Warning to anyone who is human and sweats - Sweat will break your Vive.

[shanecody]

I just got off of a phone call with HTC and was told by the guy on the phone that lots of users have gone through the same crap I have.  I have owned the head set for only 3 months, and was enjoying the product, but support sucks.  I was playing Beat Saber when my Vive stopped working.  So of course I called technical support and they took me through all of the common steps, then asked me to send in the head set in.   After 4 weeks they finally got back to me and determined that it was liquid damage and I need to pay $270 to fix the headset.  I tried using the form to select contact me to better understand the situation, received a call and the customer support rep.  I asked how this could happen, as I never have had any liquids near the headset, I live in a desert so I am using it in a very dry environment.  He told me that it is a common problem for sweat to ruin the headsets and it is not covered by warranty.  He said most of the users he deals with have had the same issue and basically I have to pay for an obvious design flaw in product.  Its confounding how such an expensive product meant to be used actively cannot tolerate a little sweat.  I mean how expensive would it have been to use a little sealant to protect against sweat?

  I was also doing my best to prevent this, I was wearing a headband, using the provided foam face cushion, and wiping down the headset after each use, basically everything I could do to protect this very expensive product.  What else could be done?  Other than not using it at all.  

The other thing that confounds me is the ridiculous cost, $270!!!  That's over half the cost for a new headset including the controllers, and base stations.  Considering the cost of the controllers, and base stations on the HTC web site, what am I paying for, a new headset entirely?   

What really gets me is the customer service,  I have had issues with expensive consumer electronics in the past, once with a $500 smart watch, the company literally sent me a new watch without a second thought.  They literally put it in the mail, and told me to toss the broken one, after a simple cell picture to show it wasn't physically damaged.   But not HTC, 4 weeks to be told that because I am human and produce sweat, I voided the warranty.

My advice to anyone researching the Vive, don't buy it.