Microsoft xbox wireless adapter for windows

You can easily plug an Xbox One controller (or the excellent, expensive Xbox Elite Wireless Controller ($289.28 at Amazon) ) into your Windows 10 PC with a USB cable and play most games. These gamepads are wireless, though, and tethering yourself to your computer via a cable isn’t exactly fun. That’s where the Microsoft Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows comes in. This $24.99 USB dongle lets you connect up to eight Xbox One ($200.00 at eBay) controllers to your Windows PC wirelessly. It’s easy to use and works well, but you need Microsoft’s latest gear and software to take advantage of it—the adapter only works with Windows 10 and Xbox One wireless controllers.

Design and Setup
The adapter is a black USB stick measuring 3.4 by 1.1 by 0.3 inches (HWD). It bears the Xbox logo and a small indicator light on one of its faces, and a glossy black pairing button on the side. Unlike the Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter, the Xbox One adapter lacks a built-in cable for placing it wherever is most convenient. Instead, it comes with a separate USB extender cable, so you can choose between the neatness of having the adapter plugged directly into your computer and the flexibility a cable provides.

Setting up the adapter is a simple process: Just plug it in and your computer will identify it. After that, all you need to do is pair it with a compatible controller by placing the controller in pairing mode and holding the button on the side of the adapter for a few seconds. When the Xbox logo on the adapter stops flashing and glows steadily, it’s paired with your computer. You might have to update the firmware on your controller, which you can do with a wired USB connection through the gamepad’s micro USB port and the Windows 10 Xbox Accessories app. This is also a simple, prompt-driven process, and one you can do even more easily (and wirelessly) if you have an Xbox One.

The adapter supports up to eight Xbox One controllers, with up to four chat headsets or two stereo headsets connected between them. The inability for every connected player to have a headset is disappointing, but you can at least have four with headsets at any one time.

Peformance and Conclusions
The adapter worked perfectly with my PC and the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller. I could perform the same customizations I could with the Xbox One, and I used the gamepad to reliably play Axiom Verge, Fallout 4, and Freedom Planet. The connection was responsive, both at my desk and on my couch. According to Microsoft, the Xbox One controllers have a range of 30 feet. I found the adapter to reliably keep a connection all through my apartment, at least 20 feet from my PC.

If you have a Windows 10 PC and don’t have a gamepad picked out yet, the Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows makes it easy to get up and running wirelessly with an Xbox controller. The Xbox One gamepad is very good, and the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller is even better (though pricey), and you can connect up to eight of either with one $25 stick. Alternatively, you can use a Bluetooth adapter and a wide variety of other wireless gamepads, including the PlayStation 4’s ($799.95 at Amazon)  DualShock 4 controller, but Microsoft’s solution is the most consistently supported method for Windows 10.