The biggest problem with Sony's PSVR 2 virtual reality headset is the lack of games. I was hoping that Sony's PC adapter would change that. The ability to play games Half-Life Alyxthe best VR game yet created, seemed reason enough for existing owners to justify it. amazon.com/dp/B0D92XQL22?tag=theverge02-20″>The purchase of the $60 adapter.
But for now I can't recommend Sony's PC adapter. If I had bought it with my own money, instead of borrowing one from Sony, I would have asked for a refund much sooner.
It's a shame, because the $550 PSVR 2 is still a good headset, with image quality that arguably surpasses the new $500 Meta Quest 3. Half-Life Alyx Not only is the inside of Sony’s headset more vibrant thanks to the deeper colors of its OLED display, it’s also more exciting, as the panel’s true blacks make me feel the terror of its darkest hallways. The Quest 3’s experience feels incredibly washed out in comparison.
But what really scared me was Half-Life: Alyx It was the damn thing failure. How—when I raised my pistol to face some unspeakable horror—I often found that my hand had been severed from my body, stuck in place, two feet above the ground.
I’ve spent eight hours troubleshooting this issue and others like it over the past week, and I’m no closer to finding a solution. My Quest 3 streams this game almost perfectly from the same PC in the same room, and yet my PSVR 2 is having trouble even with a headset cable plugged in to help. I see plenty of other people reporting the same issues online, but others aren’t reporting any issues at all.
Is it luck? Maybe, but I suspect it might also have something to do with the way Sony saved money.
You probably know that Sony’s headset connects to the PS5 with a single USB-C cable that sends the display, power, and data simultaneously. At one time, graphics card makers were planning to standardize on a USB-C port with that exact combination — they called it VirtualLink — and while the branding didn’t take off, some GPUs did launch with a USB-C port that did it all.
The PSVR 2 PC Adapter appears to be the same thing. The three-inch by three-inch square puck takes USB-A and DisplayPort from your gaming PC and power from a barrel DC connector, combining them into a single USB-C port for your headset on the other end. Find a DisplayPort cable (it doesn't come with one and doesn't support HDMI to DisplayPort), turn on the power, and plug it into the power outlet. The free PlayStation VR2 app on SteamAnd suddenly, you have a SteamVR headset capable of displaying any Steam game.
But the headset is the only The PSVR 2 adapter fits what Sony doesn't offer. There's no way to connect the PlayStation VR2's important controllers.. They need to connect to your PC via Bluetooth, but Sony doesn't provide any kind of Bluetooth radio for that, and figuring out the controller's connectivity on my own has been a complete mess.
First, I tested my desktop PC’s built-in Bluetooth. My motherboard came with the Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6/Bluetooth 5.2 combo chip, which is extremely common, so I figured I had a chance. I made sure the antennas were screwed in securely and turned off Wi-Fi just in case it might interfere.
The controllers paired quickly! But one of them refused to update unless I physically connected it to my PC with a USB-C cable first. My blasters in Space Pirate Trainera game where I can easily test my aim, they floated around in an unusual way, and soon one of them started to disappear completely. The controllers wouldn't stay connected.
So, I ordered Sony's first Bluetooth adapter. Incredibly small compatibility list — amazon.com/TP-Link-Bluetooth-Receiver-Controller-UB500/dp/B09DMP6T22?tag=theverge02-20″>The $15 TP-Link UB500Sony oddly writes there that “operation is not guaranteed” with any of its recommended adapters, but at the time I didn't take that as a red flag.
The first thing I learned is that you must deactivate Your motherboard's built-in Bluetooth if you want to use an adapter. (I learned that by doing my own research because neither Windows nor Sony's app gave me a clue.) The second thing I learned is that you need to unpair the drivers. before Disable the built-in Bluetooth on your motherboard, otherwise Windows will not allow you to pair them again.
After many, many additional troubleshooting steps, my drivers began to respond.
But even then (using Sony’s recommended Bluetooth adapter, the latest controllers, plugged into a USB extension cable, and with a direct line of sight to my controllers less than five feet away), one of my virtual hands would regularly, repeatedly, and consistently get stuck in the air. It would lose position tracking, which meant I could still rotate my hand, even pull the triggers, but not move it anywhere.
Now, I admit this doesn't quite sound like a Bluetooth issue, and I could be wrong, but here's why I suspect it might be:
- I have no issues with the Quest 3 controllers in the same space, so I don't think my room or lighting will interfere with tracking.
- I had no issues with the PSVR 2 controllers running a Framework 16 laptop and its internal Bluetooth chip (though I did have other issues with that setup).
- When I added the TP-Link adapter to that laptop, my driver started to get stuck.
- The virtual controller locks even if you remain within the field of view of the headset cameras, which should help with positional tracking.
- The same controller was always stuck until I unpaired and re-paired them. Now it's the same controller. other 1. It seems to have trouble supporting two devices at once, which has long been a complaint with standardized Bluetooth wireless technology.
I'm afraid the controller tracking isn't the only issue I've had with PSVR 2 on PC. I've repeatedly seen the entire experience grind to a halt, on multiple PCs, just by trying to access the SteamVR overlay to change the volume or load a different game. I had to take off the headset and force close things every time. It happened once when I was trying to play a game Armored Core 6 in the SteamVR theater environment, which also gives you a large virtual screen for your flat games.
If it weren't for that, and the fact that both Sony and Valve require you to use motion controllers to access and navigate SteamVR, I might at least recommend the adapter for non-VR games.
Sony did not respond to my questions about why it did not choose to offer its own Bluetooth solution or whether I should try another Bluetooth adapter or a validated laptop. I offered to have Sony help me troubleshoot the problem over the phone, but the company declined to do so either.
After trying it each troubleshooting step on Sony's website and further via PR email, and after putting eight hours into this without a single good gaming session, I've decided that Sony's PC product just isn't ready for my PC.
