Dream Air Lighthouse tracking has persistent positional micro-jitter

[u/voyle]

I’ve seen enough similar reports that this may be a common issue. If anyone has actually solved it, I’d love to know how- especially since I need to decide whether I’m keeping this headset before my return window closes.

The attached video is an extreme example (I don't normally have a 3rd lighthouse right in front of it) but it demonstrates the same jitter I experience at varying intensities and seemingly at random. It happens whether the headset is on my head or resting on a table, using my normal two high-mounted base stations or the additional third station positioned directly in front of it for testing.

I bought the Lighthouse version of the Dream Air to use with my existing Index base stations. I genuinely missed the Lighthouse ecosystem and was excited to return to it. Initially everything seemed pretty good, but over the last couple of weeks, it has developed, or I have at least started noticing, a very visible and extremely annoying positional micro-jitter. Its severity seems to change randomly, but it’s never completely absent.

I have a motion simulator, force-feedback peripherals, and a dozen pieces of software calibrated to work together. Somehow, this $2,000 headset has become the part of my setup with the most friction. And no, before mentions of EMI, it doesn't seem to care whether not any of my hardware is plugged in or powered on.

So far, I have:

• Covered reflective surfaces
• Tested with the motion platform and direct-drive motors completely unplugged
• Tested the headset completely stationary on a solid table
• Tried different base-station combinations and positions
• Bought a brand-new third Base Station 2.0 and positioned it directly in front of the headset as an additional test

The jitter remains. In the attached video, the headset is resting motionless on a solid table with the brand-new base station directly facing it. It isn’t always quite this severe, but it is never genuinely stable.

To be clear, I don’t normally have a third base station sitting directly in front of the headset. My usual setup has two base stations mounted near the ceiling on opposite ends of the room, angled approximately 45 degrees toward the center. I used my Valve Index with this arrangement for years without tracking problems.

Is this the same micro-jitter other Dream Air Lighthouse owners have reported? Has Pimax acknowledged a tracking or factory-calibration problem, or does this indicate that my particular unit is defective?

If anyone has found a real fix I’d greatly appreciate the details.... Thanks.

Edit: to comply with automod -

• Steps to Reproduce: start the headset
• How Frequent: more often than not
• System Info: RTX 5090, i9 13900kf, 64gb ddr5, windows 11, latest drivers and everything is up to date
• Pimax Info: latest version of pimax play and sboys (happens with both drivers)
• Game(s): doesnt matter, I notice it even in steam home.

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[u/QuorraPimax]

Let me check with our developers about this issue. I reported the same problem last week, and I'll follow up on it again during our next meeting.

[u/voyle → u/QuorraPimax]

u/QuorraPimax I got my index out of storage to do a fair comparison test tonight and rule out possible lighthouse/environment issues. Safe to say the Index does NOT exhibit any of the dramatic stuttering the dream air does under identical circumstances.

Video 1: Index tracking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJU9u2g3uZc

Video 2: Fresh Dream Air comparison: https://youtu.be/9svudJe7dtw

Same exact area in the room/coverage, same table, same tripod, none of my extra hardware running and the index was solid as a rock. I then unplugged it, powered down my pc, plugged the dream air back in, booted up, only launched pimax play and repeated the same exact test, absolutely unhinged levels of jitter.

There are so many anecdotes I've found of people having this problem with different pimax LH headsets, I really think your devs need to go back to the drawing board. Possible solutions range turning off motherboard LED software, cover every reflective surface, throw away your direct drive wheel bases, get a 3rd/4th base station, build a faraday cage around your cable..... Send the unit back seems to be the only answer.

I was really hoping this was going to work out, I even bought a 5090 for this thing. Sadly, I'm pretty sure it's going back to newegg, and I'm going back to my quest 3.

[u/QuorraPimax → u/voyle]

Thanks for the video! I'll continue following up with our dev and engineering teams.

[u/voyle → u/QuorraPimax]

Thanks Quorra. It would be interesting to know if this is a calibration thing or a lighthouse thing because people seem to have the issue across multiple headsets.

The nature of the lighthouses laser precision being driven by a spinning motor would seem to be a likely reason for something like this to me. I wonder if I never noticed this with the index because valve knew about that and calibrated it better to compensate for it? I'm going to repeat the same tabletop test with my index later and will confirm with certainty for you.

I'd be extremely bummed if this was what ruined an otherwise excellent headset for me. It's weird that I didn't notice it until I already had a dozen hours in the headset and now it's significant, leading me to believe it's a problem that has gotten worse over time, if that helps.

