Base Station 2.0 don't last??

[wangosaurusrex]

After owning my Valve Index for a few weeks one of my base station 2.0 stations began making a very loud whirring noise and I submitted a ticket and swapped my base station out for another from Valve, which took weeks, unfortunately. A few months later, of very light use (a couple hours total)... my other base station died... This time, a blinking red light and when viewed in a dark room thru a camera the purple IR lights are not lit. Submitted a new ticket... Question is... Is the lifespan of these base stations something like 50 hours or less of use each, or... Am I just unlucky? Lol.

[sodiboo]

i dunno, my bluetooth never worked so mine haven't been turning on/off like they should, so they've been on 24/7 since christmas and mine still work fine

[BOLL]

I have four v2 base stations, and so far two has broken 😬 I mean, hopefully they're making hardware revisions so replacements we get are better, but it is indeed slightly alarming 😖

[wangosaurusrex]

Sheesh... That's not good, especially for how expensive they are! I hadn't played on my Index in months and finally picked up Boneworks and was like... Ok... Awesome, gonna check this out!! Plug headset in and... notice my base station isn't working :-/

[Dandy]

ssss

[Lenny]

@BOLL that scares me because I was thinking about buying a index my current HMD is rift s I like it but I wanted 2.0 base stations better refresh rate and great controllers, Still is it worth it?

[MegamanXGold]

This all worries me too. Index is my first VR headset, came two days ago. I set the base stations to sleep when I'm not using them, but they are still making clearly audible whirring sounds. Not sure if I would describe it as loud, if I'm in-game I don't hear it. So my solution is to unplug them when not in use instead.

[BOLL]

@LennyNW for me it was worth it for sure, going from the original Vive, but then I'm also quite the VR enthusiast so I'm biased 😅 and of course worth here would be highly subjective, depending on your financials etc.

[DW]

Got a blinking red light on one of mine just a few days ago, and probably have less than 50 hrs on them. Submitted a report to steam and waiting to hear back from them....not very happy if these dont last longer than that

[WSM]

kfkfkfkffkfkkf

[wangosaurusrex]

Valve hit me up today and had me submit my shipping info and serial number of base station.

[Grimsleepy]

I watched a You Tube video of a guy who mains on Index, his first headset gave him over 1000 hours he said, and taught him nuances of keeping the device in operating condition...

Things such as the common damage point where the cord plugs into the headset, wear and tear on the joystick and triggers, tangling/winding of cord, tweaking the overhead pulley system for best immersion and safety.

[Grimsleepy]

ALSO!!! Apparently a lot of people have never worn glasses, or dealt with highly polished glass in general...

FIRSTLY USE AIR, such as compressed air, to remove debris.. SECONDLY MOISTEN THE >>>MICROFIBER<<< CLOTH, do apply your cleaning solution directly to the surface, especially on electronic devices.. FINALLY GENTLY SWEEP OR BRUSH, do not apply pressure and 'wipe' your surface clean.

Don't risk scratching or damaging a surface which serves the only purpose of being viewed through, unless you like staring at blemishes in your view that catch glare, interrupt focus, and disrupt immersion. If you're using the Index, the front compartment is a perfect place to store a microfiber cloth, I think it's purpose is for future peripheral equipment but you may as well put use to it for now.

[Chimp Factory [M04]]

Why are so many people not powering down the base stations manually when not in use?

I remember reading on quite a few forum posts about the automatic power-down not working due to some connection not working properly for one reason or another, didn't pay that much attention since I do manual powerdown.

I just unplug the stations when done; even if they go to standby I hear noises as well. Its great they are standby if I want to hop back into VR, but I only power it all on before a session with a switch/power extension for the base station and headset.

Originally posted by LennyNW:

@BOLL that scares me because I was thinking about buying a index my current HMD is rift s I like it but I wanted 2.0 base stations better refresh rate and great controllers, Still is it worth it?

Sadly its a matter of luck for hardware errors. And 4 tracking stations are overkill unless you wish to go for the full tracking space of 10x10m with full accuracy. Heck the system works with just one, but not recommended.

Overall index is very worth; Controllers alone are the big game changer.

[Kobs]

Is it possible to easily put some kind of an on/off switch on the wire of those base stations ? On the other hand plugging and unplugging should do the trick but sometimes the outlet isn't easily accessible .

[MegamanXGold]

Originally posted by Kobs:

Is it possible to easily put some kind of an on/off switch on the wire of those base stations ? On the other hand plugging and unplugging should do the trick but sometimes the outlet isn't easily accessible .

I bought some cheap remote-controlled outlet switches from a small local electronics store. Came with three individual plugs and a remote with on/off switches for all three. The remote has terrible range, but it's easier than reaching for it. I hope that helps.

Of course, it's hilarious to even need the stupid things when Valve could probably fix it with a firmware update to just actually turn the things off when they go to sleep. lol.