Got a Quest 3...total nightmare....

[RobJC 2,069]

I thought VR was "close" to primetime, but the Quest 3 I just bought leads me to believe that primetime is a ways off. There's no way we are going to get mass adoption with an experience like this. I have 30 years of IT experience, and this experience has been pretty terrible. After unpacking the device and controllers, I charge up the Q3. It took maybe an hour to charge as it was already partially charged. First up, I had to download and install the Oculus software. Easy enough. Then I tried to add the device to the app. This is where the problems began. I bought a USB-C to USB-A 3.0 cable, and no matter what I did the Oculus software did not detect the Q3. So then I tried wireless and that did not work either. Lovely. After troubleshooting for an hour, reading reddit, etc. I ended up installing a new bios for my motherboard. That didn't work either. 5 or 6 reboots of my PC, following troubleshooting checklists, plus resetting the Q3 a few times, and blam! It connected wirelessly. 

To say this is the least user-friendly device known to man would be an understatement. This process literally eliminates 95% of the public. Maybe more. But let's continue. 

So I download Half-Life: Alyx and fire that up. But now my headset is dead, because evidently you get maybe one hour of usage. That's a bummer. Time for bed.

I wake up, fire up the PC and Q3, and now SteamVR won't connect. I guess I needed to restart the AirLink process? Okay now I am in Alyx. Really good experience. The graphics were excellent, and even the dreaded "screen door effect"  wasn't really a factor. Sound from the headset was very good. Overall not bad at all. So then I decide to give MSFS a shot. 

Big mistake. 

Trying to load the sim and an hour glass starts spinning. This would be a Q3 thing telling me that bad things are about to happen. After what seems like forever I decide to Ctrl+Alt+Del by PC. I try again and now SteamVR is reporting an issue. So I restart my PC and Q3. I forget which attempt I finally got to the main menu, but we'll call it number 3. I go into my MSFS settings and put my settings on Medium. Headset is dead now. TIme to close out and charge it back up.

I load it all again a couple hours later and get back to the main menu after reloading everything, doing the AirlInk thing, firing up SteamVR, and loading MSFS. And to think I complained that MSFS took a few minutes to load. I get into MSFS and change my graphics settings to Medium. And then MSFS starts wigging out and the hour glass shows up again. Another crash. 

I read about people running this sim with a 3080 but oh boy is this process a complete mess. I ordered a PCIe USB controller and it just arrived, so let me try that and continue this saga later.     

[RobJC 2,069]

Got the new USB 3.2 controller installed, plugged in the Quest 3 and heard a beep. Tried using the link cable and no go. So not sure how to get the wired setup working. 

 

Half-Life: Alyx is amazing. 

[RobJC 2,069]

Pretty much giving up on USB. So many other bazaar issues, like if I have my Airlink connected and I try to setup the headset with cable, it shows that the cable is connected and working, but it is confused because it thinks the AirlInk is the cable connection. This thing really is a mess. 

If the Quest 3 is any indication I would say VR has at least another 2 years before it is ready for prime time. But games like HL Alyx are truly amazing, even over wireless. But then the battery life lets the whole thing down, and it is a complete bug fest trying to get things working. Maybe if Valve updates the Index and drops the price I will try that. It can't be any worse than this Quest 3 device and it should integrate with Steam a lot better.   

[turbomax 3,286]

2 hours ago, RobJC said:

I would say VR has at least another 2 years before it is ready for prime time.

I understand your frustration, I would feel the same. unfortunately I can't help you with Quest 3 since I have an HP Reverb G2 for 2 years now and it has worked like a charm, from day 1. so I would not generally agree that VR is not for prime time. I just finished a night VFR flight departing LOWI Innsbruck, and it was smooth as silk. I am sure the Quest3 owners around here can help out. good luck!

[dogmanbird 269]

3 hours ago, RobJC said:

Got the new USB 3.2 controller installed, plugged in the Quest 3 and heard a beep. Tried using the link cable and no go. So not sure how to get the wired setup working. 

 

Half-Life: Alyx is amazing. 

Yeah, powering the q3 is frustrating, plus Meta seem to be quietly tweaking the power management/requirements in the software updates which makes it hard to figure out what definitely works and what doesn't, for charging or maintaining charge while gaming. What once worked well may no longer behave the same.

