Driving games like Forza Horizon 5 are all about precision control. Keyboard and mouse input works fine, but the analog sticks on game controllers feel more natural to some players. Of course, that vibe rings especially true when using a racing wheel. The problem is that players keep running into situations where their controller gets disconnected. In other cases, their racing wheel won’t work at all. Is there anything that can fix this issue?
Forza Horizon 5 controller disconnected? Check your racing wheel.
The Forza Horizon 5 controller disconnected error seems to mainly affect racing wheels. To make matters worse, the proper solutions range from unusual to implausible. Some racing wheels simply don’t work, while user-submitted fixes rely on unproven or unusual methods.
If your racing wheel keeps getting disconnected, you should first check to make sure it’s actually supported. Not all racing wheels work, and others don’t work very well. Here’s a look at all fully supported racing wheels in Forza Horizon 5.
Assuming you own a supported wheel, you’re not quite in the clear yet. Some racing wheels have special requirements for installation, even specific drivers and firmware. Check out this page on the Forza Motorsport Support website to learn more about compatible racing wheels. If yours is on the list, you may need to follow special instructions to get it working.
If your wheel isn’t fully supported, bad news: There’s no confirmed fix just yet. Posts on the Forza Motorsport forums suggest you may be able to turn on compatibility mode with the Fanatec DD2, if that’s the wheel you use. Another strange solution on the Forza subreddit posits that you can hold down the Enter key on your keyboard to make your wheel work again once the error appears. Others chimed in to say that you can hold Enter while unplugging the keyboard to the same effect. We can’t guarantee that it works, but it’s worth a shot.
As for typical video game controllers like the Xbox 360 or PS4 controller, disconnections should only be the result of more practical connection problems. If you’re using a wired gamepad, make sure the USB plug is seated properly and the wire isn’t damaged. If it’s wireless or Bluetooth, you’ll want to make sure those connections are functioning as intended. Depending on the controller, you may also want to update its firmware.
Here are a few troubleshooting tips for crashing in Forza Horizon 5.
