Brand new 2021 Base Station 1.0 breaks on SteamVR firmware update?

[ROBYER1]

I bought a brand new Vive Base Station 1.0 and the serial sticker says manufactured 2021. When I go to update it, the device nearly bricks/doesn't work until I use the well-known leaked firmware reset procedure. I have checked by taking a phone pic of the sensor all appears to show correct. 

I there an issue with my device or firmware? I'm going to chase it up with support also.

[ROBYER1]

I have a support ticket number for this: 50397785

[ROBYER1]

This fixed the issue for me, support sent me a PDF guide with a guide on how to install the very latest firmware, I followed this part of the guide:

Reinstall Firmware update
The fix has worked successfully for several users, so we shipped the required files in the latest beta version of
SteamVR. You can find the files under your SteamVR install directory. The easiest way to get there is to right
click on SteamVR in Steam, select Properties, click on the Local Files tab and Browse Local Files... Once there
the firmware files is in:
tools\lighthouse\firmware\lighthouse_tx\archive\htc_2.0
You will need two files:
1) lighthouse_tx_htc_2_0-calibration-rescue-244.bin
2) lighthouse_tx_htc_2.0-436-2016-09-20.bin
The procedure consists in upgrading the system manually twice, once with the fix-up firmware
(lighthouse_tx_htc_2_0-calibration-rescue-244.bin) which will try to fix the base station, then again with the
current latest firmware (lighthouse_tx_htc_2.0-436-2016-09-20.bin).
1. Unplug the power adapter from the power outlet.
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2. Unplug the power adapter from the back of the Base Station.
3. Connect the Base Station to the computer with a USB cable.
4. Press and hold the channel button.
5. Connect the power adapter to the back of the Base Station and then plug it into a working power outlet.
6. You can release the button once it enumerates as a USB mass storage device
7. On the computer, you will see a new device displayed called CRP DISABLD.
8. Open it and delete the file firmware.bin.
9. On the computer, go to the installation folder of SteamVR.
Navigate to the folder with the firmware version 436. The folder path is as follows:
SteamVR\tools\lighthouse\firmware\lighthouse_tx\archive\htc_2.0
10. Copy lighthouse_tx_htc_2_0-calibration-rescue-244.bin and place it in CRP DISABLD.
11. Wait for about 1 minute, and then remove the USB cable. It should rapidly flash green or red. Green
means it succeeded.
12. If it is flashing red that means it couldn’t automatically fix it and you will need to contact VIVE Support for
available repairs options.
13. If it flashes Green then unplug the power again.
14. Repeat the steps 1 through 10 but using the lighthouse_tx_htc_2.0-436-2016-09-20.bin firmware file
instead of the rescue one.
The base station should now be working again, confirm by setting its mode to "A" and tracking with it alone (the
other base station should be turned off). Once it is confirmed working you can add back the other base station.

[HackPerception]

@ROBYER1 If I'm following, I believe this is one of the common misconceptions about base stations.

In essence, the early versions of the 1.0 base station firmware did not have error detection/correction. That means that a 1.0 basestation can spew out bad tracking data but SteamVR won't show an error message, and the station won't stop itself from spewing out laser data.

Newer firmware will detect there is a problem, stop the station from emitting laser data, and then send an error message to SteamVR so your altered.

In context, people who commonly update to the newer firmware and hit error messages try to revert to the original firmware using the procedure above. While it gets rid of the error message, the station can function improperly and spew out tons of bad data.

If your station is a 2021 purchase, it's potentially still under warranty. I would scrape the S/N off the back and contact live chat at www.vive.com/support -> Contact Us -> Contact Us and see if you can just get that replaced.

[ROBYER1]

@HackPerception That guide I followed was to install (what I was told on the guide) is the latest version of the firmware for the Base Station. It runs totally fine then using the latest firmware through that installation method.

I also checked using a phone camera that the lights and motors are correct which they are.

This leads me to believe that there is a common fault with the SteamVR update firmware process for the Base Station 1.0 models at least as the issue was reproducible repeatedly.

Luckily the base station is updated via the manual method above and working fine. I hope this post helps others as all I was seeing is the posts about it being a hardware fault when the hardware checks all passed for me!

 

[fweiper]

this seems to work for many users, but 

>>  4. Press and hold the channel button.
>> 5. Connect the power adapter to the back of the Base Station and then plug it into a working power outlet.
>> 6. You can release the button once it enumerates as a USB mass storage device
>> 7. On the computer, you will see a new device displayed called CRP DISABLD.

there is no such channel button on the model 1004, and the device is not showing up as USB drive ..
any hints?