Here are the best ways to charge your Xbox One controller

There are a few different ways to charge an Xbox One controller. 

You can use the Xbox One Play & Charge Kit, a standard micro USB cable, or any compatible, rechargeable battery pack. It's also possible to just use standard AA batteries for your controller, but it may be annoying to keep buying new batteries. 

Here's what you need to know to charge your controller. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Xbox One Controller (From $59.99 at Best Buy)

Xbox One Charge and Play Kit (From $19.99 at Best Buy)

YCCTeam Xbox One Controller Battery Pack (From $19.99 at Best Buy)

How to charge an Xbox One controller 

With the Xbox One Play & Charge Kit, you can expect to get up to 30 hours of use out of your Xbox One controller after four hours of charging its battery pack. 

The even better news? You don't even need to stop playing to charge the controller. 

You can simply connect your controller to the Xbox One console with the cable and the charging will commence.

If you don't want to purchase the Xbox One Play & Charge Kit, you can use any USB cord to connect your controller to the console, although Microsoft says charging times may vary with this method. 

But connecting an Xbox One controller to the console isn't the only way to charge it.

You can also use any micro USB cord connected to a USB power source — even a wall outlet — as long as you have a proper adapter. 

In addition, you can use AA batteries to power the controller. It will run for many hours off a pair of AA batteries, just note that the manufacturer recommends alkaline batteries with designation LR6.

Finally, there is always the option to swap out the Xbox One controller's battery pack with another rechargeable unit, especially if the battery life on your controller is permanently diminished.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

• How to delete games on your Xbox One, and reinstall them later

• 'Do Xbox 360 controllers work on an Xbox One?': No, they do not — here's how to get a new Xbox One controller inexpensively

• How to manually eject a disc from any Xbox One model using a paperclip

• How to connect a Xbox One controller to your Xbox One console, with or without a USB cable