Oculus Rift Troubleshooting

The device is on, but the screen is black.

One problem you may be having with the picture is a broken display screen. This could have been caused by initial damage when receiving your product, dropping your device, or extreme temperatures. If your screen has cracks, dents, or warping, click here to see how to inspect your screen. To replace your screen, click here.

The screen is displaying the environment, but the picture is blurry or out of focus.

The lenses may not be in focus/adjusted correctly or may be broken. The headset fits differently on everybody, so you need to find the lenses that are the right match for you. The kit comes with three different lens options (A, B, and C) that are varying distances away from your eyes. To find out how to pick the right lenses, click here and scroll down to page 1. To adjust the focal length of each lens, see step 4 of the Oculus Rift Teardown guide.

If you have the correct lenses in but the picture still isn't crystal clear, you probably haven't adjusted the set to your inter-pupillary distance (IPD), which is the distance between your pupils. To learn how to adjust the set properly, click here.

As you try to look around with the headset on, your view of the world does not adjust properly.

If the virtual reality does not track your head motions, the tracker may not be calibrated. This occurs when you move your head and the tracker does not move the environment at all, or the tracker moves it in the wrong direction. Click here to learn how to calibrate your device.

If calibrating the tracker is not effective, the actual board inside the device may be broken or faulty due to scratches or missing parts. Click here to learn how to replace the tracker.

When you push one of the buttons, there is no response or the button actually sticks inside of the box.

The button is either stuck in the control box, or has a delayed physical reaction. A stuck button will not move when pressed, while a delayed physical reaction means the pressing detection is not sensitive enough. This could be due to dirt and other particles getting inside the device the obstruct the movement of the buttons. Click here to learn how to clean the buttons.

If the buttons are cleaned, but still having a delayed reaction, you can replace the buttons. Follow the link to this guide to learn how to replace your buttons.

The device has stopped working unexpectedly due to faulty connectivity, and none of the other guides seem to address the issue.

The wires inside the device may not be connected. Follow this link to the Oculus Rift DK1 Teardown to open the control box and the headset to check that the internal wires are all connected.

The ports of the device may not be functioning correctly. There are 3 ports (in order from left to right, HDMI, DVI, and mini USB) and a power adapter on the far right of the control box. If any of these ports are broken, they may be hindering your device from working properly. You can tell if a port is broken if the metal in the port looks bent or the appropriate cord does not fit properly in the port. Follow this outside link to get good information on how to replace the ports.

If none of the above steps seem to address your problem, you may have a faulty motherboard. To replace the motherboard, click here.