Charging XB1 Play & Charge kit on PC

Jarrkha2 · Jan 17, 2019

Hello all,

Can the battery get overcharged when connecting to PC via ANY micro-USB to USB-A cable?

I know the Xbox One controller batteries from this kit can't get over charged while connected to the XBOX ONE via the kit's extra-long USB cable.

I mention this because I believe one of my two P&C kit cables, and my Motorola Nexus 6 charger micro-USB cable, nearly went kaput when I had them conneced to a power strip or my PC to use either with my previous phone, or older Xbox One controllers with
no batteries installed.

I honestly don't know if this preventative feature is due to the Xbox One windows-based OS or the controller's power circuitry itself.

I can't seem to find a specific pre-existing threads on these topics, so forgive my redundancy if any.

My goal: properly maintain both batteries and both cables in my kits. I use batteries when playing on XB1X, and cables entirely on PC because I don't have a dongle for the controllers. Right now I'm in the habit of leaving the batteries installed while using
cables.

{Aside:

Funny story about playing with a controller, with no battery installed, while its connected to a power strip/bar: it still functions perfectly like a wireless controller. But this may be why my P&C cable got funky.

That habit was years ago btw, and it was by accident: not realising the cable was still in the power bar and not the console, because I never had to physically touch my old Xbox One -- couldn't use discs, had a Kinect and a controller to turn it on, etc.

I would play with a controller using a cable and no battery, due to old-fashioned experience with laptops, older phones and even the XB360 play & charge kit -- for the record Microsoft, your charger on that 360 kit WRECKS the kit batteries after a long time...
A situation made worse when using the cables by themselves -- no batteries in the controllers -- for days and weeks at a time for years, leaving me in an ironic situation: by trying to extend the lifespan of the XB360 P&C batteries, I ruined the cables, and
the batteries followed suit anyway... A fact I found out some years after semi-retiring my 360 for the One (and recently upgraded to X). I'm now afraid of repeating history.

Anyway, one of my XB1 P&C cable is wont to lose signal whenever the micro-USB plug is slightly wiggled, even when connecting to the superior revised Xbox One controllers with 3.5mm jacks. I have a brand-new one that cane with my XB1X. That cable barely worked
at all for about two years, and a few months ago it magically started working better again, but not perfectly like my other well-used P&C cable. My phone charger cable, on the other hand, ONLY works to provide power/signal to controllers when connecting to
my PC; it's bloody bizarre.

}.

Sorry for the "long" post, I provide as much information that I can give, without trying to sound boring, because I like to exhaust the obvious stuff and get them outta the way in one shot.

Thanks!

Edit: moved some paragraphs around to improve reading flow.

:)

XBF Jasmine Z

Hi Jarrkha2,

Thank you for letting us know that the issue has been fixed. We'll be locking the thread as the issue has been resolved.
If you ever require any help with any other issues please feel free to come back to the Xbox Forums for further assistance.

For those reading this thread, if the troubleshooting steps listed above didn't help resolve the issue, please
feel free to create a new thread asking for assistance. When the new thread is created please copy and paste the URL to this thread showing that the troubleshooting steps listed above didn't fix the issue.

Thank you and have a great day!

Jarrkha2

Hi there,

as far as I know and assume, it should be fine to charge a Xbox One controller battery from the play and charge kit via a Xbox One controller being used on a PC.

It's officially supported hardware and it's standard USB voltage etc so should be fine, at last that is my assumption.

I use a controller on PC myself and charge the battery when needed.

It is advised to use the battery when it's fully charged, if a battery is always connected to a cable it can get bad if it's not used, but that will be different per device/hardware.

First paragraph: thanks. That assures me a little.

2nd: that's the problem though. Whether a fully charged battery is connected or not, sometimes that leads to charge capacity degradation. It's the same almost as leaving a battery with zero charge over a long time: disuse causes "atrophy."

But the Xbox One support implies that playing with a wired controller, while battery is charged and installed, won't overcharge the battery (overcharging afaik results in the same effect as rapidly subjecting it to full charge/discharge cycles: making it
well-worn and reducing Watt-Hours capacity).

My guess is that -- like the Switch, New 3DS and some well-made batteries and devices -- the play n charge kit cable BYPASSES the compatible battery in the controller when it's full. But it's just a guess.

I already half-ruined one P&C cable years ago (and my phone's), wanna make sure my batteries for these Play & Charge kits remain pristine.

After 2014-2016 or so, For the last two years, I've done what everyone suggested: use my batteries when full; charge them only with P&C cables and through my PC and Xbox One, obviously with the controllers they're made for.

HOWEVER, up until recently, I always took the batteries out of their controllers when I used those controllers on my PC (would also use my PC to charge one battery while playing with the other battery on Xbox).

Anyway, I can get around the pet peeves I've mentioned and not mentioned; I just wanted to be sure about things.

Jarrkha2

I'd say that now might go but in the future the pad you would feel if you use the batteries while the pad's usb cable to your pc. It would be a waste of time and batteries. I suggest you buy another pad, so one you use for console with batteries
and a usb cable.

I have two charging kits, two Xbox controllers, sn Elite I never use, and a Switch Pro... And all the old xbox 360 stuff and windows dongle. I'm good for spares, lol.

WPAK

Hi there,

as far as I know and assume, it should be fine to charge a Xbox One controller battery from the play and charge kit via a Xbox One controller being used on a PC.

It's officially supported hardware and it's standard USB voltage etc so should be fine, at last that is my assumption.

I use a controller on PC myself and charge the battery when needed.

It is advised to use the battery when it's fully charged, if a battery is always connected to a cable it can get bad if it's not used, but that will be different per device/hardware.

baltyofgod

I'd say that now might go but in the future the pad you would feel if you use the batteries while the pad's usb cable to your pc. It would be a waste of time and batteries. I suggest you buy another pad, so one you use for console with batteries and a
usb cable.

Charging XB1 Play & Charge kit on PC