[UNRESOLVED as of May 30, 2024] - Quest 3 Controller Tracking Issues

[NotDream]

update May 30, 2024: There have been no updates/improvements to controller tracking since Meta Support marked this as solved! Community consensus seems to be that this issue stems from hardware/software limitations with the controllers, specifically the method of tracking (as a software developer working specifically in the machine learning and computer vision space, I agree that this technology is not particularly robust enough to handle some types of movement). If you play games that require fast hand movements and/or dynamic hand positioning, I would recommend not buying a Quest 3, unfortunately. I've heard some anecdotes regarding improved tracking with the Quest Pro controllers, but the improvements are marginal at best - not worth the additional ~$300 for minimal performance gains IMO. My personal recommendation is to stick to Quest 2. Not to detract from the various improvements that the Quest 3 has brought (e.g., color passthrough w/higher resolution, better hand tracking, higher overall hardware specs compared to Quest 2, etc.), but Quest 2 controller tracking is significantly better than the Quest 3's. Ideally, my hope is that Meta will push an update that allows for pairing Quest 2 controllers with the Quest 3, but as of right now, that's just a pipe dream as Meta has given no indication of making these headsets/controllers backwards compatible. While I'm (naively) hopeful that things will change, realistically speaking, I have 0 expectations and a lot of disappointment.

tl;dr: I've had a Quest 2 for almost 3 years. I received my Quest 3 today and was very excited to use it. Controller tracking performance is much worse than the Quest 2, at least in the context of games where you swing your arms as fast as you can. This was not a problem for the Quest 2 (unless controllers were physically damaged, e.g., hitting a wall, dropping them, etc.). Don't buy if you play games like Gorilla Tag, Beat Saber, Synth Riders, or any of the other games mentioned throughout this thread!!!

Question:
Are there ways to modify the Quest 3's controller tracking such that fast hand movements won't be affected by the prediction-like behavior where the in-game hand moves farther than you swing? When I perform a baseball throwing movement with my hand/arm, the tracking will not keep up and it ends up losing my hand's position for a fraction of a second, causing my in-game hand to be positioned farther away than my hand actually is (this is not an issue with Quest 2 controller tracking).

Details/Context:
I primarily use VR for exercise, and I mostly play Gorilla Tag. Gorilla Tag is a game where you play as the upper half of a gorilla, using your arms as your means of locomotion. Basically, you use your arms as if they were your legs, and you can run, climb trees, wall-run, etc. It's an infection-based tagging game where you join a lobby of up to 9 other people, and the game will randomly select a player to be the first tagger. The tagger(s) will continue tagging until everyone in the lobby has been tagged (infection-style), and then a random player will be selected as first tagger; this pattern just continuously repeats.

While the learning curve is pretty steep to play at a high level, there is a growing community of players who are very competitive (approx. 10-20k players based on the communities I participate in - Competitive Gorilla Tag on Discord and Gorilla Tag Competitive on Discord). As a prominent member of this community, people have been seeking my feedback on whether or not the Quest 3 is worth it. While I feel that a majority of the new features are amazing, I have had issues with the controller tracking.

Gorilla Tag is an active game where you're constantly swinging your arms as fast as you can to travel around the map(s) to avoid being tagged. The primary player base for the game is Quest 2 users. Aside from physical damage, most players have not had any problems with controller tracking on the Quest 2, aside from when the controller goes out of the tracking range of the headset (as expected). 

However, the Quest 3 controllers lose tracking during medium-fast to fast hand movement (medium-fast: like playing catch with a friend; fast: throwing a baseball as hard as you can). The consequence of this in the context of Gorilla Tag is that your in-game arm extends to the game's max arm length frequently, causing your hand to collide with the wall/tree/ground and launch you away from the surface. This is a big issue for games/activities involving fast-paced hand movement as it's not nearly as reliable as the Quest 2 controller tracking performance. 

[4rtrage]

I am testing the Q3 replacement received yesterday with IDU.

During the first play, after about 12 minutes, I had the same glitch, the bow started to stay stuck in the air for seconds making impossible to aim.

