Steam not receiving input from Elite 2 Controller after reconnection

[rethyria]

Version of xpadneo

v0.10.1
v0.10
v0.9.8

Note: This was not an issue on 0.9.8. The bug only occurred after upgrading to v0.10. However, I attempted to resolve it by downgrading to 0.9.8 again which worked until I rebooted my computer and the bug appeared again, this time on 0.9.8. This behaviour was replicated by another user in discord.

Controller Model

• Xbox One S controller
• Xbox Elite 2 controller
• Xbox Series X|S controller
• Other:

Connection mode

• Bluetooth connection
• USB cable (not yet supported by xpadneo)
• Xbox Dongle connection (not yet supported by xpadneo)

Installed Software

• Anti-Micro (may affect button mappings)
• OpenRGB (may mess up mappings and rumble stability)
• Steam Input (enabled by default via Steam Desktop client)
• Steam Link (usually via Raspberry Pi or other micro computers)
• devices with QMK firmware (may affect udev rules, similar to OpenRGB)
• netstick (shares input devices via network similar to Steam Link)
• xboxdrv (user-space gamepad driver, not used for Bluetooth)
• xone (kernel-space gamepad driver for using USB or the Xbox Dongle)
• xow (obsolete user-space driver for using the wireless Xbox Dongle)

Protocol Information

• Steam Proton games are having issues
• Steam Linux-native games are having issues
  • I don't use Steam or did not try
• games running through Lutris, wine and/or Bottles are having issues
  • I don't use Lutris, Bottles, wine or did not try
• Linux-native games are having issues
  • I don't use native games or did not try
• Other software is having issues (describe software and issues below)
• Running evtest is showing issues (describe the issues below)
  • Keep in mind that BTN_NORTH and BTN_WEST are intentionally swapped
• Running jstest is showing issues (describe the issues below)
  • I don't have this tool or don't know how to use it
• Running gamepad-tool is showing issues (post console output below)
  • I don't have this tool

Severity / Impact

• I've read the docs and the bug reporting instructions
• I've applied the latest firmware update to the controller
• I've tried disabling or running without above mentioned software
• It does not work at all
• It used to work in a previous version
• It mostly works but sometimes it doesn't
• I found a work-around
• I probably didn't figure it all out but it's too early to give up
• I don't know how to ...
• It's too complicated
• Fantastic work but ...
• I can code and I want to help

Describe the Bug

Xbox Elite 2 Controller works on boot, but after disconnecting and reconnecting the controller (by power cycling the controller or bad connection) the controller connects to the system and is detected by Steam but Steam receives no input. Only full system reboot fixes it.

Note: Steam Input does not seem to have an effect whether enabled or disabled.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Power on computer.
2. Power on controller.
3. Observe controller connects via bluetooth correctly (confirmed by evtest).
4. Observe Steam detects controller correctly (via glyphs and controller specific settings).
5. Observe Steam receives input correctly.
6. Power off controller.
7. Power on controller.
8. Observe controller connects via bluetooth correctly (confirmed by evtest).
9. Observe Steam detects controller correctly (via glyphs and controller specific settings).
10. Observe Steam and games launched via Steam DO NOT receive input from the controller.

Expected Behavior

After the controller reconnects via bluetooth, Steam should receive input from the controller.

Screenshots / GIFs / Videos

Context: Settings screen after controller reconnects (no longer receiving input but still detects the controller).

System Information

# uname -a
Linux Home 6.19.9-arch1-1 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Thu, 19 Mar 2026 16:33:17 +0000 x86_64 GNU/Linux

