Tracker Losing battery 30% faster then other trackers?

Support
#1

Hello,

I’m really happy with how quality and how well the tundratrackers track in VR.

One issue that I’m having atm is that while 2 of my trackers last pretty long and lose there battery life at the same rate, the last one loses it’s battery life way faster. I haven’t exactly messured it, but it should be around 30 % faster then the other ones.

After playing and checking once in a while, 10 % lower then the other 2, then 20 % lower, etc until i have to charge them, while the other 2 still have a lot of power in them.

What’s up with this tracker? Anyone that can help me?

2 Likes
#2

Having this issue with one tracker as well, of the 3 I use one of them is consistently 8-10%+ lower in battery over a 2 hour session than the others, they all get charged for 24hr between sessions, they all get turned on at the same time, one is always dying faster than the rest.

To put it in perspective, two of them pretty much always match my Index Knuckles and Vive Wand 2.0’s in battery percentage, the third is always draining significantly faster, it also seems to track 0.5-1" higher than it actually is in reality.

#3

Hi Xipher, TheVoid,

Hmmm, this is a strange issue. Are you always using the tracker on the waist or left foot or right foot? Have you tried changing the role of the tracker from waist to left foot? Or trying to use a higher-power tracker in the spot where it is lower powered?

Please try switching and let us know. It could be that at a certain role/position, the sensors are working extra hard to track and thus the battery drains faster.

#4

Hey jason,

The tracker was first assigned to my right foot when I noticed this issue. after a while i switched it to my waist / hips to see if this would resolve it, but it’s still behaving the same as before. Charge it to 100% while the other 2 started at 70%. after like 3h all are around 50%.

I remember something in the kickstarter updates where was spoken about upgrading and changing the battery to a better one. Is there a chance that maybe i got my hands on one with the previous battery?

#5

Hi @TheVoid

​Would you be willing to try running this script and copy and past the output back to me:

EDIT: Link has been removed while we work through some improvements to this script… For now, do not use the HWID_Check tool!

I think that the battery issue is related to a problem where some devices did not get the correct ID programmed into them at our factory.

This script will als go ahead and repair the ID issue if it identifies it. It will also update the device bootloader.

Still very important that you do not have any other SteamVR devices connected to your PC when running. Please unplug your HMD, controllers, anything else.

#6

Here is the output I got:

This script can cause damage to SteamVR devices that are not Tundra Tracker
Are you sure that only one Tundra tracker is connected to your PC and no other devices are connected? (y)es, (n)o: y

Verifying compatibility, please wait...

Device Serial number is lhr-049b5802
Device Bootloader Version is 1622649182
Bootloader version is outdated, would you like to update? (y)es, (n)o: y

-- Updating Bootloader --
Version:  lighthouse_watchman_update.exe (buildbot_vortex-windows_steamvr_rel_win32@vortex-windows)  07006578
HID opened: VID 28de PID 2301 serial LHR-049B5802 seq 1 | if 0

Waiting for 0 seconds, press CTRL+C to quit ...
Version:  lighthouse_watchman_update.exe (buildbot_vortex-windows_steamvr_rel_win32@vortex-windows)  07006578
Searching for devices with  SN lhr-049b5802 and HWID matching 0xf0000109
Found 1 matching device
Serial: LHR-049B5802, PID: 2300, HWID: f0000109 (unknown)
Updating device: 1 of 1
Serial: LHR-049B5802, PID: 2300, HWID: f0000109 (unknown)
Attempting to update WATCHMAN v3 (target: 1) via application
Computed checksum (offset 0): 00000000
Starting update...
Sending data...
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Done
Sending reset command
Successfully updated firmware.
Waiting for firmware to apply update...
Done

Waiting for 0 seconds, press CTRL+C to quit ...
Verifying compatibility, please wait...

Device Serial number is lhr-049b5802
Device Bootloader Version is 1637337510
Device HWID is f0000109
HWID needs to be updated, would you like to update? (y)es, (n)o: y
Version:  lighthouse_watchman_update.exe (buildbot_vortex-windows_steamvr_rel_win32@vortex-windows)  07006578
HID opened: VID 28de PID 2301 serial LHR-049B5802 seq 1 | if 0
Sent the set board revision command. Resetting...
Verifying compatibility, please wait...

Device Serial number is lhr-049b5802
Device Bootloader Version is 1637337510
Device HWID is f1030009
This is the correct HWID for Tundra Tracker

Compatibility checks passed.
Version:  lighthouse_watchman_update.exe (buildbot_vortex-windows_steamvr_rel_win32@vortex-windows)  07006578
HID opened: VID 28de PID 2301 serial LHR-049B5802 seq 1 | if 0
Press Enter to quit...

I have not verified if this fixed the issue. Will see in my next vr session in a day. However, when I ran the script for my other 2 trackers that were not draining as quick I got similar results and updated them.

#7

CAUTION:
Don’t use this tool on tundra trackers that have never been connected to SteamVR and never had their firmware updated to the latest release.

I temporarily bricked two of my trackers because they were still on the old factory firmware.
After updating the bootloader with this tool, they got stuck in bootloader mode (rapidly flashing red led) since I assume it could not boot the old firmware.

