In my opinion, when it comes to gaming, there’s nothing better than the controllers from Xbox. However, one of the issues that happen is that the Xbox controllers tend to lose battery pretty soon. This can be quite irritating, especially I find, when I am in the middle of a game. So why does the battery drain on controllers so fast?
Usually, an Xbox controller will immediately drain its battery in extreme circumstances. This involves:
- Exposure to extreme temperatures, particularly heat.
- The use of cheap batteries for the controllers.
- Overzealous settings on the Xbox drivers.
The great news is that solving this problem is not usually a complex problem. In fact, in most cases, the most you will need to do is change the way you play a little bit or maybe change the batteries. However, for a better understanding of what you need to do, keep reading our article.
What Causes Battery Drain In Controllers?
We all know that Xbox controllers can drain batteries really quickly, but what causes this abrupt change in battery level? Is it a surefire sign that you need to replace the controllers? Luckily, in most cases, these are common causes that are easily fixable if you can identify the problem early on before there is any significant damage to the battery itself.
Exposure To High Temperatures
One of the most common reasons this can happen is high temperatures. If you have been gaming for a while, you will notice that the controller itself has gotten warm, and even the console can get hot as well. Over time, the extreme heat can damage the batteries inside your controller, so always make sure that you keep the controllers somewhere cool.
Never place them on something hot or warm, as that will definitely have an impact on the battery life of the controller. However, if this is just a one-off incident, it may just be that the controller has gotten too hot, and the battery, as a result, will drain faster.
The Use Of Cheap Batteries
We all have been guilty of replacing dying batteries with cheap ones we find at our local store. However, this can work to your detriment, as the controller needs higher-quality batteries. Because of the intensive work that the controller needs to carry out during the day, the use of cheap batteries can undermine performance.
These batteries will assuredly drain faster than higher-quality versions, and as a result, your controller will die faster. We recommend that you opt for high-quality options so you can keep up with the heavy-duty requirements of an Xbox controller.
Related: 3 Reasons Why Using a Controller is Better for Halo
Overlap Of Contradictory Settings
Finally, you can use different settings for your controller that you can change on your Xbox console. However, if they are too battery-intensive, your battery will drain faster on the controller than expected. Keep in mind that you need to consider battery and performance at equilibrium and keep them in a sort of balance. Extremely high performance is an excellent boost to your playing experience, but it will drain your battery faster than you may expect.
How To Maintain Steady Battery Level On Controllers
So, we know the ways in which your controller battery can drain unexpectedly. However, a question to consider is, how can you prevent this problem from occurring in the first place? Here are some of the tips to improve the battery life on your controller.
Switch Off Controller When Not In Use
When it comes to saving battery, the best course of action is to remain vigilant. When you are not using your console, there is absolutely no reason that you should keep it on, especially if you are not going to come back to it in a minute or two. However, this move can really decline your battery health.
Your controller drains battery all the time, and this way, it can really lose a lot in terms of battery time and life. All you need to do to avoid making this mistake is to choose to switch off the controller using the Xbox button, or you can add a setting to switch off the controller if it is not in use for a set period.
Switch Off Vibration On Controller
A setting on the Xbox controller allows you to take out the feature that gives you a vibration shock when playing games. This is an excellent way to combat battery drain, but with one big caveat. The problem with this feature is that it can take you out of the immersive feel of the fame and really affect your experience while playing.
However, in some cases, you need to opt to do this if you want to be able to play the game at all. So, you can switch vibration control, and this will significantly improve your chances of playing through a game without losing a lot of the battery on the controller. Here’s how you can do this:
- Navigate over to the Xbox menu, and choose the settings.
- From here, choose the option ‘Ease of Use.’
- Then, go to Controller.
- You will see an option to switch off vibration.
- Switch off this feature.
You will now be able to play without the vibration on your controller affecting your battery life.
Reduce The Volume On The Controller
Some of the games from Xbox have an additional feature that allows the controllers to act as a speaker for specific sounds. I feel like this may be too much to feel immersed in the game, and it drains the battery of the controller too. Luckily, there is a way to switch off this feature. All you need to do is go to Settings, find the controllers, and then in Volume control, select how loud you want this sound to be. When you switch it off, you will notice a dramatic difference in the battery life expectancy of your controller.
Conclusion
There are many ways to help keep up the life of your controller, but they all require diligence. With a little bit of that, you can make sure your gaming experience is far more improved!