Oculus has released two of the best virtual reality globally with great features like tracking cameras and VR screen resolution. When using an Oculus VR headset, you might encounter a “Tracking Lost” error message on your screen. If you see this message while using your Oculus headset, you might wonder what causes it.
So, why does my tracking on my Oculus headset keep getting lost? One of the most common reasons why your Oculus keeps losing tracking is when your hands or dirt blocks one or more cameras. It can also lose tracking if there is a lot of movement in the surrounding area. Other reasons your Oculus headset keeps losing tracking include the environment being too bright or too dark, you moving your body a lot, and lights in another country.
When the “Tracking Lost” error message appears, tracking on your Oculus headset becomes limited to head rotation. If you try to move in any direction, the headset will not track your movement, making it hard to access and use the application in your Oculus headset.
When using your Oculus VR headset, you want everything to run seamlessly to have a great virtual reality experience. However, when your headset keeps showing the “Tracking Lost” error message, you will not be able to do anything with the headset until the message goes away. If your Oculus’ tracking keeps getting lost, you might be asking yourself what keeps causing it.
Several reasons will cause your Oculus headset to lose tracking, and one of them is one or more cameras are blocked. Another reason could be a lot of movement in the surroundings, making it hard for your headset to concentrate on your movements.
It might lose tracking if you move a lot while setting up your Oculus headset. Other reasons that could make your Oculus’ tracking keep getting lost might include your environment being too bright or too dark, too many screens and monitors in the room, and using the headset in another country with different lighting.
Your Oculus uses the cameras to track your movement. The four cameras track your environment and allow you to move freely inside your environment. If one or more cameras are blocked, your headset will not get enough information about your environment.
It will be difficult for your Oculus headset to track your movements if it does not have enough information about your surrounding environment. You can block the cameras with your hands while adjusting the cameras. Dirt and smudge can also block the cameras on your Oculus headset.
When setting up your Oculus headset, you might get a “Tracking Lost” error message because there is a lot of movement in your immediate surroundings. If something moves around you a lot, your Oculus headset will have a hard time recognizing your environment.
The cameras will try to focus on your movements but will get confused by the other movements in the room. If you also move your head and body too much while setting up your Oculus headset, your headset might not capture your environment properly; hence you will see the “Tracking Lost” error message.
Light is very important when using your Oculus headset because the cameras need enough light to capture the environment properly. Your Oculus headset will keep losing tracking if your immediate environment is too bright or too dark.
If your room is too bright or you try to use your headset outside when it is sunny, the cameras will not cope with the excess light; hence difficult to track your movements. If the room is too dark or poorly lit, the cameras will not have enough light to make out what the room looks like; hence your Oculus headset will keep losing tracking.
When you travel to another country, you might take your Oculus headset with you. If you set it up, you might see the “Tracking Lost” error and get confused why it suddenly stopped tracking your movements. In this case, it could be the different lighting in the country that is making your Oculus headset lose tracking.
That country might be using housing electricity of different frequencies making the lights flicker hence difficult for the cameras to capture your environment clearly. Your eyes might not detect the flickers, but the Oculus’ cameras will detect the flickers.
Your Oculus could also lose tracking if you use it in a room with too many screens and monitors. The lights from multiple screens and monitors can confuse the Oculus headset because the brightness can change rapidly at any moment, or the light can flicker at very high speeds.
For example, suppose you are using your Oculus headset in a room that has a television and several laptops. In that case, the light from these monitors could affect how the Oculus cameras capture the room.
Why Does My Oculus Quest Keep Losing Tracking?
When playing Oculus Quest, one of the most disappointing things is the loss of tracking. This means your game progress is lost, and you might have to start all over again. But why does that happen?
The tracking lost error often appears on Oculus Quest when you adjust to a new environment or just turn on the headset. This happens just right before the guardian setup. Even though there is no specific way of fixing this problem, there are several ways you can go about it. This section discusses some of the ways you can help fix the tracking lost error on Oculus Quest 2.
