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Oculus Rift S microphone issue

Cloud217
Explorer
I am having an issue with my microphone. I am trying to determine if it is a hardware issue, or if there is some software solution to the problem. I believe it is a hardware issue at this point. Can someone confirm this? I am just about ready to return the unit. I sent in a support request but have not gotten a response.

Issue (Oculus Rift S):
1. The microphone on the headset right after I plug in the USB 3.0 connection and the display port connection typically works for a while.
2. Eventually the microphone sometimes makes a crazy buzzing noise. I can hear it on a Skype test call or on the Sansar feedback option.
3. Eventually the microphone seems to stop making any noise. Windows drivers indicate it is there and functioning, but no sound comes through. I.e. Contona hears nothing and so on. I don't see any errors for the device on the event viewer.
4. Out of everything I have tried the only way to get the microphone back temporarily functioning is typically is to unplug the USB cable. Powering down overnight may also work.

What I have tried:
1. "sfc /scannow"  (from powershell admin mode). This did find and correct some corrupt windows files apparently but did not fix the issue.
2. Connecting to a different USB 3.0 port. As I mentioned, when I disconnect and reconnect the unit it seems to function for a while. I have also tried connecting to USB 3.1 and USB 2.0 ports. When I do this the microphone again does seem to work, but I have no idea for how long and since Oculus Rift S doesn't support this port type it doesn't really help.
3. It just seemed to randomly stop working after an hour or so. Normally starts the buzzing noise first and then makes no noise usually.
4. I have tried uninstalling the driver from the devices page and letting windows automatically reinstall it.
5. Restarting sound services (there were two related services). AutoStart is selected for these.
6. I have checked the windows privacy settings and allow programs to use the microphone is selected.
7. Went through the Windows 10 sequence to fix the microphone.
8. Installed USB drivers for my motherboard (Asus ROG MAXIMUS VIII HERO LGA1151 DDR4)
9. I have tried enabling and disabling the microphone device.
10. Checked that the microphone is not muted under the sound settings in windows
11. My Oculus Rift S is quite new (obviously). There is no visible damage to the cables.

Any help resolving this would be appreciated.










30 REPLIES 30

ProudVet
Honored Guest
I am having the same issue mic will work for a little while then all of a sudden just stop working. I have even tested on my other pc same thing happens mic works for a little while then just stops working. I have to unplug the usb cable and re-plug it back in and then again it only works for a few then stops again. This is really upsetting as this is my very first VR headset and I am having this issue. 

NiceMitch
Explorer
Update; Mic issue still happening. My wife has a Rift S and she doesn't have the issue whatsoever. I'm going to try out her headset to see if it's an issue somewhere on my computer. If the issue happens again I suppose I'll just return this headset until Oculus can release some type of PCI card compatibility list. It's getting annoying having to do all the troubleshooting for them. 

Kwkidder
Honored Guest
I had same Issue.  I plugged in a standard headset with Mic and noticed mic was working fine.  When I unplugged headset the mic on Rift S started working again.

Cloud217
Explorer
NiceMitch please let us know how it turned out. Did you wife's Rift S running on your computer have the same microphone issue? If not I think that pretty much proves there is a hardware defect with the unit.

NiceMitch
Explorer

Cloud217 said:

NiceMitch please let us know how it turned out. Did you wife's Rift S running on your computer have the same microphone issue? If not I think that pretty much proves there is a hardware defect with the unit.


So I went out to the Microsoft store and did an exchange on my headset. So far I haven't run into the issue but I haven't had time to play extensively. If I do run into the issue again I'll be sure to post here. 

iargo
Honored Guest
I have this same issue too. I would be very interested to hear any fix or if a replacement is required. Asus  Prime Z390 mobo. Unplugging gets it working for a short time too!

Fangzhou
Adventurer
Same issue here, this was not happening before the latest update of 1.39PTC, so I believe this is a software issue that caused by Oculus service bug.
After the "voice become noise" happened once, it will keep happening more frequently until restart computer. Just restarting Oculus software does not fix. 
The latest update fix zero bugs, removes the previous tracking improvement, brings new bugs like tracking drifting and microphone noise. I don't understand why Oculus developer do this, are they just make bugs to annoy users for fun?

KenSniper
Adventurer
This is happening to me too, mic would suddenly stop working until I unplug and plug back my USB, can get pretty annoying over time

Dragon_Lost
Explorer
ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3 and Windows 10 Professional here: I have the problem where my mic isn't working at all if it's connected to a USB 3.0 port. However once it's in a USB 2 port the microphone works perfectly.
I formatted my PC running Windows 7 few days ago, the microphone worked flawlessly when plugged into USB 3.0.
Just something is changing on the USB 3 ports between Windows 7 and 10.
I'm thinking of buying a PCI to USB 3 card as well, to see if that fixes the problem.

RattyUK
Trustee
@Dragon_Lost  - it may be worth checking that when you put Win 10 on that microsoft didn't replace your manufacturer drivers with generic Microsoft ones, you can check with Device Manager.  Just a suggestion 🙂
PC info: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X - Sapphire 7900XTX - 32GB DDR4 4000 - 3 NVMe + 3SATA SSD - Quest 2 & 3