How to Install vJoy on Windows 11

If you are installing vJoy on Windows 11, use the signed BrunnerInnovation 2.2.2.0 build. It is the newest vJoy release, dated 19 December 2023, and it is the only build whose release notes explicitly claim support for both Windows 10 and Windows 11. That distinction matters more than any version number. Older builds were made before Windows 11 existed, so even when they happen to install, nobody has promised that they will. This guide walks you through downloading the correct file, verifying it, installing it cleanly, and proving the result in Windows itself before you open any game, simulator or feeder application.

Why 2.2.2.0 is the Windows 11 build

The BrunnerInnovation release notes describe this build as signed with an EV certificate, with attestation signing via the Microsoft Partner program, and state plainly that it works on Windows 10 and Windows 11. Windows 11 is stricter about kernel driver signatures than earlier releases, so that signing story is the whole reason to choose it. By contrast, the original 2.1.9.1 build is described by its author as attestation-signed for Windows 10, with Windows 11 support reported only anecdotally. The 2.2.1.1 build from njz3 is a signed force feedback fork, and its own README now points Windows 11 users toward BrunnerInnovation 2.2.2.0. Follow that pointer.

Download the installer from the vJoy download page or directly via the BrunnerInnovation 2.2.2.0 download. The file is named vJoySetup_v2.2.2.0_Win10_Win11.exe, it is 5,302,312 bytes, and its SHA-256 begins ef569a31 and ends b68fe, in full ef569a3105cd301b89580f18f60c66b339e95296acf2c0dfcaf4b4bbf8ab68fe. If your file has a different size or hash, stop and download it again from a clean source rather than trying to install a file you cannot identify.

Before you install

A clean install starts before you double-click anything. If any older vJoy build is already on this machine, uninstall it first and reboot. Mixing driver packages from different releases is a documented source of confusion, because a feeder can end up loading a vJoyInterface.dll from one release against a driver from another. Close games, simulators, Joystick Gremlin, UCR and any other feeder before you begin, and sign in with an administrator account, because a kernel driver cannot be installed from a standard account without elevation.

  • Uninstall any existing vJoy build in Windows Settings, then reboot.
  • Close every game, simulator and feeder application.
  • Confirm the downloaded file size and SHA-256 match the values above.
  • Keep the installer in a simple folder such as Downloads, not inside a game folder.

Step-by-step installation

  1. Right-click vJoySetup_v2.2.2.0_Win10_Win11.exe and choose Run as administrator, then approve the Windows prompt.
  2. Work through the installer with the default options unless you have a specific reason to change the install location.
  3. Wait for the installer to finish completely. Do not launch a game or feeder while the driver is still being registered.
  4. Reboot the PC when the installer finishes, even if Windows does not insist on it. A reboot guarantees the driver service is loaded in its final state.
  5. After the reboot, open Configure vJoy from the Start menu and confirm at least one device exists. If no device exists yet, add one there before testing anything else.

During installation Windows may show the publisher and signature information for the driver package. That is expected for a signed driver and is not an error. What you should not do is treat a signature prompt as a puzzle to bypass. If Windows refuses the driver outright, read the exact message, check it against the troubleshooting guides in this cluster, and, if Windows lists vjoy.sys as incompatible under Memory Integrity or HVCI, treat that as a conditional troubleshooting case for your specific machine rather than a universal rule. There is no authoritative vJoy-specific guidance that applies to every HVCI setup.

Verify in joy.cpl before anything else

Press Windows key plus R, type joy.cpl, and press Enter. This opens the classic Game Controllers panel. You should see an entry for a vJoy Device. Select it, open Properties, and move each axis and press buttons while a feeder is sending data, or use the test view together with JoyMonitor. The joy.cpl check matters because it separates two very different problems. If the device is missing in joy.cpl, the problem is at driver or device-configuration level and no game setting will fix it. If the device is present and responds in joy.cpl but a game ignores it, the problem is downstream, in the feeder or the game.

Configure your first device

Open Configure vJoy, which is vJoyConf.exe, and plan the device on paper first. vJoy supports up to 16 virtual devices, and each device can expose up to 8 axes, up to 128 buttons and up to 4 POV hat switches. More is not automatically better. A device with axes and buttons your feeder never writes will still appear in games and can confuse binding screens, especially in simulators that list every vJoy device under the same name. Start with one device, enable only the axes and buttons your first feeder actually needs, apply the change, and re-check joy.cpl. You can always add a second device later for a second feeder or a separate profile.

Common mistakes

  • Installing 2.1.9.1 first on Windows 11. It often works, but it is not the build that claims Windows 11 support. Start with 2.2.2.0.
  • Skipping the reboot. Testing before the driver has loaded cleanly produces misleading failures.
  • Blaming the game first. Always prove the device in joy.cpl and JoyMonitor before changing game bindings.
  • Installing over an old build. Uninstall, reboot, then install. Layered installs make later diagnosis much harder.
  • Expecting vJoy alone to do something. vJoy is a DirectInput virtual joystick driver. It does not emulate XInput, and by itself it generates no input. A feeder application writes the data.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need Secure Boot changes to install on Windows 11? Not as a routine step. The 2.2.2.0 build is signed for this purpose. If your specific PC blocks the driver and Windows names vjoy.sys in a Memory Integrity message, work through that message conditionally and keep a record of what you changed. Can I keep 2.1.9.1 profiles? Feeder profiles usually survive because they live in the feeder, not in the driver, but some feeders only partially support 2.2.x, so test your main profile early. Is vJoy an XInput controller? No. It is a DirectInput device, which is why some games need an additional layer and why joy.cpl, a DirectInput view, is the right first test.

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 Which vJoy Build Should You Download? and Configure vJoy with vJoyConf. 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.

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