Xbox One Play and Charge Kit

Game controllers are energy-intensive, especially if you use them on a daily basis. With the Xbox One controllers, I was switching out batteries every two weeks. That's roughly 50 batteries per year for one controller! The Play and Charge kit saves you money and is more energy-efficient. When the battery starts to get low, you can either plug it in and keep playing or charge it when you're not using the controller; I frequently charge it overnight so it's ready to go the next time I pick it up. It doesn't take long to recharge, but the time varies depending on how low the battery is; if your console warns you that the battery is low, it'll take at least three hours for a full charge. It also seems to charge slower if you continue to use it as it's charging, but that's understandable. I can go several days without needing to plug it in. The cord plugs into the top of the controller between the bumpers so you can continue using all of the buttons without it getting in the way. The other end of the cord is a USB, which you can plug in to one of the USB ports on the Xbox One or any supported USB port (I've heard that you can plug it into a wall charging unit if it supports enough voltage). The cord is at least eight feet long, and the battery is a Lithium-ion, which means it's more effective and will last longer. It would be nice if there was a charging station to keep more than one battery on hand, but this one lasts for a long enough period of time that it's a minor gripe. I've had this product for over seven months and it continues to work like a champ. At less than $20, It's one of the best purchases I've made on Amazon.

I initially purchased an Xbox One (Day One Edition) with an extra controller, and an extra Play and Charge Kit. After two years of heavy use, these devices work quite well. When I bought the second Xbox One (Halo 5 Edition) for the man-cave, I didn't hesitate to buy the licensed Play and Charge Kit again despite there being 3rd party alternatives on the market for less. I know that these are reliable and perform well. For those unfamiliar with what you're getting, it's a 9' charging cable and a Lithium Ion rechargeable battery (to replace AA disposable batteries). The 9' cable is a big deal because it allows you to 'Play and Charge', as the name suggests, so you don't have to stop gaming because your batteries are low. My PS4 charging cables are only 4', so I pretty much have to quit (or sit on the floor) to keep gaming if my second controller is down. Having said that, MS claims a <4 hrs to fully charge. This seems relatively accurate, though I've seen it take a bit longer if I was still playing while charging (vice leaving plugged in with the Xbox in sleep mode). The real performance for me comes into actual battery life. Perhaps partly due to controller power consumption, my controllers usually last for 5 days of moderate to heavy gaming each (weeks if I only play an hour or so a day). This is phenomenal because controller management is never an issue (in case you sit > 9' from your console and only have 1 controller). I recall the 360 Play and Charge batteries lasting much less time. If you have a PS4 you'll also recall that those batteries only seem to last for 7-9 hrs before needing a recharge. I enjoy both systems, but the Xbox clearly wins in this category. I highly recommend this accessory over anything else when getting a new system or controller.

I'll keep this short. This battery kit is amazing. Some thoughts: - The battery fits inside the battery compartment and is covered by the same piece of plastic that is currently on the back of the controller to cover the AA batteries. I was concerned about this because I got my nephew a custom Evil Controller that has a custom battery cover (to go along with the wraparound skin), and if this worked more like the 360 Play and Charge, that piece would not be there. - The battery life has been at least as long as the AA batteries I had at launch on a single charge. With the new dashboard update, I've been keeping an eye on the battery level, and it has been fantastic. - The included USB cable might seem silly if you have a million of them laying around, but the length is great, and the charging indicator light at the tip is appreciated. Not much else to say about a battery really, it just works and works perfectly. Cheers!

These batteries are an improvement over the 360 counterparts and definitely last 3-4x longer than those in the Dualshock 4 - and this is with vibration and use of headphones pretty often, but Microsoft needs to iron out the bugs as I experienced this across 3 Xbox Ones and multiple controllers. I tend NOT to neglect or abuse my electronics but I have tried using these batteries every which way to maintain proper function of a Lithium Ion battery and they still end up having issues in keep a charge. I am on my 4th battery in 2 years and the issue is eventually they will just charge how they want, when they want even though the battery is still very much viable. My previous battery (3rd) can still hold a very long charge but when it chooses, it can just bleed out over the course of 1~2 hours at times. If I plug in the official USB charge cable, the white light indicating a full charge can come on instantly or within minutes or it could be on all night. It doesn't happen that often but even a little can be often enough for some, so just be aware of this inconvenience and IMO, is still the way to go in terms of cost/benefit since the 3rd party batteries seem to not only have a low output but also seem to even be hazardous.

