Xbox 360 wired and wireless controllers

The Xbox 360 controller

Controller layout and button names

1 Right stick	8 Start button
2 Directional pad (D-pad)	9 Right trigger
3 Left stick	10 Right bumper
4 Back button	A A button (green button)
5 Left bumper	B B button (red button)
6 Left trigger	X X button (blue button)
7 Guide button	Y Y button (yellow button)

Guide button and power button lights

Press and hold the Guide button to turn the console and controller on or off, and press it to access the Xbox Guide (menu of options) when the console is on.

A light surrounds the Guide button on the controller and the power button on the console. When you connect a controller to the console, a section of the light turns green to show that a controller is connected. For example, when you connect the first controller to a console, the top left section lights up:

A controller close-up shows the Guide button, with the upper-left quadrant illuminated.

The upper-left section adjacent to the power button of an Original Xbox 360 console is illuminated.

You can connect up to four controllers to the console.

On the original Xbox 360 console and the Xbox 360 S console, each controller is assigned to one of the four lighted sections. The first controller connected is assigned the upper-left section, then the upper-right, lower-left, and finally lower-right sections.

When you're using the controller with a Windows 10 device, the Guide button opens the Game bar when pressed during PC gameplay. Exception: During game streaming through the Xbox app for Windows 10, pressing this button returns you to the Home screen of the Xbox app.

Note On the Xbox 360 E console, there's a single green light around the power button. However, you can still determine the controller's assigned section by looking at the ring of light around the controller's Guide button.

The ring of light is illuminated around the power button of an Xbox 360 E console.

Connecting a controller

To learn how to connect a wired or wireless controller to your Xbox 360 console, see Connect a controller to your Xbox 360.

Inline cable release

The wired Xbox 360 controller cable has an inline release. The inline release on the controller cord is a safety feature designed to reduce the chance of the Xbox 360 console falling if the cord is pulled. You can reduce this risk further by not allowing the controller cables to become tangled.

Expansion port

The expansion port on the Xbox 360 wireless controller lets you connect optional accessories, such as the Xbox 360 Headset.

Note The expansion port is under the directional pad (D-pad) and the right stick on the controller.

Xbox 360 controller for Windows software

The Xbox 360 controller for Windows software lets you use a wired Xbox 360 controller with a computer that is running Microsoft Windows. For information about how to do this, see How to set up an Xbox 360 controller for Windows. Refer to your game documentation for information about how to configure the controller for a specific game.

If you're experiencing problems with your Xbox controller, see the "Related issues" section, below. If you need more help, contact Xbox Support.