Note: All photos above are of the prototype units. Final enclosures will have a few minor adjustments, photos will be updated in a few weeks.

Duke or Controller S - DIY Kit or Pre-Modded

Overview

Breakaway makes an original Xbox controller wireless while keeping the original controller. A battery-powered pack mounts in the controller's memory unit bays and a dongle plugs into the console's controller port. The console sees a standard wired controller, so it works on a bone-stock Xbox with no softmod, drivers or console changes.

The link is ESP-NOW, a connectionless 2.4 GHz protocol, not Bluetooth. The pack sends the complete controller state 250 times per second, matching the console's own 4 ms poll rate, with full-resolution pressure-sensitive face buttons and two-motor rumble.

Help celebrate 25 years of Xbox by bringing this long-overdue upgrade to your favorite console! Run is set to end on November 15 - the Xbox 25 year anniversary! Shipping will begin within 30 days of close.

Key features

1. Works on an unmodified Xbox. The dongle presents the exact IDs and descriptors of a wired Duke, byte for byte.
2. Purpose-built radio link. 250 Hz full-state streaming; newest state always wins, no retry queue. Radio round trip measured at 3.15 ms median / 4.0 ms p99 on prototype boards, unchanged through interior walls.
3. Nothing is lost in translation. Both sticks, both triggers, D-pad, and the full pressure value of all six analog face buttons. Rumble on both motors.
4. Up to 4 players. Each pack/dongle pair is an independent link. Player number is the port the dongle is plugged into.
5. Zero-button pairing. A new pack and dongle bond on first power-up and only talk to each other after that. Re-pair with a button press on each end.
6. Safe link loss. After half a second of silence the dongle reports centered sticks and no buttons to the console.
7. Duke and Controller S both verified end to end on real hardware, rumble included.
8. Bluetooth mode. The pack can also present the controller to a PC, Mac, Android or Linux device as an Xbox Wireless Controller, rumble included (details below).
9. Wireless firmware updates for both boards from the config page. The pack refuses an image built for the dongle and vice versa.
10. No power switch. The pack sleeps at microamps and wakes on the pair button. USB-C charging.

Purchasing Options - Kit or Pre-Modded Controller

Kit Option - installation is a solderless ordeal and completely reversible with the exception of the (literally) cutting the cable. Unfortunately neither controller has a pluggable connector, the cable is soldered into its mainboard. Installation step overview:

1. Unscrew the controller and separate the halves.
2. Remove the dual Memory Unit retainer, it just unclips and is removed. The Breakaway essentially replaces this portion of the controller.
3. Cut the cable about 2" outside of the controller body. Strip back the cable sheathing and shielding, revealing 5 wires. Cut/remove the yellow wire (not needed).
4. Strip the 4 remaining wires (black, red, white & green) and screw them down the the corresponding place in the terminal block.
5. Insert the Breakaway enclosure to follow the contour of the controller shell. Close the other half, and replace the screws.
6. Breakaway will come pre-paired with its dongle.
7. If you ever wish to reverse the mod, replacement cables are available online - you'll have to desolder the cable connector and solder in the replacement. Save the Memory Unit retainer mentioned above if you may reverse later.

The installation instructions & video for the final version is a work in progress and will be released prior to shipping the first orders. In the meantime, you can review the prototype installation videos - the final version will be very similar to these:

1. Breakaway Prototype Installation for Duke
2. Breakaway Prototype Installation for Controller S

Pre-modded Option - Choose between the Duke or Controller S. These are 100% original Microsoft controllers, completely refurbished. Each unit will be carefully:

1. Disassembled and wash all all controller components: the shell, buttons, thumbsticks and button membrane are soaked and washed until spotless.
2. Mainboard is cleaned with IPA, potentiometers are cleaned with contact cleaner to return full range & accuracy of thumbsticks & triggers.
3. Worn or damaged thumbsticks for the Controller S will be replaced with new aftermarket ones, virtually identical to the originals. The Duke does not have thumbstick replacements available, so only originals in good condition will be sold.
4. Breakaway is installed and unit is fully tested, calibrated and paired to its dongle.
5. Keep in mind, while we try to resell only controllers in good condition, these are 20 years old at this point - and there will be minor scuffs or scratches on the controller body. We will not sell any units with cracks or noticeable damage.

Config page on your phone

Hold LT + RT + Black + D-pad Left for 3 seconds and the pack enables its own Wi-Fi hotspot. The page opens like a captive portal. No app, no internet connection, no account. The link keeps streaming while the page is open.

