Well... this is pretty disconcerting.

My return window for the Frame ends this Monday. Having doubts, I ordered a Quest 3 on Amazon to compare the two.

The Quest 3 arrived and I just did a back-to-back session with the Frame right after.

First observation: visually, the Quest 3 is indeed sharper, and it’s really nice. No blur, no distortion, that’s undeniable.
The Quest 3 is also much less comfortable to wear than the Frame. That said, I’m using the stock strap, but on the face, the Frame is far more pleasant.

As for passthrough, it’s simple: I never took the Quest 3 off my face, and I was able to use my PC and my smartphone without removing it.

The built-in games run well on the Quest, then I installed Steam Link... And when I launched it, I couldn’t help questioning the point of the Frame, because I literally ended up with the same interface. That was literally the first thing that came to mind. Okay, it’s PCVR, but still, it’s the same damn interface.

So I launched Half-Life: Alyx. Okay, there’s no finger tracking in the game, but everything is incredibly easy, easier than with the Frame’s controllers, though that’s probably because I don’t have the ergonomic kit and so don’t have the hand straps. I’m at the part where they throw a pistol magazine at you through the window. Over several attempts, I didn’t miss a single one with the Quest, whereas I miss a few with the Frame.
On the Quest, I didn’t feel any latency, at least no more than with the Frame and its 6 GHz dongle. Everything was perfectly stable.

I still need to test Beat Saber and 2D games via Steam Link, but I’ve put the Quest 3 on charge. I also need to test Lone Echo.
With the Frame in PCVR, on Beat Saber and Lone Echo, the image jumps a lot: it shifts slightly and quickly before snapping back into place, as if my position was getting desynchronized.

I think that will be the final test.

So, as much as I love Valve and believe in them, and as much as I dislike Facebook (and by extension Meta), I’m seriously starting to wonder what the Steam Frame offers on top of this to justify the price gap, apart from being able to run SteamOS, with 2D games, the desktop, etc.

I tried running normal CitraVR via lepton but it failed on some requirements.

Someone has forked it for the frame. I tested Mario 3D world and it was running at 100fps plus so it seems pretty good so far.

Hey guys! After spending a lot of time working on this project, improving it, and fixing issue after issue, I finally decided that it’s time to open-source it and let everyone use it.

The project now works fully standalone and includes:

• Controller tracking
• Headset tracking
• Hand tracking
• Proton and FEX support
• Streaming support for both VR and non-VR games
• Standalone VR games
• Standalone non-VR games
• A desktop environment with Flatpak and Chromium
• Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support
• Steam sign-in through the Steam mobile app
• Fully working passthrough
• VR view sharing
• Gamepad mode for controller
• USB connectivity for streaming

For the games I tested so far:

VTOL VR runs standalone at around 10–15 FPS.

Celeste runs at a stable 60 FPS.

VRChat currently doesn’t launch because of an issue with the Steam Frame Lepton package, and the Windows version also runs into anti-cheat problems.

I’m really happy with how the project has turned out, and I hope you’ll enjoy experimenting with it too.

Contributions are more than welcome. If you think the project is cool, or you simply want to support the work, the best thing you can do is star the repository. It genuinely helps a lot.

For now, you’ll need to compile the app yourself because I’ve run out of GitHub Actions usage, but I’ll work on making prebuilt releases available again.

Huge thanks to everyone who followed the project and showed interest.

Repo: https://github.com/amichyrpi/stearlight

putting a towel on it to prevent it from getting dusty

i bought a plano lenses from amvr and a prescription lenses from widmovr. widmo case on the left of the first picture ( just a cardboard case plus plastic soft padding ), amvr on the right ( way more sturdy case with a lot more protection, plus a cloth and a frame lens protector! ). in the second pics you'll see the morbid padding in the widmovr lenses, absent in the amvr ones. the amvr are more 'loose' to install and remove, they both stay still during use tho. third and fourth photo are them installed. the amvr ones doesn't block the ir light, they have a cut out. the widmovr have more presence over that ( this is the updated mounting for this lenses i think ) but even with this, foveated streaming seems to work, at least i can't see differences during use between the two.

Pumped on how this turned out. Not sure how I’m gonna integrate power though.

I was lucky enough to order my 256GB Steam Frame Kit in Germany during the first wave, but I still haven't received anything.

Honestly, I don't know what to do next.

My first shipment was marked as delivered by GLS, but I never received it. The name listed as the person who received the package wasn't even correct (lots of spelling errors).

