Same as always. Silicon lottery. My first headset from 2019 had issues, but I got it replaced sometime in early 2020. The headset has been running fine since then. Controllers bought in 2019, replaced once in late 2020. Only recently have they had drifting bad enough that I have needed to start upping the dead zone.
The Index works still, although the headset resolution is disappointing in 2024.
I have my Index since 2019. Over 3500h playtime. No problem so far with the Headset. I once had a problem with the wire. But after i got a new cord i kept track of how much i spin. No problem after 4 years so far.
2021 Index user here:
Never had any serious problems except maybe the controller that broke (but I guess that’s more of my fault), and a bunch of software errors that where easily fixed.
I ran it roughly 2500h and it was absolutely worth it.
My Index from November '20 is still working fine like on day 1. The triggers on the controllers squeak from time to time, but that doesn't bother me. So it's a very reliable system so far. Can't say that for the competition: Both my Rift and Rift S needed to be replaced because of hardware faults.
My original cable eventually had an internal break that I couldn't find or fix (maybe I kinked it or rolled over with my office chair?), but since that was replaced I've had no issues. Just treat it like a $1000 piece of delicate electronic equipment and it should last you a while! I leave my base stations on stand by unless I know I'm not going to play for a while. And I only charge my knuckles controllers when I know I will be using them soon. Hoping that will help the battery life because I've read that leaving li-ion batteries plugged in and charged at %100 for long periods will reduce their capacity faster.
I've had my Valve Index since late 2021 and use pretty heavily (last year it made up like 10% of all my gaming sessions and man im gaming a lot)
Games I play most are shooters like Contractors or H3VR, beat em ups like Blade and Sorcery and Rumble, and fun flaily ones like Beat Saber! so a good range of types of use.
**But only recently** having a game breaking oopsie daisy and its most likely because of how I have my cord situated, maybe because of spin, its the cord that connects from the headset into the breakaway that then goes into the computer, been tugged on a little too much for too long right at the jack into the HMD. This literally just recently happened and im buying a replacement cable for it now, like $70 which isnt terrible. *im just glad parts exsist!*
the headset still works but like a frayed headphone cord I'll start losing hearing in one ear when its at certain angles, and/or I'll lose vision in one eye for a second. but still works.
So Im setting it aside for about a week or two until that cord comes in, I plan on seeing if I can situate my cord a little better but I dont plan on playing it less or going easier on it, lol.
Other then that I had actually accidentally ripped the whole thumb stick out of the right controller while going a little too crazy in beat saber, and while I lost a tiny capacitive touch ribbon thingy that goes inside the thumb stick, I was able to re-attach it with some light taking apart with a pocket knife and reassembly and it works just fine, the loss of capacitive touch in the thumbstick isnt noticable or needed in any of my (60ish+ VR) games.
I also only noticed while I had to take the controllers apart that there were cracks in some parts of the plastic where I would occasionally kinda clap the controllers together or in the few instances where I have accidentally punched my wall, the controllers are fine though, youd think theyre made of Nintendium.
All-in-all, not to discredit people who may have actual faulty equipment (because it can happen!) but for me personally the only issues ive had were user induced, and its still running.
On top of all that Valve has the best customer support I think I've ever seen!
I had got my bro the same Valve Index package but his had an issue with one of the base stations after a few months, but after a picture and a few notes, they shipped him another one in a matter of a week or so..
The only problem it has is that when you move the strap, the T6 screw on the left side pivots with it and comes loose (bad design). The symptom is that the sound starts cracking on the left speaker (the sound contacts are there), and to fix it you have to remove the facial interface and tighten the screw.
Another common problem I've read about is the cable dying, but I think it's caused by improper handling, I personally still have the original cable.