Today have disabled the hand tracking and tried a quick play. Apparently the precision is very low even when the bow doesn't stick in the air. I need more testing but the replacement hasn't solved anything 

[J-MAXX]

what about how the left trigger on the Controllers don't properly track the index fInger

[astralmind]

So.. an update for those who might care. I received a complete replacement kit a few weeks back (you can look for my previous posts). While it did solve the obviously broken left side tracking and improved things substantially, there is no denying that the Quest 3 tracks poorly compared to the Quest 2. It is a very sizable downgrade. Games are at least playable now in my case.

Usable in the current state but frustrating to know that a major component of VR immersion has taken a step back with such an investment. Very hard to trust Meta going forward...

[user_828325786856125]

Hello,

My problem is the same as that of many users in the community below.

The specific problems I have is related to Eleven table tennis:

- Controller randomly drifting and shifting positions in VR.

- Losing tracking in some positions.

- Losing tacking in fast paste game.

Please advise.

https://communityforums.atmeta.com/t5/Get-Help/Quest-3-Controller-Tracking-Issues/m-p/1136421/emcs_t...

[user_828325786856125]

Eleven Table Tennis in the home environment is terrible tracking. I did the following to improve tracking: disable hand and body tracking, switch to VR environment, and improve lighting.

However, I still have minor (but very frustrating) tracking issues in fast paste games.

[JeffG01]

I previously posted that I had ordered the Quest Pro controllers to see how they performed with the Q3. 

I did receive them and tested over about 8 hours of ETT play.  They paired easily with the headset, and feel much heavier-duty than the Q3 controllers.  I tried every way I could to get the tracking to break, but it stayed connected regardless of hand position and speed of motion.

That's good news, right?  I don't think so because it simply confirms that the Q3 controllers are a giant step backwards.  I'm going to return the Pro controllers because, IMHO, it's a HUGE ask from Meta to make us pay an additional $300 just to make the new Q3 headset perform as well (with regard to tracking) as the older technology of the Q2.

I am so disappointed in Meta, but hey... bugs happen right?  You fix them and move on.

Meta doesn't seem to believe in that though in this case, but the real problem is the radio silence from them on this issue.  It seems they simply don't care about the user experience nor customer satisfaction.

The solution seems easy: make the Q3 backwards compatible to the Q2 controllers.  Of course that may not work either, but we'll never know because Meta refuses to answer questions or even interact with this group on any meaningful level.

I'll return my Q3 at the end of my return window for a replacement.  If the tracking is bad on the next one, I'll return that too, and use my old Q2 until the next iteration of Pico comes out.  Then I'm likely done with Quest headsets.

Meta: your lack of any attempt at addressing customer issues/satisfaction is causing you to lose my business.  All evidence points to you not caring, which is a shame because I'm not the only one in this situation.

You can do better!

[DeeX0]

Meta, just allow us to use the Q2 controllers!!!  Help us!!! I've returned 2 headsets. We want thr Q3. If you allow this or fix the controllers, you have a small population ready to buy again. If not then people keep talking and current customers eventually find out. Come on meta, do the right thing. 

[FlipperPA]

I agree with the sentiment above. Could we get some kind of update, @TheAntiSocializer?

If I had Boz's ear (my friends who used to work for Meta's VR division, like Cory Ondrejka, are no longer there), here's what I'd suggest:

• Allow the Quest 3 to use Quest 2 controllers (assuming this is possible)
• Start selling the Quest 3 headset standalone without controllers at a cheaper price, for folks who want to upgrade from their Quest 2, but keep the superior-for-tracking Quest 2 controllers.
• Stop being radio silent
• This would keep your most loyal VR enthusiast users happy

Meta: you're losing some money from returns and silence is the worst kind of customer service. I realize this is probably a drop in a bucket compared to your ad revenue, and you've moved onto the "new shiny" of LLMs. You probably regret renaming to Meta at this point. But you have a real chance here to improve what is a pretty crappy corporate reputation. I'd take every opportunity to improve if I were part of your corporate leadership.

[TheCrazedLegend]

Same here. when i play beat saber and litterally any other game the controller is flying to outerspace and i cant realy do anything about it exept just shaking my controller around.

[4rtrage]

I second the request to use the q2 controllers with the q3!