So, I have two sons who LOVE the XBox. They are currently spending an inordinate amount of time on Fortnite — I am sure you can empathise with this ;-)
Anyway, over the years we have acquired 4 XBox One controllers. It’s taken some time, we didn’t buy them all at once because, hey, they’re expensive right?
Over time the headphone adaptor socket on each one has failed, rendering the plugin headsets we have useless. At first we assumed it had to be the headsets as there’s no way a Microsoft controller costing £50 could fail? Err, no, it turns out they very much CAN fail, because the way the headphone socket is added to the controller is a tragedy.
I am serious when I say that I cannot think of any reason other than a massive mistake that anyone would NOT solder a headphone socket to the circuit board of whatever it is in, and instead opt to have the “feet” of the socket just press on pads on the board instead! This is after all a socket that is going to be regularly used.
Anyway, that’s what Microsoft in their wisdom decided to do. And all of our controllers are now broken as a result.
So rather than buy more, I opted to fix them. One by one.
What You Need
If you have one or more XBox One controllers where the headset no longer works, this guide could be for you.
Do note that any repairs you undertake may void your warranty if the controller is still inside the warranty period — ours where not.
You don’t need special skills to do this repair, but please don’t hold me responsible if things don’t work out right!
You’re going to need:
- broken Xbox One controller — Model Number 1708 (you can find the model number in the battery compartment)
- screw drivers: Torx T6 and T8 security driver — available on eBay
- replacement headset socket — available on eBay
- about 20 minutes of patience
XBox One Controller Model 1708
I am sure you can get replacement headset sockets for other XBox One controllers, but I’ve repaired 2 Model 1708s so far.
Note that the offending headset socket that we are going to replace looks like the one below:
Make the Repair
Got all the bits you need? Let’s get started. Pop the batteries out of the controller first, as you will need to get to the battery compartment later.
Step 1 — Pry off the grips
If you ask me this is by far the fiddliest part of the whole repair! You should use a case opening tool, the thing that looks like a guitar pick is good for this, to work along the inside edge of the controller grip.
You will need some patience here. There’s not a lot that can be broken, but if you are too harsh, you will end up snapping off some of the plastic clips which is not going to be good. Take your time. Work along the edges until you can remove the grips on both sides.
Step 2 — Use Torx T8 Security Screwdriver to remove screws
With the grips off, you will easily see that there are 4 screws that need to be taken out.
With those 4 screws removed, move on to the next step.
Step 3 — Remove the battery compartment label
Carefully lift up the corner of the battery compartment label with a small screwdriver or similar item.
Once you have enough of the corner lifted to grip with your fingers, pull the sticker about half way off to reveal the 5th screw.
Remove the 5th and final screw.
Step 4 — lift off the top of the controller
The top of the controller can now be easily lifted free.
Step 5 — Turn the controller over and remove the bottom
Carefully turn the controller over and remove the bottom half of the case.
There’s not a lot that can fall out and get lost here, so don’t worry too much.
You will now have a collection of parts like so:
Step 6 — Remove circuit board screws
There are 2 smaller screws that need to be removed from the circuit board. These are located just above the vibration motors.
You will need a T6 Torx screwdriver for this.
Step 7 — Split the top and bottom circuit boards
There are two boards inside the controller, the top one is attached to the bottom by a push connector that is a little hard to see without good light — as it’s located in the centre of the board, away from the edge.
Carefully hold the smaller circuit board and give it a gentle pull to separate it, by this I mean really gentle! The smaller board has a number of thin wires connecting it to other areas, for example the vibration motors, and these can easily be damaged if you are too rough.
Check the picture below and you’ll see you only need to separate the two boards by a very small amount to be able to release the headset connector and be able to safely remove it.
Step 8 — remove the old headset adaptor and replace it
Carefully lift out the old headset adaptor and note the orientation — the gold “feet” will be facing upwards if you’ve followed the instructions above. Either way, note which side the feet are facing and replace the new headset adaptor in the same orientation.
Step 9 — Re-assemble
Once you’ve correctly located the headset in position, you need to gently press the smaller circuit board back into its connector. The position of the board is reasonably obvious if you see where the holes for the screws went when you removed them, but do take care with this step.
Replace the 2 smaller screws in the circuit board, put the insides of the controller back in the underside of the case, put the top part of the controller back on, then put all 5 larger screws back. Replace the sticker in the battery compartment, then push the grips back on.
And…you’re done!
A Final Word
Personally I think it’s very poor of Microsoft to assemble the controller with the headset socket simply held in place by pressure, it’s almost certainly going to move or break with repeated use.
The repair of one controller will cost you less than £5 if you have to buy the Torx screwdrivers, if you already have them, the headset socket is around £3 from eBay. Much cheaper than a new controller!
Hope this repair guide helps you out.
Make a Headset Adaptor
If you are not able to attempt a repair like the above, why not switch to the Xbox headset adaptor, and do so for just a few $’s?
Rather than spend substantial funds on a new one, you can buy the parts needed to make your own — here’s how I did it:
https://medium.com/@mrvectrex/build-your-own-xbox-headset-adaptor-for-cheap-e18cfd3f719f
