Participant

Solved

(Not Resolved) Known Issue - Quest PCVR streaming micro lags and stutter esp. when moving head

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Hi team,

I'm getting micro lags and stutter in Airlink on my Quest 3 (EU/UK), esp. when moving my head. In the Oculus debug overlay this causes brief spikes in transmit/decode, fps drops and visible stuttering. The issue is not present on my Quest Pro with otherwise identical settings - see below screenshots to illustrate.

Few more details:
- Issue is not present on Quest Pro with same settings on HMD, router and PC (using same res)
- Issue is worse at higher bitrates, esp. >200mbps, but still present <200mbps
- Issue is unrelated to PC/game latencies (CPU, GPU, Queue each <5ms)
- Stutters/lags are intermittent (every 10-20 seconds) when not moving but happen immediately and reproducibly when moving the head to either side or especially looking downwards (i.e. on any bigger headset movements)
- Wifi 6E router (TP Link AXE75 EU/UK)
- EDIT: exact same issue with Asus RT-AXE7800 (EU/UK) wifi 6e router
- Connection shows as 2,400mbps
- Airlink codec H264 (but same on other codecs)
- I've attempted factory resetting, installing latest drivers
- Updated to v62 and latest Quest Link desktop version (I can see the 120hz option for my Q3)
- EDIT: Ordered a separate Quest 3 for testing: presents the exact same issue

-EDIT: Same issue on 5ghz 802.11ax 160mhz BUT switching to 802.11ac (!) completely fixed the issue. I cant test this on 6ghz but looks like 802.11ax or something related to how q3 implements it is the culprit

As the issue is worse the higher the bitrate and not present on Q Pro with otherwise same settings, I suspect it's related to the below known Wifi issues - but opening a new thread as instructed.
https://communityforums.atmeta.com/t5/Get-Help/Known-Isssue-Unstable-wifi-coverage-with-Quest-3-on-some-Router/td-p/1090698

Best,
JensQ3QPro

Updates:
- Tried separate router: exact same issue with Asus RT-AXE7800 wifi 6e router
- Ordered a separate Quest 3: exact same issue on both routers

-Same issue on 5ghz 802.11ax 160mhz BUT switching to 802.11ac (!) completely fixed the issue. I cant test this on 6ghz but looks like 802.11ax or something related to how q3 implements it is the culprit

TheAntiSocializerAnswer

Honored Contributor

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for the information you've all provided.

If you have not already done so already, I would suggest reaching out to the support team via email so that they can gather a copy of your logs.

If you have already reached out to support and provided your logs, please PM MetaStoreHelp with your case number.

EDIT 8/5: Hey everyone! Just wanted to reach out and thank you all for your continued patience. If you're still having some issues, the best thing I can recommend at the time would be to submit a bug report. That way it can go straight to our engineers for them to further review everything provided. Thanks again!

Sometimes it's okay to be a little Bing Chilling

Show previous replies

R

rmzalbar

Inspiring

This seems to be greatly improved as of V69. I've gone back to using Airlink again and have been getting good performance with my Quest 3 using WiFi 6E. Currently I have the dynamic slider all the way maxed at 200. I haven't tried pushing the bitrate up above that yet, but will test that soon. Virtual Desktop is performing well too.

W

what278987

Participant

My troubles with this same issue -

Bought a dedicated Tenda TX9 Pro router for the Quest 3.

Googled all sorts of fixes and settings to examine what was causing stutters and lags in Airlink/SteamVR/Virtual Desktop. No issues with stutter on cable. Was at a loss to even describe the problem until I found this thread, which had it EXACTLY - momentary blips in the connection when the headset is static, but massive drops in framerate and stability lasting several seconds when you move your head.

The ODT Link Detail performance view shows the link bitrate dropping down from ~80 to ~60mbps every 7-10 seconds, which causes minor hitches, but also plummeting down to sub-10mbps after any sustained head shaking. Unlike some of the videos showing the issue, I've got rock solid connection at 2401mbps using AX/160 with Excellent signal strength, the reported data rate on the connection does not vary one bit no matter what stress it's placed under. But the bitrate craters on it when the headset moves as though it's not actually able to achieve that throughput.

The router is the only Wifi signal in any band 36-64 shown on wifi scanner. It is not dropping out due to competition with other signals.

