flashing grey screen

[stikaz]

 

As others are asking, is there any news? Have the engineers analyzed 's HMD? Did they find anything unusual in its sensors? Did they manage to find the root cause of the issue? Has HTC thought about what to do with users experiencing the problem? What about Vives bought more than a year ago (as in mine and other's cases) that started experiencing the issue around the same time as everyone else (few months ago, starting since March or earlier)?

I recall the Rift had tracking problems when touch went out, and people found a workaround covering selected sensors in the HMD, until Oculus put out an update that solved the issue (took them a few months). As this is similar to our situation in this regard, could something similar happen with our issue? Or do we need to change the HMD entirely?

Thanks and good work!

[stikaz]

I don't think controllers are directly related to the issue but, as is a tracking problem, using the controllers helps the system to keep good tracking. With no tracking controllers, when sensors fail, the tracking go nuts more quickly. That's why the issue is more prevalent when playing sitting. At least that's my impression

I also had the problem you're talking about, and your link is the best way to solve it, but it's totally unrelated to the issue in this thread.

[Elohirr]

Well folks, I am happy to say, I finally figured out and fixed my issue!!!  I have been playing for the past 4-6 hours without any gray flashes!

 

After finally getting in touch with someone in Vive support via the Live Chat option, they confirmed my suspicion that the controllers MUST STAY ON in order for the HMD to continue tracking correctly.

 

This is NOT the Disable Power Management option in the SteamVR settings, but rather the controller settings inside the Steam settings (not SteamVR).

 

So though I am getting my joystick handed to me in Elite: Dangerous, and my controllers are now sucking up their batteries, I am now a MUCH happier camper.

 

Here's hoping this bit of insight manages to help someone else!

 

Cheers!

Elohir

 

 

[kimorra]

After a month of testing Project Cars about 2 hours every day, I've finally determined that my problem, and likely most of yours, is an overheating headset.

 

I tried nearly every troubleshooting suggestion on this forum and r/Vive at reddit. For the past few days, I've been playing until the flashes were very frequent. Then, I tried to make them stop flashing. The one thing that worked 100% of the time was to point a fan at the front of the headset. Immediately, the flashing stopped. When I pointed the fan away (still running and plugged into the same outlet), the flashing screens came back within a few minutes.

 

Tonight, I raced for about 3 hours (two 1.5 hour sessions about an hour apart) with the fan. Not a single grey flash!

 

I know most of us have suspected an overheating problem from the beginning. Some have confirmed this by applying ice packs or putting it in front of an air conditioner. I feel like I've wasted a lot of time testing things other than the most likely cause. I also feel we were misled by HTC staff on this forum saying they didn't think it was a thermal issue.

 

So, I'm done being suspicious of RF interferrence, or USB 3 vs USB 2, or faulty lighthouses, or reflections, or bad video/USB drivers. For those of you, like me, that have flawless tracking for 20+ minutes, followed by grey flashes that get progressively more frequent, try cooling the front of the headset.

[TheLuk]

Thanks for the advice, but I think yours is a different kind of problem. I don't own the Thrustmaster HOTAS 4, I use almost always the controllers and the flashing gray screen problem is a constant, but also when I use the joypad and I leave the controllers off, the behavior is exactly the same.

[TheLuk]

I confirm that cooling the HMD with a fan temporarily stops the problem but at the moment the most effective way to prevent the flashing gray screen from appearing is to cover one of the sensors. In my case the one at the bottom right, next to the camera.

[Aidarpro]

I confirm with TheLuk. HTC is keep silent. Htc can you take our hmd and replace these senors?

[jagibson]

All, 

 

I'm sorry for the delay, I'm still waiting for feedback.  Some HMDs have been sent and others are in transit for testing/inspection.  As soon as I get more substantial updates I will post.

 

Thank you,

 

John

[VRadley]

Mine is having the same issues. Bought it on July 19, 2017; and I've been getting these same issues.

 

Very annoying and embarrasing when trying to stream gameplay to friends and viewers, and I feel like a goof hyping this technology up just to have people watch me on Twitch tinkering with a grey screen for hours on end.

 

I've gotten rid of all reflection, gotten the PCI-E card recommended by Valve support, gone through all the USB/Drivers available, updated all firmware, reseated cables, moved my basestations, and more already. 

 

I also think mine may be a heat issue, as when I cover some of the sensors with my hands it seems to work fine; but this is not a real fix as I need my hands to play!.. My last resort may be to use a piece of paper and tape to cover one of the sensors permanently, but I am worried it may make it worse. 

[MartinMarty]

I was happy my Vive responded to the workaround of taping over a sensor. I ran that way of r a few weeks, I think, and all that happened was I enjoyed VR like I did at the beginning. I would have continued to run that way indefinitely had HTC not asked for my HMD to test.

 

So now they have my grey-out HMD and I have a replacement. It has been working fine but I did't have problems with my original for a few months.

 

I still have to put my base station back to its original location to complete my test.