If this happened to you, then you need to connect the tracker via usb again and then:

  1. Re-run the run_hwid_check.bat and note down the serial number of your tracker (if you don’t already have it)
  2. Copy the tundra-tracker_application_vXXXXXXXXX.fw from Steam\steamapps\common\SteamVR\drivers\tundra_labs\resources\firmware\tracker into the folder where you ran the batch file from
    (You will only have that firmware image if you successfully connected another tundra tracker to steamVR at least once and updated it).
  3. Open a commandshell in the same folder that you ran the batch file from and run lighthouse_watchman_update.exe -s *your_serial_number_here* --target=application tundra-tracker_application_vXXXXXXXXXX.fw

This will flash the tracker to the newest firmware, after which it will stop being bricked.

@lgbeno You guys need to include a check in your tool that makes sure it won’t execute if the trackers run outdated factory firmware, or update that as well then.

1 Like
#9

@Dukerax thank you for raising this. I need to think about how to best address this. Can you share what country you are in and roughly when you received the trackers? You must have received a tracker with quite an old version of firmware in your device to cause this to happen.

Are you having other issues with this tracker?

With the script as it is, I’m trying to put ample checks in place to prevent a scenerio of fully bricking a tracker.

To your very vaild point, yes it could get stuck in bootloader (rapid flashing red LED) if the application firmware does not recognize the f1030009 HWID. I think this is what happend here.

In this case we would need to do exactly what yoy did and manually re-flash the application.

I’m reluctant to wholesale start flashing the firmware in this tool because I’d prefer that application flashes always come from Steam where it is safer. That being said, it would need to be flashed before running this tool. After running this tool application could only be flashed manually.

So in the end, I think that I should add a check to the application firmware revision and prevent the script from running if it is less than one of the known safe application revisions.

Thanks for raising this!

-Luke

#11

Restarting the PC will allow you to update the tracker afterwards. Although I’m not quite sure where the problem lies. This looks more to be a bug within the update software from Valve, as doing anything else in between will ‘clear’ the previous attempt and allow the tracker to be updated.

#12

Sure thing!
I’m in Germany and I received my SW7 bundle on the 25th last month.

All of the trackers in my bundle had outdated bootloaders and HWIDs as per your tool (they had bootloader version 1622649182 and HWID f0000109), and 5 out of the 7 needed a firmware update via Steam.

I don’t have any issues with the trackers so far, all seem to do what they’re supposed to now.

#13

Probably not a bug in the Valve software, probably in the batch script.

Anytime that you see the LHR BL you should uplug your tracker. Press and hold the button for ~14seconds

This is a hard shutdown handled only by hardware.

when you reconnect by USB. If the device can boot to application, it will otherwise it will revert to BL

#14
Old comment

Yup, did that. But as soon as the -bw3 command ran the tracker defaulted back to LHR BL, unable to access it again until reset with SteamVR. Restarting the PC or doing other things like checking if the HMD was updateable with l_w_update allowed the script to run normally.

It seems like the timing inside the script was too short and the tracker was not able to update in time. Ignore what I said.

#15

Yes -bw3 command is what forces the tracker into bootloader.

Then -aw3 dumps out the hwid and bootloader revision info

-Rw3 jumps back to the application

#16
Old comment

Yes, but it fails. The tracker crashes while going into bootloader, giving out a HWID of 0x0 once the -a command dumps the information.

This also happens to updated tackers.

Tested some more things.
Ignore what I said.

#17

I had one of my trackers replaced due to faulty tracking, and my 3 current trackers all have inconsistent battery life. One seems to last nearly twice as long as my Index controllers, while another lasts about the same, and the third lasts a bit less. At least I THINK it does, because I notice that the battery indicator on OVR Toolkit shows a low percentage after a short time, but then the rate it drains from there seems to slow down.

I am aware you all are still working on this issue, so I am not worried. I am curious if this is something that might be resolved through a firmware update, or would require a hardware change?

1 Like
#18

@Keigun has been making a lot of improvements to this script. Can you give it a try?

Please Remember to unplug all other VR device from your PC like HMD and controllers!

Paste back the results of this script. I’m trying to determine if a incorectly setup HWID and firmware update can improve this issue. The script will do both.

-Luke

2 Likes
#19

To come back on this topic, because i started it.

I tried the first version of the script, because I only had 1 tracker with issues. I can say that it has been fixed for me. All my trackers lose battery at the same rate now. I’m enjoying every bit of my trackers now!

Thank you very much for the support and keep up the good work!

#20

I’ve ran the script on my 3 Tundra trackers, here are the results.
Looks like 2 of them had to have their bootloader updated, but all three had some sort of “error” during the process.

I’ll charge them and see if there is any change in the battery.

-- Device status --

Device serial number is lhr-b689400a

Device HWID is 0xf0000109
This is an older HWID and should be updated.

HWID needs to be updated, would you like to update? (y)es, (n)o: y

Version:  lighthouse_watchman_update.exe (buildbot_vortex-windows_steamvr_rel_win32@vortex-windows)  07006578
HID opened: VID 28de PID 2301 serial LHR-B689400A seq 1 | if 0
Sent the set board revision command. Resetting...