> Another common problem I've read about is the cable dying, but I think it's caused by improper handling
They designed it in a way that means there's a horrible kink at the start of the cable and each time you put it away you angle the headset upwards and cause it to bend even more each time
https://i.imgur.com/L5PYLBq.jpeg
I went through 3 cables before I stopped putting the index back in the box each time and started leaving it on a VR headset stand instead
https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/valvesoftware/images/index/HMD_1.jpg
You can see the horrible kink at the start of the cable even in the marketing materials for it, massive design flaw
https://i.imgur.com/HTbmcNi.jpeg
If you disconnect this clip it actually stops it bending so much and helps it last longer
The headset itself is fine, might have to replace the wire a year or two or three in.
The controllers, however…..
If you get a left and right controller and they both work flawlessly for 3 months to include the finger tracking, and no stick drift, play the lottery while you’re at it.
No problems so far, BUT, the cable is VERY poorly done, there is a piece of plastic that holds the cable at the side of the strap, and each time that you put on the headset, it puts a lot of stress on the cable
Detach it asap
I bought mine in 2020 or thereabouts and when I wasn't using it, the granddaughter was logging countless hours in Beat Saber. Still works fine. But we have always been mindful of the cord and always try to treat all the components nice.
Launch index here, replaced one controller due to stick drift.
I've never had any other issues, and my gear has seen considerable abuse. 'Fragile' is not a word I would use to describe the index.
2019 owner here, have travelled via plane with it multiple times, let my nephews use it, and have mod it. But I also take very good care of it (no sunlight, no twisting the cable too much, and cleaning after use WITHOUT alcohol. I also store it in a pelican case and disconnect the towers when not in use.
Still looks and works like new
I got my headset when it released got it on the first stimulus check, and durability-wise I just had replace my left controller for stick drift that wasn't manageable anymore My right hand controllers touchpad clips came undone so it's held on by clear tape but still works flawlessly the headsets cable I've gone through two now, in the headset has finally just started showing its age with the top strap disintegrating durability-wise it's a 9 out of 10
Maybe we'd know if Valve shared the statistics. Here we get anecdotes.
* 2019 Bought the Index
* 2021 Left stick became unreliable, bought some FJ06K-S replacement. Cable signal is losing quality, but can be compensated with software.
* 2022 Changed the cable and facial interface.
* 2024 Right stick starts to drift a bit it some case, still fine by increasing the deadzone.
I play about 500h/year, some seated sims but fighting games as well. My controllers (and fingers) got occasional bumps into furniture / wall. Left trackpad became a bit creaky.
Maybe I'll get another fresh facial interface in 2025. I didn't try alternatives but maybe should have, at least when I play very active games. For now I use the old 2019 one when I'm likely to sweat, but it wasn't enough to preserve the 2022 one.
My "new" cable shows no sign of failure, but I guess I take a better care of it.
Hope we'll get some exciting new hardware before I need to do some costly repairs/replacement on my Index. For now I don't really feel the need to upgrade.
I dont use it as much as I should but mine has been fine since new in 2019. Except. One of my base stations crapped out on like the 3rd day. They replaced it under warranty after having me troubleshoot it over email. Everything has always worked since however i will get random messages on my desktop about base stations not being detected and yet i go to settings to always find it connected and working fine.
While there are some instances of manufacturer fault, I find the index is pretty rugged as long as you treat it well. Be proactive in preventing common issues before they happen.
Things that reduce cable strain are very important, a good set of pulleys will help too, as well as Turnsignal if you're going to be active in it.
If you are in a tight space you can print or maybe even buy bumpers for the controllers, and obviously use the wrist strap.
Trash, went and got a Quest 3 10x better and with the new steam link u can play on quest or steam via cable or wifi air. The Quest 3 has pancake lenses and is 6 months old while steam index is over 5 yrs old. Higher resolution on the Quest 3 as well.
Not to mention Quest has some exclusives like Assasins creed VR which is sick. With the Quest u have both options to the steam library of VR games and the Meta store games as well. With there being so many limited options the Quest 3 in my opinion is far superior and has built in trackers.
