Vive Wireless Adapter...Not Compatible with Laptop's, Seriously?

[HackPerception]

, I'd be interested in hearing more about your issue via PM so I can alert the care teams about the conflict that you experienced.

 

, In so far as I can tell, that laptop doesn't have a desktop sized PCI-E 1x slot - It appears to have a PCI-E compatible M.2 HDD bay but this is not the same as a 1X-sized desktop slot. 

[Brotherusasupport]

It was working quite fine with my old pc, But recently I bought Lenovo Yoga, It has some compatibility issue, I have tried to resolve it, But instead of fixing it My brother printer fail to connect. That is fixed with brother USA support but now how can I fix this compatibility issue.

[VolcanoVR]

@ OP 

I tend to agree with you.   Nothing has been mentioned about this extra card requirement from HTC up until release.  In fact, even on the Amazon page now, there is not a picture of the required card.   

 

Given that it's Intel tech that has been discontinued by Intel otherwise I'm sceptical about 3rd party or USB3 workarounds.  But maybe someone will come up with mini Pci-E slot extenders like they used to have for Thinkpads that could work on laptops.  

 

I originally decided that I wasn't going to upgrade to a Pro because Pro only works with DisplayPort, and not MiniDisplay port or HDMI.  Now, I'm wondering whether I can affored to stick with HTC at all, as a consumer, as the compatibility with my existing laptop rig (which works fine for wired Vive) appears to be dubious going into the future.

 

I guess if they could find a workaround for laptops so I didn't need to have a DisplayPort, and also didn't need a PCI-E then perhaps VivePro might be possible in the future.  I.E. Solving two issues at once. 

 

Ah well.  TPCast?  Oculus?  Stay wired?  We'll see.  I have enjoyed interactions with HTC so far.  So perhaps I'll wait a bit and see what response emerges this fall.  

[dtdynd]

Agree with your post. One thing about the display port...my laptop also only has mini display and worked with the Pro headset with this adaptor I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0777RKTJB/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I don't blame you for not upgrading, ha. Just wanted to put that out there, though.

[HackPerception]

, I'm confused about your post, especially the first sentence. All public messaging has stated it's a PCI-E card and suitable only for desktops - I've pasted a screen shot from the product page below that lists the system requirements as well as the Amazon store page which lists this requirement. I'll make a request to see if we can update the Amazon product page with a photo of the kit's contents. 

 

The Wireless adapter as it currently stands is a desktop only product. There is no planned support for USB-3 for a variety of technical reasons not limited to bandwidth limitations as well as non-standardization of USB/GPU connectivity between different motherboards/laptops. We are stating that it's only compatible with desktop motherboards and are not currently endorsing external PCI-E enclosures.

 

The Pro is certainly compatible with MiniDisplayport - it's the same standard at Displayport just a different header. After all, the linkbox only accepts miniDP as it's video in. We recommend the 3-foot variation of this cable:  http://a.co/d/4AYBtvu. That said, Vive Pro is generally also best used on desktops and laptop support can be hit and miss due to how OEMs implement DP 1.2; especially if you have a GTX 1060 (which is below the min requirements anyway). Pro is very incompatible with HDMI. 

 

 

 

 

 

[VolcanoVR]

Re: VivePro 

@ dtdynd

That is awesome.  You are a rocking, insightful genius.

So, also, to piggy back on your thought.   My laptop is running a 1070, and has used the Vive fine.  But it had a wierd glitch that prevented the HDMI from giving the signal at the same time as the laptop's screen as running.  So I've been using a mini diplayport to HDMI adapter since the beginning - just fine.  SO I'm extactic to hear that the Mini-Display port to Displayport works.  I had made a call in through sales during the summer, and they couldn't tell me.  So you might be cutting edge with your solution :)  

 

Re: Vive Wireless

In a similar vein, there's a post over on reddit on getting a m2 adapter to stand in for the PCI-e.  I remember a similar discussion with Thinkpad expansion slots housing those adapters to connect to external graphics card units, so this makes some sense.  So with this in place, it might be possible to run the Wireless unit and completely bypass the Displayport issue afterall.  Admittedly, only with an external solution for the pci-e card.  je suis pci-e.  

https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/9iy0q7/m2_to_pcie_adapter_works_with_the_vive_wireless/

 

Re: Confusion on this topic.

I don't know how to help you.  I'd google "vive wireless adapter laptop" and you'll notice that the top 4 results are confusion on the topic.  uploadvr.com, pcmag.com, and roadtovr.com saying, as roadtovr says, "laptop owners are out of luck."  The next relevant results are from reddit users in June, July, August, and September trying to figure out whether it would and discussion possible work arounds.   So I guess all I can tell you, is that the front page search results are indicating very little advanced awaremess of the limitation, or limited awareness of, as you sort of indicate, the aim of the product not toward all VR platforms but toward only desktop platforms with full sized atx boards/enclosures.  Perhaps your right.  The amazon page resists the Wayback machine, and the current listing does not picture, but does say, requires pci-e slot.  Whether that single line is enough to inform people - eh.  I'd point toward the omission of the word laptop at all, even as a dislaimer, on the https://www.vive.com/us/wireless-adapter/ website, and the failure to indicate that lack of compatibility on pretty much any "VR Ready" laptop sold through newegg, amazon, or etc in the past 6 months.  That's all I have to say on this.  It could have been made more widely known.  Would it have changed my decison in 2016?  Obviously no.  Timing is everything.

[VolcanoVR]

@ David

I just saw the mini-Display port comment from you.  

That is fascinating.

I can't find the chat history for my conversation in mid-summer, but that was my express question, and the answer I got was no.  I even told them that I was using it currently for regular Vive.

So. 

Wierd. 

But thank you very much for the comment on compatibility.  That confirms and opens up the option of just going with the wired version of Pro with the exact current setup. 

 

[illstplaya84]

well crap!!! Ive been spending the last 5 hours trying to figure out how to get this installed on my laptop and come to read here this is not compatible with laptops....

 

Well, theres $350.00 wasted....

[dtdynd]

Just to reemphasize, the purpose of my thread was touting wireless capabilities *at the time that the Vive pro was initially launched, with the only caveat/fine print being that it was coming soon, and sold separately.*. I'm not posting my unhappiness with the disclaimer that NOW appears, but how it appeared when they launched the Vive Pro. Articles at that time (...and I read tons before ordering the Pro at release) never mentioned it either. Just one of many examples: https://www.techradar.com/news/wireless-htc-vive-pro-is-360-degree-vr-bliss

 

As someone who was on the fence about buying the pro, I decided to upgrade in preparation for the upcoming Wireless feature. As was shown off on the product page (at release).

 

It was only months later, around E3 that the PCIe requirement started to get mentioned (and so rarely was it mentioned, even then).

 

So now, after purchasing and waiting some months for that wireless adapter, the extra caveat is now there... which is essentially that it won't work in the majority of everyone's current rig.

 

Had I known or had even a clue that it would not be compatible with my "VR Ready" laptop I had invested so heavily in (for the sole purpose of using the Vive), I would not have bought the Pro.

[miha]

couldnt we use like thunder bolt 3 port adapter for the pci-e 1x slot that vive needs?