8KX Lighthouse 2.0 Standby

Pimax Hardware P2: 8kX
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When I was running the index, I was able to set the base stations to standby / power saving mode. Basically when steamVR ran they would become active. When steamVR wasnt running they would sleep. That way there wasnt a constant whine of LH motors going on in my house 24/7.

That option seems to be gone when running the 8kx and I’m not finding much on it. Has anybody managed to get the lighthouse automatic standby to work? Plugging and Unplugging each lighthouse is gonna be a pain to do if you have to do it all the time.

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Pimax do not support that kind of thing. You should make a batch file with this manager on your own.

https://www.amazon.com/Gosund-Compatible-Required-appliances-Certified/dp/B079MFTYMV

Or you can try the smart plugs.

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Yep haha. I just found that link and was about to post it myself when I saw your reply.
That app definitely seems to be the way to go. :+1:

Edit. Actually it looks like I was looking at something else. I got confused with the picture being the same and thought you posted this same thread. There’s a phone app this guy made. Pretty cool. It’s available on the google play store. Def gonna try it tmw.

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Hi, I am faced with the same problem. I was online yesterday attempting to find a solution to this.
I had the valve and as you stated, it was connected via bluetooth and would automatically go into standby when I would shut down the PC.

I was in the new version of SteamVR and I could not find the settings anymore.

I hope there is a solution to this as it really does suck to leave the Base Stations on continuously because it will definitely wear them out.

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It’s funny you mention the smart plugs, I ordered them yesterday from Amazon and they should come today.

I would really rather have the system doing this automatically so that I don’t have to remember to turn them off, it kind of sucks as the functionally to was there before.

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I have used these for about a year now for my V1.0 Lighthouses. Very good solution. The phone app works so well i began using them for lighting also.

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I’m using a different brand and it’s a good solution. I rarely forget to turn them off, since I can see their LEDs from my desk.

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While on the subject, I notice that even though the lighthouses (V2.0) do track correctly, They have a White LED. Is that normal? I read on one of steam’s websites that they should be green. My V1.0 Light houses are Green when they are working. I contacted Steam support and they said to return them and get replacements. But maybe this is normal. Can anyone give a difinitive answer on what the correct led color should be on V2.0?
Thanks

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Mine go green

20char

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Should be green

20char

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Thank you all. 20 characters

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Mine are white also… appear to work fine

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Mine worked ok too. If you look it up on Steam, it says that white LEDs indicate that it is in Developer Mode. I contacted Steam support and they said that they need to be replaced. They would not replace them though, they said to contact Pimax for a replacement. I have an RMA being processed. I am hoping they will pay the shipping to send it back. If they do not then the incentive for me to buy from them for a better price and availability just became useless. After much back and forth with Steam support I have come to the conclusion that maybe they won’t update or will cause other problems in the future. So I am going to replace them.

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I can believe that they were shipped in development mode. Probably their (PiMax) entire stock was shipped in dev mode because Valve thought that was what they wanted. A replacement from PiMax is likely to also be in dev mode. A better solution is a firmware update that does not have dev mode enabled.

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Unfortunately Pimax isn’t able to update lighthouses firmware. We’ll need a pitool update for that (if the headsets have the required hardware already…)

I am lucky, I bought my lighthouses standalone from Scan. But I still cannot update them without an index hmd. Which, to be fair, I think is valve’s problem. The steamVR system should work with any compatible Bluetooth device, not just the one inside the index.

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When I contacted steam about the issue they did not indicate that there was any kind of fix for the units, here is a transcript of the exchange with them:

  1. I purchased 2 Steam index lighthouses. I just set them up and while they do seem to track ok, The status light is white instead of green. I see that this means they are in developer mode. How do I turn developer mode off?
  2. I cannot find the setting to turn on power saving mode. I tried SteamVR/settings but do not find that option. Where is it?
  3. in SteamVR/Devices there is an option for bluetooth. It says bluetooth is off. I have bluetooth turn on in the PC. The base stations also report it as off. How do i fix this?
    Thank you
    Message from Steam Support on Sep 23 @ 5:52pm | 1 day and 13 hours ago
    Hello,

Thank you for writing in.

If the LED is white we’ll need to replace the base station.

I’m not seeing any purchases for the Index Base Stations on this account how were they purchased?

Please provide the following information:

Full Name
Address Line 1
Address Line 2 – (this field is optional and mostly used for flat, unit, or suite numbers)
City
State
Postal Code
Phone Number
Base Station Serial Number

Serial Number located on the back of the device starting with the letters FB.

