XBOX USB Wiring Guide

by Bastian

Q: Why is this useful?

A: In case you want to connect XBOX devices to your computer’s USB port or connect USB
devices to your XBOX by splicing a USB extension cable and an XBOX extension cable together
and THE COLOURS OF THE WIRES DON’T MATCH. :) I mean you cannot connect black to
black, green to green, red to red and so on.

Q: How do I use this information?

A: After stripping both cables use a continuity checking device such as a battery and a light or a
multimeter to find out which wire goes to which pin. Then simply connect the matching numbers!

For example, connect +5V wire on the USB cable to the +5V wire on the XBOX cable.

NB: Please be careful when connecting these wires, if you connect the +5V to the -5V by mistake
and plug it in you will short the connection and could damage your XBOX or computer! I don’t
take responsibility for what you do!

MALE = the end which gets inserted (ie. The plug)

FEMALE = the part which the male part inserts into (ie. The socket)

Thes

e “diagrams” are of the plug / socket pointing towards you!

USB Plug (MALE) :

TOP

<

- - - this is the plastic bit at the bottom with

the pins on it

4 3 2 1

BOTTOM

Pin 1 – RED +5V

Pin 2 – WHITE -DATA

Pin 3 – GREEN +DATA

Pin 4 – BLACK -5V (Ground)

XBOX Breakaway Socket (FEMALE) :

TOP

5 4 1


3 2

BOTTOM

Pin 1 – +5V

Pin 2 – -DATA

Pin 3 – +DATA

Pin 4 – -5V (Ground)

Pin 5 – UNUSED (See Note Below)

XBOX Controller Plug (MALE) :

TOP

< - - - this is the plastic bit at the bottom with

the pins on it

4 5 3 2 1

BOTTOM

Pin 1 – +5V

Pin 2 – -DATA

Pin 3 – +DATA

Pin 4 – -5V (Ground)

Pin 5 – UNUSED (See Note Below)

NOTE : I have read in tutorials that pin 5 does the following;

1.

Lets the xbox know how many controllers are attached

2.

Is extra voltage for the vibration motors (!)

With respect to the people who said these things, they both seem unlikely to me. I actually have
no idea what it does, but I can make a guess. USB2 specification has a second Ground wire for a

total of 5 wires. Since the xbox is sort of based on the nforce2 chipset which supports USB2 I am
guessing that it is another Ground wire to make xbox accessories conform to USB2 specification.
Who knows? :)

In any case, it is not necessary to connect this wire to connect USB devices to the

XBOX.

Good luck and happy hacking!