’t work for you, you can always navigate back and try the solutions listed here.
Solution 1: Disable NVIDIA wireless controller service
NVIDIA wireless controller service is installed by default whenever you install NVIDIA drivers to help you with your controller. You can configure settings and also implement buttons for ease of access. It turns out that the NVIDIA wireless controller service conflicts with Xbox One controller. Tons of users reported that disabling the service instantly fixed their problem of the controller disconnecting again and again.
Using Services.msc
Using Task Manager
Using AutoRun
Autorun is a third party application, which you can use to see which processes and services launch whenever you start your PC. These services also include hidden ones such as Internet Explorer, File Explorer, etc. We can try disabling the NVIDIA wireless controller service using this software. When you disable an application from the AutoRun interface, it changes the registry and sets the application’s value as 0, thus preventing it from running.
Now restart your computer, plug in your controller, and check if the problem still persists.
Solution 2: Uninstall NVIDIA Geforce Experience
Many Graphics hardware manufacturers traditionally offer a control panel where you can easily change the settings of your Graphics driver. There are basically two graphic control panels offered by NVIDIA. One is the classic NVIDIA Control Panel. You can access this by right-clicking on your Desktop and selecting the NVIDIA control panel. It has all the controls needed to tweak your gaming experience such as changing your refresh rate and removing shadows etc.
But the experience can get overwhelming if you are not a geek and don’t understand the technical terms involved. That’s where NVIDIA introduced the NVIDIA Geforce Experience. It is also a control panel but it is more user-friendly with some additional features as well such as ShadowPlay or Game streaming etc.
As we all know, these kinds of software have a lot of system settings at their disposal to ensure that your PC runs in the most optimized way possible. NVIDIA Geforce Experience is also known to cause problems and conflicts with your XBOX controller. You can try disabling it or uninstalling it to check if your problem gets resolved. If it does, you can switch to the classic control panel for NVIDIA to change your graphic settings or optimize your gaming experience. If after uninstalling you confirm that this isn’t the problem, you can reinstall it very easily. The download link is readily available in the NVIDIA official website.
Solution 3: Quitting Steam
Steam is one of the largest digital distributors of video games in the world. Their revolutionary idea led to the huge development of online video gaming. The trend started with PC games and eventually crept towards other platforms such as PlayStation and Xbox. Steam is a giant in harboring thousands of games and providing a platform for the developers to release them. However, despite frequent updates rolled out by the client, there are many known conflicts. One of them being with the Xbox One controller. As we all know, Steam has access to all the major system hardware and services. It configures them to optimize the gaming experience it promises to its users. There is no known cause why this is so, but disabling Steam and reconnecting the controller seems to do the trick.
If the problem still persists, you can try disabling Steam and NVIDIA Geforce experience (if you haven’t uninstalled it yet). You can end the NVIDIA Geforce experience process in a similar way that we did to Steam. Just open the task manager and after locating the process, end it. Check if the controller stopped disconnecting randomly, if it still didn’t, move on to the other solutions listed below.
Solution 4: Disabling Power Saving for the Controller
There are enhancements made to the Windows OS to ensure that you get the optimum amount of power-saving. Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power feature turns off/disconnects any device which is not in use for a specific period of time. While this can be a very useful feature, it is a pain when it comes to the Xbox One controller. Once the computer disables it, Xbox goes into a bugged mode where after you even connect it, it will disconnect automatically after some time. We can try disabling this option and checking if this solves the problem.
Solution 5: Checking your Xbox One Controller
There can be many cases where your Xbox One batteries are low and because of that, the controller keeps shutting itself down again and again. You can try checking the batteries if they working and replace them if they are weak. The controllers consume a lot of battery if they are in use frequently so don’t be alarmed if the new battery you just placed is about to drain way. You can also connect your Xbox One controller through USB instead of connecting it wirelessly. The USB connection ensures that your Xbox won’t have any connection problems or interference. Nor will there be so much battery drainage as the wireless option won’t be in use. Next, you should check if your Xbox One controller software is updated. You can download Xbox accessories from the Microsoft store and check if there are any updates available for your controller. You can read the detailed guide on how to update your Xbox One controller from here. After updating the controller, implement the Solution # 4 and disable the power saving. Then restart your computer and connect your controller with your PC preferably through a USB. Check if the frequent disconnecting error got resolved. Note: Do note that sometimes, it is also the case where the game you are playing also configures the settings of the controller. It may put it in the power saver mode or set a timeout to disconnect the controller if you don’t use it. Always check the game’s settings and see if there are any settings present which may be causing the problem.
Solution 6: Updating NVIDIA drivers
Like we mentioned earlier, there can be a conflict with NVIDIA and the Xbox One controller. A lot of people reported that NVIDIA caused the problem in their PC’s alongside Steam. The reason for this is that NVIDIA has access to most of the computer’s system files and configurations. It keeps changing and tweaking them to ensure that you get the best graphic experience available from your PC. NVIDIA rolls out new drivers every once in a while which contains improvements and bug fixes. The issue between NVIDIA and the Xbox One controller can be resolved if the update contains the bug fix. So it is worth a try to update the drivers. You can easily find how to update your NVIDIA drivers from our article here. It is advised that your resort to the option of Clean Install while installing the drivers. Once you have updated the drivers, restart your computer for the changes to take effect and check if the problem got fixed.
Solution 7: Re-enable the Game Controller in Device Manager
Another solution that users affected by these two issues have found quite effective is going into their computer’s Device Manager and then disabling and re-enabling the Game Controller. In order to use this solution, you need to: Note: If the problem still doesn’t get fixed, try plugging in another working Xbox One controller on your PC and check if it works properly. If the new controller doesn’t have any problem and doesn’t disconnect like this one, it means there is some problem with your controller and not with your computer. You can also try changing the USB ports to see if there is any effect. Try changing between USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. Avoid plugging the controller in the USB hub which contains a lot of USB ports.
Solution 8: Moving away from Electrical Appliances
Another thing to try is moving the controllers away from any electrical appliances. These appliances are known to emit waves that disrupt the operation of the controllers. Whenever there is a disruption when the controller is operating, the controller disconnects from the console or the computer. What you can do is observe next time whenever a call comes or you turn on your microwave. If you notice a pattern, either move the controller away or don’t use the appliance when you are using the controller.
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