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

[acreed11]

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-s...

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

[zerosilence]

Changing my TP-Link Archer AX50 to 802.11a/n/ac solved the problem for me! Thank you so much for posting this I've been tearing my hair out for weeks.

[D3ft0ne]

Well, for anyone with Wifi6e... that solution would not fly, since the 6Ghz channel is solely based on  802.11AX. Which is like the main reason I got this router : )

[Galatoni]

Hard agree here. Since the protocol is a net stack thing I doubt that in itself is the solution. More likely something relating to the bit rate. Chances are the device is scaling to accommodate the reduce baud rate so that's why people are seeing an improvement.

[alexlighthill]

1. 63.0.0.199.363.570196204 (After update to PTC, before I had 62 and the same problems)
2. 63.0.0.200.361
3. Yes. Just updated, on v62 had the same problems.
4. Yes
5. Using Wifi AC 160mhz mode it is a bit better, but still almost unusable
6. Quest 3
7. Xiaomi AX3200
8. 802.11ac, 802.11ax
9.  Tried with different bitrates, the problem is more pronounced as the bitrate increases, but even with 50mbit it still persists
   1. Tried all settings in ODT the problem is always the same: spikes in the data transmission graph when moving head in space even at starting Airlink VR Room
10. AMD 5800X / RTX3080 12GB / 32GB RAM / win11 PRO

[VirtualOmnipresence]

Here is my information:

Link to my test video (video was recorded on older OS versions but symptoms are exactly the same on the new OS versions): https://youtu.be/XIsMOeJHwiU 

1. What's the full version number of your headset? (62.0.0.####### or likewise)
   • Quest 3: 62.0.0.257.341.566161015 (has packet loss)
   • Quest 2: 62.0.0.257.341.566161015 (also has the same packet loss)
   • Quest 2: V57.0.0.236.669.513665197(also has the same packet loss)
     All our other Quest 2 devices (22 devices) show not a single packet lost through the entire test:
     Quest 2: V56.0.0.171.656.505989878
2. What's the full version number of your PC app? (62.0.0.####### or likewise)
   • We are not doing PC streaming so we are not using the Oculus PC app. We are running a local networked game.
3. Is your PC app on PTC?
   • NO / not applicable
4. Are you enrolled in Quest PTC?
   • NO
5. Any potential workarounds?
   • NO
6. Which headset is everyone using? Is this only happening with the Quest 3 currently, or is anyone experiencing the same thing on their Quest 2?
   • Happens since OS V57 on both Quest 2 and Quest 3. Happens on none of our V56 Quest 2 devices (22 devices).
7. Which router are you using? (Brand & Model)
   • We tried TP-Link Archer C7, Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500, P-Link Archer AX55(eu), ASUS RT-AXE7800, ASUS ROG RAPTURE GT-AXE1600 
     All routers are EU versions!
8. What protocol is your router?
   • When comparing Quest 2 and Quest 3, I'm using WLAN 6 5GHz (according to the TP-Link router, this is "802.11a/m/ac/ax mixed" mode).
   • I also tried Wifi 6e (Quest 3 only) but packet loss was worse tried different channels etc. nothing helped.
9. What bitrate is your Air Link currently set to?
   • Not using Air Link
10. What are your system specifications? Do they meet the Meta Quest Link requirements?
    • Not relevant in our case, as PC is just the game server. Same PC is used to test with all Quest 2 / 3 devices (where all V56 work flawlessly and all V57 and up have great packet loss during movement).

Btw. if you have any new OS versions I should test or need any further information, I would be happy to help. We are in a pretty unique position when it comes to testing capabilities regarding this issue as we have lots of space which is critical as movement seems to mainly introduce this problem; have Quest 2 V56 devices that we use as a baseline to directly compare against; have a few different Wifi routers and can actually measure packet loss in software so we don't have to rely on subjective measures.

[TheAntiSocializer]

Hey @VirtualOmnipresence! Thanks for providing this information for me, I'd love to have our team check that our for you. To do so, I'd highly suggest starting a new thread in Get Help with this information and @ing me personally. This way we can keep this thread to the specific topic of Air Link lag/stuttering without the team having too much on their plate in one place.

[VirtualOmnipresence]

Hey @TheAntiSocializer, thanks for getting in touch. Here is the requested thread: https://communityforums.atmeta.com/t5/Get-Help/Wifi-packet-loss-latency-spikes-during-movement-since...

Looking forward to any new information 🙂

[TheAntiSocializer]

Awesome thank you so much! I'll go ahead and flag it with our team and then post in there in a bit as well. 

[mikeljason]

Same issue on Quest 2. Very nauseating.
1. 63.0.0.192.363.569647357

2. 62.0.0.235.346 (62.0.0.235.346)

3. I was on PTC  but reverted when I noticed the issue. Same issue either version.

4. I am, but am leaving it to see if it resolves issue.

5. Yes, Use VD (Verified), or Steam APP, or ALVR. Anything but Airlink would be my guess.

6. Quest 2 64G

7. TP Link AX11000 Tri Band with the Q2 the only thing on the 5GHz Band 2.

8. Wifi 6/AX

9. Had it set to 200 fixed from the last time it worked. Painfully set it to variable with no improvement.

10. i7-13700KF, 64GB DDR5 low latency, 4090, NVMe drives for storage. If that doesn't meet requirements, then there is something wrong somewhere else. 😛

[acreed11]

Just to clarify here - this issue is not Airlink specific. I have just chosen to use the Airlink performance graphs to illustrate the issue. The issue is also present on Virtual Desktop and I expect any other application relying on a low latency wifi data stream.

Trying to fix this via looking into Airlink is a red herring for your eng team and my bad for not choosing a better subject line.