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

LaidBackSith 200 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
Answer accepted by question author
  1. Hendrix-V 5,065 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!

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. Accepting an answer helps us track the effectiveness of our support efforts. If you have additional questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

    6 people found this answer helpful.

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  1. JK 5 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.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
  2. 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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  3. Izgramor Izgramor 0 Reputation points
    2025-10-09T01:53:02.9033333+00:00

    pareil , saccade , image , son , fps , dès que je bouge le joystick gauche manette usb , depuit plus ou moin 1 semaine , 10 jours . je vais essayez la reponse gaminput

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  4. 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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