Broadcom Bluetooth drivers and Win 11 22H2 security situation.

[Saltgrass]

It seems if you have Win 11 22H2 with certain Virtual security options enabled, such as Memory Integrity, there is has a problem with the Broadcom Bluetooth 4.1 drivers (BCM20703).  I am just wondering if there is or will be a replacement driver soon?  

I just reinstalled the Cosmos Elite on a clean system and it refused to install until I turned off Memory Integrity.   That driver is probably used by many of the headset installs.

Does anyone know if the newer headsets use a different Bluetooth driver?

Thanks for reading

[XanderF]

It is normal, since April 2018 update of Windows 10, to have Memory Integrity/Core Isolation enabled on new installs of Windows operating systems.  The btwusb.sys driver (mentioned in the OP) provided for HTC Vive and Vive Cosmos headsets prevents this setting from being enabled.  HTC has been made aware of this issue countless times since then.

Is there a reason why HTC expects me to spend hundreds of dollars for a VR headset and at the same time not provide an updated (read compatible) driver that conforms to the HVCI requirements that have been expected for the past four years?

 If I were to be infected with malware because of a BYOVD exploit because I was unable to implement the proper security measure will HTC reimburse my losses?  I think not.

I apologize for the somewhat unreasonable tone in this message, but I am seriously wondering why I must choose between enjoying my HTC VR device or having a secure computer.

While I would like to hope that HTC will provide a properly signed driver, I'm not going to hold my breath.

[ROBYER1]

On 10/15/2022 at 4:56 AM, XanderF said:

HTC has been made aware of this issue countless times since then.

Is there a support request number for this? I'm going to chase this up now and update back with what I hear from support otherwise.

[ROBYER1]

So I ended up reporting this to HTC Vive Support and jumping through all the support hoops only to get the issue recognised but also to be given this dead-end suggestion when they told me it was outside of their scope and that the only place to get this raised is the forums.

"Regarding your case, I am afraid that I don't want to overpromise you something since this matter is outside the scope of our support. The forums are not something I can control, as they have their own support. You can try to repost again. However, I'm not sure if you would get a sufficient answer or not."

Is there anyone I can contact directly at HTC about this?!

HTC Vive Support Ticket: 50502861

[XanderF]

That was pretty much the result I've been getting for years.  Support kicks the can to another channel which goes basically ignored (here, /r/vive, etc.).  I am very disappointed and am unlikely to choose HTC products in the future if this is the kind of support I can expect.

[ROBYER1]

@C.T. I'm really sorry to nudge you here but is there any way to escalate this? I've ran out of options.

[ROBYER1]

2 minutes ago, C.T. said:

We have actually reached out to our BT chip vendor months ago. But unfortunately, they have discontinued support for updating the drivers for long time.  

Thanks, this is helpful to know at least, I understand there is no easy fix in this situation.

[Saltgrass]

41 minutes ago, C.T. said:

We have actually reached out to our BT chip vendor months ago. But unfortunately, they have discontinued support for updating the drivers for long time. 
So, disabling memory integrity to install the BT driver is currently the only solution I can recommend from my side. 

What would be helpful is knowing what version of current headsets have a qualified current driver for the Bluetooth?  I would really hate to purchase a new headset and discover it was also plagued by the same situation.

Thanks.

[XanderF]

To follow up on that, is there a technical reason why the on-device Bluetooth must be used if there is another Bluetooth adapter in the system? As an example, my system has Intel Bluetooth built into the motherboard.  If Vive Console wasn't insistent that its Bluetooth driver was installed I could sidestep the issue.

 

[RangerHawk]

Look, I understand this is beyond the scope of tech support, but HTC should have an engineering department. The driver just needs to be edited or re-written. You could do this inhouse or contract it out. If the original hardware vendor has issues with this, then it should be noted they are in breach of contract. Please pass this up the chain of command because you are pissing customers off with this canned response.