Will this perfect product work with XAC?

Hi and thanks for reaching out. I hope you’re doing well. I'm an Independent Advisor and a Microsoft user like you and I'll be happy to help you.

The AZERON Cyborg Gaming Keypad is a third-party gaming peripheral that is not officially supported by Microsoft or the Xbox Adaptive Controller (XAC). However, it might be possible that the keypad may work with the XAC if it is recognized as a standard USB input device.

Devices that work with the XAC are whitelisted. If they're not on the list, they won't work as far as joysticks

https://www.xbox.com/en-US/accessories#assistive

I can't imagine it would be. From what I understand of Arduino products, they need programming with code to function as needed...and the XAC has no facility to interpret that code.

Unless the product is a Plug and Play, then the XAC can't usually use it..it's why things like Touchpads etc don't work either.

I think the compatible devices listed for XAC probably were compatible back in 2018. Unfortunately, quite a bit of the information on the XAC website has become inaccurate over time. This kind of regression over time is often a sign that a project is not being maintained, that the people who worked on the development team have moved on to other projects. I think it would be good if Microsoft had someone work on correcting misinformation on the XAC website and/or fixing any functional regressions in the XAC firmware or software.



For example, there should be an open ticket to restore support for configuring the XAC using the XBox Accessories application on PC--one of the firmware updates made XAC become unsupported by that app, per the error message that the XBox Accessories app gives when an XAC is plugged in to PC.

Also, there should be an open ticket to revise the XAC website and remove inaccurate customer-facing information and links. (Just to name one, the button to buy the XAC leads to a "product does not exist" error message from the Microsoft store.)

The XAC is still a unique product that expands gaming accessibility. However, it can take a lot of trial and error to make it work in 2021 because some of the 2018 information about it is no longer correct.

Given the natural discouragement and exclusion that disabled people can face from society at large and from the direct experience of their disabilities, I imagine it is complexly painful to feel a ray of hope based on corporate promises that they will extend inclusion to you only to then have those hopes dashed by a reality where key promises turn out to not be true. (This is one of the dangers of parroting FAQ information rather than performing DIY experimentation when someone questions the FAQ. Trust but verify.)

It seems irresponsible to me to create the XAC, boast about it (Sarah Bond mentioned it just this past Monday in the XBox 20th Anniversary live stream), but then not do a little more to maintain the product from year to year. I hope Microsoft will make a small re-investment to support XAC more in 2022.

If they are not going to pay attention to the many complaints already posted on this niche forum, those complaints may need to move to a public forum like Twitter, Facebook, etc. to garner more attentive listening from people who can make the changes and fixes needed.

Thanks for the suggestions sarkah!

It is still completely unacceptable that Microsoft provides such an important product with so little support. Their website currently lists two joysticks as being compatible with the XAC: the Logitech controller and the PDP one-handed controller. The Logitech controller doesn't work and the PDP controller is not available anywhere and is no longer being manufactured. This would not be acceptable with any other device.

The XAC is such an incredibly thoughtful and powerful device but it's so disappointing that Microsoft isn't putting more effort into supporting the product and making the experience better for users.