Xbox Series Controllers Seem To Have Multi-Device Support

Total Cereal · Oct 23, 2020

Xbox tweeted out the official page for the new controller, and on the page, there is an interesting bit about what seems to be multi-device support:

"Easily pair and switch between devices including Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, and Android. iOS support coming in the future.* "

This seems to mean that you can have one controller synced to multiple devices at a time and easily swap between those devices without having to re-pair every time. This is similar to the Stadia controller, where you can move around and seamlessly use the controller on whatever device you're currently playing on. Has this been a known feature for the new controller? I haven't seen anything about it until now, and it's IMO a really big one. I have 3 Xbox controllers (1 for my Xbox, 1 for my PC, and 1 for my phone) so to be able to use only 1 controller between them would be a game-changer.

Garrett 2U · Oct 23, 2020

This would be great. I use a single controller on my console, PC, and iPhone. It is kind of a pain to switch every time.

nsilvias · Oct 23, 2020

yeah they mentioned a while back that they have internal memory to remember your devices now.

Timlot · Oct 23, 2020

I would be shocked if you didn't have to pair them after using them on console, because the Xbox uses a proprietary wireless format for controllers.

EvilBoris · Oct 23, 2020

That would be great; it's a pain when you have to resync

KazeSim · Oct 23, 2020

Oh please be true!

Meg Cherry · Oct 23, 2020

This would be really great, and makes perfect sense with Microsoft's larger plans to have their ecosystem exist between xCloud, PC, and Xbox simutaniously.

Mantrox · Oct 23, 2020

That's a very nice feature.
I would use that.

HardRojo · Oct 23, 2020

Yeah this is nice for those switching between console, PC and phone.

LavaBadger · Oct 23, 2020

That would be very nice. I'm not sure I read that in what you've quoted though.

PaulLFC · Oct 23, 2020

This is awesome.

cgpartlow · Oct 23, 2020

This sounds like a great feature and a good reason to upgrade my controllers. I hate using my controller with multiple devices because you constantly have to re-sync which each device.

Digital Savior · Oct 23, 2020

Most excellent. Just need an Elite Series 3 announcement next.

imbarkus · Oct 23, 2020

nsilvias said:
yeah they mentioned a while back that they have internal memory to remember your devices now.

Oh man this is pretty cool actially

MrBenchmark · Oct 23, 2020

How will this work say I have my PC and Xbox in same room which one is gonna turn on when I press the button

bsigg · Oct 23, 2020

This has been known since March

Xbox Wire: What steps did you take to ensure compatibility and improved connectivity?

Ryan Whitaker: Designing for compatibility and connectivity has a wide range of implications. Some improvements are completely invisible and work in the background. Others help define the shape of the controller.

First, we're supporting cross-compatibility between Xbox Series X and Xbox One consoles and controllers. They all work together with the same great Xbox Wireless Radio. Gamers can also play on more devices including PC, Android, and iOS. We're implementing Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE) so that pairing to these devices is much easier. The new controller also remembers multiple devices so switching between them is more seamless. And a USB-C port allows gamers to play and charge with a modern cable that's more readily available.

Xbox Series X: Making Gaming's Best Controller Even Better - Xbox Wire

Total Cereal · Oct 23, 2020

LavaBadger said:
That would be very nice. I'm not sure I read that in what you've quoted though.

The wording is a bit vague and I replied to the original tweet asking for clarification, but this would really make sense in an ecosystem that isn't defined by a single device.

Total Cereal · Oct 23, 2020

bsigg said:
This has been known since March

Xbox Series X: Making Gaming's Best Controller Even Better - Xbox Wire

Good catch! Looks like it HAS been known, and confirmed. Now the question is how many devices does it remember? And how does it know which device you're playing on?

sibarraz · Oct 23, 2020

That's a game changer for me, I always 2 xbox controllers, one for the console and other for PC, so when I wanted to use 2 of them in 1 device it was a pain in the ass

killa2max · Oct 23, 2020

This is amazing if true. I switch between PC and Xbox fairly often. Currently I just dedicate controllers to one or the other so I don't have to re-sync frequently.

imbarkus · Oct 23, 2020

MrBenchmark said:
How will this work say I have my PC and Xbox in same room which one is gonna turn on when I press the button

