PSVR2 Sense Controllers Aren't Working for Some Early Adopters

I don't doubt the build quality of any newly-released hardware, but this is why I rarely pick up anything on launch. The first hardware revision a few months down the line is where bugs like this are ironed out. It happens.

Huge number? Not good.

Just received mine late at 6:30 PM tonight. So I won’t be setting it up until tomorrow. I’ll have to check out some of these threads to see what’s going on. Thank you for bringing this to light here. Nonetheless, I am beyond thrilled to play a VR game for the first time!

Is this a "huge" issue the same way the orientation of your PS5 leading to over heating was a "huge" issue.

@get2sammyb it’s my first time ever on any VR system. I have very high hopes for it. I got the Horizon bundle so I’m pumped to experience that. Might dive into Moss or RE Village after or in-between Horizon.

I hope you continue enjoying your time with it. Glad to see the in-depth coverage of the PS VR2 on this site.

What a good spend of more money than the ps5. Which even now has hardwire issues (vibrating disc drive like mine did), all for the low low price of just 450 quid or 550 for VR! Top Sony quality.

I got mine launch day. So far no issues for me. But on different note, I ordered the VR sense charger base. Hate messing with charger cords. Plus makes it a cleaner setup.

I'm looking to get psvr2 maybe I will wait till October.

Had to return my PSVR2 headset and get a replacement as I wasn't seeing anything inside during setup. Hopefully this isn't a common issue as I have already purchased a few games and am waiting to play

I have a weird issue involving a purple splodge in my headset, its not massive but it looks like their is some debris inside somewhere refracting some light its noticeable on the home screen just below the centre point of the lens, does anybody else have this issue? In bright scenes it's not really visible but in medium and dark scenes its very noticeable. Such as the flashlight area and grayish wall of jurassic world aftermath.

@themightyant Makes it easier to fix then. Point still stands though. The launch of anything will always be when something is at it's buggiest.

@AldusRavencorn Hi there! I actually created the post on Reddit (until yesterday, I posted here way more than there) and from what I can tell, it’s a pretty common issue. Common enough that the post has been pinned to the PSVR sub with hundreds of upvotes and comments. If you read the post (which honestly you don’t need to if your PSVR2 is working fine), you will see that I really just want to raise enough awareness of the issue that Sony will prioritize a fix - it seems to be the most common launch issue and people are being told to turn in their hardware by customer service people reading from a generic script. I’ve tried to set a tone of not raging at Sony because as someone who bought the first PlayStation on launch day when I was a senior in high school, I’ve been around the block enough to know early adopters take a hit when it comes to these kinds of issues. Which, whatever your definition of “huge” is, really suck when they happen to you. I’m not trying to feed any console wars or hurt the viability of console VR - I just want my new toy to work!

@Hoodie718 Is this issue a software problem or is there some hardware issues going on?

Thank you so much for highlighting this! I hope Sony acknowledges the issue and offers some guidance soon. I’m one of the affected users (and wrote/compiled the “meticulous” Reddit post – thanks!), but I’m still loving the new headset and improved tracking. GT7 in VR is wild, Thumper rips harder than ever with the headset haptics, and I’m looking forward to so many more experiences with PSVR2 once the Sense issues are resolved and I can retire from my unpaid internship of raising awareness and compiling workarounds!

@XenonKnight I really can’t say for sure, but the fact that the controllers work normally outside of games and that there are some workarounds that bring at least temporary relief make me hopeful that it’s an issue that can be resolved with a firmware update. That’s why I’ve really been pushing to raise visibility of the problem. Nobody wants to have to send their new hardware in if it can be avoided. Also, at least two people on the thread who have switched their hardware have said the problem persists! And one had a review unit!

@Yozora146_ weird. I thought I saw the same thing. Will check again tonight

I have seen quite a high number off issues reported on reddit. Seems quite a few people are returning it already, mainly due to blurriness and vignetting.

I had my right controller die on me as soon as I started Horizon Call Of The Mountain and Drums Rock. Reset both sensecontrollers with a tiny needle and it worked again. For now at least.
So it's a real problem.

