Amazon Basics Controller Battery Pack Charger for Xbox One S Console

Like many others, I was disappointed that the Xbox One S controllers were still powered by disposable AA batteries. So, I spent another $25 for the official play/charge kit, and it works great, but this product just completes everything.It will charge my official Xbox battery pack, and comes with two generic battery packs. The battery cover on the controller doesn't fit completely flush with the aftermarket battery packs, and they're 200mA lighter in capacity vs. the Microsoft battery pack, but I really don't notice a difference in battery life, and the cover not sealing completely flush doesn't get in the way of my fingers, nor does the cover fall off or feel loose.The charging base is very small and unobtrusive, fits securely to the console and has a pass-through USB port so that you don't lose that convenient front port. I haven't timed the charging, but it appears to go pretty fast. It's nice having three batteries at one time in rotation and ready to go (one in the controller, two in the charger.)Some reviews mention problems with the spring-loaded locking tabs, but I haven't had any problems with them yet, and I made it a point to go through a few cycles of charging before writing this review.The charger charges the battery packs whether the console is on or not. Green LED = fully charged, red LED = charging, with one light for each of the two charging ports.For the $16 or so that I paid for this, I'm very satisfied. I'd have easily gone through that much in disposable batteries by this time.

Overall a pretty awesome battery kit. I like how it fits to the front side of the XBox. It conveniently has 2 batteries so when one is charging the other one is available. Also I like the fact that it has a pass through for the USB, I play a game that requires a peripheral and having the front side port open is helpful. Previously I have used both the XBox one plug and charge kit, as well as 2 sets of Amazon Basic Batteries.So why is this a better solution for me than the previous things I have used?Well the xbox Plug and Play kit has 1 flaw that may bother others, and that when you are playing and need to charge you have to plug in the controller. Which in my house means that either my wife or the dog will come in, within the next 5 minutes and trip over the cord. This has no cord, and to recharge you slide the spent battery in the charger and grab the charged one.Why is it better than rechargeable batteries, well simple it will prevent others who have access to the batteries from taking them. Or in other words there is no repurposing the battery pack, where if one needs a AA battery one can always grab the rechargeable and be 1 down in their rotation. So a bit of give and take.The only downside is that for some reason I do not get a low battery warning, so I can be playing a game and the controller dies, though I am not sure if that is the battery or just something I turned off when turning off messages on the XBox.

I bought these 6 years ago but never got around to leaving a review. This simple item is a significant upgrade for the Xbox.

After my fourth in (in only three years) Xbox branded rechargeable battery pack stopped holding a charge I gave in and decided to try an “off” brand. I have had good luck with AmazonBasics for household goods such as clothes hangers and photography equipment such as a tripod and gear-bag so when I made the choice to try AmazonBasics Controller Battery Charger (designed for the Xbox One S console) when they popped up in my search.The packaged arrived two days after ordering (thank you Prime) and upon opening it the first thing I noticed was the build quality of the charger. It is NOT good. It looks and feels like cheap plastic I would expect from a knock-off product found at a gas station and is not at all of the quality of other AmazonBasics items I have purchased. That being said, the charger does what it is supposed to do and doesn’t look bad at a distance once plugged into the Xbox One S. I purchased the charger in black and I do like the contrast with the white of the console.The charger has red and green LED indicator lights on the front that are too bright when the room is dark and can be distracting while using the television. In addition, the battery packs load from the top and I have noticed that the springs used to pop them up seems almost too weak for the job and I foresee them giving out in the first six months to a year.As for the batteries themselves they look and feel well made and hold a charge better than the Xbox branded batteries I used previously. They do fit the controller very tightly. So much so that I was worried that I would crack the plastic of either the controller or the battery pack trying to install it. They are a tight fit going in and an equally tight fit taking them out so if you are a very competitive gamer you may want to keep the charging cable handy incase a pack goes out during a game because these are not a quick swap. Once in place though, the battery cover fits with no issues and they do not seem to add any additional weight over the Xbox brand battery packs.I have not tried any marathon gaming with them yet but for basic use such as navigating Netflix or sending out an occasional chat message I have gone over a week on a single battery charge. From what little gaming I have done since buying these I can assume about 5-7 hours of use and I also assume that will diminish with each charge. I will update this review once I know more.The biggest upside to the AmazonBasics Controller Battery Charger (designed for the Xbox One S console) that sets it apart from most others I have seen is the design. It plugs directly into consoles usb (while providing a built in usb so you still have the option of using one) and definitely looks like it was made for the Xbox. Because of this design it doesn’t take up much extra space as it barely adds to the consoles overall footprint.In the end would I recommend the AmazonBasics Controller Battery Charger (designed for the Xbox One S console)? If it was just the charger I would say no due to the build quality. But it comes with two well-made rechargeable battery packs and all for less than I have paid in the past for just one Xbox branded rechargeable battery. So all together for the money I would have no problem recommending this item.