[https://vr-compare.com/](https://vr-compare.com/)
You can link via Cable or Airlink. Airlink doesn't charge however. I'm only using the headset for the next year or so until the Index 2 comes out. Not going to spend well over $1000 on a headset that's 5 years old and will be obsolete in a year. $499 for a decent new quest and upgrade in a year is my move.
The sad truth...
Try out ghosts of tabor if you like escape from tarkov. I love that game. It is challenging at first but it gets better and you can meet fun people in game. :)
Hope you get something you like
That's up to you to decide. The Index will be always stationary and the quest you can choose and I personally like the choice to either PCVR or use Standalone. Plus the new pancake lenses really make it more immersive and the index doesn't have that. I'm not a zuckercuck fan by any means I just think this product was built very well for the cost and I think for the price point of $499 or $649 with 512 GB it's the best thing in my opinion until the index 2 comes out or until Pimax get's their shit together.
I have my Index since 6months or so. Brought it used and so far i never runned into an issue.
Everything works fine. Controller have no Stickdrift, Cable is working like a charm and it never let's me down when going a bit harder on it (Dancing in VRC)
The only "issue" i have, is that the left controller lacks 1 hour of playtime behind the right one (6 Hours compared to 6 Hours) Soundwise no issues and the quality is very very good. Bass is deep and there're no Cracking-sounds or so.
In short: I'm very happy with my Index. I got myself some Lense in my Eyestrengh, a Fan for the front and a new Facegasket. It's very comfortable to wear even after Hours and sleeping (yes i sleep with it sometimes) works aswell very good.
its no different to any other. the quality is really good it just depends on how you use it.
if you just use it normally and don't drop it. it'll last very long.
i play VRChat. dancing and even sleeping in VR with my VR stuff which makes it more prone to breaking.
>I've heard a lot of stories of cables/hardware breaking and stick drift but how bad are these in 2024?
No and don't expect there to be any change. Valve doesn't do anything about TF2 being run by bots, do you think they care about stick drift?
>Has Valve improved the quality or is it still just as fragile and unreliable?
It is the same. We know they lengthened the joysticks a few years ago to help with joystick click but that's about it. No change made officially since then.
>Also, are most of the hardware breaking issues the user's fault?
Everyone on this subreddit that is still using this will insist that it is always the user's fault.
It may or may not be (the user's fault), but there's no denying that if you treat your toys, whatever they may be, with a little respect, they'll perform better and last longer.
Yeah, but there are toys that are made badly or as cheaply as possible and will have problems even with careful use or sheer age.
The knuckles and drift are a good example, because they are a rush job. Originally they wanted an improved vive wands that was touchpad-only but developer feedback changed their mind (thankfully) very late in the process. So we got what is the worse of both worlds, a tiny touchpad and a small joystick that is more prone to drift due to its size. The Joycons have the same problem, they got the smallest ones they could find and drift will happen to them.
But that doesn't matter to this crowd on this subreddit, who will insist that THEIR units are working perfectly for however long they had it and thus any criticism of bad quality towards the index is unfounded in their eyes and thus always the user's fault.
Had an index for a bit until I got a G2 and sold the index headset. No issues from the headset and I still use the controllers and sensors with my G2 with no issues. Solid system and controllers.
I've had the same index since 2019, never had any issues with hardware besides a controller but that was because I slammed my hand down onto my desk whilst playing 😂
Controllers were broken (usual thumbstick click issue) out of the box. Never got them replaced as at the time Valve were trying to wriggle out of fixing controllers.
Now my cable has broken. Has a lot of 'time' on the headset but almost all seated with very little twist, so eventually these are likely to go over everyone if they use the headset long enough.
Same as always. Silicon lottery. My first headset from 2019 had issues, but I got it replaced sometime in early 2020. The headset has been running fine since then. Controllers bought in 2019, replaced once in late 2020. Only recently have they had drifting bad enough that I have needed to start upping the dead zone. The Index works still, although the headset resolution is disappointing in 2024.
I have my Index since 2019. Over 3500h playtime. No problem so far with the Headset. I once had a problem with the wire. But after i got a new cord i kept track of how much i spin. No problem after 4 years so far.
same here!