Prior to v60, people seemed to have had the most success with something that can provide a constant USB-C 9v @ 2A minimum for it to charge the headset while playing games via a usb-c to usb-c link capable cable. Because of power changes in v60 software, it may now only charge to about 85% max while gaming where it once got to 100%.

Alyx is great hey! I use a 10,000 power brick (with a usb-c 9v 2.2A output), in my pocket with cable running up to headset. I get about 6 or more hours of play time. It will charge the headset from 0% to about 80% while playing. I haven't had any charging success with high current usb-A ports while gaming

[RobJC 2,069]

2 hours ago, turbomax said:

I understand your frustration, I would feel the same. unfortunately I can't help you with Quest 3 since I have an HP Reverb G2 for 2 years now and it has worked like a charm, from day 1. so I would not generally agree that VR is not for prime time. I just finished a night VFR flight departing LOWI Innsbruck, and it was smooth as silk. I am sure the Quest3 owners around here can help out. good luck!

Thanks. The HP Reverb G2 sounds like the experience i need. 

[RobJC 2,069]

2 hours ago, dogmanbird said:

Yeah, powering the q3 is frustrating, plus Meta seem to be quietly tweaking the power management/requirements in the software updates which makes it hard to figure out what definitely works and what doesn't, for charging or maintaining charge while gaming. What once worked well may no longer behave the same.

Prior to v60, people seemed to have had the most success with something that can provide a constant USB-C 9v @ 2A minimum for it to charge the headset while playing games via a usb-c to usb-c link capable cable. Because of power changes in v60 software, it may now only charge to about 85% max while gaming where it once got to 100%.

Alyx is great hey! I use a 10,000 power brick (with a usb-c 9v 2.2A output), in my pocket with cable running up to headset. I get about 6 or more hours of play time. It will charge the headset from 0% to about 80% while playing. I haven't had any charging success with high current usb-A ports while gaming

It really does feel like a prototype. Thanks for the tips. I am going to try and plug it into the power adapter that came with it and see if it charges while playing. But i really wanted the cable to get better performance. Right now using Steam Link. Thanks again for the help. Alyx really delivers an amazing VR experience. Can’t say enough good things about it. 

[Skywolf 992]

Use Meta Products via Virtual Desktop (heck you can even fly in 2d, sitting in a fancy VR room)...see my previous thread that I posted.  I was having issues with AirLink with Oculus Home.

I am getting 50-60fps with Quest Pro (video card 2070 Super)

[EGLD 439]

I just bought one of these at the weekend, I already have a Reverb G2.

I like the Golf+ and Cricket games, really incredible showcasing of VR technology - so it's multi-purpose for me as I want it for more than just seated PC VR in flightsim.

That said, I picked up a 5m link cable with charging capability yesterday and quickly tried out Automobilista 2, it was incredible - my hunch is it's clearer than the G2 which I have been using for racing and flightsims.

VR is still not for the faint hearted - I would say with the Quest 3 you need to be patient if you want to use it for PC VR/Flightsims because that's not it's primary use case - it's main goal is to be a standalone headset for unique gaming and experiences away from your PC, but I think what people have found is that it's also a great PC VR solution if you have the patience.

I'm about to go and read the looooong Quest 3 thread here to see how I can get it working with MSFS - I have a 3080ti which despite being £2k a couple of years ago appears to already be considered old and legacy, but I have high hopes

[Mgard78 141]

Sounds like a "you" problem, not compatible with "30 years of IT"...

Have not had any sich experience amd works perfect all the time, from CV1 through Rift, Rift S, Quest 1 and 2 as well...

[GEKtheReaper 364]

@RobJC I got mine on 24.01 (as an upgrade to my Quest 2). Except of the Cable Link connection, which did not work, I had zero issues with it. To the Cable-Link I have to say that I don't have the original cable but another cheaper one, where the USB header is already loose in the connector overmold.... it still works with my Q2 but I can't connect the Q3 through it.

Air Link works with no issues and MSFS is simply wow! I have the store version and use the Oculus SW with the Debugging Tool (or Oculus Tray Tool) and the Open XR in the SIM. Allthough I don't know if some of the tools are redundant or not because I ended fiddling around after I finaly got some sort of quality / performance balance that I could live with. 

