How to Fix Xbox One Controller Lag and Freezes in Windows 10

I don’t own an Xbox One, but I always heard about how great the controller feels. I normally just use an Xbox 360 controller when gaming on PC, but I recently found a sale on Amazon to pick up the controller for $20 off. At first, I was pretty excited to use the controller. The triggers and all of the other buttons have a perfect feel to them. I definitely understand why so many people seem to prefer this controller when gaming on PC. Unfortunately, I had a very weird issue with my controller where it would sometimes become unresponsive, laggy, or randomly stop working. If I was playing Rocket League, for example, my controller input would freeze and my car would begin driving in circles. I would have to unplug the controller and plug it back in to get it to work, but that would only work for a few minutes.

These are the steps I followed to resolve my issue:

  1. On Windows 10, open the Xbox Accessories App, which is available in the Windows app store.
  2. Update the controller’s firmware, which will need to be connected via USB.
  3. Restart your pc.
  4. Make sure controller is plugged into a USB 2.0 port and not a 3.0 port

After completing those steps, my issue went away entirely. I went from having a controller that barely worked to one that works perfectly.

Edward Hyman

Besides gaming, I'm really into technology in general.