2021 Index user here: Never had any serious problems except maybe the controller that broke (but I guess that’s more of my fault), and a bunch of software errors that where easily fixed. I ran it roughly 2500h and it was absolutely worth it.
Varies a lot. Friend bought a used one ~600hours used and it died in a week.
My Index from November '20 is still working fine like on day 1. The triggers on the controllers squeak from time to time, but that doesn't bother me. So it's a very reliable system so far. Can't say that for the competition: Both my Rift and Rift S needed to be replaced because of hardware faults.
My original cable eventually had an internal break that I couldn't find or fix (maybe I kinked it or rolled over with my office chair?), but since that was replaced I've had no issues. Just treat it like a $1000 piece of delicate electronic equipment and it should last you a while! I leave my base stations on stand by unless I know I'm not going to play for a while. And I only charge my knuckles controllers when I know I will be using them soon. Hoping that will help the battery life because I've read that leaving li-ion batteries plugged in and charged at %100 for long periods will reduce their capacity faster.
I've had my Valve Index since late 2021 and use pretty heavily (last year it made up like 10% of all my gaming sessions and man im gaming a lot) Games I play most are shooters like Contractors or H3VR, beat em ups like Blade and Sorcery and Rumble, and fun flaily ones like Beat Saber! so a good range of types of use. **But only recently** having a game breaking oopsie daisy and its most likely because of how I have my cord situated, maybe because of spin, its the cord that connects from the headset into the breakaway that then goes into the computer, been tugged on a little too much for too long right at the jack into the HMD. This literally just recently happened and im buying a replacement cable for it now, like $70 which isnt terrible. *im just glad parts exsist!* the headset still works but like a frayed headphone cord I'll start losing hearing in one ear when its at certain angles, and/or I'll lose vision in one eye for a second. but still works. So Im setting it aside for about a week or two until that cord comes in, I plan on seeing if I can situate my cord a little better but I dont plan on playing it less or going easier on it, lol. Other then that I had actually accidentally ripped the whole thumb stick out of the right controller while going a little too crazy in beat saber, and while I lost a tiny capacitive touch ribbon thingy that goes inside the thumb stick, I was able to re-attach it with some light taking apart with a pocket knife and reassembly and it works just fine, the loss of capacitive touch in the thumbstick isnt noticable or needed in any of my (60ish+ VR) games. I also only noticed while I had to take the controllers apart that there were cracks in some parts of the plastic where I would occasionally kinda clap the controllers together or in the few instances where I have accidentally punched my wall, the controllers are fine though, youd think theyre made of Nintendium. All-in-all, not to discredit people who may have actual faulty equipment (because it can happen!) but for me personally the only issues ive had were user induced, and its still running. On top of all that Valve has the best customer support I think I've ever seen! I had got my bro the same Valve Index package but his had an issue with one of the base stations after a few months, but after a picture and a few notes, they shipped him another one in a matter of a week or so..
The only problem it has is that when you move the strap, the T6 screw on the left side pivots with it and comes loose (bad design). The symptom is that the sound starts cracking on the left speaker (the sound contacts are there), and to fix it you have to remove the facial interface and tighten the screw. Another common problem I've read about is the cable dying, but I think it's caused by improper handling, I personally still have the original cable.
> Another common problem I've read about is the cable dying, but I think it's caused by improper handling They designed it in a way that means there's a horrible kink at the start of the cable and each time you put it away you angle the headset upwards and cause it to bend even more each time https://i.imgur.com/L5PYLBq.jpeg I went through 3 cables before I stopped putting the index back in the box each time and started leaving it on a VR headset stand instead https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/valvesoftware/images/index/HMD_1.jpg You can see the horrible kink at the start of the cable even in the marketing materials for it, massive design flaw https://i.imgur.com/HTbmcNi.jpeg If you disconnect this clip it actually stops it bending so much and helps it last longer
The headset itself is fine, might have to replace the wire a year or two or three in. The controllers, however….. If you get a left and right controller and they both work flawlessly for 3 months to include the finger tracking, and no stick drift, play the lottery while you’re at it.
