MSFS 2020 won’t recognize FSUIPC control inputs (worked fine in FSX)

FSUIPC in MSFS doesn’t work the same way it did in FSX

In FSX, FSUIPC could “sit in the middle” and do most (or all) of your axis/button control assignments directly into the sim. In MSFS, you generally can’t just create a blank in-sim profile and expect the sim to automatically “take” joystick axes coming from FSUIPC the same way.

A few practical things to check/do:

1) Confirm you’re using the MSFS-compatible FSUIPC
FSUIPC for FSX (FSUIPC4) will not control MSFS. MSFS needs the separate MSFS version (FSUIPC7). If you installed the old one out of habit, MSFS won’t see anything from it.

2) Don’t start with a completely unassigned in-sim setup
Even if you plan to use FSUIPC for a lot of stuff, MSFS still needs to see a valid controller device and have something assigned so you’re not left with “nothing” when you spawn on the runway.

Checklist:

• In MSFS Controls Options, select your joystick device.
• Make sure you’re not on an empty profile that has no essential bindings.
• At minimum, assign primary flight axes in MSFS (Aileron, Elevator, Rudder, Throttle) just to prove the sim is reading the hardware.

Once you’ve proven the sim can read the joystick normally, then you can decide what you want FSUIPC handling (buttons, macros, special functions, etc.). If you jump straight to “blank” and something isn’t being forwarded the way you expect, you get exactly what you saw: no control response.

3) Watch out for double-binding / conflicts (the opposite problem)
This didn’t bite you yet (since you’re seeing “nothing”), but it’s the next common problem when you do get it working.

Rule of thumb:

• If an axis is handled in FSUIPC, clear that same axis in MSFS for that device.
• If an axis is handled in MSFS, don’t also send it via FSUIPC.

4) Verify FSUIPC is actually running and “seeing” the joystick
If FSUIPC isn’t seeing your hardware inputs, it can’t pass anything along.

Basic sanity checks:

• Start FSUIPC first (or at least confirm it’s running when MSFS is running).
• In FSUIPC, verify the joystick/button presses are detected in its assignment pages.
• If FSUIPC isn’t detecting anything, it’s not an MSFS setting issue—it’s either the wrong FSUIPC version, permissions, or device detection.

A couple of targeted questions so we don’t chase the wrong thing

• Which exact FSUIPC are you running (FSUIPC4 vs FSUIPC7), and what version number?
• How are you launching it alongside MSFS (manually before the sim, auto-start, etc.)?
• Does MSFS see your joystick normally if you assign the axes directly in MSFS (with FSUIPC not doing anything)?
• When you move the stick, does FSUIPC show the input changing in its axis/button assignment screens?

Answer those and we can narrow it down quickly (wrong FSUIPC version vs MSFS profile/bindings issue vs FSUIPC not actually detecting the device).