Quest 3 does not recognize controllers (sometimes) (2024)

Every other time my Quest 3 does not recognize the (original) controllers.

I can wave the controllers directly in front of my face and press all buttons but Q3 tracks only my hands (kind of useless when at the same time Q3 tells me 'there is not enough light for hand tracking').

I had to restart Q3 to have it recognize the controllers again.

Just now everything worked fine until lights were turned off. Q3 stopped tracking the controllers and wanted to track my hands... which of course didn't work. Eventually controllers were recognized again but I only could move them left and right but not up and down.

(Please no reply again 'the controllers are not intended to be used in darkness'. The controller have IR lights so darkness should not make them invisible to Q3. Also I already used them in complete darkness so I know they should work)

• Labels:
• Meta Quest 3

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Hey there, @dedmoin! We certainly don't want to keep you in the dark on how your controllers function, so we're glad to jump in to provide some insight! Since the headset's cameras need to see the controllers in order to track them properly and consistently, we recommend that your play area is well lit, with enough light to clearly see, but not direct sunlight. If you've made these adjustments and are still having tracking issues, please let us know and we can look into that together. We're always glad to be of assistance!

If you're the author of a thread, remember to mark a reply as the Accepted Solution to help others find answers!

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I used to have a Rift-S and now have a Vive Cosmos. Both would sometimes experience similar tracking issues to what you have described. I can suggest the following tips:

- the tracking cameras in the headset need plenty of light to locate the position in the room, regardless of whether the controllers themselves emits IR light.

- the room must be well-lit, either with visible light or alternatively, using an IR floodlight. Incandescent light gives better results than sunlight (it is more consistent). I always close the blinds and turn on all the lights in my room.

- turn off any oscillating fans or ceiling fans in the room, their constant movement can confuse the headset cameras and exacerbate the controller tracking error problem.

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In response to MetaQuestSupport

Thanks for the reply but this does not address the actual issue but just sounds like an excuse.

I saw Quest 3 reviews testing the controllers in darkened rooms and that completely worked fine.

I was able to play myself in a dark room only lit by one candle without problem.

I did test by starting up the Quest and moving in a dark room, maybe lighten by a windows in another room around two corner and the controllers worked perfectly fine.

I did another test when by starting the Quest in the dark room and controllers could not be found at all. When turning on the light the controller were recognized. After turning off the light again the Quest could still see the controllers but for some reasons could not follow them when moving up and down but could only follow the tilt of the controller.

I understand that tracking may be better when visible light cameras can support it, but those controllers have their own IR light source, they do not work like hand tracking only relying on visible light.

Additional issues I had were controllers not being recongized at all in a well lit room, regardless of waving them in front of the headset and pressing all buttons. I had to restart the Quest to have them work again. (So much to 'turn on the light and the controller will work')

Another time one controller sliped out of my hand, fell down 5cm or how long the wristband is, and stopped working. I had to remove the battery that probably did a reset to the controller.

Any advice and suggestion is much appreciated, but please no 'you have to have laboratory conditions than everything works', and even then it fails sometimes. (Sorry but I wasted several days (person days, not calendar days) of investigating, testing, contacting several support teams, .... for all the issues I have with Quest 3)

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In response to steve_40

Thanks for replying.

Do a search on 'quest 3 in darkness' (or similar phrase) and you will find lots of people praising how well the Quest 3 works in a dark environment.

And it even worked for me very well in a really dark room and with dimmed light. Other times it completely refuses to recognize the controllers at all in similar environments.

Delays or controller position being a bit off in a dark room... ok sounds like an issues of degrading tracking capabilities based on available light. But having the controllers work at one time and another time they don't work at all or are not even recognized or movements of 5cm in one direction is noticed but all other axis or movement does not work...?! Those are random issues

In the end controllers don't give much advantage over hand tracking, except having buttons that can be pressed.

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In response to dedmoin

Hey there @dedmoin! We see you are having issues with your controllers not being recognized by your headset; no worries! We're not going to let this ruin your gaming experience, so let's see how we can fix it. We see that you've sent a message over to us. We strongly recommend continuing through there to avoid any mix-ups or confusion. We hope this will be helpful to you in getting this issue resolved!

If you're the author of a thread, remember to mark a reply as the Accepted Solution to help others find answers!

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