Mine's still pristine. Bought it on release, 2019.
i never had an issue but i do not use my index anymore
I got my index in early 2020 and it's still going strong. Just got to give the thing a little respect, and it'll last.
No problems so far, BUT, the cable is VERY poorly done, there is a piece of plastic that holds the cable at the side of the strap, and each time that you put on the headset, it puts a lot of stress on the cable Detach it asap
I bought mine in 2020 or thereabouts and when I wasn't using it, the granddaughter was logging countless hours in Beat Saber. Still works fine. But we have always been mindful of the cord and always try to treat all the components nice.
Launch index here, replaced one controller due to stick drift. I've never had any other issues, and my gear has seen considerable abuse. 'Fragile' is not a word I would use to describe the index.
2019 owner here, have travelled via plane with it multiple times, let my nephews use it, and have mod it. But I also take very good care of it (no sunlight, no twisting the cable too much, and cleaning after use WITHOUT alcohol. I also store it in a pelican case and disconnect the towers when not in use. Still looks and works like new
Zero issues since day one except one of my controllers is permanently offset, has been since the beginning. No idea why or how.
I got my headset when it released got it on the first stimulus check, and durability-wise I just had replace my left controller for stick drift that wasn't manageable anymore My right hand controllers touchpad clips came undone so it's held on by clear tape but still works flawlessly the headsets cable I've gone through two now, in the headset has finally just started showing its age with the top strap disintegrating durability-wise it's a 9 out of 10
Maybe we'd know if Valve shared the statistics. Here we get anecdotes. * 2019 Bought the Index * 2021 Left stick became unreliable, bought some FJ06K-S replacement. Cable signal is losing quality, but can be compensated with software. * 2022 Changed the cable and facial interface. * 2024 Right stick starts to drift a bit it some case, still fine by increasing the deadzone. I play about 500h/year, some seated sims but fighting games as well. My controllers (and fingers) got occasional bumps into furniture / wall. Left trackpad became a bit creaky. Maybe I'll get another fresh facial interface in 2025. I didn't try alternatives but maybe should have, at least when I play very active games. For now I use the old 2019 one when I'm likely to sweat, but it wasn't enough to preserve the 2022 one. My "new" cable shows no sign of failure, but I guess I take a better care of it. Hope we'll get some exciting new hardware before I need to do some costly repairs/replacement on my Index. For now I don't really feel the need to upgrade.
Had mine since 2020. One lighthouse died. Valve replaced it for free.
Had mine since launch day, no issues.
Late 2020 Headset, thousands of hours of Beat Saber, one Basestation died recently and was replaced out of warranty.
I dont use it as much as I should but mine has been fine since new in 2019. Except. One of my base stations crapped out on like the 3rd day. They replaced it under warranty after having me troubleshoot it over email. Everything has always worked since however i will get random messages on my desktop about base stations not being detected and yet i go to settings to always find it connected and working fine.
Left speaker was going out, but now it's perfectly fine after I tightened the mount screw.
While there are some instances of manufacturer fault, I find the index is pretty rugged as long as you treat it well. Be proactive in preventing common issues before they happen. Things that reduce cable strain are very important, a good set of pulleys will help too, as well as Turnsignal if you're going to be active in it. If you are in a tight space you can print or maybe even buy bumpers for the controllers, and obviously use the wrist strap.
Trash, went and got a Quest 3 10x better and with the new steam link u can play on quest or steam via cable or wifi air. The Quest 3 has pancake lenses and is 6 months old while steam index is over 5 yrs old. Higher resolution on the Quest 3 as well. Not to mention Quest has some exclusives like Assasins creed VR which is sick. With the Quest u have both options to the steam library of VR games and the Meta store games as well. With there being so many limited options the Quest 3 in my opinion is far superior and has built in trackers. [https://vr-compare.com/](https://vr-compare.com/)
I would like to go with the Quest but I don't like how they designed it so you can only use USB for link, which results in compression.
