How To Use An Xbox Controller Over Remote Desktop

Use An App That Brings Your Controller Along

Most remote desktop apps send only your keyboard and mouse. For a controller to work, the app has to make a controller appear on your PC. APE Viewer does: your Xbox-style controller shows up on the PC as an Xbox 360 controller, and the game’s rumble comes back to your hands.

The Game Looks For A Controller On The Remote PC

The game runs on the remote PC, so it looks for a controller connected to that PC. Yours is connected to the laptop. An app has to read the controller on your laptop, send its input across, and present it to the game as a controller on the remote PC.

On Windows, that takes a small driver on the remote PC that creates a virtual controller. APE Viewer uses the free ViGEmBus driver and can install it for you from Hosting.

Remote Desktop Tools Built For Office Work

Remote desktop tools made for office work and IT support usually pass through keyboards, mice, printers and drives, but not game controllers, and some run at 30 frames per second by default. They’re fine for spreadsheets, not for playing.

• Your controller, as a real controller. Xbox-style controllers, wired or Bluetooth, become virtual Xbox 360 controllers on the PC.
• Rumble. The game’s vibration comes back to the controller in your hands.
• Friends can play too. 1 controller on Free, and up to 4 at once with the PC owner’s Premium, including controllers from different people.
• A mouse mode for games. When a game hides the pointer, the stream window locks your mouse and sends raw movement.
• A smooth picture. Up to 240 fps on high-refresh monitors, with hardware H.264 or HEVC video and uncompressed sound.

Step By Step

1. On the PC you want to play on, open APE Viewer and go to Hosting → Settings → Controllers → Install driver. Only install it on a PC you own or manage.
2. Connect the controller to your laptop with a USB cable or Bluetooth (steps below).
3. Connect to the PC as usual and keep the stream window in front while you play.
4. To check that the controller is seen, open Mouse and keyboard on the stream toolbar (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+M brings the toolbar back). It shows how many controllers are detected on your laptop.

Playing With Friends

Free allows 1 controller on the shared PC. With Premium on that PC, up to 4 controllers can play at once, including controllers from different people. The PC’s owner can turn controller access on or off for each person under Hosting.

If you see problem code AV-5001, the controller driver isn’t installed on the PC you connect to yet.

With A USB Cable

The simplest option: plug the controller into the laptop. Windows works with wired controllers as well as Bluetooth ones.

With Bluetooth

1. Press the Xbox button to turn the controller on.
2. Hold the Pair button for three seconds, until the Xbox button starts flashing.
3. On the laptop, select Start → Settings → Bluetooth & devices and turn Bluetooth on.
4. Select Add device, then Bluetooth, and choose your controller.

If it won’t connect, Microsoft suggests charging or replacing the batteries, checking that Bluetooth is on, and keeping the controller close to the laptop.

• Keep the stream window in front. APE Viewer asks you to keep the stream window in front while you play.
• Check the driver on the remote PC. The controller driver goes on the PC that runs the game, not on your laptop.
• Check you’re allowed to use a controller. In APE Viewer, the PC’s owner sets controller access for each person.
• Try a USB cable. It rules out Bluetooth pairing problems.
• Using a wheel or flight stick? APE Viewer supports Xbox-style controllers.