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Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2

Based on 297 comments across 1 community
TL;DR
Owners love how this controller feels in the hand, the back paddles, and the deep customization, and plenty have used theirs for years without trouble. But the recurring complaint is reliability: stick drift shows up constantly, often within months or even right out of the box, and the bumpers (RB/LB) frequently go mushy or stop working. Many owners say they've replaced theirs multiple times and feel the build quality doesn't justify the high price.
What 297 owners say
2,384 comments reviewed · scored on the 297 clearest verdicts
49%
Recommend
145 owners
11%
Neutral
32 owners
40%
Don't recommend
120 owners

7 owners report specific problemsin troubleshooting threads (setup, firmware, or hardware faults). These are capped in the score above so a problem-report thread can't dominate it — read them under the Doesn't recommend filter below.

Source
Breakdown
Score
N
Counted in the score
Reddit
49%
297
What owners like
  • Premium feel and heavy, solid build · 27 · 9%
  • Back paddles and rear buttons · 24 · 8%
  • Deep customization (swappable sticks, adjustable tension, trigger locks) · 18 · 6%
  • Comfortable, ergonomic shape · 13 · 4%
  • Long battery life · 12 · 4%
What owners flag
  • Stick drift, often early or out of the box · 34 · 11%
  • Bumper (RB/LB) failures · 22 · 7%
  • Poor durability and short lifespan · 21 · 7%
  • Face button / ABXY failures (sticking, double inputs, not registering) · 15 · 5%
  • Expensive for the quality · 9 · 3%

Top quotes, sourced

2,384 reviewed · 297 shown
Sentiment
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Reddit— neutral

Just be aware that the elite series 2 controller often has grip peeling issues and there isn’t really a proper fix for it. It is really annoying for such an expensive controller.

Reddit▲ recommend

a stupidly expensive Xbox elite series 2 controller, which I do love

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

I tried 4 different brand new Elite Series 2 controllers, and all 4 of them had dodgy A and Y buttons.

Reddit— neutral

I think then heavyweight champion could be the Elite Series 2 Controller with 342g. One of the bigger controllers. But it's known for it's bad quality and is missing modern features.

Reddit▲ recommend

then I got a series 2 Xbox elite controller. Only things I've had to do with it is, put some cleaner around the bumper connections, replace the outer shell

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

I bought an elite series 2 controller, within a month the right stick click broke.

Reddit— neutral

I like how it feels and how hefty it is, but I don't think it has great analog sticks, the buttons are pretty loud, and the rumble is disgustingly loud. Pretty good otherwise.

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

There is also a 3D printable spacer that you can put under the switch, which is supposed to prevent the switch itself from bending (which causes the bumper to work intermittently)

Reddit▲ recommend

Love the elite series 2 controller, but in spite of the cheap rubber on the edge, I like it more.

Reddit▲ recommend

for PC I use my Xbox Elite Series 2. While more games and launchers are becoming compatible with Sony controllers, Xbox controllers on PC "just work"

Reddit— neutral

The weight of it felt great as did nearly all of the buttons, in my opinion. My only gripes with the elite series 2 was that the AXYB buttons felt a little too mushy for me

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

Those are the faultiest controllers ever, without a shadow of a doubt the worst thing to get attached to. From stick drift, to faulty buttons, to them suddenly thinking a button is forever pressed.

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

Turns out if you push the face buttons at a certain angle (which I do naturally) it’s possible to get them to click down but not actually register the press. Returned it for a replacement twice and the replacements were no better so just got a refund.

Reddit— neutral

Yeah I got an elite series 2 replaced the sticks with hall effect sticks so it wouldn't get drift....the rubber grips started peeling. But I will say great controller.

Reddit▲ recommend

In addition, the controller is built like a tank and really feels like a high quality item. I recommend it.

Reddit— neutral

I like using my Xbox Elite Series 2 or though it’s not perfect, it’s a really good controller, very comfortable, fast and customisable, I recommend it…

Reddit▲ recommend

I use the Xbox Elite Series 2 and love it. They will wear out over time. But worth the investment imo. I couldn’t imagine playing apex or any game for that matter without it.

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

Made the switch off xbox controllers myself after being extremely disappointed with the series 2 elite. The wireless range would cut out after only 4 feet away from the usb dongle.

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

For example just replaced the POS Elite Series 2 with an 8BitDo Ultimate 2. And somehow the cheaper, third party controller, is better built, dowsnt use ancient ass potentiometers

Reddit▲ recommend

In my opinion it’s the best controller ever made and I use it not only with my Xbox but a lot of pc games as well. The back buttons help so much

Reddit— neutral

I've loved my time with Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 but it's starting to get noisy during use and the right shoulder pad is a bit glitchy.

Reddit— neutral

Elite series 2 is what I use, if you get one make sure to buy the Microsoft complete 3 year warranty with it. It's like 20 bucks. They have a reputation if quality control issues but mine have been mostly good.

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

when I swapped over to using a Dualsense from my Xbox Elite Series 2 in games like ACC or Le Mans Ultimate I improved almost immediately. I had way better throttle and brake control

Reddit▲ recommend

Xbox Elite Series 2 Core is the best controller I've ever used personally. Hard to use anything else.

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