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FireGod9922's avatar
FireGod9922
Protege
16 days ago

Defective fan causing boot failure?

Yet again dealing with a grey screen after boot attempt.

Q3 was working as expected. Plugged it in to charge overnight and when I tried to power it up today I saw the Meta logo and the green progress bar like it was finalizing a software update. I assume the OS 2.3 roll out that started April 13 finally got to mine.

After the progress bar filled the device booted to a grey screen. Waited 20 plus minutes with no change.

I’ve tried multiple resets, and manual software installs from the Meta site. Boots to a grey screen every time. It stays like that with any amount of waiting 

I have it partially disassembled. After it sits a while with a grey screen the heat sink gets hot but the cooling fan never comes on. However, when I power off the device the fan runs momentarily.

So…anyone know if a defective fan will cause a boot issue?

I ask but I’m puzzled by the fact the fan runs momentarily at power down. That means the fan works so the issue is possibly with the control board. When the device worked I never saw any messages about overheating which I understand would (should) have happened.

It’s out of warranty.

Thanks in advance for any helpful feedback.

32 Replies

  • steve_40's avatar
    steve_40
    Honored Visionary
    16 days ago

    It's not a fan issue.

    It might be a failed or obstructed proximity sensor. This seems to be one of the most common hardware failures, according to Fix my Oculus.

    It could also be caused by sweat getting into the headset.

    Some users blame the software updates themselves, but I've seen that reported across a lot of different OS versions, and they don't break everyone's headset, so the jury is out on that one.

    A small number of users simply left their headsets on charge and they "fixed themselves" after a while... so maybe the headset was still updating or got a little stuck temporarily.

    EDIT: when you say it booted to a grey screen, could this be the screen where you are supposed to click your profile? I had a glitch once where the profile menu wouldn't appear. The workaround was to loosen the headstrap so I could pull the headset away from my eyes slightly by about 1-2 cm - it made the profile menu appear. Then while holding the headset slightly in front of my face, I clicked on my profile to get in. The problem disappeared after the next couple of software updates:

    Quest 3 (v81.1034) randomly cannot access the user profile menu after waking from sleep | Meta Community Forums - 1350759

     

  • FireGod9922's avatar
    FireGod9922
    Protege
    16 days ago

    I’ve never seen a screen to select a profile. There’s only one user/profile connected to the device.

    While I’ve waited for the grey screen to go away I’ve had the device sitting on my desk. When I pick it up and move it towards my face I’ve never seen a menu of any kind in the peripheral.

    By “grey screen” I’m referring to when the device is clearly powered up but there's no image. Some people might refer to it as a black screen but it’s not black like when the device is powered off.

    The proximity sensor isn’t blocked in any way. As I noted, the device is partially disassembled, to the point I can touch the heat sink. That means the silicone seal around the optics is off so the proximity sensor has no cover. I’ve cleaned it with electronics cleaner. So that would leave it being defective, as a possibility. I’ll see what I can find for testing, if it can be.

    Still puzzled by the fan in that it’s not starting when (before) the heat sink gets hot but it spins a second when the device is powered off.

    • Choleni's avatar
      Choleni
      MVP
      16 days ago

      Hi FireGod9922​ 🙂

      FireGod9922 wrote:

      I’ve never seen a screen to select a profile. There’s only one user/profile connected to the device.

      Then you'll start right away in your loft. The select profile screen only appears if there ais more than one profile on the headset.

      About your grey/black screen...... maybe sweat/moisture found its way into the headset.

      If so, a hairdryer might help.

       

      • FireGod9922's avatar
        FireGod9922
        Protege
        16 days ago

        Seems you have never disassembled a Q3 (or previous models). Having the device torn down enough to touch the heat sink means I am able to touch and see everything except the inside of the speaker arms. There is no moisture inside the unit and the only evidence there ever has been is a very slight bit of rust on one screw.

        It’s been partially disassembled for over 48 hours so any moisture hidden away would have evaporated by now.

        Thanks for the attempt. 

