Windows 11’s feature to allow typing with your Xbox controller has vanished in a blow for owners of handheld gaming PCs

Windows 11 users who were keen to get the new gamepad keyboard layout – to facilitate easy typing using an Xbox controller on your PC via the on-screen keyboard – will be disappointed to learn that the feature has been put on hold.

That probably includes a fair few handheld owners, who were doubtless excited to see this functionality appear in testing back at the start of September 2024, before it started to roll out with the latest Windows 11 update for 24H2 at the end of October (we should note that this is a preview update).

However, PhantomOfEarth, a well-known leaker on X, noticed that the mention of the gamepad keyboard layout has been removed from this preview update for 24H2, and that it’s being disabled on PCs which have already installed that update.

Neowin reports that Microsoft actually mentioned the rollout has been paused in a recent Beta channel preview build, informing us that: “We have temporarily disabled the new Gamepad keyboard layout for the on-screen keyboard in Windows 11 that began rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel with Build 22635.4145 to address some issues. This feature will be roll out again in a future flight.”

Analysis: Patience is a virtual keyboard

In theory, with the gamepad keyboard appearing in last month’s preview update for Windows 11 24H2, the full rollout should have kicked off next week – with the release of the finished November patch 24H2. However, Microsoft appears to have taken the feature back to the drawing board for now, as clearly there are problems here – though Microsoft doesn’t drop any hints as to what these stumbling blocks might be.

What this means is that it’ll probably be a fair bit longer before the feature actually rolls out to Windows 11 users outside of testing. After all, Microsoft seemingly has a lot of fixing to do with Windows 11 24H2, which has encountered more than its fair share of bugs so far – and this appears to be another hitch to throw on the growing pile.

So, you’ll have to be patient for the feature to come to fruition, most likely, and we’ll be keeping an eye on the test channels to see when the controller keyboard layout returns into the mix with Windows 11 preview builds.

The gamepad on-screen keyboard allows you to type swiftly with the controller, and includes shortcuts to use buttons for functions like backspace, or pressing the spacebar (which Microsoft calls ‘button accelerators’). The keyboard also benefits from a tweaked layout that’s optimized for typing with your gamepad.

It’ll doubtless be a useful addition for those who regularly game with their controller on their PC, or indeed owners of Windows 11-powered handhelds like the Asus ROG Ally X.

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