After contacting Steam Support, they agreed to send me a replacement. Before they shipped it, I explicitly warned them that I'd had problems with DPD and GLS in the past, with drivers leaving packages unattended in the hallway even though I'd never given permission for that (which is required for unattended delivery in Germany).

I asked if they could use DHL instead, but Steam Support told me they couldn't change the carrier and shipped the replacement via GLS anyway.

GLS marked the replacement as delivered too, but even though I was home the entire day, nobody rang the bell or handed me a package.

I checked with all my neighbours, and none of them received it either. I also contacted GLS directly, but they told me there was nothing they could do on my end and that Steam would need to initiate an investigation.

Steam's final response was that GLS had confirmed successful delivery, so they wouldn't offer another replacement or a refund. They then closed my support ticket.

What frustrates me the most is that I specifically warned Steam about this exact problem before they shipped the replacement. And so far, I haven't been shown a signature, delivery photo, or any other evidence that the package was actually handed over to me or one of my neighbours.

As far as I understand German consumer law, the seller is responsible for the package until it's properly delivered to the buyer.

Steam suggested contacting my payment provider, PayPal. The problem is that I've had my Steam account for years and own over 1,000 games. I'm worried that opening a payment dispute could get my account restricted, which is the last thing I want.

I do appreciate that Steam initially tried to help by sending a replacement. But being left without either the headset or my €1,000+ after two failed deliveries is incredibly frustrating.

Has anyone here experienced something similar with Steam hardware orders?

Is there any way to escalate a closed Steam Support ticket or get someone to actually look into the delivery evidence?

I'd much rather sort this out directly with Valve than have to go through PayPal or take legal action.

TL;DR: Bought a 256GB Steam Frame Kit for over €1,000. GLS marked it as delivered, but I never got it. Valve sent a replacement through GLS despite me warning them about previous delivery issues. That package also went missing. Steam now refuses a refund or another replacement and closed my ticket. Looking for advice on how to escalate this without risking my Steam account.

EDIT: One detail I forgot to mention: I wasn't even informed that the replacement had shipped. Steam's order page still showed it as waiting for pickup, and I hadn't received a tracking number or shipping notification. I only got the GLS tracking number from Steam Support days after GLS claimed the package had already been delivered.

So not only did the replacement go missing, I didn't even know it was on its way until after it had supposedly been delivered.

Here's the link (no affiliate) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQ5MGG51

I used this for 8 hours yesterday while charging, never got warm and the 2.4Ghz dongle for the keyboard had no issues.

Someone on Discord mentioned that this one, https://www.amazon.com/BUISAMG-USB-HUB-Laptop-MacBook/dp/B0GQT9FNBY, which I originally intended to purchase, has flaky performance.

This one was also suggested as working but is $40 in exchange for more ports: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHBFDFWC

I've also tested this one as working if you want a 3.5mm jack for headphones:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FX4PHQNZ

Twitch support coming soon, once I finish the rest of the YouTube features

GitHub Repo Link

I have come to bid many of you sooners goodbye as I have moved on to greener pastures. I have gone on to join a new group of sooners. My 256GB purchase email arrived this morning (Australia) and I have confirmed my purchase. It is now a question of how soon my frame arrives.

It has been a pleasure sooning with you all.

Installed the recline-vr plugin to my steam frame. It works. I am not the author but an avid lie-downer that just wants to play no man’s sky (and not capitalize game names?).

GitHub link is here: https://github.com/new-waifu/Recline-VR

In the readme there are specific install instructions for the frame. The restart vr did t work in console but can confirm restarting the headset got the icon to appear. The shortcut works. Streaming from PC to the frame still respects the settings. Had to muck with the standing height a bit so I could play.

Was able to play No Man’s Sky, Cubism, and Brutalistick.

Hello! A while ago I posted that I was going to return the Frame because the Wireless adapter wouldn't stream. I tried every solution/fix posted online (except for the download from github). I eventually tested it on another pc but I had the same problem (pairing worked, but stuck on waiting for adapter, white light on adapter flashing). I was very frustrated...

I couldn't go through with it however because I was having a lot of fun playing standalone. It was my first VR experience so I was very impressed by VR as a whole! And now, probably with this update (Or an earlier one, because I stopped trying a while ago) after trying to connect to the adapter again, it works! For now ;-)

Just posting to let everyone with the same problem as me know to maybe try again!

