Thrustmaster is one of the popular brands for manufacturing gaming controllers, joysticks, steering wheels, gearbox shifters, and more for PC and gaming consoles. As most PC gamers prefer to use steering wheels, pedals, and gearbox shifters for playing facing video games, the Thrustmaster TH8A Add-On Gearbox Shifter is quite popular and works well. But some unfortunate PC gamers face the Thrustmaster TH8A Shifter Not Working issue on the PC.
Talking about the TH8A from Thrustmaster is a good shifter add-on that offers two shift modes, a wide range of driving styles, excellent build quality, a nice overall design, and more. TH8A users also prefer to have steering wheels and pedals set for a realistic vehicle driving experience whatsoever. But some users aren’t happy with the TH8A gearbox shifter because it either doesn’t work properly or does not connect to the Windows PC.
Also Read: Fix: Thrustmaster TH8A Shifter Not Working on Forza Horizon 4/5
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Fix: Thrustmaster TH8A Shifter Not Working on PC
In some cases, affected users are also reporting on Reddit that the Thrustmaster TH8A shifter cannot get detected by the PC all of a sudden in any racing game or even in the control panel. Luckily, there are a couple of possible workarounds mentioned below that you can check out. All of these troubleshooting methods have been recommended by the affected TH8A users who have fixed this particular issue on the PC. So, let’s get 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 a connection issue or the wobbly 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 > 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 work fine now.
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 Driver from Thrustmaster
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 Build
Well, 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 Windows + I keys to open Windows Settings.
- Next, 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. Perform a Reset on Thrustmaster TH8A Shifter
If none of the methods worked 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.
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
If nothing seems working for you then you should 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. They’ll guide you on it.
That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.