Many Logitech G29 owners experience this annoying issue, where the wheel powers up and lights flash, but Windows and games won't fully register it - no calibration, no steering or pedal inputs in games, even though the device shows up in Device Manager or G HUB. In this post I will explain the problem and offer a solution that has worked for me, for a long time now.

The Problem: Wheel Lights Up but Isn't Registered

Symptoms include:
  • The G29 wheel powers on and lights up.
  • Windows may see the device (lights are on, G HUB detects it).
  • Analog inputs (steering axis, pedals) aren't registered in games.
  • Games sometimes list a controller present with no usable input.
  • Calibration doesn't happen automatically, or Windows controller settings show no input.
This commonly happens if the wheel is plugged in after Windows has already booted, though it can also happen randomly after driver updates or USB hiccups. Replugging the wheel often solved it for me, however, at some point this trick stopped working.

What Others Have Tried

Users across forums have suggested a few typical troubleshooting steps that sometimes (but not always) help - They definitely did not work for me:
  • Reinstalling Logitech G HUB or Logitech Gaming Software - clearing potential driver conflicts.
  • Trying different USB ports - especially rear motherboard USB 2.0 ports instead of hubs.
  • Re-calibrating via joy.cpl - using Windows' built-in game controller panel.
  • Unplugging power and USB completely - performing a full hardware reset.
  • Removing old Logitech drivers and reinstalling - cleaning up driver remnants.
Unfortunately, these solutions don't consistently fix the issue when the wheel is partially detected but not properly initialized.

My Solution: Automatic Disable & Re-enable

I found that the only reliable way for me to get Windows to recognize the wheel again (without rebooting) is to:
  • Disable the wheel's USB device in Windows.
  • Re-enable it - forcing Windows to reload drivers and re-enumerate the device.
Here is the PowerShell script I wrote (can be downloaded here: https://desktopnerds.com/tools): 

if(!([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal] [Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).IsInRole([Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole] 'Administrator')) {
    Start-Process -FilePath PowerShell.exe -Verb Runas -ArgumentList "-File `"$($MyInvocation.MyCommand.Path)`"  `"$($MyInvocation.MyCommand.UnboundArguments)`""
    Exit
}

#Get Instance ID of G29
$G29InstanceID = $null
$G29InstanceID = Get-PnpDevice -PresentOnly | Where-Object { $_.FriendlyName -match 'G29' }

if ($null -eq $G29InstanceID) {
    "No G29 device found."
} else {

    Write-Output "Disabling G29..."
    Disable-PnpDevice -InstanceId $G29InstanceID.InstanceId

    Start-Sleep -Seconds 2

    Write-Output "Re-enabling G29"
    Enable-PnpDevice -InstanceId $G29InstanceID.InstanceId
}
Pause
Before running it, you must fire off this command in PowerShell (This is because the script needs to run with administrator rights and execute commands that modify device states. This ensures PowerShell can auto-elevate and temporarily disable/re-enable the G29 device without being blocked by default security policies): 
Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
The script automatically elevates to Administrator (required for device control), finds the G29 device by its FriendlyName, disables it, waits two seconds, and enables it again.

Why I believe this works

By disabling and re-enabling the device, Windows is forced to:
  • Tear down the existing device instance.
  • Re-enumerate the USB hardware.
  • Reload the appropriate drivers.
  • Reinitialize the HID inputs correctly.
Effectively, this simulates unplugging and plugging the device back in - but without physically touching it.

Conclusion

If your Logitech G29 lights up but doesn't register in games, this script can save you from rebooting your PC every time the issue appears (if this even still works for you). It's a simple workaround - but in my case, it has been 100% reliable. Hopefully this helps someone else get back on track faster. Happy racing, trucking or whatever you do - share in a comment?