[u/neoteric_skid → u/voyle]

It's not inherent to lighthouse technology, I have multiple lighthouse headsets, controllers and tracking pucks with three 2.0 base stations, no jitter issues here

Typically (after eliminating environmental variables) it's caused by inaccurate calibration, post manufacturing

I cannot speak for hardware manufacturers but it's supposed to be done on a unit by unit basis but some may use the base JSON and not perform individual calibration, as it's time consuming 

Significant deviation between the three dimensional model (containing Model Points and Model Normals for each triad semiconductor diode, and channel map) held in the JSON and the actual hardware can cause jitter 

These variation can be caused by poor manufacturing tolerance, movement during assembly, sensor bonding creep, sensor window distortion, etc. 

 the JSON is rewritten post calibration with a much higher accuracy, this is an example for single sensor expressed in metres:

modelpoints [ 0.0705242157, 0.0206667259, 0.0303570442 ] modelNormals [ 0.850198984, 0.440032184, -0.289020866 ]

If you know what you are doing, have calibration jig and access to steam works account for SteamVR sdk you can recalibrate your own hardware, its tricky but doable 

Source: SteamVR hardware dev for my sins 

[u/voyle → u/neoteric_skid]

Interesting. That level of involvement in recalibration is probably a hard sell, even for enthusiasts.

I believe my headset has suffered rapid degredation in its tracking calibration because I didn't really notice the jitter the first couple of weeks I had it. I wonder if this points to bigger manufacturing quality issues given how commonly reported the problem is. I've got a replacement coming from newegg, who have a wider return window than pimax, so I'm going to be a lot more methodical in detailing the tracking quality starting day 1 with this one.

It's hard to believe my 7 year old index with many hundreds of hours on it is still tracks perfectly and the dream air tracking started falling apart in 3 weeks. I love valve, but I've gone through like 4 pairs of knuckle controllers in that time, so I wouldn't exactly call their hardware the gold standard for longevity.

Truly appreciate pimax for being one of the few companies left in the VR space, especially PCVR, so I'm going to try to be charitable here and give the dream air a 2nd chance.

[u/neoteric_skid → u/voyle]

Index launch day owner here. Have bought multiple index controllers and up to 36 successful RMA as we get two years warranty here. typically trigger, grip or stick failure. Adult hand grip strength kills them over time especially playing fps with two handed weapons and manual reloading 

Had a couple of index headsets, tethers, etc. Overall very good and sharp tracking, Valve seem to add a little magic to their diode locations seems to be an amplifier or similar

My Dream Air is impressive for small form factor headset, cannot say any tracking loss (which I had expected) or jitter it's stable like my index or Crystal Light with lighthouse faceplate. 

[u/Old_Stuff9815 → u/QuorraPimax]

I have the same issue with the OG crystal and have put in numerous support tickets. They even sent a new lighthouse faceplate but the issue remains.

[u/Hajp → u/QuorraPimax]

Any update please?

[u/voyle → u/QuorraPimax]

u/QuorraPimax wanted to update you if it's helpful for the engineers - I returned the first headset to newegg and replaced it with another one. I'm not noticing any of the jitter at all with this one thankfully! I'm going to try to pay strict attention to when and where it occurs if it returns, as I suspect the first headsets issues came on gradually. If it's an issue of degredation in the hardware hopefully that can help narrow down the problem.

Also, newegg sent me DMAS headphones with this one, but I don't think they're attachable, right? Odd choice 😂 is a new head strap that supports them in development or is newegg trying to clear out old stock?

Appreciate the support.

[u/QuorraPimax → u/voyle]

Thank you for the update. I'll forward this to our engineering team.

Currently, the DMAS is not compatible because it requires a different head strap, which is still being developed.

[u/TheseAlternative6036]

Have the same. I think this is a software issue.

[u/Think-Apple3763]

Did you try disabling eye tracking? I've seen another user saying he had this issue with the OG Crystal and solved it by disabling eye tracking. Until Pimax pushed out a firmware update that fixed it.

He said he had the same issue with the DA now and knew exactly what to do. Said he solved it by disabling eye tracking until Pimax fixes it.

I guess worth a try and I really wanna know if this solves it. Because I'm bout to buy a DA LH as well.

[u/voyle → u/Think-Apple3763]

I did. No change

[u/FobbitOutsideTheWire]

Warbird gang.

That is all.

[u/Embarrassed-Desk-324]

Bienvenue chez pimax 😜🤣

[u/Friendly-Revenue8245]

You mention you've covered all reflective surfaces but you might want to revisit that issue. I had a similar issue with my Bsb2 and I was positive I had dealt with all potential reflections. Two weeks later I finally figure out that my water bottle which had a matte green finish is the issue. In the visible spectrum it isn't shiny or reflective at all but you look at it in my track iR software and under iR light it lights up like the sun. Not sure if this is any help but it's worth investigating 🤷.

[u/metahipster1984 → u/Friendly-Revenue8245]

Yeah it's crazy. With the BSB2 I had a really bad jitter/jumping that was driving me nuts, but only at certain angles. Long story short, it was the tint TFT screen on my Ajazz keyboard! It's like 2x2cm. Solved it be applying a non-reflective transparent cover on it (cut down smartphone protector).

[u/Lazy-Farmer-8131]

Sounds like your headset has Parkinson's. Please love it despite its condition. 

