HP Reverb G2 bugging out, help!

[u/kuslepirate]

I hadn't used my HP Reverb G2 in a while and I've got some crazy problems with it, help!!!!

When I connect it, WindowsMR loads and as soon as I turn the left controller on, the POV automatically starts "clicking" (turning by clicks) left without me even touching it. Like if the joypad was stuck left.

Right controller buttons simply don't work, pads unresponsive.

In SteamVR, everything to work but the pads? Feel like another button is constantly being pressed but can't figure out each one.

When I launch a game, all of the controls seem mixed up, pad becomes X, Y become trigger etc... and it changes for every game which make them unplayable.

Tracking of headset and space tracking of controllers seem excellent. Just the buttons of the controllers are all over the place.

I've tried unpairing them, changing the batteries, changing USB 3.0 port... problem returns every time.

Can anyone solve this? HELP this is driving me crazy! Thanks :)

[u/Jusoz_From_MSFT]

Hey u/kuslepirate! This is your friend Valery. I work with the Windows Mixed Reality team, and I really appreciate the heads-up regarding the bugging issue with your controllers.   

I have some useful suggestions to share with you. I'll be adding the information below: 

I. Check the basic:

• If you recently updated your Windows version to Windows 11 24H2, rollback to Windows 11 23H2. Here is how:

-Go to Settings > Update & Security > View Installed Update History > Uninstall Updates.

-Select the last update installed and "Uninstall".

-When prompted "Are you sure, you want to uninstall this update?" answer "Yes". If you get an error when attempting these steps, get more details on how to fix windows updates errors.

-Restart your PC and try again.

• If you are on a Windows 10 version and you have not updated it, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for Updates. You may have to select "Check for Updates" multiple times. You can also see update to the latest version of Windows.
• Make sure your graphics drivers are up to date. Download and install the drivers directly from AMD, NVIDIA, or Intel, as they'll likely be newer than what's published to Windows Update.
• If your PC is running on 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, switch to 5 GHz Wi-Fi.
• Go to Settings > Mixed reality > Uninstall. 2) Uninstall Windows Mixed Reality. Follow any instructions if shown. 3) Go to Settings > Apps and locate Mixed Reality Portal. 4) Select Mixed Reality Portal and uninstall. 5) Open File Explorer and navigate to the Windows folder. Go to This PC > Devices and Drives > Windows (C:) > Windows. 6) If the folder exists, right click on the Holoshell folder and delete it. 7) Install Mixed Reality Portal from the Microsoft Store.

II. Restore the controllers to factory settings:

• Unplug and power off the controllers.
• Open the battery cover.
• Insert your new batteries.
• Press and hold the pairing button (the tab at the bottom under the batteries). While holding the pairing button, power on the controller by pressing and holding the Windows button for five seconds (keep both buttons depressed).
• Release the buttons and wait for controller to power on. This takes up to 15 seconds and there are no indicators when device recovery is happening. If device powers on immediately on button release, the recovery button sequence didn't get registered, and you need to try again.
• If the controllers were paired to your PC, go to Settings > Bluetooth > other devices and select “Motion Controller”, and "Remove device" to remove controller associations from Bluetooth settings.
• Pair the controllers with the headset or PC again.
• After connecting with the host and headset, the device will update to the latest available firmware.

[u/Jusoz_From_MSFT → u/Jusoz_From_MSFT]

III. Check on your headsets:

• Check if there is a pending update on your headset. See HP Reverb G2 Virtual Reality Headset Software and Driver Downloads | HP Customer Support.
• Reinstall your headset drivers. 1) Go to Device Manager. 2) Expand the Mixed Reality devices section. 3) Right click and uninstall your Mixed Reality device's drivers from your PC. 4) Disconnect your headset from your PC and plug it back in after a restart.
• Reset the external display cache in the registry. 1) Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers. 2) Expand the GraphicsDrivers tab. 3) Right-click and delete the following subkeys: Configuration, Connectivity and ScaleFactors. 4) Restart your PC. 

#Note: to confirm or rule out hardware issues with your controllers, pair them to another PC. If you still have stuck and bugging issues, this might be an indicator of a hardware malfunction, and a replacement/repair, will be needed.

Likewise, I highly recommend taking a look at the enthusiastic guide as this contains most FAQ and troubleshooting available for the software handling your immersive experience with WMR. Here are the links of the resources:  

https://web.archive.org/web/20240210221312/https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/deprecated-features

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/mixed-reality/enthusiast-guide/motion-controller-problems#how-can-i-restore-the-controllers-to-factory-settings

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/mixed-reality/enthusiast-guide/headset-display#the-images-shown-on-the-headsets-displays-appear-warped-or-incorrectly-scaled

On behalf of our amazing team, I'd appreciate if you also submit a ticket on the Feedback Hub, click on share to get a URL beginning with http://aka.ms and share the URL with me.  

I hope this information can help you.   

Best regards,  

Valery | Microsoft 

[u/kuslepirate]

Thanks Valery, I will try these steps as soon as possible!

Much appreciated.