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White Static Flashes in Rift S

misfitpunish3r
Honored Guest
Hello all,

Wanted to post this in the forums to see of anyone else is having a similar issue, in hopes that I'm not the only one or perhaps someone has already contacted Oculus to see if it's a software issue or not.

I'm having intermittent white (kind of like static) flashes every now and then. They're completely at random and happen in Oculus home and all the VR games I've tried with it (Marvel Powers United, Onward, Blade and Sorcery, Beat Saber)

Any info (other than "I'm not having any issues at all") is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
415 REPLIES 415

AlexAtkinUK
Protege
Its my understand that in most cases, manufacturers do not customise the drivers at all - they are just direct copies from the chipset vendors.  The difference seen is most likely to be that board/laptop manufacturers usually trail behind the latest versions.

I've always used generic chipset vendor drivers over manufacturers, as manufacturers tend to stop updating their support pages after a year or two while vendors keep releasing indefinitely.

sraura
Heroic Explorer

RG4520 said:

@sraura

As I've said before, really glad you were able to solve your flashing issue. Having said that:

Checking your motherboard and chip-set manufacturer's website for updates is PC owner 101 super basic stuff. Stop talking about it like you've discovered the secret formula to Coca Cola. 


I'm sorry if I made u think that. Wasn't my intention at all. And yes it is basic stuff for many people - agreed right there.

The thing what I "discovered" was that iME version can in some cases cause flashes or in some cases - cure them. The reason behind this remains unknown to me. Someone with deeper knowledge about that might be able to cook some conclusions up.

Anonymous
Not applicable

mhajii210 said:

Guys I have tried everything listed on the support site and everything I could think of with no luck. I even tried Oculus Homeless, removing overclock and going back to default, and making sure BIOS and drivers are all up-to-date. I am still getting the same static flashes (2-3 per hour) as day 1 with no change whatsoever. I just submitted a ticket in case support will want me to try a new cable. My return window from Amazon ends 6/22 and I'm getting worried here. No one seems to know if this is a software or hardware issue. 



Dear Oculus, after reading the suggestion that I should try Oculus Homeless I told my landlord to fuck right off and stick the flat I was living in up his arse.

I am now living in a cardboard box but I'm not getting white flashes any more but I'm sure that's due to not having anything to plug my PC and Rift S into any more rather than any technical shenanigans taking place. Fuck you, I'm buying a Vive. At some point. If I can ever move out of this cardboard box I'm currently living in. 😞

Anonymous
Not applicable
"I'd rather be a Hammer than a Nail" (or a Landlord as I am)

sraura
Heroic Explorer


Its my understand that in most cases, manufacturers do not customise the drivers at all - they are just direct copies from the chipset vendors.  The difference seen is most likely to be that board/laptop manufacturers usually trail behind the latest versions.

I've always used generic chipset vendor drivers over manufacturers, as manufacturers tend to stop updating their support pages after a year or two while vendors keep releasing indefinitely.

AFAIK - on desktop computers resellers (board/computer manufacturer) driver may contain some modifications, but in most cases the core driver is same than generic chipset manufacturers driver. Resellers drivers are in many cases older and not necessarily even updated like u said. On laptop computers it is a shot into dark - you may get lucky with vendor driver - or then not.
There are couple reasons why resellers drivers are safer. Other is that they have been usually internally tested to work with the hardware. Second is that they are "supported" which means a lot for many people who may need support.
But to get most out of the hardware - like you said -  chipset manufacturers drivers are usually the best choice. Specially on computers which have been built from scratch (not brand computer).
Both choices are better than default windows drivers, which are in many cases stripped-down versions of resellers drivers. They may also be lacking behind on versions.

KessUsagi
Honored Guest
For me the most recent update has "Fixed" the controller tracking and static snow in the pass-through. Played beat saber and a couple other vr games without the loosing tracking for 3 hour which is a major improvement from the 2-4 minute tracking and static lockup.....however the white flashes like what is described here is what I'm getting like once every 10-15 minutes. 

...I hope I just didn't jinx myself by posting this...if I did I will then update and nyx this post.


mhajii210 said:

Guys I have tried everything listed on the support site and everything I could think of with no luck. I even tried Oculus Homeless, removing overclock and going back to default, and making sure BIOS and drivers are all up-to-date. I am still getting the same static flashes (2-3 per hour) as day 1 with no change whatsoever. I just submitted a ticket in case support will want me to try a new cable. My return window from Amazon ends 6/22 and I'm getting worried here. No one seems to know if this is a software or hardware issue. 



My advice is, if you're approaching the end of your return window and you're not confident the issue will be fixed, return it. I'd give the same advice for anything purchased that isn't performing as you'd expected.

I had a similar experience with a GPS sports watch that had its battery life severely reduced by a firmware update that wasn't getting resolve with subsequent firmware. So as it was getting to a month of the 2 year warranty period running out, back it went. You won't thank anyone for telling you it'll be fixed if it isn't.

I'll be keeping my Rift-S  though as my confidence is high in this instance (the flashes on mine seemed to have reduced to the point that I haven't had one in the last 2 hours of use) but it's a personal choice.


Edit: Also it's worth taking into account that you're not limited to the 30 day Amazon return policy. The seller's guarantee period is also in place with Oculus (2 years here in the EU), although of course you'd have to go through the support ticket process and try all the things they suggest before getting to the point that a return is authorised.

mashermets
Explorer
Got the same issue with my rift s, tried everything other than beta software to fix it! Support ticket coming yr with oculus lol. Anyone heard oculus stance on this!?! 

Zahariel
Expert Protege
Latest update from my support ticket was to ship out out a replacement cable and then close the ticket as solved. I gave it two days but I'm still getting flashes so I've reopened the ticket and we'll see what they say next. They may request I return the HMD and I have a bad feeling that if I do, my replacement will have the dreaded black screen issue...

Fortunately though I use my HMD daily, it's not for lengthy periods, mainly BeatSabre and the like. I am holding off on buying in depth games until this is fixed as I tend to get flashes every 15 to 20 mins.

RattyUK
Trustee
With the latest PTC update the random flashes appear to be reduced considerably, but not yet eradicated.   I also had to re-apply the sound enhancements on the properties for the 'Rift Headphones' to return sound to its normal levels/quality
(loud & good!)  I run them at 70% - never any issue, I don't think anyone would expect any sort of quality running at 100%, would they?
PC info: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X - Sapphire 7900XTX - 32GB DDR4 4000 - 3 NVMe + 3SATA SSD - Quest 2 & 3