Had good battery life. Easy to assemble. Good quality

I bought this to keep me going until I buy a second controller and one of those Nyko charge docks. 1. It's simple. A charging cable and a battery. That's it. No weird parts or confusion at all. 2. It works well. Every part worked as expected. 3. Battery keeps a charge for a good long time. No issues. I don't have exact estimates, suffice it to say that I've forgotten the last time I'd charged it a few times. 4. Lithium ion battery. Cons 1. Kind of expensive for a battery and a cable. 2. Didn't come with the controller like it should have. Kind of upset I had to buy this separately. Overall, it's either this or the Nyko charge base. They're both great options but until I get a second controller, a dock seems too much. *update* So I went with that Nyko base and that turned out to be a bust. After so long, I figured I might as well just buy a second one of these for charging my two controllers. The price hasn't hardly dropped but that's okay. The first one I bought back in April of 2015 still works and still holds a charge. I've seen the other reviews about how the battery dies after 6 months. That was likely a bad batch from the manufacturer. It happens. I'm not making excuses for Microsoft because that's really not cool, but I can see both sides of the situation. Willing to take another shot with one of these. The first one turned out fine and it can't get worse than that "I work when I want lulz" charge base from Nyko.

This review will be focusing more on the pricing of this kit rather than the quality. In terms of quality, I'd say it's a 5 star product-- both the included cable and battery are well made, and on a full charge the battery provides many hours of gameplay. If you want a rechargeable battery for an Xbox One controller, this does exactly what it says on the tin, and does it well. My real issue is that the Xbox One controller should have included a rechargeable battery out of the box. A rechargeable battery and USB cable should not cost $25, even if they have the official Xbox branding on them. A Dualshock 4 for the PS4 only costs $50 and has a rechargeable battery built right in, whereas if you buy an Xbox One controller and a play & charge kit you will be spending about $85 since the base controller itself is $10 more, even without a battery. I bought this because I got a good deal on my Xbone controller and decided to go hog wild, but I can't help but feel a little dirty for enabling Microsoft to continue nickle-and-diming their customers for such a basic feature that should be included with a controller that costs $50-60. If you want the official Xbox quality and are willing to pay for it then by all means, get this kit. I am simply writing this review to voice my dissatisfaction with Microsoft's prices for something that the controller should have included without an additional cost attached. Whether or not a battery is worth $25 is up for you to decide, but I think Microsoft should have given their customers a better deal.

Overall very good product, well made, well designed. Perfect for Xbox One users who have purchased a Xbox One headset (Turtle Beach, Tritton, Microsoft) because the new headsets are wireless to the console which means they have to get power from somewhere so they draw power from the controller. Save yourself some money buy this instead of using AA's, they are expensive. Pros: Comes with one charging cable and one lithium ion battery pack Official Microsoft made product Strong durable cable and usb plugs Battery Life (full charge) 5+ hours without any headsets or accessories plugged in. Led light tells whether charging or you have a full charge (orange-charging/white-fully charged) Long Cable 9ft from end to end Provides a USB connection with your console if you need to update controller (this can be done with any USB to USB mini cable, and headsets/accessories that need an controller firmware update for use usually include a 1ft USB to USB mini) Cons: The cable is not super long so if you have a couch or seat more than 8ft away the cable isn't going to have slack and the lack of slack will be noticeable both by the look of it and how it feels while holding the controller. ***If you are using the play and charge kit while using the Xbox One Stereo Headset Adapter to connect a Xbox 360 headset to use with the Xbox One there will be a loud ringing buzzing noise both in your headset and transmitted through game chat on some headsets such as the Turtle Beach X12's. As of now there is no fix for it, and as far as I know Microsoft has not been working on one*** *** TEMPORARY FIX*** Unplugging the cable will stop the ringing buzzing noise and as long as you are not playing for more 6 hours your controller battery should last.