Controllers not tracking [SOLVED]

[kdinty]

Hoping someone has had this issue and resolved. Everything is set up connected and updated with the latest firmware. I am able to see the headset tracking but both controllers aren't tracking. Not even one at a time. They are both in direct line of sight of both lighthouses. I have tried resetting and re-pairing both. Any ideas?

[MuH-ShI]

Charge your controllers? 🙃

[kdinty]

That's a good idea! Problem is I've already tried that

[Lawrence]

What color are your controller LEDs, and what color are their icons in SteamVR Status?

[kdinty]

Originally posted by Lawrence:

What color are your controller LEDs, and what color are their icons in SteamVR Status?

Hi, thanks for the response.
Controller LEDs are white and their status in steamVR is pulsing green. I can identify each one too.

[PackaSnack]

kdinty, I have the same issue as you. Just set up my devkit today and, although I've updated all the firmware for the headset and the controllers, the lighthouses aren't picking up the controllers. The headset works though, so I was able to view the Blu demo and move around in the Aperture demo (although couldn't progress without controllers). I'll update this thread if I find a solution. Good luck!

[PackaSnack]

Kdinty, just an update here. I've been able to get the controllers tracked about 1 out of every 5 times I reboot the headset. It doesn't last too long, but I was able to complete the Aperture Robot demo before I lost tracking again.

If you haven't already, try updating the SteamVR client, even by deleting it and redownloading it, as it was updated at 9:39am PST today.

[kdinty]

Thanks MjStrwy, I'll give it a try tonight. I uninstalled and reinstalled last night to no avail. I did find that if I plug in the controller it is recognized and tracked but need to find a USB extension to try and run the room setup. Thanks again for the update!

[PackaSnack]

No problem. I was finally able to map my room dimensions this morning and try out a few games before the controllers lost tracking again. When everything works it's glorious, but man the controller issue is frustrating. I'll post again if I figure out a good fix.

[Update] Ok, this may just be superstition talking, but with my setup, there seems to be a connection between the controllers being tracked and whether my audio is being output through my desktop or the Vive headset connection. When I have audio through my desktop, the controllers sometimes are able to be tracked. When I switch the audio back to the headset, the controllers instantly lose tracking.

This last time I was able to track the controllers for over 2 hours, albeit with the audio piped through my desktop speakers. This worked fine for every demo except for the Abbott's Book demo, where the dialogue was hard to hear. YMMV, but if your controllers aren't being tracked, switch the audio to your regular speakers/headphones then power cycle the controllers.

[kdinty]

Well you discovered something glorious MjStrwy. I deleted the local files and re-installed SteamVR turned on the display then controllers and what do you know, they started tracking! First time for me. Went into the settings to try and get audio out of the headset line and what do you know, lost tracking. Restarted both SteamVR and unplugged the headset USB and power supply, same sequence and again tracking. Tried again to run audio to the headset and lost signal again. Maybe it's something with the usb on the motherboard not playing well with the connector box. If I try to set it to the system default or USB output I loose tracking. If I set to the MoBo audio it works! I'm going to email support as well. BTW what MoBo are you running? I have a Gigabyte AM3+ AMD 970.

[Update] Well I tried moving to the very first USB 2.0 port and seems to be all working now. I'm going to test on other ports to see if I can narrow it down. I'll report back.

[kdinty]

OK so I think I figured it out here. You were right. It all had to do with the audio settings. I went into the playback devices and set the "HTC Vive" as the default audio device instead of the USB Audio Device. I would see the controllers loose tracking then regain after switching back and forth the two as the default device. Give it a try and let me know if that works for you!

[PackaSnack]

Nice work, kdinty! My controllers connect just fine when I select the "HTC Vive" (icon looks like a TV set in Win10) as the audio output rather than the "USB Audio Device." It looks like my motherboard is either identical to yours or in the same series:

C:\Users\Russell>wmic baseboard get product,Manufacturer,version,serialnumber
Manufacturer                   Product    SerialNumber            Version
Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.  970A-DS3P  To be filled by O.E.M.  x.x

[Bering]

OMG! That fixed my issues! I also have a 970 motherboard, and the same thing happens!

C:\Users\phil>wmic baseboard get product,Manufacturer,version,serialnumber
Manufacturer Product SerialNumber Version
MSI 970 GAMING (MS-7693) To be filled by O.E.M. 4.0

I change the output to something else, shake the controllers and the HMD and voilà, they all track! I change the output back to the Vive and BOOM, everything gone in an instant!

You guys made my week! Thank you so much!


Now I should be kind of pissed that this has been known since March 4, almost 2 months now... but I'm too happy that the darn thing works! Now I can setup my room and have fun!

Thank you so much guys!

I suggest that you mark this as SOLVED for other users.

[kdinty]

Originally posted by Bering:

OMG! That fixed my issues! I also have a 970 motherboard, and the same thing happens!

C:\Users\phil>wmic baseboard get product,Manufacturer,version,serialnumber
Manufacturer Product SerialNumber Version
MSI 970 GAMING (MS-7693) To be filled by O.E.M. 4.0

I change the output to something else, shake the controllers and the HMD and voilà, they all track! I change the output back to the Vive and BOOM, everything gone in an instant!

You guys made my week! Thank you so much!


Now I should be kind of pissed that this has been known since March 4, almost 2 months now... but I'm too happy that the darn thing works! Now I can setup my room and have fun!

Thank you so much guys!

I suggest that you mark this as SOLVED for other users.

Awesome! Thanks for the suggestion too!

[goldenape]

Finally Vive works again!! Thank you so much.
Had problems the whole weekend with Vive not sending a signal, but after changing audio output to "HTC VIVE" instead of "USB Audio Device" i finally got a signal again.

[HollySheet]

Had troubles with my controllers too (no tracking most of the time) - as soon as i switched of the headset-camera in the settings it worked without problems