Premium product with bad firmware it seems, not funny for this price. 💀
But when it works PSVR2 is great and alot of fun.
Some speculate the controller issue happens if you pair them in the wrong order. Might be, I didn't understand you should start with anyone in particular 🤷😉

@CWill97
Very highly recommend playing Resi first. It’s been my most impressive game so far.

As for this, I’m sorry to hear some people have this issue. Mine was fine, as was everyone I know IRL, but I think I read about someone on this site having controller issues. Seems software based though, so I expect a patch soon.

@thefourfoldroot1 unfortunately, Resi won’t come until Monday since I bought the game disc. Shipping’s delayed a tiny bit because of a snowstorm here. But, I am glad to know it’s worth it! Been holding off on Village for a bit so I’m excited to give it a whirl. Thanks for the reassurance!

@jrt87 I've seen a few comparisons to the Quest Pro but let's be fair that costs around 3 times as much as this. The sweet spot is certainly on the small side and it has a slightly soft image but I wouldn't call it blurry. At this price point I would also argue that the benefits of HDR far outweigh the disadvantages of OLED over LCD, with significantly better colours and lighting.

If you're coming from PSVR1 this is a huge upgrade, as it is from a Quest 2, unless you're hooking that up to a high end PC

@themightyant according to polls, it’s affecting up to 30% of units so far. It’s actually a huge issue that essentially makes the headset DOA. I have the problem myself and I can’t even use my $600 machine.

@AldusRavencorn yeah it’s a huge issue. Essentially it’s unusable for 25-30% of people so far, possibly more

Mine have been perfect tbh

@Yozora146_ Hi, I have a similar issue - it looks like a scratch on the right lens that discolors all the pixels just below the center/right

A question for everyone - Did your Psvr2 come with plastic lens protectors that peel off? Mine didn’t - & maybe that’s the cause of the issue, but it looks like it might be a bit of dust inside. Also, I don’t recommend anyone store their headset in the box - the material is very flaky & sticks to it.

Additionally, I want to share that trying to get support for this via PlayStation Direct has been next to impossible - forget about right Sense controller, damaged lens, etc - there should be a news article about how hard it is to get support & then how bad the support is, once you get through. Eg, when I did eventually get through using the PSDirect live chat, I said I needed to get a replacement or refund - the person then automatically started a return request without my permission (which I can’t undo) & I was disconnected (which could’ve been due to high traffic).

Anyway, I don’t know what I’ll do now, trying to get through to support takes forever & you seem to get disconnected v.quickly. Also, there is NO other way to contact them by phone or email - you MUST use the chat for things bought from PSDirect (which means all Psvr2s). I’ll try to get them to cancel the return they did without permission, then get a refund & order from somewhere where you can actually get through to support, like Amazon when they’re available there.

Finally I’d like to say I do enjoy psvr2, RE8 & GT7 are excellent & if/when I get a working replacement, I’d love to play more games. Thanks for reading, wishing you all the best 😺🐬🚀

I think I MAY have a slight issue with my right sense controller.

When I first booted up Kayak yesterday, even though I could move the paddle, I felt the haptic feedback wasn't as strong as the left initially, but was fine later.
Then last night I went to try the Resi 8 demo and the character's right arm didn't appear at all! So couldn't even do the VR tutorial. But the buttons all worked.

All my other games: Horizon, Synth Riders, Pistol Whip, Moss 1&2 and Job Simulator + Stars Wars Tales from Galaxy's edge demo have been perfectly fine though.
Will keep testing out over the weekend to see.

No issues here thankfully. There are always reports of issues at new hardware release that get blown out of all proportion. Only one I ever experience personally was the crumbly analogue stick on my launch DualShock.