[Donka 650]

I had problems pairing the Quest3 with the Meta app on an iPhone. Flat out refused no matter what I tried. Put the app on my Samsung tablet and it paired first time and let me set it all up. There is definitely issues with the Meta software I am finding. If you have a solid wifi connection at home and you are not far from your router, I would suggest getting Virtual Desktop. It is much more plug and play and it is also more performant than the Oculus link software. Having said that, I've been doing some further testing with the Oculus USB link connection and with the right settings, it is a good option.

[RobJC 2,069]

11 hours ago, Skywolf said:

Use Meta Products via Virtual Desktop (heck you can even fly in 2d, sitting in a fancy VR room)...see my previous thread that I posted.  I was having issues with AirLink with Oculus Home.

I am getting 50-60fps with Quest Pro (video card 2070 Super)

I downloaded Virtual Desktop today and it was pretty seamless. For the first time I was able to get MSFS loaded and I was able to successfully load the cockpit. I am not going to say the graphics quality was great but I can see how with a better system it could be amazing. But with AirLInk or Steam Link it would not load.  

7 hours ago, EGLD said:

I just bought one of these at the weekend, I already have a Reverb G2.

I like the Golf+ and Cricket games, really incredible showcasing of VR technology - so it's multi-purpose for me as I want it for more than just seated PC VR in flightsim.

That said, I picked up a 5m link cable with charging capability yesterday and quickly tried out Automobilista 2, it was incredible - my hunch is it's clearer than the G2 which I have been using for racing and flightsims.

VR is still not for the faint hearted - I would say with the Quest 3 you need to be patient if you want to use it for PC VR/Flightsims because that's not it's primary use case - it's main goal is to be a standalone headset for unique gaming and experiences away from your PC, but I think what people have found is that it's also a great PC VR solution if you have the patience.

I'm about to go and read the looooong Quest 3 thread here to see how I can get it working with MSFS - I have a 3080ti which despite being £2k a couple of years ago appears to already be considered old and legacy, but I have high hopes

I gave up on the cable option, which is a bummer. It would have helped with charging and performance. No idea why it wouldn't work.   

6 hours ago, GEKtheReaper said:

@RobJC I got mine on 24.01 (as an upgrade to my Quest 2). Except of the Cable Link connection, which did not work, I had zero issues with it. To the Cable-Link I have to say that I don't have the original cable but another cheaper one, where the USB header is already loose in the connector overmold.... it still works with my Q2 but I can't connect the Q3 through it.

Air Link works with no issues and MSFS is simply wow! I have the store version and use the Oculus SW with the Debugging Tool (or Oculus Tray Tool) and the Open XR in the SIM. Allthough I don't know if some of the tools are redundant or not because I ended fiddling around after I finaly got some sort of quality / performance balance that I could live with. 

I hear you on the cable. I think it is a software problem, like many of these issues. Air Link works fine with Alyx but all goes for a toss with MSFS. But VD works way better with MSFS. But the visual quality is not there. But that is my hardware, and not VD's fault. 

6 hours ago, Donka said:

I had problems pairing the Quest3 with the Meta app on an iPhone. Flat out refused no matter what I tried. Put the app on my Samsung tablet and it paired first time and let me set it all up. There is definitely issues with the Meta software I am finding. If you have a solid wifi connection at home and you are not far from your router, I would suggest getting Virtual Desktop. It is much more plug and play and it is also more performant than the Oculus link software. Having said that, I've been doing some further testing with the Oculus USB link connection and with the right settings, it is a good option.

Yeah, no kidding. I did get Virtual Desktop. Much more reliable from my limited testing. 

[Skywolf 992]

I uninstalled complete Oculus software from my pc system.  I truly feel, Meta is downgrading the Oculus Home (Rift) experience.  Also, my performance is better with DX11 and using DLSS in VR.  Though in desktop mode, I have to run the sim in DX12 with Frame Generation Mod.  But once you go to VR, it is not worth it to fly in 2D mode anyway. 

I just want to figure out how I can make the cockpit even better (it is fantastic now) but I always want to push the graphics on that end lol.

 

 

[Donka 650]

Supersampling is the key to getting sharper graphics with the Quest 3. Unfortunately, that means you really need a strong GPU to drive the extra resolution. A 3080 is still capable though through Virtual Desktop as long as you are sensible with the resolution, run DLSS mode and also apply Fixed Foveated Rendering using the OpenXR Toolkit.