# dmesg -H | grep -E -i 'bt|bluetooth|hci|l2cap|att|xbox|045e|hid|input|xpadneo' | tee xpadneo-dmesg.txt
[Apr 2 17:47] input: Xbox Wireless Controller as /devices/virtual/misc/uhid/0005:045E:0B22.001A/input/input59
[  +0.000403] input: Xbox Wireless Controller Consumer Control as /devices/virtual/misc/uhid/0005:045E:0B22.001A/input/input60
[  +0.000159] input: Xbox Wireless Controller Keyboard as /devices/virtual/misc/uhid/0005:045E:0B22.001A/input/input61
[  +0.000302] hid-generic 0005:045E:0B22.001A: input,hidraw16: BLUETOOTH HID v5.21 Gamepad [Xbox Wireless Controller] on 70:a8:d3:7d:a5:27
[  +0.149924] hid_xpadneo: loading out-of-tree module taints kernel.
[  +0.000005] hid_xpadneo: module verification failed: signature and/or required key missing - tainting kernel
[  +0.005069] loaded hid-xpadneo v0.9.8
[  +0.000051] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: BLE firmware version 5.21
[  +0.000005] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: pretending XB1S Windows wireless mode (changed PID from 0x0B22 to 0x028E)
[  +0.000002] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: working around wrong SDL2 mappings (changed version from 0x00000521 to 0x00001130)
[  +0.000003] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: report descriptor size: 464 bytes
[  +0.000002] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: fixing up Rx axis
[  +0.000002] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: fixing up Ry axis
[  +0.000001] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: fixing up Z axis
[  +0.000001] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: fixing up Rz axis
[  +0.000002] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: fixing up button mapping
[  +0.000252] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: enabling compliance with Linux Gamepad Specification
[  +0.000002] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: unmapping bogus buttons
[  +0.000069] input: Xbox Wireless Controller as /devices/virtual/misc/uhid/0005:045E:0B22.001A/input/input62
[  +0.000194] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: input,hidraw16: BLUETOOTH HID v11.30 Gamepad [Xbox Wireless Controller] on 70:a8:d3:7d:a5:27
[  +0.000007] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: controller quirks: 0x00000058
[  +0.000003] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: testing weak motor: sustain 50ms release 50ms loop 2 wait 30ms
[  +0.330038] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: testing strong motor: sustain 50ms release 50ms loop 2 wait 30ms
[  +0.330034] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: testing trigger motors: sustain 50ms release 50ms loop 2 wait 30ms
[  +0.331143] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: Xbox Wireless Controller [44:16:22:48:d1:ca] connected
[  +0.005099] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: switching left trigger to half range mode
[ +15.659411] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: reverting to original version (changed version from 0x00001130 to 0x00000521)
[  +0.000017] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001A: reverting to original product (changed PID from 0x028E to 0x0B22)
[  +3.583404] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: BLE firmware version 5.21
[  +0.000004] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: pretending XB1S Windows wireless mode (changed PID from 0x0B22 to 0x028E)
[  +0.000001] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: working around wrong SDL2 mappings (changed version from 0x00000521 to 0x00001130)
[  +0.000001] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: report descriptor size: 464 bytes
[  +0.000001] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: fixing up Rx axis
[  +0.000000] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: fixing up Ry axis
[  +0.000001] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: fixing up Z axis
[  +0.000000] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: fixing up Rz axis
[  +0.000000] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: fixing up button mapping
[  +0.000094] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: enabling compliance with Linux Gamepad Specification
[  +0.000001] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: unmapping bogus buttons
[  +0.000023] input: Xbox Wireless Controller as /devices/virtual/misc/uhid/0005:045E:0B22.001B/input/input63
[  +0.000066] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: input,hidraw16: BLUETOOTH HID v11.30 Gamepad [Xbox Wireless Controller] on 70:a8:d3:7d:a5:27
[  +0.000002] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: controller quirks: 0x00000058
[  +0.000001] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: testing weak motor: sustain 50ms release 50ms loop 2 wait 30ms
[  +0.330046] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: testing strong motor: sustain 50ms release 50ms loop 2 wait 30ms
[  +0.330036] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: testing trigger motors: sustain 50ms release 50ms loop 2 wait 30ms
[Apr 2 17:48] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: Xbox Wireless Controller [44:16:22:48:d1:ca] connected
[  +0.001461] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: switching left trigger to half range mode

xpadneo-dmesg.txt

Controller and Bluetooth Information

xpadneo-btmon.txt

Additional Context

After reconnecting the controller, input is correctly received by:

• evtest
• Linux-native games (without steam)
• https://hardwaretester.com/gamepad

Only Steam and games launched via Steam do not receive input. Steam does detect the controller as glyphs and settings react to the controller connecting and disconnecting. Enabling or disabling Steam Input does not seem to have any effect.

