14 DAY TRIAL // The latest Windows 10 Redstone build released by Microsoft is impacted by a bug that makes it impossible to use Xbox One controllers to play games on PCs.
Complaints posted by users on the Microsoft Community forums reveal that devices running Windows 10 Redstone build 14291 crash as soon as an Xbox One controller is plugged in and turned on, with the only option to get back to the desktop being to completely remove the controller.
There is no error message displayed when the computer crashes, and the device won’t restart until the controller is unplugged.
“The issue arises when I updated to the new build yesterday. I have went back to build 14279 and it work perfectly no problems I run the hardware troubleshooter on build 14279 and all is working as it should. But if I go to the new build 14291 as soon as you plug in any controller Xbox One or 360 it crashes my computer i.e I get a total fail on the system until I remove the controller then the computer restarts,” one user explained on the Community forums.
Known issue
Last week when Microsoft rolled out the latest Windows 10 preview build, Gabe Aul, head of the Windows Insider program, confirmed that this version comes with a bug impacting the use of Xbox controllers on PCs.
“Your PC may freeze when plugging in an Xbox One or Xbox 360 controller and other gamepads in this build,” he said in the known issues section of the official announcement.
At this point, there’s no workaround available and you might have to wait until a new build is shipped, which could happen as soon as this week. In the meantime, if you’re using a controller to play games on your PC, it might be a good idea not to update to build 14291. It’s a preview build after all, so bugs like this are kind of expected.