I systemically tried every single setting on the router til I found one that worked: the only setting I can use on this router that does NOT drop frames when moving my head, at all, is 802.11n, 40hz. That's rock solid, not one drop no matter how much I move around.

Surprisingly wifi4/n is actually quite usable with the quest 3, at least at reasonable bitrates under 100mpbs. But absolutely nothing above it works, AC and AX at any width stutter massively as soon as the headset is moved.

I've done some rudimentary testing (running ping -t while copying a large file over wireless and moving my PC's external wifi radio rabbit ears around) and absolutely nothing happens as a result. It's the quest 3 not liking this particular frequency on this particular router.

Anyway the usability of this while connected on wireless N with a low speed connection got me to take an Asus DSL-AC86U out of storage and the Quest 3 works perfectly fine with that on AC/80mhz. Better bandwidth headroom but still not exactly ideal.

@MetaQuestSupport

Routers :

Tenda TX9 Pro, firmware V22.03.02.20_multi - Quest 3 only usable on wireless N/40mhz, not AC or AX at any bandwidth setting or channel.

Asus DSL-AC68U, firmware 3.0.0.4.386_50117 - Quest 3 works great on AC/80mhz at both channel 36 and 161.

Quest headset:
Software update 50151600073800510
Version 69.0.0.576.352.641228209

Q

Quack6765

New Participant

I’m also experiencing this issue and it’s driving me crazy. It’s like if moving objects in games are "jumping ahead" using airlink. Fine when using link (cable). When using airlink and the object jumping occurs, if I check the actual game window on my PC then it’s fine so it’s not a game issue.

I’ve lost countless hours and dollars trying thousands of possible solution all to no avail. It used to be fine before. This is consuming so much of my time and leaving a bitter taste about Meta headsets overall. I’m just trying to play my PCVR games and not spending hundreds of hours debugging an issue that seems to be related to the headset itself be it software or hardware.

Specs:

Quest 3 on latest version v69
Windows 11
4090
5900x
32GB Ram
1TB NVME SSD
Main monitor is a Sony TV (X900H 120hz VRR) Even tried unpluging it and using an HDMI dongle instead.

Windows 11 at latest version: 23H2
GPU drivers at latest version: 565.90
CPU chipset drivers at latest version: 6.07.22.037
Latest BIOS version too

Wifi connection is showing a strong 2400Mbps with wifi 6E 6Ghz
PC NIC is hard plugged in router directly with Cat6

Things I've tried:

4 different AP/Routers:
- Bell GigaHub,
- TP-Link EAP-615
- PRISMXR Puppis S1
- TP-Link AXE5400
Changing Wifi Type: AC/AX or 5Ghz/6Ghz
Changing Wifi band with: 40-80-160Mhz
Changing Wifi channel: Tried pretty much all the empty ones
Different codec: H.264-H.265-AV1
Different bandwith: 50Mbps all the way to 500Mbps
Lower graphics: Even though for example in Half-Life Alyx my GPU usage is like 60% at Ultra, I’ve tried at the lowest settings too.
Other wireless softwares like Virtual Desktop or Steam Link: Same issue
Disabled HAGS
Disabled GSync globally
Force vsync globally
Disable Steam overlay
Disable nvidia video container service
Lot of different changes in Occulus-Debug tool
Disabled pretty much all third party softwares that were starting with Windows
Disabled pretty much all services that were not Windows or Oculus related ones.
Fully uninstalled, cleaned (with DDU) and reinstalled GPU driver
Disabled PC audio passthrough to the helmet
Changed refresh rate: 72Hz to 120Hz
Changed resolution: 1x to 1.5x
Tried to launch the games differently: Launching the game directly from the airlink menu versus launching SteamVR from the airlink menu then once in SteamVR launching the game.
Repair and fresh reinstall of Oculus Driver software and Meta software

I've reported the issue from the phone Meta app too as requested. Hopefully this can be fix soon because it's been 6 months so far and it's infuriating.

P

Pukster33

New Participant

Having the same issue.

I've followed pretty much everything I can find online. My quest 2 no issues, quest 3 stuttering.

A bizarre process I've found that temporarily fixes it is : connecting via link cable- loading a game, then exiting and disconnecting the cable. Then connecting via airlink.

This doesn't always work. Steam Link and VD tend to run much smoother. Airlink is completely unusable due to the amount of lag.

R

rabbit88

Up and Coming

Can you try disabling Headset Tracking under Systems Tab to see if that fixes the Stutter?