Everything turns on. ALL SYSTEMS GO!!!

thePopaShots · Oct 23, 2020

I may pick one up just to have a better experience playing w/a controller on PC. My DS4 is super wonky when playing games like Forza Horizon on PC Games Pass.

kmfdmpig · Oct 23, 2020

That's my one complaint with the current Xbox One controller - I use PC and Android with it and constantly pairing is a hassle. If this can cover both of those and the console I'll be thrilled.

imbarkus · Oct 23, 2020

kmfdmpig said:
That's my one complaint with the current Xbox One controller - I use PC and Android with it and constantly pairing is a hassle. If this can cover both of those and the console I'll be thrilled.

Mine locks up now and then and I have to pull the batteries to reset it.

Spinluck · Oct 23, 2020

Debating on pulling the trigger now or waiting for them to do another Elite.

cyrribrae · Oct 23, 2020

Oo this will be great. I actually ended up just wiring my controllers because I got so tired of taking my controller up and down (only one of my controllers has bluetooth, and I'm using the Xbox adapter elsewhere with the Adaptive Controller in an appropriate use case, so I don't want to be pulling out the adapter frivolously).

Wired does work, though. But I would be very happy if I could be freed from sitting 6 inches in front of the screen. (I generally have in the past and probably still will.. but.. options).

MrBenchmark · Oct 23, 2020

imbarkus said:
Everything turns on. ALL SYSTEMS GO!!!

Classic ad love it. It'll be like when I had the Xbox one and 360 next to each other with my harmony remote they are on the same frequency.

Jedi2016 · Oct 23, 2020

Not sure how this would work, to be honest, unless there's a way to specifically tell the controller what to pair to at any given time. The two devices I would have it connected to are separated by about fifteen feet with only one wall between them, so it can easily trigger both systems from either room.

Uhtred · Oct 23, 2020

Killer feature. Always need to pair every time I move from laptop to my pc to my TV.

MattB · Oct 23, 2020

Just preordered that blue one.

Jogi · Oct 23, 2020

Total Cereal said:
Xbox tweeted out the official page for the new controller, and on the page, there is an interesting bit about what seems to be multi-device support:

"Easily pair and switch between devices including Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, and Android. iOS support coming in the future.* "

This seems to mean that you can have one controller synced to multiple devices at a time and easily swap between those devices without having to re-pair every time. This is similar to the Stadia controller, where you can move around and seamlessly use the controller on whatever device you're currently playing on. Has this been a known feature for the new controller? I haven't seen anything about it until now, and it's IMO a really big one. I have 3 Xbox controllers (1 for my Xbox, 1 for my PC, and 1 for my phone) so to be able to use only 1 controller between them would be a game-changer.

One of the best things about Stadia TBH. Freely moving around with the controller with no need to sync is a godsend.

Couleurs · Oct 23, 2020

Jedi2016 said:
Not sure how this would work, to be honest, unless there's a way to specifically tell the controller what to pair to at any given time. The two devices I would have it connected to are separated by about fifteen feet with only one wall between them, so it can easily trigger both systems from either room.

Yeah my PC is pretty close to my TV, so I'm curious how it would know whether I'm trying to play on my Xbox or PC. Either way, great news.

mentok15 · Oct 23, 2020

This will be great for streaming to mobile.

DeoGame · Oct 23, 2020

Fucking Finally!!!

demondance · Oct 23, 2020

So how does this work? How does it know which device you intend to use it on?

CO_Andy · Oct 23, 2020

that's a feature of the bluetooth 5.0 chip inside the controller if i'm not mistaken

unrelated but i highly recommend getting a bluetooth 5.0 adapter on pc.

fixed my latency and connection issues with the XBO and Switch Pro controllers

dep9000 · Oct 23, 2020

EvilBoris said:
That would be great; it's a pain when you have to resync

Is it that big of a pain? Don't you just push the sync buttons? Takes a few seconds

DarthWalden · Oct 23, 2020

This has been known for a while (at least I knew it) and its a fantastic feature espeically as someone that constantly goes between phone and Xbox.

ElNino · Oct 23, 2020

dep9000 said:
Is it that big of a pain? Don't you just push the sync buttons? Takes a few seconds

For me it's less about how long it takes to sync and more that just turning on the controller in order to sync to a new device often turns on the previous device is was synced to.