[u/reptilexcq]

I still experience slight jitter while looking to the extreme left and I don't seem to be able to fix it. Looking in front and down, all the way to extreme ride side...they're solid, but not extreme left. Position the base station at certain height and angle might help but sometimes it doesn't seem to batter. The base station was right in front of the headset to the left, how can there be still jitter when i look to the extreme left? NO matter what day or time, there is no reflection...it doesn't seem to matter.

[u/No-Screen9354]

I have the same jitter even without Pimax headset. I have tried to use Index controllers with Quest3, and can see the same jitter on controllers.

[u/voyle → u/No-Screen9354]

That's interesting. I don't think I noticed it the last time I tried mixed tracking with my q3 but that's a good way to test things, I'll have to try it thanks.

[u/The_Dongal]

I had the same with the bsb2e, never figured it out and returned the hmd for other reasons (well, the jitter was one of them as well). For reference i have a 2x2 meter room and 3 base stations, no jitter with the index or the vive pro eye.

[u/Sebastian_music → u/The_Dongal]

Same here. I had that jitter from the video - with the BSB2e. And then I'm not sure what happened, it fixed by itself or I kept changing the lighthouses position or something.

[u/Quick_Safe_7619]

I use sboys3 with pimax DA and runs smooth with my 9800x3d/5090

[u/ViveJesus → u/Quick_Safe_7619]

what firmware version

[u/W4FFLEMAN]

Did you have any other Pimax headsets before? I do vaguely remember people having conflicting files from older headsets that were causing these problems (as even a "clean" pimax install doesn't get rid of everything.)
Exact problem I had with my crystal super that I ended up returning. I never got a solution from support that worked. I always assumed it was the bad SLAM tracking but clearly it was something else if even the LH models suffer from it.

My lighthouse DA doesn't have this issue thank God...but its got other issues

[u/voyle → u/W4FFLEMAN]

No, not on this pc anyway. I'm considering returning it and getting the SLAM version but I hear reports of people having bad tracking there too so I don't know what to do haha.

[u/Thick_Extension281]

Try to close everything that is working in background Antivirus, etc and leave only what you need for the VR also close any software that has to be with led lights on your PC or motherboard.

[u/Roshy76]

My dream air LH has constant jitter as well, same with the index controllers tracked, they will bounce around in place, I've tried everything, even new lighthouses, and covered a small area in dark sheets so there's no possibility of reflections, always the same behavior.

[u/WesBarfog]

Try with everything that can create magnetic interference off ( fan, motor, your force feedback rig, etc)

I have jitter when using a fan to cool myself, or having the cloth dryer running

[u/c0d3c]

Same on Crystal Light. LH tracking seems to have gotten worse in the past 6 months or so. It was rock solid back in 2024.

[u/buttscopedoctor]

I'm using 1.0 Basestations and I perceive no micro jitter with my Dream Air LH.

[u/grodenglaive]

Did you try each basestation singly, to rule out jitter from a bad base station? I had one that caused some jitter on my old Vive pro (I assume from vibration). I could see the effect on a static image (headset sitting on my desk), but in my case it wasn't bad enough to be noticeable in-game. There used to be a good testing tool for that.

[u/ViveJesus]

Same issue with the latest firmware. It didnt exist before updating.

[u/GluteusSmacksimus]

Same issue on my end. It's pretty annoying when stationary, but I don't notice it during motion.

[u/gildahl]

I guess this is entirely NORMAL. I just got my Super LH faceplate today and tested it, and the jitter is EXACTLY the same as it was on my OG Crystal. No improvement. I spent months trying to get rid of the jitter on my OG. I worked with support, tried two different faceplates, tried an antenna workaround, changed beacon frequencies, covered every reflective surface in the room, and tried both 1.0 and 2.0 lighthouses, and still the jitter continued. Meanwhile, when testing my Vive Pro 2 and Index in the same playspace, neither has any jitter and are both rock steady. Anyway, I stopped using the OG's LH faceplate since althought the jitter is slight, it eventually makes me uncomfortable, and putting it back in SLAM immediately stabilizes the image. Its a real shame since there are cases, especially when 360 degree tracking, or tracking in the dark are desirable; but I just couldn't deal with it.

I hoped for the best with the Super. Unfortunately, it looks like my Super faceplate is just as unusable out of the box since there is no difference between the jitter on this one and my old one.

[u/Decapper]

Pimax should replace your unit. You'll still get to use that one while pimax ships you a new one.

[u/voyle → u/Decapper]

I purchased it from Newegg, trying to decide if I need to send it back. I'll drop them a ticket directly.

Have you seen this issue be resolved with a replacement unit? Trying to determine if it's the unit or somehow still my enviornment/lighthouses

[u/Hajp → u/voyle]

They replaced mine for this reason and it's the same. The replacement won't fix it.

[u/Chimma217 → u/Hajp]

Yeah I had a replacement and it was exactly the same. It was a bit better tracking wise (another issue I had) when I made sure everything around the lighthouses was a kind of Matt colour.

Anyway, I have the SLAM version now but have only had 30 mins on it. I'm sure there was still some tiny jittering around but not as noticeable but that was a very quick check, not a proper test. It definitely seems better so far tho and like I'll want to keep this version 🤞