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acreed11
Participant
February 11, 2024
Solved

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

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

    TheAntiSocializer
    TheAntiSocializerAnswer
    Honored Contributor
    February 25, 2024

    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
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    442 replies

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    TheJ0rma
    Inspiring
    March 7, 2024

    v63 seems a bit better than v62 but it still has some stutters

    DeltvV
    New Participant
    March 8, 2024

    I'm getting pretty much the exact same issue (USA). When I move my head, I get "lag" or "micro-stutter". Everything works perfectly fine when connected via Link cable. 120 FPS @ 120 Hz refresh rate, maximum 1.7x render resolution, Encode Bitrate cranked out to ~900 Mbps via Debug tool; not a single hitch or lag spike; picture looks flawless; GPU barely reaches 60% utilization; no complaints.

    However, when connected to Air Link over Wi-Fi, that is when I start to experience these problems when physically looking around with the headset:

    Encode/Xfer/Decode(ms) - Green line spikes way past the chart, the blue line usually spikes with green line although to a lesser degree. During this spike, the Frame Rate (Hz) dips a little bit, from solid 120 FPS to ~ 90 FPS, but it feels much more choppy than just a frame dip.

    I spent an entire day testing, mixing and matching different Wi-Fi bands, frequencies, channels, and can fairly say that the stutters get a bit better at the higher frequencies/ channels like 6 GHz: 160 Hz - 161, 157, 221, but still very noticeable during head movement. The router is in direct line of sight of my headset, ~ 3 - 6 feet away.

    My equipment:

    Quest 3 Version: 62.00.273.343.570372087

    Quest 3 Runtime Version: 62.0.0.269.341.570372063

    Quest 3 OS Version: SQ3A.220605.009.A1

    Meta Quest Oculus App (Windows 11): Meta Link App Version 62.0.0.235.346 (62.0.0.235.346)

    Router: TP-Link Tri-Band BE9300 WiFi7 Router: Archer BE550 (2.5G PC wired directly into router)

    I've tried using Steam Link APP, (not very familiar with it), and it seems to not stutter but instead the movement "feels" bad; like there's some input lag or something. I just want the wireless Air Link to work half as good as wired Link cable.

    Does anyone happen to know if this is affecting all Quest 3's? I'm still within my return period, and I'm wondering if this is faulty wireless hardware on a certain batch of units that I should try replacing. If I missed anything, please let me know, if you have any suggestions, please let me know.

      Babinok
      Participant
      March 8, 2024

      I think you should return the headset back to the store, because technical support is not going to solve the problem in any way. I have been communicating with technical support for a long time and all the advice received from them consists of suggestions to reinstall the oculus software. Before this, I wrote to them several times that I had reinstalled Windows with all the software.

      D3ft0ne
      Participant
      March 8, 2024

      I would believe the issue is now with their Dev, and tech support is here to just grab info / communicate. (I work for tech support escalations). 

      And Dev. Will take their sweet time. They have to test it across diff hw / soft specs. And this issue has alot of moving parts.

       

        GODforYOU123
        New Participant
        March 9, 2024

        Some notes which can help to solve the problem:
        At first, I triggered that lags/stutters by fast headset's movements (this method is far from perfect for many reasons). Then I have realised that stutters can be triggered even y tapping by headset. Every time I tapped by headset - I saw huge spike on the graph(network+decoding). Then I guessed that my hand can be an obsticle (or somewhat similar) for wifi connection. And I ve tried to detect the place on headset which was the most sensetive to my hands. This place was a topside of headset. Every time I tap or even slide (fast enough) by top of headset - I see that spike on the graph.
        IThis happens only with airlink. VD has not that problem.
        My rouyter is mercusys mr80x, i seat from 0.5-1m distance from router and have problems with airlink at 100, 300, 500, 800mbits bitrate.

        Feature "Passthrough mode by double-tapping headset" can cause this problem, but I haven't noticed any changes with this setting on/off.

          cvle
          New Participant
          March 9, 2024

          I have the same micro stutters on 6ghz on the Orbi 970 WiFi 7 router, it’s so unstable and not usable.

