Upgrading vJoy from 2.1.9.1 to 2.2.2.0 Without Breaking Your Profiles

Upgrading from vJoy 2.1.9.1 to 2.2.2.0 is the most common build change in the vJoy world, usually driven by a move to Windows 11, where 2.2.2.0 is the build that explicitly claims support. The upgrade itself is simple: back up, uninstall the old build completely, install the new one, test. The failures people report almost never come from the new driver. They come from skipping the backup, installing over the old build, or discovering afterwards that a favourite feeder only partially supports 2.2.x. This guide protects your profiles first, then performs a clean upgrade, then gives you a clear fallback rule if your feeder objects.

Why upgrade, and what changes

Version 2.1.9.1 is the final release of the original line, described by its author as attestation-signed for Windows 10, with Windows 11 behaviour reported only anecdotally. Version 2.2.2.0 from BrunnerInnovation, released in December 2023, is the newest vJoy release overall, signed with an EV certificate with attestation signing via the Microsoft Partner program, and explicitly supports Windows 10 and Windows 11. Upgrading buys you that signing and support statement and a maintained release line. What does not change is the model: the same vJoyConf device definitions, the same feeder architecture through vJoyInterface.dll, and the same DirectInput devices in games. Your configuration knowledge carries over completely.

Step 1: Back up feeder profiles first

Your profiles do not live in vJoy. They live in your feeders: Joystick Gremlin profiles, UCR configurations, FreePIE scripts and similar files, each in that program’s own folders or export format. Before touching the driver, open each feeder you use, export or copy its current profiles, and store the copies somewhere outside the program folders, ideally with a note of the vJoy build they were tested against. Also note your vJoyConf layout on paper or in a screenshot: which device IDs exist, which axes and buttons each enables, and which device has force feedback. Recreating that layout after the upgrade takes two minutes with a note and an hour without one, because the uninstall removes the old configuration along with the driver.

  • Export every feeder profile and store copies outside the feeder’s own folders.
  • Screenshot or write down each vJoy device: ID, axes, button count, POV, force feedback.
  • Record which feeder writes to which device ID.
  • Note your current driver build, 2.1.9.1, so a rollback is a known destination, not a guess.

Step 2: Fully uninstall 2.1.9.1

  1. Close all games and feeders.
  2. Uninstall vJoy 2.1.9.1 through Windows Settings.
  3. Reboot the PC.
  4. If this machine has hosted multiple builds or past install trouble, go further: list driver store packages with pnputil -e, remove any Shaul or vJoy OEM INF entries with pnputil -f -d oemXX.inf using the exact names from your output, then reboot again.
  5. Confirm in joy.cpl that no vJoy Device remains before installing the new build.

Installing 2.2.2.0 over 2.1.9.1 is the shortcut that creates the classic version mismatch complaints, where components from two releases coexist and a feeder loads a DLL that disagrees with the driver. The full uninstall is slower by minutes and faster by evenings. Our complete uninstall guide walks through the pnputil stage in detail if you want the deepest clean, and it is worth doing at least once when changing release lines, precisely because this upgrade crosses from the original line to the BrunnerInnovation line.

Step 3: Install 2.2.2.0 and rebuild your layout

Download the 2.2.2.0 installer from the vJoy download page and check it before running: the file is vJoySetup_v2.2.2.0_Win10_Win11.exe, 5,302,312 bytes, SHA-256 ef569a3105cd301b89580f18f60c66b339e95296acf2c0dfcaf4b4bbf8ab68fe. Run it as administrator, reboot, then open Configure vJoy and recreate the device layout from your notes, device ID by device ID. Verify each device in joy.cpl, restore your feeder profiles from the backups, and test with JoyMonitor before opening a game. Testing in that order means any surprise is located immediately: device shape, feeder output, or game binding, in that sequence.

The 2.2.x feeder caveat and the fallback rule

Here is the honest complication. Not every feeder fully supports the 2.2.x line. At least one feeder vendor, TJoy, documents 2.2.x as only partially supported, and individual feeders can behave differently against the newer driver or its interface DLL. So the upgrade rule is empirical: test your main feeder profiles early, with your real hardware, in JoyMonitor and in one familiar game scenario. If everything works, you are done and Windows 11-ready. If a specific feeder misbehaves on 2.2.2.0 in ways it did not on 2.1.9.1, apply the fallback rule without drama: return to 2.1.9.1 as the compatibility build, using the same clean uninstall and reinstall discipline in reverse. A fallback chosen deliberately is a working setup, not a failed upgrade.

Common mistakes

  • No backup. The profiles were the irreplaceable part, and they were in the feeder you did not export.
  • Installing over the old build. Mixed releases create DLL and driver mismatches that look like new-build bugs.
  • Recreating devices from memory. One wrong axis set in vJoyConf invalidates a whole feeder profile in confusing ways. Work from your notes.
  • Testing everything at once. New driver, restored profiles and a new game update together make blame impossible. Change, test, then proceed.
  • Assuming rollback is defeat. If your feeder needs 2.1.9.1, that build on Windows 10 is a legitimate, signed destination.

Frequently asked questions

Will my game bindings survive? Games bind to the vJoy device shape and position. If you recreate the same device IDs with the same axes and buttons, most bindings carry on working. Changed shapes mean rebinding the changed controls. Do I have to upgrade for Windows 10? No. 2.1.9.1 is attestation-signed for Windows 10 and remains valid there. Upgrade for Windows 11, for the maintained line, or for a specific fix. What if 2.2.2.0 will not install? Read the exact error, check the installer logs, and, if Windows names vjoy.sys under Memory Integrity, treat that as a conditional case for your machine. There is no universal vJoy-specific HVCI rule to quote, so work from your actual message.

Keep going

Start from the vJoy download page if you need the installer again, and use the vJoy Setup hub as the index for this whole cluster. Two guides that pair naturally with this one are How to Completely Uninstall vJoy and Which vJoy Build Should You Download?. Read them in that order if you are building a setup from scratch: download choice first, installation second, configuration third, and only then time inside a game or simulator. That order prevents the most common wasted hour in this niche, which is debugging a feeder or a game for a driver problem that was visible in Windows all along.

Similar Posts