Valve Index HMD sparkling coloured pixels

Channel:

asktoby

Subscribers:

594

Published on March 5, 2022 2:23:40 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qznT8lx3QJU

Duration: 0:02

493 views

3

My HMD has started displaying scattered coloured pixels, they are most noticeable when looking at a dark background.
I am getting occasional crack sounds from one or other of the earphones, approx once per minute.
Occasionally the HMD screens go entirely black (like they are off) although SteamVR says it is still tracking. Restarting the headset by right-clicking it in SteamVR brings the screens back on again.
I have tried plugging the HMD into an alternative DP port on my GPU and the sparkles are still there. I've also removed and reseated the breakaway cable, and I have removed and reseated the cable where it connects to the HMD.

Valve think it's the tether cable failing, but I'm out of warranty and it's £119.00 to replace ("Valve Index Replacement Tether")
As a stop-gap I went to [Settings - Video - DisplayPort Training Mode]. There are two options for DisplayPort training. The first option made it slightly better, the second option made it slightly better again, so that the speaker crackles only happened every few minutes and the sparkles were less noticeable, but not gone altogether. I'm going to put up with it for now, if it gets worse I'll consider replacing the cable.