          As a workaround connecting to the 5ghz only network gives me a stable connection with fairly good latency. Was hoping to be able to utilize the 6ghz band though.

            F18Power
            New Participant
            March 10, 2024

            I am now having this issue with my quest 3 after v62 update.. I can no longer stream because it spikes for brief sections and causes a water effect or jittery screen until I shut system all the way down and bring it back up. (happens all the time in any airlink game.)

             

              Godsblink
              Participant
              March 11, 2024

              Having same issues as above.  Tried SteamVR, and Virtual Desktop and both have same effect.  Streaming works fine until I move my head, then the network latency spikes and the screen freezes resulting in a locked image and insane amounts of nausea.  Details below:

               

              Headset: Quest 3 128GB

              Router: Puppis S1, directly connected to computer

              Region: USA

              No other devices on network and no other networks in my router's broadcast frequency.


              FWIW: This worked fine until v62, and v63 has not made it any better.

                Godsblink
                Participant
                March 11, 2024
                1. What's the full version number of your headset? (62.0.0.####### or likewise)
                  • 63.0.0.240.363.573689862
                2. What's the full version number of your PC app? (62.0.0.####### or likewise)
                  • 63.0.0.216.361(63.0.0.216.361)
                3. Is your PC app on PTC? YES
                4. Are you enrolled in Quest PTC? YES
                5. Any potential workarounds? Nothing seems to have worked yet.
                6. Which headset is everyone using? This is only happening on my 128GB Quest 3.  Doesn't seem to be impacting my kid's 512GB headset.
                7. Which router are you using? PRISMXR Puppis S1
                8. What protocol is your router?
                  • 802.11AX
                9. What bitrate is your Air Link currently set to?
                  1. Have tried multiple with same results (default, 200Mbps, 400Mbps, 100Mbps)
                10. What are your system specifications? Do they meet the Meta Quest Link requirements?
                  I think so.  Here's my specs:
                  Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
                  RAM: 32GB
                  GPU: AMD RX6900XT
                  TheAntiSocializer
                  TheAntiSocializer
                  Honored Contributor
                  March 12, 2024

                  Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the information you've all been providing. I've been passing everything along to the team but I haven't had much luck in hearing back on an update. The most I can really confirm is that they are working towards a resolution. I'm still keeping an eye on this thread, so I'll continue to pass along any info provided. Thank you all for your patience!

                  Sometimes it's okay to be a little Bing Chilling
                    rmzalbar
                    Inspiring
                    March 12, 2024

                    I tested today and found that switching to WiFi 5 GHz in AC mode (WiFi 6 mode disabled, i.e. 5 GHz AC not 5 GHz AX) does indeed work around the issue as others have mentioned, though you're limited to about 250 Mbps before performance starts to suffer.

                    Of course, this still means I can't use it since we're too congested around here to use 5 GHz for VR. We were happily using 6 GHz ever since the Quest 3 came out, prior to this issue occurring.

                    In fact, the 6 GHz AXE support was the reason we upgraded 3 of the Q2s in the house to Q3s, something that was really paying off for us until V62 came along and ruined everything.

                      vracing73
                      Participant
                      March 13, 2024

                      Add me to the list as well.  I have the same router and in fact I got it yesterday trying to see if it could solve my frame dropping issues.  No.  Because is Wifi 6e, I was able to use 500 bitrate and the frame drops aren't that noticeable in the game.  Few very, very minor stutters in racing sims.  But the Oculus Debug tool would indicate that I am dropping frames from 80 fps to 77 fps just moving my head in VR on my desktop.  Using V63 on my Quest 3. 

                      Godsblink
                      Participant
                      March 14, 2024

                      After further testing I can confirm this happens with all network traffic while the headset is moving.  The issue is not isolated to airlink.

                      Network latency is spiking on the headset in general when the headset is in motion.

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