Thank you for using Steam,
Alex
Message from you on Sep 23 @ 8:19pm | 1 day and 10 hours ago
Thank you Alex. I purchased both of them from Pimax (I also have their headset).
Info you requested:
(personal info deleted)
Base station 1 Serial: FB8210259F
Base Station 2 Serial: FB8230188D

Here is a copy of the receipt.
Files attached: pimax receipt.jpg
Message from Steam Support on Sep 24 @ 1:15pm | 17 hours ago
Hey James,

Since you need a device replacement and you’ve purchased through Pimax. Please contact Pimax via their customer service portal here (click).

They will initiate the replacement process for you.

If you have any further questions, please let us know - we will be happy to assist you.

Best wishes,
Nic Siq

Message from you on Sep 24 @ 4:00pm | 3 days ago

As I Said, The lighthouses seem to function properly. What are the consequences if i just use them as is? just because they are in developer mode does not seem to make them dysfunctional. Trying to get things done through Pimax has proven to be an exercise in frustration and takes a very long time.

Message from Steam Support on Sep 25 @ 11:13am | 2 days ago

You may encounter issues using your base stations. We still recommend reaching out to Pimax for further assistance as a white LED is something we would replace.

Powered by coffee,
Max

Message from you on Sep 25 @ 12:10pm | 2 days ago

I have reached out to Pimax. So, what recourse do i have if pimax proves to be unable or unwilling to resolve the issue? Can’t i just return them to you for repair? I don’t think they are broken, the developer mode must be something that all of them have, so it should be possible to get them out of developer mode. I have a lot of experience in product development so i know this is not that complicated. I would have purchased the devices from you but you never seem to have them in stock.

Message from Steam Support on Sep 25 @ 4:34pm | 2 days ago

If you run into any issues with Pimax, feel free to provide your conversation here so we can evaluate the situation further.

If you have any further questions, please let us know.

Best wishes,
Nic Siq

Message from you on Sep 26 @ 9:43am | 1 day and 21 hours ago

I read on this site:
https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/SteamVR/Troubleshooting
Under the heading for Base stations:
Base Stations

Base Station LED States

White: Ready
Blue: Base station is still spinning up and waiting to stabilize. If it never changes from blue, check to make sure the base is mounted securely. Vibrations can cause it to be stuck in this state.
Slowly blinking white: Standby mode. Try unplugging and replugging the base station if it never wakes from this mode.
Solid or blinking purple: The base stations are having trouble seeing each other. Make sure nothing is in the way.
If the LED is off, it doesn’t have power – make sure that the power cord is plugged in and your outlet isn’t connected to a light switch that is turned off.

Clearly, there is some discrepancy between your troubleshooting section and this Help section. I have a White LED. Is that ok or not? Maybe i don’t need any help at all. The Light houses are V2.0. Can someone provide a definitive answer Please?

Message from Steam Support on Sep 26 @ 12:44pm | 1 day and 18 hours ago

The base stations should be green when operational.

The fact that they are remaining white leads us to believe that an issue may develop. However, Steam Support does not have any information as to what kind of issue or when.

That said, we suggest having Pimax replace your base station with a normal functioning base station.

I’m sorry as this is all the information that Steam Support has.

Mitchell

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IIRC, this has basically always been an issue with the Pimax headsets due to bluetooth requirement and SteamVR not accepting the shutdown signal from generic bluetooth devices.

I found a post in my wiki that gave some solutions but the probably only apply to v1 basestations.
https://community.openmr.ai/t/how-to-power-off-basestations-remotely-solved/15205

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No worries man. The solution I posted earlier is working nicely. Works like a charm.

This one works with 2.0’s. Highly recommended for those that havent tried it.

Make sure to enable wifi, bluetooth and location services when using the app. Then it’ll find the lighthouses. If it hasnt found them hit the search icon on the bottom right of the screen.

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I still have my old vive… I wonder if I can prompt a firmware update through steam via the vive for the 2.0 lighthouse. I really don’t see why PiTool should be responsible for 3rd party firmware updates, and it seems odd the option seems to disappear when the pimax is plugged in.

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I am not concerned with pitool updating the lighthouses. Steam V1.0 lighthouses (Vive) will not update to V 2.0. the hardware is very different. Also, I am not able to enable bluetooth for the V2.0 Lighthouses. It works for all other bluetooth devices on my computer, so I don’t believe it is a pc issue I will contact steam support, about it. I am currently using the wireless switch to turn them on an off.