ThinkGear Connector is disconnecting often

[This article applies only to the white MindWave headset. It does not apply to the black MindSet nor MindWave Mobile headsets.]

In a few rare cases, after installation, some users have reported the games sometimes having trouble connecting to their MindWave headset, or often disconnecting on its own in the middle of a game. This is typically due to those users having unusual Windows configurations where Windows tries to use its own drivers instead of the MindWave's drivers. Here's how to quickly and easily fix this situation yourself in 5 minutes.

Windows XP

1. Insert your MindWave Wireless USB Adapter into your computer
2. Open Device Manager (click your Windows Start menu, click Run..., and type devmgmt.msc. If you have trouble opening Device Manager, click here)
   1. Expand the "Ports (COM&LPT)" section (see diagram below)
   2. If you see "USB-SERIAL CH340", then Windows chose to use its own driver instead of the MindWave's driver. To fix it, do the following:
   3. Right-click on "USB-SERIAL CH340", and then select "Update driver"
   4. Choose "Manually locate the driver".
   5. Browse to "C:/Program Files/NeuroSky/" and select the folder named "MindWave Driver"
   6. Click Next, and follow the directions to complete the process.

The device name should now change from "USB-SERIAL CH340" to "MindWave USB Adaptor", and your disconnection issues should be resolved.

Windows Vista/7/8

1. Insert your MindWave Wireless USB Adapter into your computer
2. Open Device Manager (click your Windows Start menu, and type devmgmt.msc in the search bar. If you have trouble opening Device Manager, click here)
3. Expand the "Ports (COM&LPT)" section (see diagram below)
4. If you see "USB-SERIAL CH340", then Windows chose to use its own driver instead of the MindWave's driver. To fix it, do the following:
   1. Right-click on "USB-SERIAL CH340", and then select "Update driver"
   2. Choose "Browse my computer for driver software".
   3. Choose "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer". (Do not click the next button.)
   4. Choose "Have disk".
   5. Choose "Browse". Browse to "C:/Program Files/NeuroSky/" and select the folder named "MindWave Driver"
   6. Click Next, and follow the directions to complete the process.

The device name should now change from "USB-SERIAL CH340" to "MindWave USB Adaptor", and your disconnection issues should be resolved.