Anyone successful in using the newest controller with Android device?

I just got the new xbox controller with bluetooth and it's the most frustrating thing I have ever dealt with. Pairing the controller to any of my devices is a total crapshoot that fails a majority of the time but then randomly just connects and works as expected.
 
However, as soon as it disconnects (turning off bluetooth or pulling the battery on controller) it will not reconnect ever again like other bluetooth device will. it flat out refuses to "find" my phone again, and I have to unpair, reboot phone, and try pairing again to make it work. EVERY TIME.
 
I have updated the controller's firmware, and I have tried connecting it to four different phones (Moto X Pure, Oneplus One, Nexus 5, Galaxy S3) and my Nvidia Shield Tablet. Every single one is a major hassle to get paired up, and as soon as the initial connection is broken I have to start over.
 
If I use it with my laptop it works exactly as expected. soon as the controller turns on it finds and connects no problem, but I bought the thing to use with my phone/tablet for emulation.