@XenonKnight Thanks for letting us know

I am one of the affected users. Everything works just fine during headset setup and configuration but I started loosing my mind when trying to play the first game - Horizon Call of the Mountain. Right after starting game you’re presented with calibration screen and a warning to clear your surroundings. Problem was, I couldn’t dismiss that warning. You’re supposed to press X on the controller to acknowledge that warning. I could see controllers floating and move around in game exactly how I moved them in real life l, but no input was being registered.
Even if you’re able to go to the next steps in game - it doesn’t mean that the issue doesn’t affect you. Once (after resetting controllers while the game was open) I was able to dismiss that warning and finally start playing the game. After long intro the game will teach you how to walk in the game, but my character couldn’t do that - now the left controller was affected and didn’t pass any inputs to the game.
You can easily investigate whether that issue affects you or not in that game. When the game is started, and you’re in its menus, every time you click any buttons they should highlight themselves on the controllers presented in game. That way I could test if my controllers needed one more reset or not.
For me it was the case for the every game I’ve tried so far.

More details about technical nature of that issue - this clearly is a software issue since at any time I can press ps button to open quick access menu, and everything works just fine in there. So looks like the system is registering controller inputs just fine, just for whatever reason don’t want to pass them into the game.
One mind boggling thing about this, is that not all of the ppl are being affected by this so many dismiss this being a software issue. IMO it’s likely that many didn’t notice this right away, and due to chip shortages in recent years, some ppl might have received slightly different internals.

Hope they release an improved version sopn with larger battery or AA-battery support.
I don’t own PSVR2 but being limited to 4hr is a but too low. And maybe include charging dock?

I've only had time to play for a few hours myself and fortunately not had any controller problems. Only had about 2 hours of battery life even after having the controllers in the dock for an hour. May well have not been seated properly, though. Been on charge for 24 hours now, I'll see what I get tonight and over the weekend.

Unlike many I have yet to been impressed with the IQ. That may be due to a combination of things, including over expectation. In all of the games I've played the social screen output is far, far superior in every way to what I see in the headset, more so than I expected. I'm not expecting IQ on par with my 65" OLED but something close(ish).

I've cleaned the lenses, done the IPD adjustment and tried moving the headset around. The image is just not sharp and has a very noticeable mura effect.

I've had a PSVR1, so I'm not a VR noob, I've got a fair idea of what I should be doing. To be fair it's quite possible that I didn't get the vertical positioning right, so never quite hit the sweet spot. The IPD setup may have fooled me into thinking it was right when it wasn't. I'll have time for another play tonight, fingers crossed I can resolve it.

I think Sony missed a trick with the setup, maybe should have a calibration grid or scene of some sort, that makes it easier to hit the sweet spot.

Part of my problem is I don't really have an IQ reference point, I'm not really sure just how good it should be. Lots of people saying it's amazing but should tunnels in GT7 look a bit foggy? Surely I should be able to read the badge or number plate on the car in front if I'm bumper to bumper with it?

CotM looks a bit flat. Lovely colours and some great HDR lighting but, just a bit flat. I was expecting things to just pop more after reading reviews and other peoples comments.

I'm not complaining, just not sure if I'm 1) doing something wrong, 2) expecting too much or 3) have some sort of fault. Probably a mix of 1 & 2!

Anyway, happy VR'ing and I hope peoples controller issues are resolved PDQ.

I’ve had no technical issues yet. The right controller has been working great, but firing arrows at Glint Hawks last night wore out my right shoulder.

I do think alot of the complaining on Reddit and other places, this particular issue aside, seems to be down to over expectation. I was in the same boat. YouTube previews and reviews seemed to give the impression it was going to be crystal clear, usually because the reviewers used words such as "crystal clear", which simply isn't true. But once you accept that and just try to enjoy the games, it's great. It's still MUCH clearly than psvr 1, and all my other issues with the original have been solved, easy setup, amazing controllers, inside out tracking etc, so once I got over the "it isn't as clear as I was led to believe" problem, I've really loved it. In fact just today I've had 3 sessions on horizon, and each and every time I've smiled when the title screen opens up and that view hits you. I guess it's just a case of keeping hype in check from now on

@AldusRavencorn You are.. 100% WRONG! I'm sitting here with my PSVR2 and completely unable to play any of the games that I've bought because my right controller won't register the "X" button presses. I was one of the first to report on that reddit thread, and it is absolutely a widespread issue. Thanks!