The first thing you should do is restart your headset. While this might seem obvious, it does a good job of fixing the problem. When you restart Quest, it is too easy for the device to locate game files. This helps fix the tracking lost error.
If this solution does not fix the problem, there could be another cause of the problem in the headset. Nonetheless, you should know that restarting the headset is the primary method of solving problems in Oculus Quest 2. It makes it easy to access tracking and restore your game progress.
Another way you can fix the problem is by resetting your guardian. If you get a message that your tracking has been lost, Quest offers a turn-off 6DOF tracking mechanism that helps you keep in touch with the platform. However, you can only do that by tilting your head and hands. If you opt for this method, the captivation will be eliminated. The solution can work, but it is not always 100% effective.
Another way to do so is by adjusting your tracking and lighting settings. If you notice this problem when gaming at night, you might have to make several adjustments. Remember that you can also experience this problem during the day. For the best results, you should ensure that you are playing in a well-lit area and check that everything is workings according to plan.
You should also check the tracking frequency in the Quest settings for your region and area. Therefore, you must set the settings according to your region. If you want to get rid of the tracking error, access the settings through Quest Home without necessarily tracking the system. You should also use the recommended 3DoF mode to access the settings icon and make necessary changes.
Experts also advise that you clean your cameras. Tracking is often linked to your cameras, and a majority of people tend the forget the importance of these items. This results in them mishandling the cameras and probably causing significant damage. Scratches, smudges, and any other kind of problem could result in tracking problems for your headset. In that case, you are likely to experience the tracking lost error. You can fix this problem by thoroughly cleaning the four cameras on either side of your camera. You should do so while taking good care of your headset. Once all the lenses are clean, try again to see if the error is fixed.
How Do I Fix Oculus Tracking?
When your Oculus headset cannot function in your immediate environment, you will see a “Tracking Lost” error message alerting you that your headset cannot track your movements. You will not be able to access any games or applications if your Oculus headset has lost its tracking. If your Oculus headset has lost its tracking, here is how you fix it.
Fixing the “Tracking Lost” error is easy, and the first thing you should do is check your headset if the cameras are blocked and unblock them if they are. You should minimize movements around you while setting up the headset and ensure you stay still during the setup. Check your environment to ensure it has perfect lighting for your Oculus cameras.
You should also restart your Oculus headset, reset your Guardian and clear your Guardian history. You should also adjust your lighting and tracking settings. You should try factory resetting your Oculus and if none of the solutions work, contact Oculus customer support for help.
The first thing you need to do when fixing the “Tracking Lost” error is to check that nothing is blocking your Oculus cameras. If something is blocking the cameras, your Oculus headset will not properly capture your environment, losing tracking. When setting up your headset, ensure that your hands are away from the cameras.
Clean the cameras if you see any dirt or smudges covering the lenses. You should be careful when cleaning the cameras to avoid scratching the lenses or staining them. Always use a microfiber cloth when cleaning your headset’s cameras.
If cleaning or unblocking does not work, you need to reset your Guardian and clear your Guardian history. When you see the “Tracking Lost” error message, your Oculus headset will offer to turn off 6DOF tracking and limit your usage to head and hand movements only.
If you accept, the Guardian will be turned off, but you can use the settings to turn it back on. If you turn it back on, your Oculus might regain its tracking. If that does not work, you should clear your Guardian history to clear all the saved Guardians on your headset. You can clear the Guardian history by going to the setting menu and selecting the option to clear your history under the Guardian section.
If you are using electric lights or have traveled to another country and see the “Tracking Lost” error message, you need to adjust your Oculus’ lighting and tracking settings. First, ensure that you are playing in a well-lit room with one single source of light.
Turn off the screen and monitors in the room. Go to your headset’s settings and correctly adjust the tracking frequency to match your current region. The tracking frequency is usually set automatically, but you can manually set it to 50Hz or 60Hz, depending on the region you are in at the moment.
