(Resolved) Known Issue - V62/63 USB-C Debris/Water Warning

I too am having this issue after v62 update.

I'm using a 'INIU USB-A to USB-C Link Cable' which has the port in the cable that allows connecting the stock Quest charger to inject power in the cable.  The cable worked fine for PC Link when on v60.  The issue appears even when cable isn't connected to the PC and is only using the charger connected.

I'm using the stock Quest 3 charger.

Version: 62.0.0.260.343.566123828

Runtime Version: 62.0.0.257.341.566161015

OS Version: SQ3A.220605.009.A1

I just sent an email to Meta support detailing the issue and a link to this forum.  I tried to initiate support chat, but that failed (eye roll). 

C'mon Meta, don't foul this up... this is your one chance to steal Apple's AVP cheese with the Q3!

So I'm noticing that I'm only getting this error when my battery is full and I have it charging. I kept getting the error every few minutes. So I unplugged my head set and let it discharge down to about 80%. Then plugged it back in and used it for 2 hours without any error popping up. It was at 82% after the 2 hour period.

Just curious if everyone else is noticing that the error is only when the battery is at full charge.  

In the last 2 days I haven't had any errors with the Quest 3. I don't know if they've done an update but I haven't had any problems with the cable connected to the power. The only problem is that it hasn't restored my confidence to go racing yet, I'm always waiting for the potato water on the USB.

I pushed a bit of cheese in to the usb port. Works perfect now.

TheLegend27 

Any chance you have an update for us here? I know you had said you didn't hear anything over the weekend which I understand but now that we're halfway through the week I'm curious where things stand. Even if they don't have a proper fix I would love it if we could get a workaround or something to alleviate the issue at least. I have an endurance event in iRacing this weekend and I'd love to be able to use my headset for that.

Here's my theory thus far (and I could be totally wrong), and is only based on the limited info given in this forum, but here it is anyway:

TLDR: I think it is power management related with USB 3.x cables only, and I'm not holding my breath for a fix.

LONG  VERSION:

I believe it is a power management issue as Mpires alluded to in his posts, and not really having to do with the cable per se. 

I suspect v62 changed the way fast charging (i.e. PD - Power Delivery) is negotiated with an external charging device and resulting expected power levels, and/or it changed the safeguards related to current and/or temperature in the Quest to be more touchy, and thus will throw up errors more readily in order to prevent catastrophic overcharging and over-current issues that lead to melting USB ports on the Quest etc. or result in errors coming from unexpected power spikes/ripple.  This makes sense, right?  I mean liquid or debris in the power port would result in drops in power or fluctuations in power.

There are many posts here reporting that USB 2.0 cables (either usb-a or usb-c) fix the issue.  That's not a fix - USB 2.0 only allows 5v @ 0.5A max… so it will never trigger warnings based on over-current and/or head (my theories as the cause of warnings).  USB 2.0 doesn't work for PCVR - not a fix.

For USB 3.x there are a myriad of combinations of possible voltages, currents, and standards (e.g. PD, BC, QC and variants) that need to be negotiated between the power source and target, and thus the delivered power can vary mid-charge depending on what the headset tells the power source.

Additionally, there are several different power sources in play: OEM and 3rd party chargers, different mother board manufacturers all implementing power standards how they see fit including some delivering PD fast charging etc., different ports (USB-A, USB-C) being used along with different USB protocols (3.0, 3.1, 3.2 along with generations) any combination of which could result in a different power level profile.  Additionally, the power cables that allow connecting an external charger to inject power - can we really say that the power negotiation is a direct passthrough to the OEM charger that is connected?  I doubt it.  I suspect the little box on the cable is doing the power negotiation with the Quest and is simply using the raw power from either the PC or the charger, or both.

So what you have is hundreds of possible combinations that the Quest 3 can connect to, but maybe they only expect a few scenarios that they actually tested before release (e.g. OEM charger and cable, and perhaps meta link cable with whatever in-house pc motherboards they have).

This is just my theory, but if it is correct, then Meta has some work to do to figure it out.  They need to get testing with 3rd party cables, chargers and motherboards…  and frankly, I doubt they do that given the lip service support has given on this issue thus far.  I mean there is only like 50 of us talking about this here, and if we represent 1% of the people having this issue, then that's only 5000, which sounds like a lot, but not really when they may have sold 500,000 units. … but you never know - 'squeaky wheel gets the grease' and all that.

For you sim racers or long-haul gamers I feel for you.  For me, I might try USB 2.0 cable to an Anker battery bank in my pocket while I connect to PC via Wi-Fi, or maybe just try my cable without power injection.

(Side note, if you have a modern motherboard with unused built-in Wi-Fi and you are using ethernet instead for internet access, it may support Wi-Fi 6 or even 6e, and you can turn that on using windows hotspot and not need a separate router, though you'll need to google how to turn off autoconfig to prevent lag spikes, etc.)

People, it's the firmware that causes this issue. That should be clear.

Simracers (like me) im gone test it tonight. Im gone drain the battery to under 80 percent. 

Then use a cable that charges the headset, and hit the track.

Iff the headset remains at +-80 percent meaning it does maintain it, it should not produce heat like it is charging the last 20 percent (very hard for battery)

This could be a good workaround, but Meta... We are waiting!

Ill keep everyone updated

I've also experienced the same issues. Got my first quest 3 about a month ago, running it with a Thunderbolt 4 cable on my Razerblade 16. Tried PCVR link at first and it ran like crap, even after going through the debug software. Eventually it auto-updated and the water errors came up. Took it back to the shop and got a replacement. New one has been flawless for a week or so until the updates hit... now I'm getting the message again. Purchased a 3.1m cable as i figured it could have just been thunderbolt causing some issues. New cable worked fine, (performance in PCVR link is outstanding compared to thunderbolt... no idea why that is considering its a worse cable) but low and behold, water error message still coming up on the NEW head set too. So, that's 2 separate headsets I've owned in the last month with the same issue, irrelevant of what cable is being used. 

Got the exact same probleme since V62, popup during play but headset still charging and game still running. I test another cable and same issue. As a sim racer it's super annoying to have the popup in a lap or a race can't run wireless or with oculus cable since i need the headset to be charging because of long session

More then 200 replies here and meta doing nothing. For fck sake...