Imagine playing Xbox with the boys and all of a sudden your controller shuts off on you in the heat of a game, or you are setting up a game and the controller keeps turning off after you put it on. It can be a real pain and if you are someone who keeps wondering why your Xbox controller keeps shutting off, this article will answer your questions and next time it happens you will know how to handle the situation and it wouldn’t mean game over.
All electrical devices are bound to run into some problems at some point and the Xbox is no different. A minor issue experienced by Xbox users is the controller completely shutting off in-game. There could be several reasons that you fall into this scenario. Sometimes you may not be in a close enough range to the console or a battery issue. Other factors will be discussed in this article.
Why Does my Xbox Controller Turn on Then off
As mentioned earlier, there could be several reasons why your Xbox controller may get disconnected from your console repeatedly, reasons are
- Weak batteries
- Firmware software needs to be updated
- The controller could be too far away from the Xbox game console
- Having too many devices connected to the console at once
Why Does My Xbox Controller Keep Turning Off with Fully Charged Batteries?
In the past, this issue has been encountered by a lot of people and fixing it was not so easy, new controllers don’t seem to have this issue anymore because Microsoft has resolved it already. But if you are still using one of the old controllers there are two methods you can attempt.
Fixing the Battery Compartment
The way Microsoft designed the controller provided some battery space and they could easily be disconnected even with the slightest flinch. And this space was put for the expansion and the contraction of the batteries because they are likely to encounter some temperature changes.
Updating the Controller Firmware
Microsoft team has certainly worked on this issue because the problem isn’t seen in the new controllers, so updating the controller’s firmware will be the best next option. And it is a quite simple process, I’ll give you a quick breakdown
- Connect a controller to your console with a USB cable
- Sign in to your Xbox Live account
- Press the Xbox button on the controller to open “Home Page”
- Select Profile & system
- Click settings
- Click Devices & connections
- Click on accessories and select the controller you want to update
- Check for new updates and follow all the instructions listed
How Can I Stop My Xbox Controller From Shutting Off By Itself?
If after updating the firmware and the issue persists then there are a couple of simple things that you can do to the controller. Move the controller position. When playing a game on the Xbox, move closer to the console and see if it makes any difference. If this method works it means that you were simply too far away from the Xbox and if it doesn’t no worries I still got more tips.
Replace the batteries
Sometimes you may have low batteries or faulty batteries so you can try changing the batteries to see if you notice any changes. If your controller battery is rechargeable, leave it to charge for a couple of hours and see if it works.
Power cycle the Xbox
If every attempt still comes to a dead-end, you will need to power cycle the Xbox by holding the big X button( the Xbox button) on the console for more than 10 seconds or till you hear a beep sound which means it’s off. Do the same thing again to power it back up to complete the power cycle, doing this will allow for all the components to reset by themselves and after this reconnect the controller again.
Unpair and pair the controller
Maybe the controller is not the problem but the problem is caused by a minor glitch when you were pairing the Xbox to the controller. Just to make sure that this is not the case you may need to unpair and pair the controller again.
Try a different controller
And if after all this, the controller still doesn’t come around you may need to try a different one, borrow one from a pal and try it out to see if it works, if it does you will need to invest in a new controller and if it doesn’t then I am afraid that the problem may be from the Xbox console itself.
Contact the Xbox support
In the past, Microsoft has replaced faulty controls lots of times because most times the problem comes from them. So if any of the tips above did not help you then you can try contacting Xbox support.
Conclusion
Your game controllers are key if you want to have a good gaming experience and if your Xbox controller is faulty sometimes it may be from the design or you just need to make some simple adjustments and it will be right as rain.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I Keep My Xbox Controller From Turning Off?
The Xbox controller turns off automatically after being idle for a long time but if you want to stop this automatic shut down, you can head over to settings and disable the auto-sleep feature.
- What could cause signal interference between the Xbox console and the controller?
Items like metal shelves, phones, or laptops between your controller and the console may cause signal interference.
- Why does my controller flash once and turns off?
This happens to tell you that your controller requires an update.
