Fix: Thrustmaster TH8A Shifter Not Working on Forza Horizon 4/5

There is no need to introduce the Thrustmaster TH8A add-on shifter that’s highly crafted and designed for car racing simulation video games. Whereas both the Forza Horizon 4 & 5 titles are quite popular among car racing sim players to get into the madness of driving on the most extreme tracks ever. However, it seems that plenty of Forza Horizon players are facing the Thrustmaster TH8A Shifter Not Working issue on Forza Horizon 4/5 during the gameplay.

Now, if you’re also one of the victims to encounter such an issue then make sure to follow this troubleshooting guide to fix it. The chances are high that somehow the TH8A shifter either doesn’t get detected on the PC or the controls don’t work properly during the gameplay sessions. So, affected Forza Horizon 4/5 players are missing out on the real driving experience, unfortunately. It becomes quite common and frustrating among PC players mostly.

Fix: Thrustmaster TH8A Shifter Not Working on Forza Horizon 4/5

Though the Thrustmaster TH8A Shifter is compatible with Forza Horizon 4/5 title, it looks like that something is conflicting badly to occur such an issue. Several reports are claiming that the gearbox shifter stopped working all of a sudden and sometimes it won’t get detected by the PC. A couple of Redditors mentioned that even though connected gears are detected in the Control Panel on PC and the controller drivers are up to date, the issue remains the same.

It’s also worth mentioning that some affected players are claiming after installing the recent patch update to Forza Horizon 4/5, this specific issue starts bothering widely. So, there might be some kind of bug in the patch version which should be investigated by the Playground Games and Xbox Games Studio thoroughly. However, we’ve shared a couple of possible workarounds for you that might come in handy. So, without further ado, let’s jump into it.

1. Reconnect Thrustmaster TH8A to the PC

Well, it’s quite possible that disconnecting and reconnecting the shifter to the PC directly via the USB cable might fix the issue in most cases. Plenty of users did this trick and found it useful because a temporary connectivity glitch can trouble you a lot. To do so:

• Make sure to simply disconnect the Thrustmaster TH8A gearbox shifter from the PC.
• Now, reboot the computer to refresh its system > Connect the TH8A shifter’s DIN connector to the DIN/ USB cable.
• Then connect the TH8A shifter to the PC’s USB port properly.
• Once the gearbox shifter is connected to your PC, it’ll automatically get detected by the system.
• As soon as the computer detects it, the necessary drivers will also get installed on your PC. (the TH8A shifter is a Plug & Play device)
• Finally, you’ll find the T500 RS Gear Shift device in the Windows Control Panel that you can access from the Start menu.

2. Try Connecting to Another USB Port

Make sure to try using a different USB port on your PC to connect the shifter because of a connection issue or the wobbly/loose-contact USB port may encounter such conflicts. Connecting directly to the PC and via the USB Hub is also recommended.

3. Check Updates via Thrustmaster Firmware Updater

Sometimes checking for the latest update via the Thrustmaster Firmware Updater tool on your PC can fix the issue because outdated software of the connected USB device may cause connectivity issues. To do so:

• Launch the Thrustmaster Firmware Updater tool on your PC.
  • Go to the Start menu > Click on All Programs > Click on Thrustmaster.
• Now, click on TH8A > Click on Firmware Updater.
• [BOOT] TH8A Shifter – Ver: [version number] appears under Device.
• Click on OK to update the firmware.
• Once the update has been successful message appears, you can close it, and reboot the PC.
• It should fix the Thrustmaster TH8A Shifter Not Working issue on Forza Horizon 4 or Forza Horizon 5.

Please Note: If the shifter isn’t detected in the Firmware Updater window or if the update fails, try connecting the shifter to a different USB port on your PC, and then perform the steps again to see if that resolves the problem or not.

4. Reinstall the Latest Thrustmaster TH8A Driver

It’s highly recommended to reinstall the latest Thrustmaster TH8A driver on the PC by following the steps below. Sometimes an outdated driver can also trouble you a lot.

• Install the latest drivers available from Thrustmaster’s technical support website for your TH8A shifter here.
• Once downloaded, make sure to run the installer application file on the PC, and complete the installation.
• Finally, reboot the PC to apply changes.

5. Update Windows

The chances are high that an outdated Windows OS build can cause performance issues in most cases. Sometimes conflicts between the system and the USB device driver can cause connectivity issues whatsoever. You should always check for the software update on your PC and install the latest one.

• Press the Win+I keys to open Windows Settings.
• Click on Update & Security > Select Check for updates under the Windows Update section.
• If there is a feature update available, select Download and install.
• It may take a while to complete the update.
• Once done, restart your computer to install the update.

6. Manually Reset Thrustmaster TH8A Shifter

If the above methods didn’t work for you then make sure to manually perform a factory reset on your Thrustmaster TH8A gearbox shifter by following the steps below. Several users have found this method useful to resolve the shifter not working or can’t detect issues on the PC. To do so:

• There is a small hole on the TH8A shifter just beside the USB cable source. A small rectangular black button is there inside the hole.
• That’s a physical reset button of the Thrustmaster TH8A shifter.
• Simply use a paperclip or something like that to press and hold the reset button for a few seconds until you hear a clicking sound from it.
• Once you hear the clicking noise, make sure to unplug and plug back the USB cable to the PC directly (Don’t release the pressed button yet).
• As soon as the USB cable is connected to the PC, you can now release the pressed button.

Note: It’s quite normal that sometimes your Windows PC won’t gonna detect the shifter in the Game Controllers Panel. So, nothing to worry about it. Keep trying the USB cable to connect to the PC several times.

7. Contact Thrustmaster Support

As a last resort, you can contact Thrustmaster Support here to get further assistance. It’s better to start with a Live Chat feature and then you can ask the support agent to create a support ticket for the same. If in case, there is an issue with the shifter physically then make sure to ask for a repair or replacement (if under warranty). There will be nothing to do except for this.

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.