So, I had to send back my first Rift S due to colored sparkles that would gradually increase on the screen. I waited 3 weeks and got a new Rift S shipped from Oculus. This headset, for the short time periods so far that it has worked, has never shown any sparkles, but from day one it would get the black screen, with sound and game still playing. I of course have tried all the gimmicks talked about in all the posts throughout internet and nothing has changed. I even tried the manual roll back of the software found on reddit. I have reinstalled windows and currently I am testing it on a completely updated fresh install with only oculus and steam VR installed. So, at least with my other defective headset I could use it. This one I think might be fine, but seems to have a software/firmware issue that a lot of people are saying happened after a mid December update. I'm just now encountering it because my Rift S was shipped back mid December and I didn't get a new one until the end of December. So, at this time I have no new gimmicks to offer to get this issue resolved. I have a ticket in of course, but it appears that support is overwhelmed with tickets right now for the same issue. I cannot understand why they have not offered a roll-back solution yet....even if it requires a windows reinstall. Step-back, let people use their 400 dollar device like they had been until a workable update is developed.
A few notes some might find interesting. With mine, when the screen goes dark, the white lite is still functioning and will go out when covered, but the screen is not powered. The game continues to run and can be heard. I'm not sure if controller tracking is still working, but I can see on the computer screen everything if I turn the headset around. So, it seems that a lot is still functional.....just not the headset screen.
I've been playing around and going into Steam and then Steam VR and letting it bring up the oculus software. I was able to play PokerVR for quite awhile and I ended the session without the screen going dark. This is definitely an Oculus software/firmware issue. Whats weird is that once it has shut the screen off once.....its hard to get it back even power cycling everything. It's like the firmware in the headset gets hung and has to sit idle long enough for all of the bad code to clear. I might do some testing at intervals to see how long it takes for the headset to be able to work again after a black screen. And why would it only be affecting a percentage of units....did they change the internal parts of the headset at some point and now we are seeing a disconnect due to different hardware? Sad....all I have to do is sit around postulating on what the issue could be because I can't use my Headset for more productive endeavors. LOL.
So, I can confirm, at least for me, that all tracking still functions when the screen goes dark. If I wanted to....I could play the game via the monitor by sitting it on my head, but what fun would that be? So, the issue is with the headset or the displayport connectivity. Still points to headset firmware in my opinion.
This issue could be an HDCP issue. The way the screen goes dark but everything else seems to continue working normally could indicate that something is disabling HDCP support on the displayport.
I have a ticket in. I downgraded the software using the process found on reddit. I have it working, but it will still black screen, but if I keep the headset on and unplug the displayport and plug it back in.....it has been coming back. But I'm just now starting to test to see how long it lasts. Support wants me to test the adapter somewhere else but the only other machine I have with a displayport is also a laptop and it does not have usb 3.0. It seems a lot of people were working fine until the 12 update and then they started having this issue, so it would seem it is software related. I had to send my first unit back and when I got the second unit...it was doing this from the get go, but it also started on 12 from the first setup.