    • steve_40's avatar
      steve_40
      Honored Visionary
      16 days ago

      The fan usually doesn't run until you enter the loft, and then only briefly (maybe a bit longer if the headset was just updated). Normally it won't start blowing until you actually play a demanding game.

      Just as an interesting test, can you try using your phone to cast your headset and see if it gets you past that dark screen. I think doing so can sometimes bypass a faulty proximity sensor:

      Oculus Quest 2 Screen Only Works When Casting. | Meta Community Forums - 1354295

      • FireGod9922's avatar
        FireGod9922
        Protege
        16 days ago

        My understanding is the fan should spin momentarily - like a slight motion - when the device is plugged into power. Then it should definitely come on before the heat sink becomes almost too hot to touch. A demanding game causes the fan to come on because it’s causing the processor to heat up which hits the temp threshold for the fan to engage. 

        As part of my early troubleshooting I checked the app for any unfinished updates because that’s part of the Meta troubleshooting steps. The app won’t connect to the device which supports that  it’s not completing a boot. 

  • Maccyb123's avatar
    Maccyb123
    Expert Consultant
    16 days ago

    FireGod9922​ "there's only a bit of rust on one screw". Take it from a process control systems design engineer, even a spot of rust inside an electronic device means it has been exposed to moisture and could well be part of the problem. Moisture can evaporate and leave no, or very little evidence of the damage it has done to the sensors or other components while it was there. There should be zero rust. It is fairly likely to be at least part of the problem. 

  • FireGod9922's avatar
    FireGod9922
    Protege
    16 days ago

    Today the fan is working again but still the same full boot failure issue. However…

    Earlier troubleshooting: reload OS 2.3, try to boot, failed. Selected to Reset, try to boot, failed. Rinse and repeat. I never tried to reboot with either OS reinstall or reset when the boot failed. I was just switching between the two.

    I’ve tried that now and it still won’t fully boot. But here’s what happens:

    Grey screen; hold the Power button 10 seconds and the Q3 screen goes black; 10 or so seconds later I see a stationary Meta logo and underneath “Meta Horizon OS”. That stays for 30s-45s  then goes away and theres’s only the white Meta logo with the green progress bar. The green fills the bar, screen goes black several seconds, then a moving Meta logo appears with “Meta Horizon OS” underneath. After 30s-45s I see the grey screen. Then when I reboot, hard or soft, that sequence repeats including the green progress bar.

    While the screen with the moving logo and “Meta Horizon OS” is on the heat sink heats up very quickly. To the point that it’s too hot to touch after the 30s-45s wait  

    I assume the reappearance of the green progress bar with each reboot means it’s not finishing the reset or OS install, whichever I’ve most recently initiated, so it’s trying again.

    From the grey screen the only way to power off is to hold the power and down volume for 10 seconds to get to the system menu and select Power Off.

    • steve_40's avatar
      steve_40
      Honored Visionary
      16 days ago

      The green bar means it is installing an OS update but not a firmware update (firmware update is a silicon chip icon). How long are you waiting when you get to the grey screen before resetting? Once after an update I had to wait about 10 minutes before the Loft loaded, but usually it only takes a few seconds. It made me feel very anxious indeed. If it keeps doing the green bar thing after a simple reboot, then it means it is not completing the OS update.

      • FireGod9922's avatar
        FireGod9922
        Protege
        16 days ago

        I’d read a Meta doc at some point that it could take up to 15 minutes for the boot to complete after a software install or reset. I’ve waited up to 30 minutes for both to complete.

        I’ve never seen a chip image when resetting a Q3. I successfully reset a previous device, and this one in February. I see the white/colored circle with “Erasing” underneath then some combination of Meta logo screens as it resets. 

        I also don’t recall ever seeing the green bar during a software install but this is the first time I’ve monitored the process since Meta changed to OS. Maybe it wasn’t used before them.

        Just did another reset and the green bar appeared in the process. If it’s strictly related to an OS install then it would seem the device is ignoring the reset command. 

