FPS drop and stutters when using controller, but none on keyboard

LaidBackSith 215 Reputation points
2025-09-29T18:31:06.1266667+00:00

I haven't been able to play with my controller on PC in the last ~ 2 weeks. After a Microsoft update, every time I barely touch my controller, I instantly lose massive frames, but when I used my keyboard and mouse = no issue. I found a thread on Reddit where a bunch of people are saying the same thing happened to them around 9/20/2025. Someone highlighted that "GameInput" in your installed programs was the issue, as there were two, one from 2023 and one from 9/20/2025 (when this started happening to us). The user said to uninstall them and restart our computer. It worked for an hour, then is started doing it again. We were also instructed to go into "services" on our PC and stop/disable "GameInput", but it still keeps happening. I've had zero issues playing with my controller for over 5 years on PC, but ever since that 9/20/2025 GameInput update, many people and myself can't play any of our PC games with our controllers without severe FPS drop and stuttering 24/7. I pay for Xbox/PC Ultimate Gamepass, and I can't even play. This needs to be solved asap.

Windows for home | Other | Input and language

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Answer accepted by question author
Hendrix-V 21,000 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2025-09-30T01:03:26.46+00:00

Hi LaidBackSith,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A Community! Thank you for sharing the details and for your patience, I completely understand how frustrating it must feel to suddenly experience severe FPS drops after years of smooth gaming, especially when you’re paying for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

As far as I know, this incident is linked to duplicate GameInput installations causing conflicts. The recent update introduced a new version of GameInput, but in many cases, the older version wasn’t removed. This duplication can cause the GameInput service to misbehave, leading to massive frame drops whenever a controller is active. Disabling the service or uninstalling one version often works only temporarily because Windows reinstalls or restarts it automatically.

Here's the temporary workaround to fix the issue, please kindly follow the steps below:

1 - Remove Duplicate GameInput Installations

  • Go to Settings → Apps → Installed Apps.
  • Search for Microsoft GameInput.
  • If you see two entries (e.g., one from 2023 and one from 9/20/2025), uninstall the older one first.
  • If uninstall fails, manually delete: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft GameInput

2 - Check the GameInput Service

  • Open Services (services.msc).
  • Disable both "GameInput" and "GameInput Redist Service"

There's another workaround for Steam and non-Microsoft games you can also try:

  • Rename gameinputsvc.exe in C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft GameInput\x64\ to gameinputsvc.old (requires admin rights).
  • If you ever need it back, simply rename it to gameinputsvc.exe again.
  • Please note that some Xbox-related features on PC may stop working, such as:
    • Controller vibration settings.
    • Certain Xbox Game Bar or overlay features.
    • Input detection for some Microsoft Store games.

We know this is impacting your gaming experience, and we truly appreciate your patience while Microsoft works on a permanent solution. Based on past cases, a hotfix should arrive soon via Windows Update.

Thank you for being a valued Xbox Game Pass member!

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  1. JK 10 Reputation points
    2025-10-04T23:23:15.07+00:00

    I've also been having this problem. After 15-30 mins of gameplay, audio goes distorted, starts with a few pops and crackles then builds until audio sounds like an old AKAI audio time stretch.

    Narrowed it down to the controller (wired) after months of messing about trying things to fix it! There are pages and pages of people on other forums having this problem, all trying various things that often don't work. I wonder how many of them haven't noticed that it's the controller yet?

    Using m+kb, no distortion. Unplugging then plugging controller back in resets the distortion for a time. That's at least a simple workaround. I don't have multiple versions of gameInput. I'm wondering now if the controller / USB hub needs to be on a different core / lane to where the audio is being processed (gpu? nvidia audio driver)

    edit

    I am no longer experiencing this issue. I installed a program called 'Interrupt Affinity Policy Tool', ran as admin, and set anything related to audio devices / GPU to their own CPU lane.

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  2. HEAPS 0 Reputation points
    2025-10-19T08:07:47.8133333+00:00

    I uninstalled the Realtek audio drivers and that solved the issue.

    Issue: xbox controller on PC would start going all over the place 10-20 minutes into a game and the sound would be distorted. When switching to mouse and keyboard immediately it was fine.

    The Realtek drivers came with the latest MSI motherboard drivers that I needed to enable a Security Bot to be able to play the new COD and Battlefield.

    Hope this helps someone.

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  3. きくり 廣井 0 Reputation points
    2026-10-19T05:42:58.05+00:00

    Posting this because the "duplicate installation" workaround did NOT

    work for me, and I believe the root cause is different from what's

    been assumed.

    Timeline: started after the GameInput 3.5 rollout (~Sept 29).

    What I ruled out, one by one:

    • Bluetooth stack / adapter — reproduces over the Xbox wireless dongle and over USB too
    • CPU scheduling, power plan, core parking
    • Controller drivers and firmware (updated via Xbox Accessories)
    • Multiple different controllers, including non-Xbox models
    • DualSense drivers and third-party input wrappers
    • Xbox services and Game Bar overlays
    • Duplicate GameInput installations — I had only ONE copy. The "uninstall the older version" workaround does nothing here.

    What the symptoms actually look like:

    Audio crackling/popping starts the moment a controller is connected,

    even with no game running. Frame time then collapses. Switching to

    mouse and keyboard restores audio and FPS instantly. This is the

    signature of an interrupt storm saturating the DPC queue — audio

    degrades first because it's the most latency-sensitive consumer,

    then rendering follows.

    My hypothesis: GameInput runs redundant device-type detection

    (repeated checks for keyboard/mouse/gamepad) on each input event.

    Once a HID device matching its hardware criteria is present, the

    deferred work queue gets flooded. This is a DPC-path problem in the

    service itself, not a side effect of having two versions installed.

    Workaround that finally held:

    1. services.msc → disable BOTH "GameInput" and "GameInput Redist Service" (disabling only the first one lets Redist restart it)
    2. Remove the Microsoft GameInput folders, then place a read-only placeholder file with the same name to block silent reinstall
    3. Device Manager → Software devices → disable "Microsoft Device Association Root Enumerator" (note: this also kills serial ports, TWIAN scanners and MIDI devices — test it separately first)

    To anyone still struggling: please verify with LatencyMon and post

    your DPC numbers. Reports that pin this to the DPC path rather than

    to duplicate installs are what will get it actually fixed. I've also

    filed this on the microsoftconnect/GameInput GitHub repo.

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  4. Adam Holmes 5 Reputation points
    2025-10-08T11:17:55.8266667+00:00

    If you want a simple fix for the time being then go into settings, then into apps and search for Microsoft GaneInput then click on it and press delete. This will stop FPS drops while using controller for the time being as long as you don't turn off or restart your PC.

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