Z

Zombieyoda

Participant

PTC is.... think of it as a beta, your running software that is for testing purposes nothing more, there will be issues that's why it's a public test channel.

However I have to agree with you, it seems every update brings more trouble to pcvr streaming via WiFi, see the solution which worked for me earlier in this thread.

My PC: CPU - Intel 12700k GPU - Nvidia 4070 ti Super Ram 32GB ddr4 @3200MT Network - Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE98 - 2.5Gbps to pc Asus RT-AX88U as dedicated access point Meta Quest 3 128GB connected via dedicated access point

T

TTVPwn1

Up and Coming

mh? i Know that PTC is the Beta Software i just try anything to make this run. Could you please copy paste me the Solution for you? It's a 35 Site long thread with 98% Bull**bleep**.

R

rabbit88

Up and Coming

I have the same with my AXE5400. No way to make it work with this router. It´s neem reported several times. I suspect the one´s who say it´s fine just don´t notice they actually have stutters. But I have also read there might be different SKU´s of this router out there that differ regionallly. Are you in Germany by chance?

I ordered a PRISMXR for testing and in the meantime I use an ethernet to usb-c adapter which fixed all my stutter problems.

alexrasa

Participant

I've been following this thread for a while now but I've yet to figure out a common threa here. For me it got completely fixed when i built a new PC (v50 or 51 i believe) and haven't had a problem since. The old pc also worked after that. If it was software why doesn't it apply to everyone (especially since then). Looks to me that there is so.e other elements that play a role here. I would suggest resetting the streamer clients on desktop and cycle accounts (i never reinstalled/reset anything on the quest side nor did i reset anything on the old pc prior to the re-test)

From my experience I can conclude that it has nothing to do with the router hardware or headset hardware.

OS: Windows 11 Pro CPU: AMD 7800X3D GPU: Nvidia RTX 4080 Super RAM: 64GB DDR5 @6000MT MB: Asus B650E-I WiFi Dedicated Router: GL-iNet Beryl AX 5Ghz WiFi 2400mbps connection Headset: Meta Quest 3 128GB

K

Kaltern

Participant

So... I've been battling with this for ages, I recently bought a nice new ASUS RT-AX88U Pro router, and the issue was STILL present. Exasperated I checked every possible setting and still nothing. Then, with a flash of either genius or divine inspiration (or just pure luck), I checked my ethernet settings. And found something interesting.

This applies specifically to those with a Realtek motherboard network port, but could possibly apply to other brands. There are a number of settings that intentionally reduce energy use. I'm in the UK, so I don't know if this would be the case in other countries, but I would check anyway. These are:

Gigabit Lite
Green Ethernet

Both of these were Enabled by default. Gigabit Lite intentionally reduces network speed to 500mbps. This is clearly not efficient, and does indeed reduce bandwidth. As many people will want to maximise their data transfer to the Quest, this would slow it down and definitely cause hitching. Disable this.

Green Ethernet. This is an EEE power saving standard, 802.3az EEE is designed to save power when there is no traffic on the link. In Green Ethernet, power is reduced when the port is down. With 802.3az EEE, power is reduced when the port is up, but there is no traffic on it. The problem, is that it can cause issues negotiating with 1gbit ports reliably. The energy saving for a standard home user is negligible, so I would disable this.

There are also 2 other settings of interest - Receive and Send buffers. These are generally defaulted to 512. I have increased Receive to 1024 and Send to 2048, as it seems Received should be hald of Send - and increasing both (at least on initial testing) has stabalised the video stream to the Quest 3 - I'm seeing no stutters of any kind.

Not suggesting this is an overall fix, but I am seeing drastic improvements over 12 hours of testing in iiRacing and Blade & Sorcery, so have a look and see if this helps you guys.

L

Lanviper

New Participant

Disabling Gigabit Lite and Green Ethernet improved my experience to a point I can finally enjoy playing games. My NIC did not support higher buffers than 512. This should be checked during the installaiton of the Meta Quest Link App.

LordArceus

Honored Contributor

Hi, everyone!