    • Maccyb123's avatar
      Maccyb123
      Expert Consultant
      13 days ago

      FireGod9922​ The "little bit of rust on one screw" is your problem. Moisture got inside.. You need to have it repaired or replaced.. You have really tried all the other possible solutions.. It's broken, updates, reboots, resets won't help. 

      • FireGod9922's avatar
        FireGod9922
        Protege
        13 days ago

        There is a lot to read in this thread. Somewhere is that i determined what I thought was rust is thread grip/lock. I looked at it with a magnifier. It comes off in clumps and compresses when pushed on.

    • Choleni's avatar
      Choleni
      MVP
      13 days ago

      FireGod9922​  Sorry, to hear that.

      I know, your fan is running fine now, but maybe something broke while it does not?? 

      Maybe a repair service as Maccyb123​ mentioned, is the best you can do.

       

      I wonder, if you have these unusual colour on one screw, because it's a refurbished unit?🤔

      The blue thread locks are probably original from manufacturing, while the other one was  put on later.

       

      • FireGod9922's avatar
        FireGod9922
        Protege
        13 days ago

        I had the same thought about the thread lock color. It was a refurb from Meta. I don’t trust their quality control given there was also a cable pinched when I first had to open the device in February for another boot issue. That was my post you linked to in another of your replies.

        I’ve already ordered a fan and a replacement ribbon cable just in case it finally gave up. The fan worked, then it didn’t, then it did and it spins at power up and down. I think it was steve_40​ who noted that it should come on when the loft is entered. I assume when it was spinning continuously with a. Grey screen that meant boot was getting far enough to trigger the fan. 

        If I can’t get it going with these parts I’ve decided I’ll send to Fix My Oculus. It’ll surely be cheaper than buying a used one.

        I’ll report back when it’s running so there’s a conclusion for others. 

  • FireGod9922's avatar
    FireGod9922
    Protege
    7 days ago

    It was a faulty fan, at least in part.

    I replaced the fan and now there's audio at different points in the boot and software load process, I'm no longer seeing the green progress bar every time I boot and if I let it sit after it boots it goes to sleep. The audio is the tones when the device is powered on and off, when the OS reload completes, etc...I also see the volume bar when I go up or down when the device boots to a grey screen. None of that was happening before.

    As noted, it will still only boot to a grey screen although now the Meta app will connect to it. When I select Cast in the app it never connects which I assume is because the Q3 has been reset so has no wifi settings, isn't paired, etc...I cannot complete pairing because the Q3 isn't set up. A fun circle of obstacles.

    A lot of progress but still some work to do. It's fully charged but I'll leave it plugged in 24 hrs. If that doesn't work I'll leave it unplugged 24 hrs. I've seen others report that one of those seemed to resolve booting to a grey (black) screen. 

    • Choleni's avatar
      Choleni
      MVP
      7 days ago
      FireGod9922 wrote:

      As noted, it will still only boot to a grey screen although now the Meta app will connect to it

      Maybe your proximity sensor is faulty too?

      • FireGod9922's avatar
        FireGod9922
        Protege
        7 days ago

        I had that thought but was in denial the fan and proximity would fail simultaneously. 

        It’s now working as expected. The passthrough started working so I reassembled everything. Started pairing the controllers and got to the part where I needed to go to the Meta. There it had a message that the device update was complete and to tap to continue. Did that and the Q3 went dark - back to a grey screen. Seemed to validate that the OS 2.3 update was part of the problem. Rebooted, passthrough worked and I was able to complete the set up. 

        Summary: a faulty fan can cause boot failure. Just because the fan momentarily spins up when power is applied or on shutdown doesn’t mean the fan is working correctly. OS 2.3 was part of the problem. Meta needs to do better, a LOT better. This was refurb device from them and first failed at under 60 days when a ribbon cable was not properly positioned and became pinched, plus they have it rest against a sharp edge of metal. The Q3 failed again at about four months due to a faulty fan, and glitchy OS 2.3. Again, do better Meta. People spending their time and money fixing your failures.