Sadly I have encountered this problem. Completely ruined my launch day experience as the only games I had playable were Rez Infinite and Tetris Effect. Found out about the temporary fix yesterday and though it’s extremely inconvenient to have to desync and pair the controller every single time I boot up a game it was very awesome to be able to play Horizon Call of the Mountain and Star Wars Tales of Galaxy’s Edge. I have other games to play but the inconvenience of it all just makes me not want to bother until this gets resolved. The real joke of it all is Sony wants me to send my controller back for a new one, which seems like it could take well over two weeks to possibly even a month at the worst, AND states the owner has to cover shipping charges. So I spend $600 for a VR that’s (sort of) defective out of the box and I’m paying to ship it?! Anyway I’m not even confident a replacement will work. It’s definitely software, but what I’m not sure about is if it’s the controller software or the console

@themightyant WRONG. Big issue. Can confirm. Have the issue. Many others have confirmed the issue. Thanks for your doubt!

@keediddy did you try resetting the controller while in game and syncing it back up. It definitely works for now just extremely inconvenient.

@keediddy Wrong about what exactly? At any point did I say it wasn't a problem I asked a question.

@Toypop Check the USB cable connector on top of the headset is firmly pressed in, been quite a few reports of them being disconnected or loose.

Always worth bearing in mind the most vocal are those with problems (including me), I suspect the vast majority of people are having no issues at all.

@themightyant please stop downplaying the problem just because you don’t have it. Multiple polls are showing similar numbers, and if you look at the Reddit thread, it’s not people being dramatic. They are just commenting with the problems they are having, and they all happen to be the same type of problem.

@Toypop That’s pretty much my situation too - I’ll be boxing it up this weekend & sending it back on Monday.

Also, thanks for letting us know that yours didn’t come with label covers too, & yes every other VR headset I’ve had (Vive, Quest1&2) had those covers (strangely I can’t remember if the Psvr1 had them). Cheers

@Toypop Thanks for sharing how you got through to Sony Support - I did almost the same as you - I went to a troubleshooting link for psvr2 hardware, then kept clicking “no that didn’t fix it” - & eventually it gave a phone no..Unfortunately the person didn’t tell me to get a refund via the Order Lookup site, but said the only way was thru PSD LiveChat, which has been broken 99.9% of the time.

If the replacement has any issues, I won’t even bother contacting support - I’ll go straight to the order page & either do a refund, or replacement - which thankfully once you know how to do it, is very easy.

Thanks again for sharing your experience, hopefully this will help others get any issues sorted out as efficiently as possible.

@h15c0r3r Some but not much but it may well be that I'm expecting too much or I've just lost out on the panel lottery.

From what others are saying they're seeing close to what is shown on the social screen but I can see high resolution 'noise' over everything. It's like a cross between mura, screen door and film grain and I just can't unsee it. It's present in dark and light scenes and takes the edge off the sharpness and whole experience for me.

I wouldn't worry about it and don't let my experience take anything away from your anticipation and enjoyment!

I'll see if I can return it and ask for a replacement. If not I'll just learn to live with it. At the end of the day it is a good headset.

Sometimes it seems pushing the analog sticks is inaccurate, like pressing right registers as pushing up, etc. Could just me, or I'm still adjusting to this very odd button/stick layout of these controllers...
Nevertheless, I haven't experienced the issue of the controllers not working in-game. Hopefully those affected can get them replaced quickly or Sony releases a software patch quickly.

I purchased my PSVR2 2 days ago (May 7th, 2023) and I am having the same issues described in this article, i.e. the right sense controller does not work in-game. I have to go through some hoops in order for the controller to mostly work, where it would work in game for certain actions, but not for others (such as selecting items in the in-game menus.)

Considering exchanging for another as I've read that some folks haven't had this issue when replacing with another unit.