The Solution to 99% of your VR Issues and Why it Works

Was that title click-baity enough for you? Well, this time it’s true. This article won’t be long, but it should prove useful .

Introduction

An important realization every new VR Arcade owner must have is that, no matter what arcade platform you use, most of your day-to-day problems are going to come from your headset’s software - SteamVR,  etc. It’s unfortunate, but the technology is still new and subject to issues every now and then.

The great news? Almost all of these issues can be quickly solved, semi-permanently, without having to browse internet forums or contact support for solutions.

So what is the grand fix? You may have guessed it: Restarting.

Most of the time, it means restarting SteamVR. Sometimes, it means restarting a game. Rarely, it means restarting a computer. And most rarely, it means uninstalling and reinstalling a program.

So why would just restarting it work?

Simply put, the longer your PC and its applications are on and being used, the higher the chance for applications to become buggy or slow. Have you noticed how your phone tends to become a bit slower and laggy the longer you have it? It’s the exact same concept (usually).

You may not see it on the front-end, but many applications will remain running in the background (even after closing them). Other times, performing certain combinations of actions within an application will create bugs, or unforeseen issues that the creators of the app did not catch when testing. Restarting wipes away the “current state” of the software, including any problems that may have developed, and essentially allows it to start over from square one.

Reinstalling an application provides a similar effect - and remember, it’s not as difficult as it sounds. SteamVR can be uninstalled and reinstalled almost as quickly as you can restart it.  Reinstalling is useful because programs can occasionally develop “temporary” files over time, stored in a cache that isn’t easily accessible by the user. The problem is, bugs will often form and be hidden in those temporary files as well, inhibiting the application’s functions, despite restarts. When you perform a fresh install, it clears that cache out and essentially restores the game's local files to exactly how they were at the initial installation.

And that’s it!

It really is that simple. And it’s why, to your dismay, you’ve likely experienced your friendly support rep use the infamous phrase: “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” As crazy as it often seems...

It works!