6 Common PSVR Problems and How to Solve Them

Jerky Head Tracking

One of the main issues that seems to have been plaguing players experiences with their PSVR headsets is an issue with the head tracking. For one reason or another, players are finding that head tracking is coming through a little bit jerky and as a result are having a less-than-ideal experience when using the new piece of tech.

This can be down to a number of different reasons, mainly other light sources or reflective surfaces messing with the camera. In order to sort this out, you’ll want to make sure that your Camera is placed on a dull surface and that there are no shiny or reflective surfaces in its viewpoint. These can interfere with the tracking of the lights on your headset and throw things off. This is also the case with any LEDs or bright lights in your room. Be sure to turn these off or move them away to avoid any interference.

If the problem persists, be sure to check there are no direct lights shining onto your PSVR headset itself. This can obscure the prominence of the tracking lights making them harder to be read by the PlayStation Camera. The darker your surroundings, the better.

If you continuing to have a problem then you may want to head into the settings to recalibrate your PSVR. You can find out how to do that here.

DualShock 4 and Move Controller Tracking Issues

Much like the PSVR headset itself, your DualShock 4 or Move controllers are both read by your camera thanks to the handy glowing lights that they emit. While players have had fewer issues with tracking issues when using their controllers as opposed to the headset itself, they are still present. In order to resolve this, you’ll want to take the same precautions that you do for the headset tracking. Move any reflective surfaces out of the view of the camera and ensure that any bright lights are turned off.

However, if you’re charging your DualShock 4 as you play, you may want to make sure that the charge cable isn’t in the way of the light bar. Depending on how you hold it, this can obstruct the light bar and make it difficult for your camera to read. If the problem continues, try turning up the brightness of the light bar on the back of your controller. It’ll use more battery but should resolve any issues. Alternatively, try charging the batteries of your Move controllers. The lower the battery, the worse the experience becomes. Sony advises you keep your controllers charged up as much as possible to enjoy an optimal experience.

Screen Drifting

Though this seems to be a more uncommon occurrence among the current user base for PSVR, but some players are mentioning that the in-game screen starts moving over to the left after playing for a while. Though it’s not an ideal solution to the problem, turning the headset off and on has been known to temporarily resolve the issue.

A user on Reddit also mentioned that after struggling with the issue for quite a while, that they measured out exactly six feet from the camera and positioned themselves directly in front of the device. From that point on they’ve not suffered any screen drifting issues. You can always recenter the screen, but this won’t resolve the problem for too long as the screen will begin to drift again straight after.

It’s yet to be confirmed whether or not this is a hardware or software fault, and we here haven’t had any screen drifting problems during the time we’ve spent with our PSVR units. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on this one, though.

USB Error

If, when you’re strapping on your PSVR headset you’re greeted with a USB Error message then you’ll need to do a quick bit of investigating of the USB cable that connects your PS4 to the PSVR processor unit. If this is disconnected or not inserted the full way this could be what’s leading to the error message.

In some instances, wires can get a bit temperamental so always try unplugging it and plugging it in again if the problem persists. Failing that, a quick off and on of your PS4 should put this error right.

3D Audio Not Working

PSVR not only provides an immersive experience for your eyes, but the 3D audio capabilities can help provide an additional level of immersion through sound. However, some players have reported that the 3D audio isn’t working, or just doesn’t seem to be corresponding with their head movements.

If you’re finding that the 3D sound just simply isn’t working it may be that your earpieces aren’t compatible with 3D sound. If, however, you’re using the ones right out of the box and still having issues, you’ll want to make sure that you’ve got the earpieces in the right way. It may seem like a stupid thing to point out but this is often the cause for people finding that the sound doesn’t quite sync up with their head movements. If the problem persists, check they’re completely plugged into the in-line remote on the PSVR headset’s cable, and if you still have no luck try a quick off and on. Sometimes it requires a quick reset of everything for adjustments or fixes to actually rectify the problem.

The PSVR Just Won’t Turn On

You wouldn’t be on your own to think that if you’ve got everything plugged into your PS4 correctly that once you turned your system on then the PSVR would be ready to go. However, to jump into the VR immersive action, you’ll need to press the top button on your in-line remote. With a bit of luck, this should result in the lights on the PSVR headset turning on.

If it doesn’t, quickly check over all of your connections including the power cord, HDMI cables into the processor unit, the USB connector cable, and finally the cable coming from the processor unit to the actual headset itself. If everything seems in order and the headset still doesn’t turn on, you may need to contact Sony or the retailer you purchased it from regarding swapping it for a replacement.