This is a long thread and a lot of you continue to have an ongoing issue with Airlink. I'm going to take your details and forward them onto the tech team to see if this is something the engineers can look into 🛠

Please only reply to this post and provide your details if your PC meets the requirements for Quest Link

Please confirm:

A short description of your specific issues with AirLink stutters:
Device Type (e.g. Quest 2, Quest 3):
Do you only experience issues in Airlink or also in Link with cable?:
Software Version Meta Quest Mobile App:
Software Version Meta Quest Headset:
Runtime Version:
Troubleshooting you've completed/workarounds that've worked:

When I have enough of you reply to this comment with the above details then I'll get it forwarded onto the techies for you 🙂

W

what278987

Participant

PC meets requirements (amd 5800x3d, 64gb, 3060 12gb, 1gb lan, win11)

* On a dedicated Tenda TX9 Pro router, any AC or AX connection, at 80 or 160mhz, I get one frame reported as dropped every 15 seconds or so, but massive overwhelming frame drops specifically and only when the headset is moved side to side or up and down.

* Quest 3

* No issues on cable (Kiwi USB3 cable), tested up to 100s of mb a second encode rate in VD and Oculus Debug Tool.

* Meta Horizon 287.3.0.33.109, quest 3 software 50151600073800510, version 69.0.0.576.352.641228209, runtime 69.0.0.570.355.641203395

Troubleshooting:

Enabled/disabled beamforming. Connected router directly via ethernet cable with only one device connected wirelessly and on ethernet. Used wifi scanner to check there were no conflicting wifi systems on the same channels. Disabled headset tracking. Tested every width and channel available 40 to 160 at 36 to 163. Set up a dummy clean windows 11 pro install on a spare SSD just to isolate it for Quest 3 testing. Upgraded router firmware. Tested to make sure it's nothing to do with the router itself being unable to handle moving transmitters by a series of file copy tests and streams over a laptop and wifi bunny ears on a PC moved around the router at the same rate. Eventually hit upon testing Wireless 4/N/40mhz on the problematic Tenda router and it works perfectly with the Quest 3 - no drops, no stutters, nothing. But it can only handle about ~50mpbs sent maximum before starving for throughput.

Eventually tried another two different routers entirely, which are only 5ghz/AC/80mhz and 866mbps max, but both work fine without stutter during movement. It's specifically to do with how the Quest 3 interacts with the Tenda TX9 Pro router in AC and AX modes, and only in particular when the Quest 3 is moved rapidly. The negotiated rate of the wifi connection itself does not budge at all in the headset's wifi panel when the headset is moved. But in Oculus Debug Tools, you can watch the data sent over it over the airlink stutter, gets a few intermittent frames, then drops down to zero, stays there for a few milliseconds, then slowly climbs back up to the set rate.

Here's what it looks like if I shake my head left to right about 2 metres of clear air away from the router in ODT:

and here's what any sustained movement does after a few goes:

W

what278987

Participant

Just wanted to update that I've now got silky smooth airlink to PC using another combination of hardware:

Quest 3, V72, 5047332.16210.510

Mercusys MR90x
1.0.2 Build 20230808 rel.59994(4555)
Hardware Version:
MR90X v1.0

The router was effectively $50au on a recent ozbargain deal, and connects at 160mhz wifi6 without headset tilt related dropouts.

D

dedmoin

Inspiring

Got a new Q3 and noticed some micro lags while being in the menu and moving my head. Since I am on Wifi 5 (802.11ac) the network shouldn't be a problem.

However, I was in contact with support because Q3 supports Wifi6e and is supposed to be able to use 6GHz (with limitations as defined by its standards). But no chance. Most of the time 6GHz network is not even visible and if so I either cannot connect at all or I am disconnected after 5 seconds. In the end the support said only 5GHz is supported by Q3.

Forget about Wifi6e with Q3, Since they fixed Wifi5 they moved on to other issues (like how to integrate portals in Meta Horizon). Meta OS v70 will not be released and v71 was now released for public test. You could try if v71 improves the situation for you. Otherwise, there might be a new release maybe Q3 more likely Q4 next year.

'As the issue is worse the higher the bitrate' yes that was exaclty my issues with my first Q3 last year. Either play at a resolution worse than Q2 or have lags of 1 second every second even in the menu.

S

shadowdoggie

Participant

Same issue and i am sick of it! i havent been able to play pcvr well for months now due to this same issue in every method you can connect to the quest 3 with pcvr..

It really seems like its a firmware issue, and i would like Meta to fix this once and for all.

There are even posts on reddit from 5 years ago where this issue was also introduced and now it seems to be reintroduced.