Right-side headphone stopped functioning.

[Anonymous]

Hello Oculus, I got my rift earlier this week from Bestbuy, and this morning when I put it on I noticed the audio on the right side was cutting in and out till it eventually stopped working all together. I imagine it has to do with the wiring inside as it seems to depend on how tight it is on my head.  Anyways; I don't have a clue about fixing things like this, so I was wondering if you could give any advice on what to do..   Thanks, I really love this product and it just isn't the same with only one side having audio. x_x

[phoenixdigital]

BBZ149 said:

Can you confirm if this design fault has been rectified with the
replacement units? 

I've been trying to get an answer on this for over a year. Good luck getting a response 🙂 Acknowledging the design change means acknowledging that there was a design flaw. Pretty sure it just aint going to happen.

I think the only way we will tell is if people start tearing down recent units to see if they have made changes.

Think I’ll
be jumping to a Vive Pro if this problem rears its ugly Head again!!

Best of luck with that. Based on the posts I see around HTC support staff barely have a pulse and leave customers waiting literally months without controllers or headsets for the simplest of problems. It is as if they deliberately give their customers the constant runaround just waiting for them to give up.

Oculus support have been pretty damn good when it comes to dealing with this particular issue for the majority of people (both inside and outside of warranty)

[johnco61]

I agree the service from Oculus is great, I have just received
my second replacement for this fault, posted last Monday and received it back
yesterday. The unit looks new so I’m not complaining; I’m going to tape the
strap in place this time to stop it moving so I shouldn’t get this problem
again.  I sent it back without the power
cable as requested but I was sent the rift with a new cable fitted so I have a spare
cable out of it two

It’s a shame if this keeps happening as replacements cost
money and someone has to pay for this, if the problem is with the way the
ribbon is fitted then that will affect everyone in the long run.  Other than this I think that the Rift is an fantastic
product

[jaybegood67]

XxGingerSharkxX said:

I have cybereality, twice. But am now 100% sure that it is a hardware issue. I took the facecam of my iPhone to see the infrared LEDs. The ones on the front and sides of the headset are working just fine. But the ones on the head straps are turning off. When the slide rails on the head set are pulled all the way back, everything is working just fine. But once they move forward even the slightest, all power to the headphones and the back infrared LEDs cuts off. I have even gone as far as taking a voltmeter to check the power, and no Power at all once it moves forward. What is keeping me from fixing it myself is that I thing I'm still under warranty. But I guess I can't even send it in for a replacement because I lost the receipt from a year and a half ago.

Well fellow travellers, I have had 2 rifts now....my original replaced because of the faulty ribbon cable issue (right side audio disappeared) and my current and much used replacement rift....exact same fault...identical in nature. So I bought a decent pair of Corsair wireless ear-cans  and I now use them permanently. I spent money on new phones while still in warranty for my Rift for two reasons....
1. I really enjoy my oculus rift and don't particularly want to look elsewhere for my VR fix.
2. I have absolutely no faith at all in the fact that this wont happen again....for a third time!!
So, the convenience of having the headphones right there on the headset has been forfeited simply because I now doubt the product (or at least that one aspect of it)...sad but true. This is, unquestionably a design weakness It is a flaw that is built to fail....not deliberately, but because design has been chosen over functionality......I rest my case!

[PIXELATED]

jaybegood67 said:

Well fellow travellers, I have had 2 rifts now....my original replaced because of the faulty ribbon cable issue (right side audio disappeared) and my current and much used replacement rift....exact same fault...identical in nature. So I bought a decent pair of Corsair wireless ear-cans  and I now use them permanently. I spent money on new phones while still in warranty for my Rift for two reasons....
1. I really enjoy my oculus rift and don't particularly want to look elsewhere for my VR fix.
2. I have absolutely no faith at all in the fact that this wont happen again....for a third time!!
So, the convenience of having the headphones right there on the headset has been forfeited simply because I now doubt the product (or at least that one aspect of it)...sad but true. This is, unquestionably a design weakness It is a flaw that is built to fail....not deliberately, but because design has been chosen over functionality......I rest my case!

Well my fellow travellers… I am expecting my 5th Rift 

My original was a launch CV1 bought by my partner, it was replaced v quickly due to hardware failure (probable overheating melting weak solder joints) two weeks after delivery. Then 18 months later it was replaced due to right hand side headphone not working issue, then after testing the 3rd replacement had a different fault (sent back RMA) similar to first one and a 4th refurbished (sent back RMA) had scratched eyepieces and intermittent right earpiece issues. 

Oculus support have been excellent in responding to all issues… tis a real shame that quality control of refurbished units are not up to standard - Real shame.

We're all there with new tech yeh..? stretchy wires, contacts on runners in head sets, positioning to fit every eye, face and body on the planet.. but the company that wins is the one who takes on a challenge and provides great customer service. 

I'm expecting a 'brand new' replacement via UPS any day now.. It may break in another 2 years but I'll be preserved in a hologram and eating happy mashed food by then.

[PIXELATED]

^^^Update^^^: UPS are delivering a "New" 5th Rift on 5th April 2018 - Let's hope it is as good as most folk own and enjoy..

New update (3rd April): Brand new (not reconditioned) Rift promised, awaiting UPS shipping details - UK Bank hols have delayed replacement. Fingers crossed 'quality control' get it right this time (-:

Update, Brand new headset arrived, plugged it in and Black screen issue happenned... cut a long story short reinstalled everything and didn't use the extension cable i'd been using since day one and everything works..for now. Good luck everyone. 'Support' have been brilliant despite my frustration with the product.

[EzdineG]

We bought a Rift this last Christmas and are now seeing the same issue from the right headphone.  There's a sweet spot in the head strap where it will work, but it is about 1 mm and impossible to keep. 

Just created a ticket, hope they take care of this.

[Totalfarsa]

IF I have a faulty Rift, will Oculus send me a replacement/repair it under warranty even though I'm the second owner (the Rift itself is still within its timelimit for warranty)?

[PIXELATED]

Totalfarsa said:

IF I have a faulty Rift, will Oculus send me a replacement/repair it under warranty even though I'm the second owner (the Rift itself is still within its timelimit for warranty)?

I guess NO is your answer
My Rift was bought for me by a collection of friends by my girlfriend - who eventually made the transaction.
I've had to send it back 5 time since launch and everything's great for now...
BUT..
I've had to do everything through my GF guest account as officially I'm not the owner! 
You'll have to find the email receipt (electronic) off the original owner and work through replacement via them..

Explain your situation to support in the nicest way and you might get lucky

Good luck

[jmp909]

same here. right headphone. adjusting the strap worked for a bit but it's stopped working now.

just adding my +1

[TickTock]

This has plagued me for about six months and continues to do so.  I can usually get it to come back on through changing USB port.  Some times I also have to restart the PC.  Very annoying.  Possibly related: My rift also some times gets the left/right audio swapped which can be very disorienting and makes certain game play impossible.