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Oculus Incompatible USB 3.0 - Why not give us option like PLAY ANYWAY until we sort it out ?

jsteamid
Explorer
There are like 8 usb 2.0 ports and 3 usb 3.0 ports on my Asus P8Z68-V Pro Gen 3 mobo, but only TWO Usb 2.0 ports are usable for Oculus sensors. I want to buy another sensor but I don't have any usb port usable for it. 

I bought Via pci-e 4 usb 3.0 ports without knowing that Oculus is so picky about usb port and turned out VIA is on blacklist , if the sensors can even work on USB 2.0 why Oculus suspects it won't work on any brand of USB 3.0 ??? Why not let us even try it first ? 

The headset itself works fine on Via USB 3.0 , and the Oculus software doesn't even complain, it's just for the sensors. 

or is there any work around for this ? I've tried manipulating the Compatibility.json guide posted on reddit but seems like it doesn't work anymore, and there is no newer guide on how to bypass Oculus USB 3.0 incompatibility blacklist. I live in a country where we can't be picky about brand, so I can't easily just get an Inateck USB 3.0 pci-e card to use. I have to import the card which means expensive, takes a long time to arrive, and what I hate the most is the officer at post office where imported goods are held, they always charge more, and I hate to pay it because they're dirty officers.

WHY CANT OCULUS JUST LET US TRY IT ANYWAY AND LET US DECIDE WHETHER OUR USB PORT WORKS FINE OR NOT. 
7 REPLIES 7

Alexkidd62
Explorer
Well... you can buy a HUB? I got an Asus board (Z170-A) and an Acer Z271. My sensors are plugged on the Acer Z271 USB3 hub which is then plugged a the back of my computer on one of the USB3 port of the motherboard. Be sure to use a self powered usb HUB and have fun!

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Port-2-5A-power-adapter/dp/B00DQFGH80


Edit : Nevermind https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/7kmv23/oculus_usb_hub/
After reading it's seems tied to USB3 Controller per port. My asus Z170-A got a 3.1 usb port which is actually where i plugged the usb hub of my acer Z271. Usb3.1 got 10gb/s bandwidth which is actually enough for 3 sensors. If your usb3 share the same controller (because a controller is expensive from what i've read) well this is why and its not Oculus fault.

What you can do is actually try to find 2 usb port that are NOT ON THE SAME CHANNEL, that actually should work. I guess...

Check this : https://www.oculus.com/blog/oculus-roomscale-balancing-bandwidth-on-usb/


Alexkidd62
Explorer
you can try this also as those ppl suggested probably cheaper and easier to get than a pcie card

Brad Hawthorne ·
How
about using active extension cables that force them USB 2.0 on a USB
3.0 host controller like the Monoprice cable that was included with the
sensor?
I
did this and it worked like a charm. But I disagree with the assertion
that two USB 3.0 can be on a single host controller. This caused me
all kinds of problems until I totally separated the two USB 3.0 streams.



jsteamid
Explorer
@Alexkidd62
Thanks for the info, so it's all about bandwidth then, BUT Oculus just put some brands on BLACKLIST and not actually calculating the bandwidth left on the usb controller.

By spec usb 2.0 is 480mbps, usb 3.0 is 5gbps, currently I'm using both sensors on USB 2.0 and I bet it's the same controller, so they're using 240mbps each in theory.

Then I have VIA PCI-E USB 3.0 , that should count as separate controller , right ? with full 5gbps bandwidth which is TEN TIMES higher than usb 2.0 speed, or even if I'm using an unknown chipset like ABC or XYZ, how bad could it be for a newer tech that's supposedly have 10 times the bandwidth of its predecessor, even by having 50% of its real spec or even 25%, it's still plentiful, but NO, Oculus decided to just blacklist specific brand. period.

There are THREE usb 3.0 ports on my mobo, and all of them are unusable by oculus sensor. The error message is Incompatible usb 3.0. Using pci-e Via usb 3.0 card with 4 ports, it's the same error message. So I have like 7 usb ports with 2 separate controllers (via pci-e and onboard) , but all of them are unusable by oculus sensor because it's on blacklist, not actually not working, because ppl have been saying that after they removed the blacklist , their usb 3.0 ports which were detected as incompatible are actually working perfectly. 

How come Oculus driver picks usb 2.0 port with 480mbps over usb 3.0 with theoretically 10x the bandwidth of usb2 ? It doesnt make sense. Why bother explaining about bandwidth but in the end they blacklist some brands >_<
 

elboffor
Consultant
They have been tested and proven to be problematic.
That is why they are blacklisted.
Oculus does not allow a sub par experience and that is why devices known to do so are blacklisted.
You sgould have run the compatibility tool prior to purchase and this would have beem flagged.
I recommend buying an aproved pci e card such as the inatech 4 port card.
This is my forum signature.
There are many others like it, but this is mine.

jsteamid
Explorer

elboffor said:

They have been tested and proven to be problematic.
That is why they are blacklisted.
Oculus does not allow a sub par experience and that is why devices known to do so are blacklisted.
You sgould have run the compatibility tool prior to purchase and this would have beem flagged.
I recommend buying an aproved pci e card such as the inatech 4 port card.


but it worked well for people before oculus added blacklist, they even managed to remove the blacklist by editing the compatibility.json file and worked fine.

From what alexkidd62 posted above, it's all about bandwidth which is strange if usb 2.0 with much lower bandwidth like 1/10 can pass but not for usb 3.0. 

elboffor
Consultant
Most likely power bandwidth, not data bandwidth.
I had the exact same issue with my old mobo. Its actually the reason i joined the forum.
Ultimately, even if you don't have any issues currently then you will have them at some point.
The recommended inatech card is pretty cheap and i would highly recomend it. 
As i said ive been in your situ and appreciate yiur frustration. But just fix the issue your end as it's the only realistic fix.
This is my forum signature.
There are many others like it, but this is mine.

jsteamid
Explorer

elboffor said:

Most likely power bandwidth, not data bandwidth.
I had the exact same issue with my old mobo. Its actually the reason i joined the forum.
Ultimately, even if you don't have any issues currently then you will have them at some point.
The recommended inatech card is pretty cheap and i would highly recomend it. 
As i said ive been in your situ and appreciate yiur frustration. But just fix the issue your end as it's the only realistic fix.


yea they're the expert and I guess I have no choice but to import that card if I want trouble free experience , but imo oculus shld at least give us an option like play at your own risk or something like that. Thx for sharing your experience and the advice