I think starting this thread may be pointless and I am doomed to send off for the coffin, but here it is just in case…
I can turn on the 360 with the wireless controllers but after that point, the 360 will not sync up with them. The console is about a year and a half old, 3 controllers are wireless between six months and a year and a half old, all have fresh batteries/battery packs.
I’ve tried moving the 360 away from the giant metal furnace, tried various methods of syncing (pressing 360 button first, pressing controller button first, pressing at the same time), have removed and reconnected the drive (as suggested on another forum), and have tried disconnecting and reconnecting the power supply (as suggested by xbox FAQ).
Am I missing anything? Should I just give up and go cry about weeks/months without Peggle? Why do the console gods hate me? This is Xbox #3 already ;(
Do you have a charge and play kit? I’ve had problems with specific controls acting up in this way and doing a direct USB connect via the charge and play kit has always managed to sync them up ‘the hard way’ after which they would work fine wirelessly.
IIRC, the Play and Charge kits don’t actually do anything but charge the battery. Even when the wire is connected, the controller is still communicating wirelessly with the 360. It couldn’t hurt to try, though.
That can’t be right. I use the play and charge kit, and if I plug my controller into another console, it becomes synced to that console.
A problem I occasionally get is that when trying to turn the controller on, the ring briefly flashes and then nothing happens, but if I plug in the play and charge kit it works fine. My brother-in-law seems to have the same problem.
I’d have to double-check, but I’m pretty sure I have this right. I remember because when I first got my 360 and the Play and Charge kit, the rechargable battery it came with was fully discharged. I assumed that if I plugged the cable in, I’d be able to play right away, but this wasn’t the case. Then I read in the manual that because the controller still communicated wirelessly, it needed a minimum charge. This is also why you can’t use a Play and Charge cable to connect a wireless 360 controller to a PC.
That said, you might be correct that the cable might be doing something to the syncing, but I’m not sure.
When the controller is charging with the cable, the user is able to still play games. However, the controller is not acting as a wired cable, but instead there is just enough power overtop of the charging that allows the wireless functionality to work. Unfortunately, the play and charge kit does not allow wireless controllers to be compatible with PCs.
If the Play and Charge Kit doesn’t provide actually connectivity to the box, how is it that my controller, when connected, comes on instantly as soon as the 360 comes on, as opposed to having to be turned on via the guide button?
So it sounds like it is sending some sort of sync signal, then maybe? Or it could just be a “wake up” signal. Not sure.
This is directly from the manual:
Very depleted rechargeable battery packs can take up to 20 minutes to charge enough to power a controller for use with the Play & Charge Kit.
You can continue to use your controller to play on your Xbox 360 console while it charges. While connected with the charge cable, your controller will continue to use wireless signals for gameplay. Do not use the charge cable without either a rechargeable battery pack or AA battery pack installed on your wireless controller.
You could be right though that there is some sort of signal sent over the cable. I’m guessing it’s not a sync signal though, but that it’s just a “wake up” signal.
I wouldn’t buy a Play and Charge kit to test this theory, is my point, unless you needed or had a use for one.
I’m assuming you’ve already tried re-syncing the controllers? There’s a button to the right (or right below if you have it vertical) of the memory card slots. Press that button, and you’ll see the console do circles, indicating that it’s trying to sync with new controllers. Then press the little sync button on the front left of the controller, to the right of LB, but to the left of the part where the cable goes in. The controller will now also try to sync. If both the console and the controller are trying to sync at the same time, they should sync up.
If you’ve already tried that, what happens? They keep trying to sync with each other to no avail?
I tried re-syncing with three different controllers. They all try to sync and then after awhile, the lights start blinking in a little light show of ultimate sadness.
This happened immediately after I moved, so I’m assuming something inside got knocked loose or something in the truck or in packing/unpacking. It worked fine the day it was packed. Blerg.
Yeah, something probably did come lose. At this point, I can only suggest calling Microsoft customer support. They’ll probably ask you to do it again while they’re on the phone, and then… its still under warranty right?.. they should offer to replace the unit.
In that case, it might also be worth it to try the play and charge kit first. Just in case it does help you sync the controller. Obviously we’re not 100% sure whether it does or not.
Wait hold on, I have 2 360s, and I have a play and charge kit. It’ll take me a few minutes, but I’ll give it a try and tell you what happens.
I can confirm that using the Play and charge cable to connect a controller that’s synced to a different 360 resyncs the controller to the new 360 that you just connected it to. So give that a try Leah. It’s still possible that something within the 360 has gone wrong and that it won’t work for you anyway, but it’s worth trying, because it’s a small expense compared to the $99 it’ll take to repair the 360.
I second the recommendation to try the P&C first. If you can get it from some place like Best Buy that has a generous return policy, you won’t be out anything if it doesn’t fix your problem.
