BASE STATION Troubleshooting


Before fulfilling a warranty, customer must complete this checklist in order to verify the unit is truly broken. When checklist is complete and the unit remains unresponsive, customer must submit an in-depth report on the specific problem - including error logs, pop-up messages, and as much detail as possible to allow for further in-depth troubleshooting and/or to verify broken state of unit before warranty is fulfilled.

For more help and troubleshooting, click here.

To file an RMA or open a Support Ticket with HTC, click here.


Base Station Optical Sync lost

This issue can occur multiple ways. The most common is when the base station or the wall holding the base stations gets bumped. This will cause the base station to momentarily loose connection with the other base station. Most of the time this problem will work itself out, but in the rare instances that it doesn't, here are some tips you can follow to help solve this issue.

  1. Double-check that your base stations firmware is up to date. Go to SteamVR > Devices > Update Firmware. 
  2. Be sure the two base stations can see each other and their path isn't blocked.
  3. Do not set the base further then 16 feet apart.
  4. Make sure the base stations are on the proper channels. (Channel A & B = Wired | Channel B & C = Wireless)


Base Station not turning on

This issue can occur while you are trying to update the firmware on the base station. To fix this issue, follow these steps.

  • Base Station Firmware Update Note: Do not downgrade firmware versions on base stations.

    1. Connect the base station over USB to a USB 2 port in your computer. A micro-USB cable is required. (Connect only USB cable, not the power cable yet)

    2. Make sure that the cable is fully inserted in the plug of the base station. The housing might prevent the needed close connection

    3. Push and hold the Mode button on the back of the base station and plug in the power cable to get the drive "CRP DISABLD" in "my computer". This may require multiple attempts. CRP DISABLD is the Lighthouses onboard drive containing the firmware.

    4. Find the 'lighthouse_tx' firmware directory in your OpenVR Runtime directory. For example: C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\common\SteamVR\tools\lighthouse\firmware\lighthouse_tx

    5. Select the appropriate file, suitable for your base station model - They should have dates in the filenames, just pick the highest version (robin is only for devkit base stations)

    6. Delete the firmware.bin on the "CRP DISABLD" drive (you must do this, or the next step will not work)

    7. Drag the ".bin" file onto the "CRP DISABLD" drive (or, copy + paste)

    8. Power cycle the base station to complete installation. USB is not required during reboot.

  • Note: If you repeat the process, you will see firmware.bin with a fixed size and fixed timestamp. That's okay.


Additional Tips:

  • Ensure other booths' base stations are not causing interference (they are VERY good at picking each other up)
  • Swap base station with another booth (Only the base station itself, no cables)
  • If the base station's light is red (instead of its normal green) and SteamVR displays the error "Base Station Internal Fault 02 (or 03)," the unit will need to be sent in to HTC for repair
  • Perform a full uninstall and reinstall of SteamVR