The Three Prong Path to Wireless Freedom When it comes to wireless Xbox 360 on Windows you have three options: the expensive and easy way, the cheap and somewhat frustrating way, and the grey market middle ground. If you’re sitting at your computer desk and not across the living room, for example–then you might just want to skip the whole hassle, just, and be done with it. A wired controller is pure plug and play with no hassle–but if you absolutely must have wireless play at your PC, you’ll need to buy a USB-to-wireless adapter. That’s right, you can’t just connect a wireless Xbox 360 controller to your PC using Bluetooth, or anything like that. Xbox 360 controllers use a propriety 2.4Ghz communication method that need a specific a USB adapter made for the Xbox 360 controller–no substitutes allowed.
This is where the decision making process gets slightly complicated. Microsoft doesn’t sell the adapter by itself. They sell it in a bundle with a wireless controller–but if you already have a wireless controller, you probably don’t want to buy another one just to get the adapter. If you want to buy the adapter separately, you can, but you’ll either be buying a Chinese knockoff product, or an official adapter that’s been separated from its kit by a third party. Picking from these potential options is the most important step in the project. The Official Bundle: Expensive, But Headache-Free If you don’t mind paying a premium (and potentially buying an extra controller you don’t need) then the most frustration-free and guaranteed-to-work method is to. Despite the Xbox 360 getting a little long in the tooth, you can still find official Xbox 360 “For Windows” controller packs both on the shelves at many electronics retailers, online,.
And hey, if you only need the USB receiver, you can always sell the controller on Craigslist and try to get your money back. RELATED: The MSRP of the official bundle $59.95, and you’ll usually find it at close to that price at places like Best Buy. If you can find it cheaper from a reputable retailer, then by all means jump on it. If you must shop on Amazon, be sure you’re buying a product marked “fulfilled by Amazon” and be ready to return it if it ends up that the product is not an official model. (Remember,.) The Dubious Aftermarket Clones: Cheap and Doable, but a Headache On the opposite side of things, you’ll find piles upon piles of knockoff USB receivers sold separately all over Amazon, eBay, and other big online marketplaces.
Alias tv series full episodes. Typically, you’ll find them ranging in price from $7-15 and they’re either flawless clones that are indistinguishable from the official adapter dongle or they’re terrible knockoffs that will give you a headache setting them up. The official Microsoft Xbox 360, seen above left, is always branded as “Microsoft” on the front and says “Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver for Windows” on the back.
Make sure this fits by entering your model number.; Will work with future Xbox 360 Wireless Accessories. Use up to four Wireless Controllers and four Wireless Headsets simultaneously with one Wireless Gaming Receiver. 113 product ratings - Xbox 360 Microsoft Authentic Wireless Pc Gaming Receiver for Windows- Bulk Pkg $10.00 Trending at $12.87 Trending price is based on prices over last 90 days. The Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver lets you use wireless Xbox 360 peripherals with your Windows PC, but it won't be a must-have PC gaming peripheral until more compatible games are available.
The knockoffs are almost always branded “X360”, seen above right, and usually say “PC Wireless Gaming Receiver” or a variation on the back. Note the purposeful omission of any copy or trademarked names like “Microsoft”, “Xbox 360”, or “Windows”. In general, we don’t recommend buying these. But if you already have one, we’ve got your back–scroll down for detailed instructions on getting it up and running, even when Windows doesn’t want to place nice. The Official Orphans: A (Nearly) Sure Bet, as Long as You Can Find One In between the expense of buying an official Xbox 360 Windows controller bundle and cheap $7 eBay specials, you’ll find a sort of grey market happy medium if you’re willing to make a small gamble. If you look on Amazon and eBay, you’ll find hundreds of official Microsoft brand Xbox 360 PC dongles that have been separated from their controller mates. Your best bet is to look for listings that include not just the dongle (with proper markings and tags, as we saw above) but also include an official driver CD and booklet.