Windows Xbox One Controller connection problems

[anarchi]

I have a Mac Pro 5,1 with a variety of upgrades. I have been running Mac OS on one disk and Windows 10 on another for a long time. I use Windows for games and Mac OS for everything else. I have had a Bluetooth capable Xbox One controller for the last three years and have connected it to the Windows side (original Mac Pro Bluetooth 2.0) without any problems.

I recently upgraded the internal Bluetooth on the Mac Pro to 4.0 (Wifi and Bluetooth card replacement) and the Xbox controller continued to connect to Windows without any problems.

Yesterday I decided on a whim to see if the controller would connect to the Mac OS, and it did. However, when I switched to Windows, the controller would no longer connect over Bluetooth to Windows 10.

In the Bluetooth control panel — when I turn the controller on for the first time or if I turn Bluetooth off and then on again in the control panel — it shows “connected” momentarily (and if Steam is running there’s a brief pop-up telling me the name of the controller) and then flicks back to “paired” and the light on the controller just sits there and flashes slowly. I tried deleting the connection in Windows, but that didn’t work as the control panel keeps telling me that it has failed to delete. I can’t reconnect as a new device because the old connection won’t delete.

Oh ye who know so much more than I, how can I repair the consequences of my folly and reconnect the controller to Windows?

 

[diamond.g]

Set up Bluetooth on your Xbox Wireless Controller | Xbox Support

Get help with connecting your Xbox Wireless Controller to your devices via Bluetooth and troubleshooting Bluetooth connection issues.

support.xbox.com

None of these suggestions work? I am not sure the controller can be connected to more than one host via Bluetooth at a time.

 

[anarchi]

Thanks for this. Yes, I tried all of those. I can't unpair the controller because "remove device" fails each time. I ran the command line sfc/scannow, which is supposed to fix registry issues, but "remove device" in the Bluetooth control panel still fails each time.

The controller can only be connected to one device at a time, but I already deleted the connection to the Mac OS, so that shouldn't be the problem. Is it reasonable to think that the problem has something to do with the fact I connected it to the Mac OS, or is that just a coincidence?

 

[anarchi]

Well I managed to solve the problem — although without finding an explanation for why it occurred in the first place.

I found a solution to not being able to delete the device (Xbox Controller) from the Bluetooth control panel.

A long time ago I plugged an Asus Bluetooth 4.0 dongle into my Mac Pro to see if it would improve reception and upgrade the connections. It didn’t, so I unplugged it and threw it in the box of old computer stuff. However, on the Windows side Windows 10 had installed drivers for the dongle and associated the Xbox controller with it (even though the controller still connected and worked without the dongle). This is why I could not delete the controller connection from the Bluetooth control panel. To solve this, I did the following:

Found the dongle, plugged it in and restarted into Windows.

Turned on Flight Mode in Windows, then opened the Device manager and under Bluetooth, uninstalled the Asus dongle (clicking “yes” to all the warnings of imminent destruction). Turned Flight mode off and restarted Windows.

Went to the Bluetooth control panel in the Settings and deleted the Xbox controller connection (and this time it worked). Restarted Windows.

Reconnected the Xbox controller using Add New Device (for some reason it appears under pointing devices and not under the add Xbox controllers section).

Everything is now fine, but I have no Idea why it refused to connect in the first place. Was it anything to do with having connected it to the Mac OS side or did I just have a random brush with an imp who decided to mess up my day for fun?

Lesson learned: Use the Sony DualShock controller for the Mac and the Xbox One controller for Windows and do not try to mix the two.

Thanks for your support.