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Version: v4.0.0

Vive Wireless + Eye & Face Tracking

Vive Wireless with a Vive Pro Eye and Vive Facial Tracker works (with some quirks). Don’t believe that popup from SRanipal saying otherwise, but be prepared for a potentially frustrating experience.

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Currently, there is a known issue with using the Vive Wireless Adapter on the Windows 11 22H2 Update version that can cause the SteamVR compositor to randomly crash when using wireless.

Pros and Cons​

Pros​

  • Wireless freedom
  • No long cable to bend and micro-break, eventually leading to spotty Facial tracker USB connection
  • Did I mention wireless?

Cons​

🤔 Quirks of Vive Wireless with FT​

While it does work, there are some things to keep in mind or that you need to work around.

🔌 Tricky USB Hubs​

In a traditional wired setup, a (quality) USB-C hub could be used to expand the connectivity of the single USB-C 3.0 peripheral port. While before the VRCFT community believed it possible, it turns out that at least one certain hub can be used with wireless and the Vive Facial Tracker: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NDQGSPR Previous users have noticed that to use the hub the Vive headset's onboard audio would have to be disabled.

⚡ Higher Power Draw​

The Vive Facial Tracker is a bit of a power hog when in use. When used over wireless, the original stock 18W QC3.0 battery may not be able to support it reliably. Users have reported more stable experience with upgraded USB power cable (more robust USB-A to A or USB-A to C with an adapter) and higher power output battery, such as the 21W version that now comes stock with the Vive Wireless kits (for Cosmos / Vive Pro 2).

🌡 Higher Temps​

The Vive Wireless Adapter is already well known for being a head toaster, but with the increased power draw and bandwidth usage when using the Vive Facial Tracker, it is more important than ever to keep the headset wireless module cool. Excess heat is one of the primary reasons for wireless cutouts. Adding a small fan over the center grill is a necessity if you plan on running the Facial Tracker over wireless. Keeping the computer-side PCIe card and antenna (“wireless linkbox”) cool too will help improve wireless performance.

🏿 CPU Intensive​

Running SRanipal and Vive Wireless (and VR + VRChat) together is not for weak CPUs. SRanipal does use a reasonable amount of CPU when active. Since the encoding for the wireless connection is done by the CPU, any hiccup can result in a wireless freeze / disconnect or simply just wireless USB freeze / disconnect (aka eye/face tracking stops working). Weaker or older CPUs (i.e. 8th gen Intel i7, R5-level CPUs 2 generations or older) may have a notably degraded VR and VRChat experience. If you were already struggling performance-wise in VRChat without wireless, or without face tracking, you should avoid this combo.