Just a quick post today. I’ve purchased a Griffin PowerMate Control Knob to use with my Windows 10 computer. There are hundreds of angry comments online that it apparently does not work with Windows 10.
I just wanted to clarify for anyone considering buying one, that they do indeed work with Windows 10, I’m not sure why so many people appear to have issues. I am running Windows 10 Professional 64 bit, I plugged the device into the USB port, Windows automatically installed the correct driver from Windows Update. I then downloaded the “XP & Vista” manager software from the Griffin website and installed it. The PowerMate then worked straight away to control the system volume, and opening the manager application allows you to customise the actions performed by the device. I’m currently using it to scroll through web pages and alter the volume but I’ll likely find more uses for it over the next few days.
Surface Dial Alternatives to Buy Today - How To says:
[…] Windows 10 PC owners, on the other hand. Confirm The Griffin PowerMate controls have been flawless for […]
Guy Hoppe says:
I’ve been using the Powermate for years on my windows computer, currently on Windows 10 and it works
perfectly. I use it as a volume control. Occasionally, I would experience a situation where the Powermate
would suddenly stop working and this required that I unplug and plug in the Powermate, after which it resumed working. However, since installing a solid state drive on my PC, I have no more problem with this. Go figure. Maybe it has something to do with how quickly the drivers load on boot-up. Not sure, but I am happy.
Griffin's PowerMate is the Surface Dial dead-ringer that's trapped in Mac land - IT AND US says:
[…] Because the PowerMate connects via Bluetooth or USB, physically connecting the knob isn’t the issue. However, running Griffin’s proprietary manager software, which controls an LED below the knob as well as other functions, apparently can be a glitchy experience. […]
beardy says:
I just got one of these and have it installed on my Win10 x64 Enterprise. I find it fantastic for media and volume control. The only thing which doesn’t seem to work is the pulse on sleep and brightness settings. They are available in the manager software under PowerMates -> Configure. Changes to these settings are remembered but appear to have no affect.
Rob says:
This is true, mine does not pulse either, I just assumed it was due to the damaged cable on mine. I have had the light stay on solid on one occasion but apart from that it has never done anything else but the cable is frayed where it enters the casing of the knob so it has to be held in the correct position to do anything at all. I’ll repair and re-solder it at some stage but it’s not a priority right now. It works for what I need which is the main thing 🙂
Doug says:
Mostly works for me on Windows 10, except that I want to have the button press do Media Play/Pause instead of mute. Mute works fine, but using keystroke send with MediaPlayPause only works when the app is open and has focus on the desktop. When it is minimized the play/pause does not work. I also had to run as administrator to even get it to work when the app window was open and had focus. Any Ideas how to make it work when minimized to tray?
Rob says:
Hi Doug, sorry it’s taken me a while to get back to you. Which app do you need to have in focus, the Griffin app or Media Player? I’ve just tested it on mine and it seems to work regardless of whether they are in focus or not. I can only think that there’s possibly two applications that can accept those controls running at the same time (possibly iTunes running in the background?) so it relies on which is in focus to know where to direct the shortcut. Just my thinking anyway but not sure how it really works. What media player software are you running? I tested with the standard Windows Media Player included with 10.
I occasionally see the odd glitch where the knob will stop responding when the PowerMate software is minimized to the tray, usually just opening it and minimizing it again is enough to get it working again but sometimes I have to unplug the knob and plug it in again. Mine does have a very damaged cable though where it has worn from being flexed, I assumed this was the cause in my case.
Andy Frost says:
Just chiming in to say I just got a PowerMate USB and works great on my HP running Windows 10 – 64 bit. I just plugged it in and installed the XP & Vista software and no problems yet.
Rob says:
Thanks for letting me know : ) glad you have got yours working. Mine is still going strong, it’s got a frayed USB cable though and the connection drops out now and then but it’s holding in there and working well
Neil Garside says:
Hi Rob…any hints as to how to get the Griffin manager software to startup with Windows?
Rob says:
Hi Neil, if you right-click and Copy the desktop shortcut for the Manager, then browse to the following folder on your computer: “%appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup”
and paste the icon into that folder it will automatically run each time you login.
Hope this helps 🙂 I’ve tested this on Windows 10 Professional 64bit and it’s working fine. If you have any further issues I’m happy to help.
PAUL@SPANDLPOINT.COM says:
The older wired version works in windows 10 with a few minor issues. The newer rev does not pulse in windows 10 because the latest revision has different circuitry. The bluetooth version supposedly is not functional in windows at all. I love these devices and the lack of supportable windows drivers is disappointing.
Rob says:
I wasn’t aware of different wired versions, I’m not sure which one I have got in that case but the cable on mine is definitely dodgy and if I wiggle it, the pulsing flickers.
I would love one of the Bluetooth ones, it’s a shame they never made software for Windows, they have cut off a potentially huge market with such a silly decision.
Neil Garside says:
Hi Rob…I tried copying the shortcut for the Manager to the Startup folder. The app started up when I logged on but turning the PowerMate had no effect on the volume. But once I opened the PowerMate Editor the PowerMate started working. All a bit strange.
For now I’ve setup a scheduled task to run the PowerMate.exe whenever I logon. Ideally I’d like the executable to run whenever anyone logs on to the PC. I’m an administrator but other users of this PC are non-administrators.
Could you check to see if you have “Run on startup” checked for the application, and whether that has created a scheduled task?
Thanks Rob!
Neil Garside says:
I’ll give that a whirl! Thanks for the prompt reply. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Thanks again…