Note: Some system details may have changed as I've tested on different versions of xpadneo and there was a kernel update at some point.

Summary output from Lumo while trying to troubleshoot with it:

System Info:

Arch Linux, kernel 6.19.8-arch1-1
xpadneo-dkms 0.10-1
Bluetooth adapter: Intel AX210 (8087:0032)
Controller: Xbox Wireless Controller (BLE firmware 5.21)

What Works:

Controller connects and pairs successfully
evtest receives input correctly after reconnect
Rumble test passes on reconnection
Permissions are correct (input group, ACL user:river:rw-)
udev rules apply correctly (verified with udevadm test)
Steam DOES recognise the controller is connected after controller reconnect (confirmed by Xbox Controller menu being displayed in settings)

What Doesn't Work:

Steam receives no input after controller power cycle
Restarting Steam does NOT fix it
Restarting Bluetooth service does NOT fix it
Only full system reboot restores functionality

Key Observations:

Each reconnection creates a new device instance (.0010 → .0011 → ... → .0017)
dmesg shows clean disconnect/reconnect sequences with no errors

[rethyria]

I don't really know what any of it means but the only thing that stands out to me is in dmesg:

[  +0.000069] input: Xbox Wireless Controller as /devices/virtual/misc/uhid/0005:045E:0B22.001A/input/input62
[  +0.000023] input: Xbox Wireless Controller as /devices/virtual/misc/uhid/0005:045E:0B22.001B/input/input63

The controller has a different input number after reconnecting. Lumo talked about how Steam might be caching the device instance but I have no idea if that's true or why it would have any impact. I have not tested how it handles multiple controllers connected at once.

[bonn2]

I am encountering this same issue, and am willing to test if needed.

[kakra]

I think this can be connected to my following observations:

• After connecting the controller, Steam briefly sees the input mapping without profiles applied as if it reads the raw mapping.
• If Steam Input is disabled, Steam itself should never see the native hardware but always "Xbox360", this doesn't seem to happen consistently.

how Steam might be caching the device

Steam doesn't do that. But Steam may create a virtual input device via uinput. This is uhid, tho, which can be explained due to using bluez: It provides the input device via user HID bus aka uhid, and it may not tear down the previous connection until you disable or restart bluez (which is a relatively young feature, older versions worked differently). But Steam has nothing to do with that unless you start seeing uinput devices, which will happen if you enabled Steam Input.

Only Steam and games launched via Steam do not receive input.

This looks like a very old problem: If you disconnect and reconnect the controller, it will no longer be recognized by the game. I'm not sure if Steam has something do with it, it might be a Proton bug and how device enum works there. Comparing a directly started native game with a Proton game started from Steam isn't exactly testing a single difference.

But in my (old) tests, it was sufficient to restart the game. Now you observe you need to restart the computer.

Does the behavior persist before a reboot if you completely close Steam, then disconnect and reconnect the controller, then start Steam again? In v0.10, we changed the init phase of the driver to be faster and announce rumble support early. It may still be a problem that the init phase takes around 990ms.

Please verify if using ff_connect_notify=0 as module parameter fixes the problems.

BTW: If you are just using Steam Input, there's no point in using xpadneo - it provides nothing special in this case. Rather, it isn't even officially supported to use Steam Input, and Steam Input should be disabled except for selected games which won't work without it (e.g., some titles ported from Play Station).

[rethyria]

If you disconnect and reconnect the controller, it will no longer be recognized by the game. I'm not sure if Steam has something do with it, it might be a Proton bug and how device enum works there.

Steam itself is not receiving input as well as the game.

Comparing a directly started native game with a Proton game started from Steam isn't exactly testing a single difference.

Hidrot on discord tested a game not launched via Steam but using proton and observed the same behaviour.

Does the behavior persist before a reboot if you completely close Steam, then disconnect and reconnect the controller, then start Steam again?

The behaviour persists, yes.

Please verify if using ff_connect_notify=0 as module parameter fixes the problems.

It does not fix the problem - the game does not receive input.

If you are just using Steam Input, there's no point in using xpadneo.

Not using Steam Input - just observed it made no difference enabled or disabled.