SteamVR:

• Fix crashes at startup with certain games.
• Fix occasional crash when unblocking previously-blocked add-ons in VR settings. 

Steam Link:

• Speculative fix for ~300ms gaps in frame delivery in some packet-loss situations.

I wonder whether I should start bothering them more. Support people seemed nice and helpful but it has been incredibly slooow compared to previous experiences.

My Frame has arrived with a screen filled with swathes of dead pixels.

I started RMA 2nd Oct. Each interaction had 1-2 days of wait time. They received my frame 5 days ago (package was held at the airport for a week in the meantime, not my fault, I used their label). There's still no acknowledgement of receiving it or sending back new/repaired one.

Given the original delivery time line it will probably take 4 weeks overall even if they prepare to send it in Monday.

How long did the process take overall for you?

How long did it take between sent package arrival in their location to them sending back working device?

Double pressing the Steam button for passthrough with long nails is annoying, so I made KnockThru! Knock twice and passthrough turns on or off. Knock 3 times to switch between translucent and opaque.

It's meant as an accessibility thing, so if hitting that small button twice is hard for you for whatever reason, give it a try :)

You can knock the controllers together, on a table, or on the headset. It adds a tab to the SteamVR dashboard where you can turn each one off, calibrate if your knocks are soft, and turn knocks off for a specific game if it keeps going off. Updates and bug reports work from inside the headset too.

To install you need Developer Mode and CEF Remote Debugging on (it uses that to press the Room View button), then use the FrameDrop button, Frameloader, or the one line command in Konsole. Instructions: https://github.com/VioletTides/KnockThru#install

I played some HL Alyx, Beat Saber, and Into the Radius 2 with it running and it never toggled by accident. If it misfires for you or knocking doesn't work for you, make an issue: https://github.com/VioletTides/KnockThru/issues

It's free and open source, and I used coding agents to help build it. Hope it helps someone!

I love floating windows around my room when I use SteamVR; however, when streaming from my PC, windows that are “Floating in Room” disappear when Room View is enabled. Is this by design or is this a bug? I just got the Frame yesterday so I’m not sure if it worked before.

Sat 17 October at 7:42am AEST. Replacement kit was out of stock sadly

I've had consistent connection issues with the streaming dongle. Maybe 1 out of 10 sessions it connected without an issue and all other times I struggled with it until it worked or I gave up. No consistent fix, factory reset frame, opted into the beta branches, edited network settings in device manager. Didn't know what I was doing wrong.

But recently it has connected 10/10 times with no issue. Thank you Valve for figuring out something that I was not able to fix, now the only friction point I had with the device is resolved.

Hey guys! Finally got my frame today after a very long shipping process!

I went through a bunch of posts looking for advice but it was very fragmented so I thought I'd ask.

Please let me know how to setup the frame for the best e experience. I want to get the maximum performance out of it. I know people were switching to experimental builds etc in the first few weeks.

Initially I'm going to be using it mostly standalone so like what's the optimal refresh rate and other settings for standalone mode?

Also I had some controls issues that I couldn't figure out. I have half-life alyx which I have previously played 2 years ago via a psvr2 headset but the issue is I fired up the game, I have the gun in my left hand because I'm left handed but the movement defaults to the right joystick which is aweful and nauseating. I fiddled with the vr controls but I could not switch movement back to the left controller. I know this is possible because that's how I set it up when playing on PC.

Another thing I noticed is I fired up some 2d games that are flagged as optimized for frame but the control mapping was completely wonky again. Is there anything I can do to fix this or is it normal to have to remap controls manually.

I've been pretty disappointed with the visuals on my frame. I did some side by side with my Quest 3 and it just seems like the lens quality in the Q3 makes for a better experience. But along the way, I tried some different things, and the fix that made the biggest difference on the frame was really tightening the strap and getting it my eyes closer to the lenses. Increased the clarity a ton.

It's a comfort sacrifice with the tightness and my eye lashes touching the lenses (knowing what I know now, I wouldn't buy a frame until the enthusiast kit comes out with a better strap), but it helped a lot.

I've been having an absolute blast with some flat games like fallout new Vegas and command and conquer remastered. What games have you been enjoying? Can be flat or VR, just genuinely curious what people are playing.

Unfortunately I'm still on the reservation list so the box is empty.

Edit: The case is an Apache 3800 from Harbor Freight inspired by whoever posted one a few weeks ago. Name card and logo are 3D printed. I swapped the orange latches from a black Apache case to this one.