YOKO+ yoke suddenly won’t calibrate or accept programming in FSX

YOKO+ in FSX suddenly won’t calibrate / won’t take assignments

John, when a YOKO+ goes from “working great” to “can’t calibrate or accept programming,” it’s usually one of three things: Windows no longer sees it correctly, FSX is fighting with another controller/utility, or FSX’s control config got corrupted.

Here’s how I’d tackle it, step by step.

1) Confirm Windows still sees the YOKO+ properly

1. Unplug the YOKO+, then plug it back in (preferably a different USB port on the PC, not a hub).
2. Open Windows “Game Controllers” (the old Control Panel app).
3. Select the YOKO+ and click Properties.
4. Move the yoke and press buttons: do you see smooth axis movement and button presses there?

If Windows doesn’t show correct movement/buttons, FSX won’t be able to calibrate or bind reliably.

2) Remove conflicts (FSX + other controller software)
If you have any other controller plugged in (gamepad, other yoke, throttle, etc.), unplug everything except mouse/keyboard and the YOKO+ for this test.

Also, if you run any external controller/profile tools (anything that can “inject” joystick assignments), close them for now and test in FSX with just the YOKO+ connected.

3) Reset FSX’s controller config (common fix)
FSX can get “stuck” where it won’t properly accept new assignments.

1. Exit FSX.
2. Go to:
   %APPDATA%\Microsoft\FSX\

3. Find and rename this file:
   Standard.xml
   Rename it to something like:
   Standard.xml.bak

4. Start FSX again and try assigning/calibrating.

FSX will rebuild a fresh control mapping file on launch. (This does wipe your old FSX control assignments, but that’s why we rename instead of delete.)

4) In-FSX checks
Once in FSX:

1. Go into Settings > Controls.
2. Make sure “Enable Controllers” is actually enabled.
3. Try assigning ONE axis (ailerons or elevators) and click OK/Apply.
4. Back out and re-enter to see if it “sticks.”

5) Quick sanity check: USB power saving
If Windows power management is putting the USB device to sleep, you can get weird “it was fine yesterday” behavior. If you’re comfortable checking it, look at your USB Root Hub properties in Device Manager and disable “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” (at least for testing).

A few quick questions so I don’t send you down the wrong path:

• Which Windows version are you on (10 or 11)?
• Does the YOKO+ show normal axis/button response in Windows Game Controllers right now?
• Any other USB controllers plugged in when the problem happens?
• Did anything change right before this started (new add-on, Windows update, new USB hub/port, etc.)?

Answer those and I can narrow it down pretty quickly.