---

Hidrot made an additional observation involving a second controller:

I have just found out that steams fails to receive input from the elite 2 controller after A disconnection, not the elite 2 controller disconnection itself.

• Connects 2 controllers (the order doesnt matter), on this test 1 is elite 2 and the other is a normal xbox one controller.
• Disconnects the non elite
• The elite still works fine on steam

BUT:

• Connect the non elite
• Disconnects the non elite
• Connect the elite
  Steam fails to receive input from the elite.

[kakra]

[ +0.005069] loaded hid-xpadneo v0.9.8
[...]
[ +0.000001] xpadneo 0005:045E:0B22.001B: unmapping bogus buttons

You are using

1. an old version of xpadneo
2. an unofficial built with unofficial patches, "unmapping mogus buttons" is not a message that official xpadneo has

Please retry with an unpatched current version.

[hidrot]

Hi, I'm Hidrot from discord.

I did the following test:

• Connect the elite
• Connect the non elite
• Disconnect the elite
• Disconnect the non elite
• Reconnect the elite
• Reconnect the non elite

After the reconnection steams fails to receive input from the elite, the non elite works fine.

I hope those logs can help in someway.

uname -a Linux poyo 6.19.11-arch1-1 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Thu, 02 Apr 2026 23:33:01 +0000 x86_64 GNU/Linux

xpadneo-btmon.txt
xpadneo-dmesg.txt

[kakra]

I think I've run into a similar issue yesterday while testing multiple controllers: Suddenly, input in Steam would no longer work in Steam, but it still worked in evtest. But I didn't need to reboot to make it work again, just wait for all controllers to turn off, then it worked again after restarting the game, without restarting Steam. So I think it may be an issue in Steam or SDL.

Can you confirm that evtest still works for you guys if input stops working in Steam?

[ErikHacklin]

Hi, I have this issue as well. I can give a bit of information from my observations. The first connection after a restart works as expected and I can game via Steam normally. When I stop playing and disconnect / turn off the controller and try to reconnect, it will connect to the PC, but Steam big picture menus do not work using the controller. This will start working again after a restart.

The controller in this state does work in evtest.

[kakra]

I think the issue is different than it seems: From some tests it looks like games or Steam get confused which controller has which HID mapping. As long as I connect and disconnect controllers in game which have the exact same button mapping, everything is fine, e.g. if I switch between Xbox One S and Xbox Series X|S controller - they have the same descriptor. But if I connect one of them via USB, or connect the Xbox Elite 2 Controller, which both have a different input mapping, the game becomes confused: It still receives input but the triggers suddenly map to the A button or execute other random button presses, sometimes axes become stuck. I can get out of this situation by disconnecting all the "conflicting" controllers in reverse order, then I can sometimes get the originally used controller to correctly work again, but sometimes I need to even turn that off and back on. But still, no reboot required.

I think a reboot for you guys just triggers a proper reset of all conflicting controller inputs.

This really doesn't look like a problem in xpadneo. It rather looks like a race condition in Steam's or Proton's input handling.

[hidrot]

I think the issue is different than it seems: From some tests it looks like games or Steam get confused which controller has which HID mapping. As long as I connect and disconnect controllers in game which have the exact same button mapping, everything is fine, e.g. if I switch between Xbox One S and Xbox Series X|S controller - they have the same descriptor. But if I connect one of them via USB, or connect the Xbox Elite 2 Controller, which both have a different input mapping, the game becomes confused: It still receives input but the triggers suddenly map to the A button or execute other random button presses, sometimes axes become stuck. I can get out of this situation by disconnecting all the "conflicting" controllers in reverse order, then I can sometimes get the originally used controller to correctly work again, but sometimes I need to even turn that off and back on. But still, no reboot required.

I think a reboot for you guys just triggers a proper reset of all conflicting controller inputs.

This really doesn't look like a problem in xpadneo. It rather looks like a race condition in Steam's or Proton's input handling.

The issue happens with the elite 2 regardless of the use of another controller. I used two to try and give better logs, but in most cases I am using only 1 controller.
I have the elite 1 and the microsoft dongle, I could try using it and/or use via cable to see if Steams can receive inputs from it.
As far as I have tested, the only controller with this problem is the elite 2.