1. Status: battery voltage and %, charging state, temperature, signal strength, packet loss, firmware version, which controller is attached
2. Live visualizer of every input, showing exactly what the console receives
3. Rumble on/off and rumble strength, 0–100 %
4. Pair / forget
5. Firmware update for the pack; the dongle has its own page, enabled from the controller
6. Minute-by-minute battery log, downloadable as CSV

Calibration, tuning and controller health

These controllers are 20+ years old. The pack reads the real pad and synthesizes what the console sees, so corrections are applied invisibly and work in every game. Defaults are neutral: an untouched pack behaves exactly like a wired controller.

1. Controller health card: live raw values, min/max since reset, resting offset as a % of full scale, trigger travel, pressure-button range, and which buttons have been seen. Tells you whether a problem is the pad or the mod.
2. Stick calibration: capture the resting center of a drifting stick; rescale a worn stick that no longer reaches full travel.
3. Deadzones: stick (scaled radial, no step at the edge, full deflection still reachable) and trigger.
4. Remapping: per-axis invert, stick swap, and full remapping of the six pressure buttons and eight digital buttons.
5. Sleep timeouts adjustable (0 = never).
6. Each section has its own Save and Restore defaults.

Bluetooth mode (PC, Mac, Android, Linux)

1. Switch modes from the controller: LT + RT + White + D-pad Up for Bluetooth, Down for the Xbox link.
2. Presents as an Xbox Wireless Controller (Series X|S identity; Xbox One S selectable). Windows uses its XInput driver, Steam lists it as an Xbox controller, Android / Linux / macOS use their stock Xbox mapping. No drivers or software needed.
3. Rumble over Bluetooth, verified from Steam on Windows and on Android.
4. Battery level reported to the host.
5. 7.5 ms connection interval, the lowest Bluetooth LE allows; granted by both Windows and Android in testing.
6. Calibration, deadzones and remaps apply in this mode too.
7. Optional custom device name.
8. Limitations: face buttons are digital in this mode (standard gamepad reports have no pressure field); no Bluetooth Classic, so no Nintendo Switch; iOS untested.

Controller shortcuts

Battery and power

1. Duke pack: 2,000 mAh 103450 LiPo. Four full run-downs with the controller connected and streaming: ~5.5 hours with rumble off, ~4.8 hours with rumble on. The difference is the cost of listening for rumble commands; rumble-heavy games will drain it faster, expect around 3.5 hours. A motors-running run-down is still to be measured.
2. Controller S pack: a smaller ~1,500 mAh cell, the largest that fits. Expect closer to a 4-hour runtime.
3. USB-C charging at 1 A. The port is charge-only; firmware updates are wireless.
4. Automatic sleep after 5 minutes without a console or 15 minutes without input (both adjustable), or Back + Start. Wake with the pair button.
5. Low-battery indication on both the pack and the dongle LEDs.
6. Hard low-voltage cutoff protects the cell.
7. RGB status LED on the pack: charging / full / link / low battery.

Reliability

1. Automatic USB recovery. A corrupted packet or stalled endpoint on the controller's USB link is cleared and polling resumes; the pack power-cycles the controller if needed. Events are counted and marked in the battery log.
2. Latched rumble. A lost "stop" command cannot leave the motors running.
3. No-controller indicator. If the pack sees no controller on its USB, both LEDs triple-blink, so a miswired terminal is obvious immediately.

Specifications

What's included

DIY Kit

1. Pack board, assembled and tested, in its printed dome, with LiPo cell installed
2. Dongle, assembled and tested, with the breakaway plug mounted, in its printed enclosure
3. Installation documentation and video

Pre-Modded Controller

1. A fully refurbished Duke or Controller S with the pack installed, paired to its dongle and tested end to end on a real Xbox

Notes and limitations

1. The pack occupies the space of both memory unit bays. A modded controller cannot take a memory unit or a communicator.
2. Verified on genuine Microsoft Dukes and Controller S's. Third-party / clone controllers are untested and unlikely to fit or work.
3. Firmware updates ship over the air from the config page. Feature requests are welcome.

Run details

1. Open for about 30 days; shipping about 30 days after the Run closes.
2. Price depends on volume. See Volume Pricing.

See the GitHub/Documentation link below for full instructions, issue reporting & firmware update downloads.