Can I connect my Xbox 360 wireless controller to a pc through a cable?

Is the controller a wireless controller or wired? If it is wireless, how are you connecting it? If by using the play & charge kit, then the Xbox 360 controller will not work, as the cable is only recognized on PC for charging only. You need to use a Xbox
360 Wireless adapter for PC to connect a wireless Xbox 360 controller to your PC.

Hello there.

Xbox 360 wireless controllers only work on PC with the Xbox 360 Wireless PC adapter, they don't work via they Play & Charge cable. Even when you use the cable with an Xbox 360, the controller still uses the Wireless to function and the cable simply provides
power.

If you'd like to use a 360 pad with a PC, you either need a wired one, or you'll need one of these:

Xbox 360 Wireless PC adapter.

Alternatively, you can use an Xbox One controller. With those, you can connect as you are with a USB cable, or you can connect via Bluetooth (If you have one of the newer controllers which have a rough texture on the back of the hand grips) or with an Xbox
One Wireless PC adapter.

In addition to the instructions from XBF Chris J, make sure that you really have a wired Xbox 360 controller, and not a wireless Xbox 360 controller that you connect with a Play & Charge kit cable.

A real Xbox 360 controller that works with PC has a fixed, non-removable cable. If you can unplug the cable from the front of the controller, that cable ONLY transmits power to charge the controller.

No controller data can be transmitted via that charging cable, and therefore the PC can not detect it. But when the controller detects power coming through that cable, it vibrates shortly. Maybe it's that why the controller "only" vibrates, but is not detected
by the PC.

No that is not possible to connect a controller to your PC through your console. You will need the Xbox 360 wireless USB receiver for windows or buy a pure wired USB xbox 360 controller (microsoft and 3rd party ones available and all will work).

The play and charge USB cable for xbox 360 controllers does not make a wireless controller wired as it only transfers power and not data.

You could buy an xbox one wireless controller that is newer and has bluetooth and connect it to your PC directly as seen on this page: :

https://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-on-windows/accessories/connect-xbox-one-controller-to-pc

You can also use an xbox one wireless controller of any type (with or without bluetooth) with a Micro USB cable on a PC as well. THAT wire does make the xbox one wireless controller act as a wired controller while connected via Micro USB.

Web translation:

bluetooth connection of an Xbox 360 controller to a pc

hello, I bought an Xbox 360 controller for my pc, the seller certified me that it will work or I can not connect to bluetooth, there is no cable for the connected I made
the update of the Windows software, and still nothing since yesterday afternoon I ended up losing patience.
Thanks for your help

Response:

Hi there,

in order to connect a wireless Xbox 360 controller to a PC you will require a wireless receiver, the 360 controllers do not support bluetooth.
Please see this link for the exact steps on how to use a 360 controller and wireless receiver on a PC:

https://support.xbox.com/xbox-on-windows/accessories/connect-xbox-one-controller-to-pc