Virtual reality (VR) headsets can (if you’re not careful) take a bit of a hammering, whether that’s from being dropped or just as likely, someone walking into a wall. Since its launch in 2019, the Valve Index has been one of the most popular PC VR headsets offering great comfort, sound and visuals. But high tech hardware can’t remain perfect forever so Valve has revealed this week that replacement parts will soon be available via iFixit, the well established DIY repair website.
The decision isn’t finalised just yet with Valve saying: ” We are still hammering out the details, and will be sharing more info on this soon.” The announcement mentions that iFixit will have “replacement parts for the Valve Index VR products” so that alongside the headset itself, you’ll likely be able to get parts for the Index controllers and Lighthouse base stations.
Valve’s decision is part of a wider deal with iFixit and the upcoming Steam Deck – iFixit recently posted a new teardown. Steam Deck is due to begin shipping this month for those that pre-ordered early, with three models available. Thinking of plugging your VR device into it? It might work but that’s not Steam Deck’s purpose: “Technically it’s possible. We’ve seen people jury rig it, but we didn’t design and optimize Steam Deck for VR,” states an FAQ from Valve.
Additionally, it’s been spotted that Steam has begun adding an “Unsupported on Steam Deck” tag to SteamVR titles just to ram home that fact.
Back to iFixit, the popular community-driven site which features thousands of guides for lots of today’s tech doesn’t actually include a repair guide for Valve Index. Hopefully, that’ll change once components have been made available.
However, there are guides available for the likes of HTC Vive, Vive Cosmos, Vive Pro, Oculus Quest and Meta Quest 2. iFixit even sells a small selection of HTC Vive parts.
As further details regarding Valve and iFixit’s deal are revealed, gmw3 will keep you updated.