You can always try restarting your Oculus headset if it keeps losing tracking. Sometimes you can try the above solutions, but they do not take effect until you restart your Oculus headset. When you restart your Oculus headset, all your changes will take effect, and the “Tracking Lost” error will be resolved.
However, you need to restart your Oculus headset fully for the changes to take effect. You need to turn off the headset and turn it back on. If you put your headset in “Standby Mode” and turn it back on again, the “Tracking Error” might not be resolved.
You can also factory reset your Oculus headset if the “Tracking Lost” error does not disappear. If the “Tracking Lost” error becomes a recurring issue, you could try factory resetting your Oculus and start everything from scratch.
You should only factory reset your headset if you have backed up all your data because the process will wipe out everything from your device. If every solution above fails and the “Tracking Error” becomes persistent, you should contact Oculus customer support for help. The Oculus customer support representative might have another solution that will help resolve the issue or figure out if you have a faulty unit.
Why Is Hand Tracking Not Working?
The Oculus hand tracking feature is one of the coolest things you can find on the VR headset. The hand tracking feature allows you to use your hands instead of your Touch controllers, but sometimes it might fail to work. If your Oculus hand tracking is not working, here are some of the reasons that could be causing the issue.
The hand tracking feature could not be working because your Oculus headset cannot see your hands. Your headset cannot see your hands if you place them too far or one or more cameras are blocked. Hand tracking could also not work if you move your hands too fast.
If you are using your Oculus headset in a poorly lit room, the hand tracking feature might not work because your headset might not see your hands. You should also ensure that you have turned on the hand tracking feature before trying to use your hand to control your headset.
Hand tracking on an Oculus headset works by using the inside-out cameras on the headset. Your headset will detect the position and orientation of your hands and the configuration of your fingers. Once detected, the headset will track the movement of your hands as you use them as controllers.
The hand tracking feature will work if all the cameras see your hands. If your hands are too far on the sides or one or more cameras are blocked, your headset will not detect the movement hence the hand tracking feature will not work.
You can fix the hand tracking issue by ensuring that your headset can see your hands. Tilt your head until your hands can appear in front of you or raise your hands and place them in front of you. You should also ensure that your Oculus headset is clean.
The hand tracking feature relies on the cameras, and if the cameras cannot see your hands due to dirt or smudge, hand tracking will not work. You should clean your headset using a microfiber cloth at least twice a day and ensure you store your headset properly to avoid the accumulation of dirt.
You should also move slowly and precisely when using the hand tracking feature. If your hand movements are too quick, your headset will not be able to track what you are doing. You should also ensure that the room you are using has sufficient lighting.
If your skin has a darker tone or you are wearing dark clothes, it might be difficult for the headset to see your hands. However, when selecting the lighting for your room, do not make it too bright because your headset might not work properly if the room is excessively lit.
Before you start using the hand tracking feature on your Oculus headset, you need to turn it on first. To turn on hand tracking, press the Oculus button on your right Touch controller to open the universal menu.
Hover over the clock on the left side of the universal menu; when “Quick Settings”
- Select it to open the “Quick Settings” panel
- Select “Settings”
- Select “Device”
- Open “Hands and Controllers”
- Select the toggle next to “Hand Tracking” to turn it on.
Summary
Several reasons could make your Oculus lose tracking. For instance, when you reboot your device, it might lose track of proceedings. This will mean that you have to readjust accordingly and start the game against. As well as including blocked cameras, too much movement in the room, lots of body movement, the room being too bright or too dark, and different lighting in another country.
Oculus Quest can keep losing tacking due to a number of reasons. For instance, when you reboot your device, it might lose track of proceedings. This will mean that you have to readjust accordingly and start the game against.
You can easily fix these issues by cleaning your headset, restarting your headset, resetting your Guardian history, adjusting your lighting and tracking settings, and factory resetting your headset.
If none of the solutions discussed in this article work, you should contact Oculus customer support for further assistance. The hand tracking feature is still experimental, and sometimes it might fail to work. If your hand tracking feature fails, you should try to use the solutions in this article to fix the problem.