Do not unplug the device at any point!

Verifying device data, please wait...


-- Device status --

Device serial number is lhr-b689400a

Device HWID is 0xf1030009
This is the correct HWID for Tundra Tracker.

Device firmware version is v0
Firmware version could not be identified, quit for safety!

Resetting device, please wait...

Device is now safe to unplug!

-- Device status --

Device serial number is lhr-0447bde2

Device HWID is 0xf0000109
This is an older HWID and should be updated.

HWID needs to be updated, would you like to update? (y)es, (n)o: y

Version:  lighthouse_watchman_update.exe (buildbot_vortex-windows_steamvr_rel_win32@vortex-windows)  07006578
HID opened: VID 28de PID 2301 serial LHR-0447BDE2 seq 1 | if 0
Sent the set board revision command. Resetting...

Do not unplug the device at any point!

Verifying device data, please wait...


-- Device status --

Device serial number is lhr-0447bde2

Device HWID is 0xf1030009
This is the correct HWID for Tundra Tracker.

Device firmware version is v1637337510
This is the correct firmware version for Tundra Tracker.

Device bootloader version is v1622649182
This is a older bootloader version for Tundra Tracker.

Bootloader version is outdated, would you like to update? (y)es, (n)o: y

-- Updating bootloader --
Version:  lighthouse_watchman_update.exe (buildbot_vortex-windows_steamvr_rel_win32@vortex-windows)  07006578
Searching for devices with  SN lhr-0447bde2 and HWID matching 0xf1030009
Found 1 matching device
Serial: LHR-0447BDE2, PID: 2300, HWID: f1030009 (unknown)
Updating device: 1 of 1
Serial: LHR-0447BDE2, PID: 2300, HWID: f1030009 (unknown)
Attempting to update WATCHMAN v3 (target: 1) via application
Computed checksum (offset 0): 00000000
Starting update...
Sending data...
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Done
Sending reset command
Successfully updated firmware.
Waiting for firmware to apply update...
Done

Do not unplug the device at any point!

Verifying device data, please wait...


-- Device status --

Device serial number is lhr-0447bde2

Device HWID is 0xf1030009
This is the correct HWID for Tundra Tracker.

Device firmware version is v1637337510
This is the correct firmware version for Tundra Tracker.

Device bootloader version is v1637337510
This is a newer than expected bootloader version for Tundra Tracker, quit for safety!

Resetting device, please wait...

Device is now safe to unplug!

-- Device status --

Device serial number is lhr-d29c9910

Device HWID is 0xf0000109
This is an older HWID and should be updated.

HWID needs to be updated, would you like to update? (y)es, (n)o: y

Version:  lighthouse_watchman_update.exe (buildbot_vortex-windows_steamvr_rel_win32@vortex-windows)  07006578
HID opened: VID 28de PID 2301 serial LHR-D29C9910 seq 1 | if 0
Sent the set board revision command. Resetting...

Do not unplug the device at any point!

Verifying device data, please wait...


-- Device status --

Device serial number is lhr-d29c9910

Device HWID is 0xf1030009
This is the correct HWID for Tundra Tracker.

Device firmware version is v1637337510
This is the correct firmware version for Tundra Tracker.

Device bootloader version is v1622649182
This is a older bootloader version for Tundra Tracker.

Bootloader version is outdated, would you like to update? (y)es, (n)o: y

-- Updating bootloader --
Version:  lighthouse_watchman_update.exe (buildbot_vortex-windows_steamvr_rel_win32@vortex-windows)  07006578
Searching for devices with  SN lhr-d29c9910 and HWID matching 0xf1030009
Found 1 matching device
Serial: LHR-D29C9910, PID: 2300, HWID: f1030009 (unknown)
Updating device: 1 of 1
Serial: LHR-D29C9910, PID: 2300, HWID: f1030009 (unknown)
Attempting to update WATCHMAN v3 (target: 1) via application
Computed checksum (offset 0): 00000000
Starting update...
Sending data...
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Done
Sending reset command
Successfully updated firmware.
Waiting for firmware to apply update...
Done

Do not unplug the device at any point!

Verifying device data, please wait...


-- Device status --

Device serial number is lhr-d29c9910

Device HWID is 0xf1030009
This is the correct HWID for Tundra Tracker.

Device firmware version is v1637337510
This is the correct firmware version for Tundra Tracker.

Device bootloader version is v1637337510
This is a newer than expected bootloader version for Tundra Tracker, quit for safety!

Resetting device, please wait...

Device is now safe to unplug!
#21

The “error” newer than expected bootloader is normal as the script checks for a lower version number.
The only tracker that has an actual error is the first one, lhr-b689400a, as that one couldn’t be correctly identified. Do you mind rerunning the script on that one to see if it possibly disconnected during the check?

#22

Thanks for the suggestion, I ran it again and it was able to update the bootloader and is at a similar state to the other two. I’ll have the oppurtunity later today to see how the battery display has changed.

1 Like