(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

[acreed11]

Yup, see initial post. It shows the link rate stable at 2,400mpbs but help the actual issue or fix the lags/stutters unfortunately. 

[DeKCoH]

The same problem. Sometimes it's okay, sometimes it's not. I set 500 Mbps and not a single stutter (in rare cases). But most often it stutters even at 130 Mbps. Router ax73 5400

[rmzalbar]

https://communityforums.atmeta.com/t5/Get-Help/Poor-Q3-Airlink-Performance-on-V62/m-p/1152364#M27452...

Throwing in on this, we have the same problem and it's exactly as OP describes. We have three VR PCs and Q3s in the house, and our game night plans this week were unfortunately hosed. V60 gave us no performance issues at all. We fell back to Breachers on native and had fun, but guys! We invested in this and we need it working!!

[Galatoni]

Can confirm. Was fine until this update - now unplayable. PC is fairly high spec, using Orbi system, I'm highly doubtful its the network or wifi since this was fine until the update.

[MetaQuestSupport]

Hey there, everyone! Thank you for sharing your experiences while connecting to PCVR using Air Link after our most recent update. We definitely want to take a further look into this concern, and we ask that everyone please submit a bug report for our team to review! 

As we continue looking into this concern, we do want to make sure the following have been completed: 

• Re-Pairing Air Link 
  • Completely disabling the functionality on the device. To do so, head over to the device settings and ensure Air Link is disabled/toggled off. 
• Hard Reboot the headset 
  • This can be completed by holding the power button down for 30 seconds or from within the device's Power Menu. 
• Ensure all PC and GPU drivers are fully up-to-date. 
• Run a Repair on the PCVR app
  1. Download and run the PC Installation Software
  2. You will see a screen which says "Already Installed".
  3. Click the "Repair" option, and confirm again on the next screen.
• If able to test, please verify if stuttering/lag is seen with a Link Cable connection. 

With these details, we'll work together to get to the bottom of this! 

[Galatoni]

I've completed the steps above. I can confirm that this appears to be limited to the airlink rather than Link cable set up. To confirm, this issue was not present in a previous update.

I'll not be able to provide any additional assistance as i've used all my available free time attempting to debug this issue, so i'll not be about until next week now.

[rmzalbar]

I've done your steps with no improvement. I went ahead and submitted a bug report along with system information, and links to both this discussion and my own topic on this forum.

[Digipro]

yes i am suffering similar with airlink virtual desktop works fine most of the time even at 500mps  i usually run at 300-350 but mostly 300 with the rtx 3070. in oculus airlink the defualt pcvr home menu is laggy espeially when trying to view the desktop within it to launch games from vr. just stutters and lags doing about 2 to 3 fps sometimes lower it can take ages for th screen to refresh making it virtually a 5 minute task to line the controller up to choose the exit menu . same in vr games it can just suddenly start messing up lagging when  looking left and right into corners , virtual desktop i can get good play time out of it but only on 5ghz my 6g will only connect at 1200mbs for some reason it did use to connect at 2400 but was as laggy as the 5ghz at 2400 if not slightly more . and i am confused some places it says wifi 6 others it says wifi 5 so i am on wifi 5ghz channel and it shows its wifi 6 but i have my wifi 6 disabled as its triband router ( experimenting with one or the other or both trying to see if i can improve signal) 

[acreed11]

Thanks for this!

I can confirm I've completed all of these steps. Did also do a factory reset of the HMD for good measure. Issue still present unfortunately.

Just to re-flag in case useful data points:
- All of the HMDs and routers I've tested are EU/UK (I've seen reports of folks in the US having more luck with connectivity generally speaking)
- The issue is not present on my Q Pro with otherwise identical set-up and hardware
- The issue is also present on a separate new Q3 I've purchased for testing purposes
- Unable to test via Link cable myself
- As others mentioned Virtual Desktop ("VD"): the issue is also present on VD but less pronounced; presume that's because VD has more latency/lag compensating mechanisms inbuilt but it still presents with the same issue

I've submitted a report through the mobile app previously. Unless you let me know otherwise I'll skip submitting a separate bug report via Q Link desktop app as previous commenters mentioned they already submitted one.

[alexlighthill]

I have the same problem and I am curious if it can be fixed with another router. My WiFi speed is stable, shows 2401 mbit connection, I tested local network speed using open speed test hosted on my PC and starting speed test from browser on quest 3, it is always 900+ mbit. But I get a lot of video jerking when I move/crouch in my headset, I dont' have this problem when I just rotate my head, without moving.

Also I've discovered that this problem is less pronounced if I set WiFi to AC 160mhz instead of AX 160mhz. Max speed is around 1700mbit in this mode instead of 2400, but overall experience is noticeably better.
So, here are my tests, both with 300 mbit bitrate set in ODT, look at top left green graph:

AX 160mhz mode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKCqDcXcwBQ 

AC 160mhz mode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9XdEKO2Seg