Over the weekend I saw on Twitter that Michael Jones, Founder of BrainFizz VR, a development studio working on a VR dating and matchmaking app called Electropop, posted that he received a burn on his scalp from using a new Vive Wireless Adapter for a standard HTC Vive. The burn resulted from spending an hour and a half playing Organ Quarter, a VR horror game, after which he noticed the burn on his scalp (pictured above).
Jones says in a follow-up tweet that he has a higher-than-usual pain tolerance from a lifetime of injuries and surgeries, would could help explain why he didn’t notice the pain at first. We reached out to HTC to ask if the standard Vive Wireless Adapter is supposed to come with a pad or safety divider of some kind and what the normally expected operating temperature of the device is expected to be. An HTC representative responded with the following statement:
“At Vive we take our users’ safety seriously. We are investigating the report as quickly as we can. We do not have further comment at this time.”
We checked the Vive website and there is no mention of the pad for the standard Vive Wireless Adapter when you go to checkout. The included items are listed as: “VIVE Wireless Adapter (for VIVE), battery, battery belt clip, USB cable, VIVE 3-in-1 short cable, PCI-e WiGig card, and wireless Link Box.” However, when you go to checkout with a Vive Wireless Adapter for a Vive Pro, the “Vive Pro Attachment Kit for Wireless Adapter” is added to your cart, which includes the “Pro clip for Wireless Adapter, foam cushion, and VIVE Pro short cable.”
On Twitter, Jones indicated in a follow-up tweet that his Vive Pro Wireless Adapter does include a pad, as mentioned by Mike from VR Oasis, but that the standard unit did not.
When you follow the official setup instructions on the Vive website, it separates attaching the adapter to the headset into three categories: Vive, Vive with Deluxe Audio Strap, and Vive Pro. Here is the section for the Vive Pro setup to show the included “foam cushion” installation, in which you must replace the Vive Pro’s headpad cushion:
Source: HTC ‘Investigating’ Vive Wireless Adapter Heating Report