For my kids, I ended up getting enough controllers for each room in the house so that they didn't need to move controllers around and resync.

shark97 · Oct 23, 2020

this is great.

however how do you determine which device the controller will pair/connect with when there are multiple? i'm confused.

K' Dash · Oct 23, 2020

Garrett 2U said:
This would be great. I use a single controller on my console, PC, and iPhone. It is kind of a pain to switch every time.

Same here, this will be great for me.

shark97 · Oct 23, 2020

ElNino said:
For me it's less about how long it takes to sync and more that just turning on the controller in order to sync to a new device often turns on the previous device is was synced to.

For my kids, I ended up getting enough controllers for each room in the house so that they didn't need to move controllers around and resync.

yup, just turning on xbox controller automatically turns on the xbox if it's anywhere nearby. then its locked to that xbox. to get around this, i literally have manually walk over and unplug my xbox to use the controller on anything else such as an android tablet (small house). Annoying.

prophetvx · Oct 23, 2020

This will be interesting to see how it plays out, I'd imagine that's more annoying than useful?
I want to turn on the controller to play on my phone, yet it turns on the xbox and vice versa. It's not like the device has the capability to select which paired device you want to use. Using wireless headphones on multiple devices is a huge pain in the ass that I actively avoid, I can't imagine this would play out any better.

EvilBoris · Oct 23, 2020

dep9000 said:
Is it that big of a pain? Don't you just push the sync buttons? Takes a few seconds

I'd take doing nothing over doing something.
Even using my controller with my PC or phone and going to turn on my Xbox with my pad and realising I can't is enough of an irritant to not use it.

dep9000 · Oct 23, 2020

ElNino said:
For me it's less about how long it takes to sync and more that just turning on the controller in order to sync to a new device often turns on the previous device is was synced to.

For my kids, I ended up getting enough controllers for each room in the house so that they didn't need to move controllers around and resync.

Okay, yeah that's a good point.

C.Mongler · Oct 23, 2020

MrBenchmark said:
How will this work say I have my PC and Xbox in same room which one is gonna turn on when I press the button

Yeah this is what I'm wondering too. Is there like a device switch or something? I've got a Bluetooth keyboard that has a dial with a 1, 2, 3 on it that I can turn to swap between paired devices, though not sure where something like that would go on an Xbox controller. Maybe if you hold the Xbox button and one of the face buttons (A, B, X, or Y) it will turn on with one of the pairing profiles? Idk, all I can think of.

dep9000 said:
Is it that big of a pain? Don't you just push the sync buttons? Takes a few seconds

I mean in the grand scheme of all the things in life that can be a pain, sure, it's negligible, but it can still be annoying. The worst is BE-BOO-BEEP!, the Xbox turns on. Then I have get up and go turn the Xbox off, and most likely find the remote and turn off the TV center too since it usually powers that on as well. Occasionally I can think it's synced to my PC, boot up a game, and low and behold it was actually connected to my phone in my pocket, so I gotta quit out and actually sync it. On top of that, pairing the Xbox controller over Bluetooth on my PC can be a huge pain in the ass, and occasionally doesn't work without rebooting or deleting shit out of the Device Manager or just unless the thing feels like working. I got so tired of it that I picked up the official dongle, so that's less of an issue for me now, but I know some people have the same issues on their setup.

Total Cereal · Oct 23, 2020

Xbox replied to my tweet asking for clarification, so it looks like it's officially official. Pretty exciting! We still need details on how exactly it will work, which seems like something someone would cover in a prerelease review of the controller. We'll have to wait and see.

Myself · Oct 23, 2020

ElNino said:
For me it's less about how long it takes to sync and more that just turning on the controller in order to sync to a new device often turns on the previous device is was synced to.

For my kids, I ended up getting enough controllers for each room in the house so that they didn't need to move controllers around and resync.

Exactly. Multi pair sounds like a recipe for frustration.

nampad · Oct 23, 2020

Sounds great for their xcloud and crossbuy initiatives.

desu · Oct 24, 2020

Should be a standard feature of all controllers ... but good that there is some progress.

Xbox Series Controllers Seem To Have Multi-Device Support

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