FCC Breakdown

Look at the back of the wireless controller, inside the battery compartment on the big back sticker(center-right) it will state what model it is. If that's hard to see, you can use the unique part number that is on the white serial sticker below that(starts with an X). Then, also look in the top-hole above the big sticker and you'll see either TP23 or TP21 on the board, which will help ensure the board matches with the model so that you can more easily tell if all the original parts are inside(if it appears to have been taken apart before).

All the board models below only correspond to wireless controllers as the wired controllers are a bit trickier to know what boards they have inside.

It's possible the Wired controllers also have a similar trend, but since there are no FCC submissions for them, it's really hard to be 100% sure. But, from what I can gather, wired controllers from 2005 to mid-2007 will be similar to the WKS368 model board inside. From late-2007 to early 2010 would be WC01 models. And then mid-2010 to early 2017 would all be 1403 wired controllers(pretty much all of the wired black/black controllers). But it's a complete wild guess.

• WKS368 - Submitted Sept. 13th, 2005: This was the very first model/board that came out for retail controllers. There are 2 variations of this, a board that has chip shielding on it, and one without the shielding. Most of them will be the board without the shielding as they took it off pretty early into the WKS368 life cycle(early 2006). I have found this model on controllers with the serial as late as 950, which puts it being made just about into 2010.

-Click here for board pictures with the shielding. -Click here for board pictures without the shielding.

*Anecdotally, I found this model to be the overall best. The sticks seem to be the most durable out of all the models, controller feels nice and hefty, and the wireless range seems to be 2-3ft more than the other models. The downside to this board is the battery life, apparently it's a bit more picky with voltages. I've gotten reports the stand-by battery life drains a bit faster than newer models, and when it comes to rechargeable, some straight up wont work, or will see a bit less life than expected as rechargeable batteries have a lower starting voltage than alkaline.

Some early WKS368 White/Grey controllers may have started with varying part numbers as seen below:

• • X807968-001

  • X809479-001

  • X816703-001

Otherwise, most starting numbers were X801769 with the following ending numbers:

• • White/Silver, -004, -006(Dark Silver Trim)

  • White/Green, -005(Launch Team)

  • White/Grey, -007, -009, -011, -018, -020

  • Black/Grey, -014, -016, -022

  • Pink/Grey, -053

  • Dark Blue/Grey, -049. -064

  • Light Blue, -051

  • Halo 3 Green, -045

• WC01 - Submitted Nov. 2nd, 2006: It’s a toss up on whether controllers will be WC01 or WKS368. Unsure the reasons Microsoft mixed and matched the controller boards, possibly depending on the factory they were produced in. WC01 model boards still have TP23 in the top-hole, and range in retail controllers anywhere from early-2007 to late 2009.

-Click here for specific board pics.

*WC01 models lose a bit of wireless range of about 1-2ft according to my test(not very scientific test at that), and I noticed they tend to have squeaky triggers, a bit louder LB/RB clicks, and sticks are slightly more likely to start drifting over time(won't snap back to the proper center causing a character or car to move on it's own). But overall, still more durable than 1403 controllers and build quality of the plastic seems 99% on par with the WKS368 model.

Known controllers that use WC01 boards start with the same part# X801769 but will have different ending numbers as seen below.

• • White/Grey, -024, -084

  • Black/Grey, -026, -086

  • Halo 3 Spartan, -037

  • Halo 3 Covenant, -039

  • Halo 3 Green, -028

  • Pink/Grey, -032(only says WC01 up in the FCC section)

  • Dark Blue/Grey, -030

  • Light Blue, -031

  • Red/Black, -077, -082

  • Green/Grey, -078

  • Walmart Dragon, X817778-001(the one exception that has different starting numbers)

  • Halo ODST, -104

• 1403 - Submitted Mar. 10th, 2009: This is their longest running model being from 2009-2017. All 2010 controllers and up will be 1403, but a few controllers in 2009 such as the White/Grey and Black/Grey also ended up having 1403 boards. The top hole now has TP21 on the board, and there are also 2 board variations for this model. They changed some things in 2012, but not sure on the best way to tell which revision is which other than on the front of the board may say 2012 on it(not 100% sure on this).

-Click here for specific board pics.

*1403 controllers also have about the same range as a WC01, feels cheaper/lighter in your hands, loud/unsatisfying LB/RB clicks, and develops stick drift within 1yr of using. With the one possible positive, that when the controller is off, it drains the batteries less than a WKS368 controller. This may be only noticeable if using non-rechargeable batteries. And again, just my personal thoughts on each model/board type.

• • White/Grey, X817145-004

  • Black/Grey, X817145-006

  • Red/Black, X817145-008

  • Radioactive, X850245-001

  • Black/Black, X853164-004, -005, -013,(All)

    1. X855106-002

    2. X864633-003

  • Fable3, X855165-001

  • Reach, X855085-001

  • Silver, X854460-001

  • Gears3, X858963-001

  • MW3, X859790-001

  • Special White, X853164-007 or X862793-001

  • 3-CPO, X859621-001

  • Chrome Blue, X859790-007

  • Chrome Silver, X859790-003

  • Chrome Red, X859790-005

  • Black Transform, X854560-003

  • Tomb Raider, X870435-001

  • Green Camo, X874614-001

  • Chrome Gold, X878588-001

  • Chrome Purple, X887822-001

  • Chrome Black, X887821-001

  • Arctic Camo, X896649-001

  • Walmart Blue, X896759-001

• 1460 - Submitted Jul. 13th, 2010: This is a rather odd board, and I wasn't even sure it was real until recently. It shouldn't be seen in that many controllers, and so far I've only been able to confirm it in a Black/Black wireless.

  • Black/Back: X855106-002 and X864633-003(2012)

• 1546 - Submitted Jun. 6th, 2012: Only the Halo 4 controllers used this and it's very easy to know since the pcb board is all white. I believe the board is based off of the second revision of 1403 controllers, but unsure.

-Click here for specific board pics.

• • Halo 4 UNSC, X855993-001

  • Halo 4 Forerunner, X864703-002