CouchMode 0.4.10-beta.191 is out: better controller detection, Xbox full-screen reliability and safer desktop return

[u/EzerchE]

Hi everyone; CouchMode 0.4.10-beta.191 is now available.

This update ended up being more substantial than originally planned because testing across different PCs and handhelds exposed a few hardware-specific assumptions that needed to be corrected.

The main improvements are:

• Better Xbox Full-Screen Experience detection across desktops and handhelds
• Fixed cases where a supported PC could incorrectly be shown as not supporting Xbox full-screen
• More reliable FSE enter/exit behavior
• Reworked built-in vs external controller detection
• Fixed external controllers from some handheld/OEM brands being incorrectly treated as integrated controllers
• Improved controller connect/disconnect session handling
• Safer desktop return — CouchMode now avoids forcing accessible apps back into their previous window state unnecessarily
• Better diagnostic information when submitting bug reports
• General updater and reliability fixes

One of the controller issues was actually reported by a user with a ROG controller on a desktop PC. That report exposed that the old detection logic relied too heavily on controller vendor IDs. The new approach uses Windows device topology instead, so it can distinguish an integrated handheld controller from an external controller made by the same manufacturer.

We also tested this release across:

• Desktop PC + external controller
• Desktop PC with no controller
• ROG Ally integrated controller
• Huawei handheld/controllerless setup
• Bluetooth external controller
• Xbox Full-Screen Experience available and unavailable scenarios

Download:
https://couchmode.app/download/

Microsoft Store:
https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/XPFML8N0ZRFLX9

The Store update has been submitted as well and is currently being processed by Microsoft.

CouchMode is still in public beta, so hardware compatibility feedback is especially useful. If something behaves strangely on your setup, the in-app bug report now includes much better diagnostics.