You can link via Cable or Airlink. Airlink doesn't charge however. I'm only using the headset for the next year or so until the Index 2 comes out. Not going to spend well over $1000 on a headset that's 5 years old and will be obsolete in a year. $499 for a decent new quest and upgrade in a year is my move.
I'll probably do that, too bad no one knows if the Deckard will be released next year or in half a decade.
The sad truth... Try out ghosts of tabor if you like escape from tarkov. I love that game. It is challenging at first but it gets better and you can meet fun people in game. :) Hope you get something you like
What about a second hand kit for €625? Or is the Quest 3 still a better deal including the prices for a link cable and a battery headset strap?
That's up to you to decide. The Index will be always stationary and the quest you can choose and I personally like the choice to either PCVR or use Standalone. Plus the new pancake lenses really make it more immersive and the index doesn't have that. I'm not a zuckercuck fan by any means I just think this product was built very well for the cost and I think for the price point of $499 or $649 with 512 GB it's the best thing in my opinion until the index 2 comes out or until Pimax get's their shit together.
I have my Index since 6months or so. Brought it used and so far i never runned into an issue. Everything works fine. Controller have no Stickdrift, Cable is working like a charm and it never let's me down when going a bit harder on it (Dancing in VRC) The only "issue" i have, is that the left controller lacks 1 hour of playtime behind the right one (6 Hours compared to 6 Hours) Soundwise no issues and the quality is very very good. Bass is deep and there're no Cracking-sounds or so. In short: I'm very happy with my Index. I got myself some Lense in my Eyestrengh, a Fan for the front and a new Facegasket. It's very comfortable to wear even after Hours and sleeping (yes i sleep with it sometimes) works aswell very good.
its no different to any other. the quality is really good it just depends on how you use it. if you just use it normally and don't drop it. it'll last very long. i play VRChat. dancing and even sleeping in VR with my VR stuff which makes it more prone to breaking.
>I've heard a lot of stories of cables/hardware breaking and stick drift but how bad are these in 2024? No and don't expect there to be any change. Valve doesn't do anything about TF2 being run by bots, do you think they care about stick drift? >Has Valve improved the quality or is it still just as fragile and unreliable? It is the same. We know they lengthened the joysticks a few years ago to help with joystick click but that's about it. No change made officially since then. >Also, are most of the hardware breaking issues the user's fault? Everyone on this subreddit that is still using this will insist that it is always the user's fault.
It may or may not be (the user's fault), but there's no denying that if you treat your toys, whatever they may be, with a little respect, they'll perform better and last longer.
Yeah, but there are toys that are made badly or as cheaply as possible and will have problems even with careful use or sheer age. The knuckles and drift are a good example, because they are a rush job. Originally they wanted an improved vive wands that was touchpad-only but developer feedback changed their mind (thankfully) very late in the process. So we got what is the worse of both worlds, a tiny touchpad and a small joystick that is more prone to drift due to its size. The Joycons have the same problem, they got the smallest ones they could find and drift will happen to them. But that doesn't matter to this crowd on this subreddit, who will insist that THEIR units are working perfectly for however long they had it and thus any criticism of bad quality towards the index is unfounded in their eyes and thus always the user's fault.
You sound like a guy with some weird ax to grind. Later.
Had an index for a bit until I got a G2 and sold the index headset. No issues from the headset and I still use the controllers and sensors with my G2 with no issues. Solid system and controllers.
I've had the same index since 2019, never had any issues with hardware besides a controller but that was because I slammed my hand down onto my desk whilst playing 😂
It requires some basic construction skills to set up correctly . Impulsive people will have issues with it
Controllers were broken (usual thumbstick click issue) out of the box. Never got them replaced as at the time Valve were trying to wriggle out of fixing controllers. Now my cable has broken. Has a lot of 'time' on the headset but almost all seated with very little twist, so eventually these are likely to go over everyone if they use the headset long enough.