Help! Can VAM "brick" a headset?

[garibaldi18]

So I got a Samsung Odyssey Plus to use VAM in VR (and play games of course) and am super frustrated, again.

This summer after a few weeks of used the Odyssey died...it stopped being recognized by my PC and the only thing showing up in my device manager was "Westbridge". A forum search online indicated this was a fatal firmware error and that I just had to get my HMD replaced.

So, I did so, went to ship it away, waited two weeks, got the new headset, and just a few weeks later the same problem happened again! I had just loaded VAM, and then after loading a look, the screen froze on my HMD (but VAM itself continued to work fine). Now I have the same problem again--my PC cannot recognize the HMD at all, except for "Westbridge" showing up again.

I am super frustrated. I still have my one-year warranty, but I don't want to go through the whole process AGAIN and then have it die in the same way a third time. It is too late to return the device.

I am going to call Samsung on Monday but am wondering whether this has happened to anyone else? I am wondering why it would suddenly die using VAM. Can using the software somehow kill the HMD's firmware? I was using a look, "Gigi", from Ren, which for some reason frequently makes my headset crash--but normally I can just restart it and it works okay. Now it's just a brick.

Thanks for any thoughts to alleviate my frustration.

 

[MacGruber]

Software killing Firmware is pretty much impossible. VaM might cause your PC to overheat, but every CPU and GPU has temp sensors to prevent that, at worst case you crash....let it cool down, reboot, all fine. More likely you just get very low FPS as CPU/GPU throttle down, it would not even crash.

Of course, if you run plugins in VaM they could theoretically be malicious. This is why VaM has some security measures to make that kind of thing harder, but it is impossible to prevent in an environment where you can load arbitrary script code. However, VaM is really niche...as long as people click on links in spam mails there are easier ways to install bitcoin miners and ransomware. And its not like anyone gains money from bricking your device. So that is not really realistic either.

In summary, sounds like shitty firmware and a problem for Samsung to fix.

 

[TToby]

Simply NO! Sorry to say this, but this sounds like a firmware or even hardware failure. I had a similar issue with my Index, but for me it was a (invisibly) broken HMD cable, for instance.

 

[garibaldi18]

Thanks, TToby and MacGruber. HMD is across the country being repaired. In the meantime, I have bought a powered USB Hub. My theory is that something in my computer is somehow frying the HMD and its firmware. The hope is that by powering the HMD through the HUB, this will protect it and stop future problems. We will see...