An HTC Vive customer has posted images of a replacement headset cable which looks to significantly reduce the size and weight of the original.

vive-3-in-1-cable-thinOne of the aspects most mentioned in the first rush of reviews to appear after the Vive’s launch in April, next to the headset’s front-loaded weight, was the chunky 3 in 1 cable that fed from the system’s link box to the headset itself. A seemingly trifling matter you might think, but with the Vive built for room-scale, the drag that cable added to a user’s head could be a considerable, sometimes presence-sapping annoyance.

Now, a user who claims to have returned his Vive’s 3-in-1 cable as faulty, has posted images of the replacement which seems to sport a single, lighter consolidated cable for the majority of it’s run. Weight is therefore reduced and so could be that potential head drag.

No word on whether this is a peek at standardised units sent with newer Vives, or indeed if this is what you’ll receive should you order one from HTC’s Vive accessory store.

Newsletter graphic

This article may contain affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product we may receive a small commission which helps support the publication. More information.


Paul James
Based in the UK, Paul has been immersed in interactive entertainment for the best part of 27 years and has followed advances in gaming with a passionate fervour. His obsession with graphical fidelity over the years has had him branded a ‘graphics whore’ (which he views as the highest compliment) more than once and he holds a particular candle for the dream of the ultimate immersive gaming experience. Having followed and been disappointed by the original VR explosion of the 90s, he then founded RiftVR.com to follow the new and exciting prospect of the rebirth of VR in products like the Oculus Rift. Paul joined forces with Ben to help build the new Road to VR in preparation for what he sees as VR’s coming of age over the next few years.
  • psuedonymous

    Appears to be the first look at the Vive ‘Business Edition’s cable in the wild.

  • DiGiCT Ltd

    you always can replace the existing cable as the connectors are universal.
    Even you reduce more weight if you want by just only using an hdmi and USB (2 wires) and leaving the audio cable out by using a wireless audio Headset.
    The cable is heavy but I cant say it is a problem,
    You can easy attach the cable to your belt to reduce its weight or as in some sitiuations you could just use a desk light arm to carry the cable for you above you head.
    The real issue is having a slimmer cable on which you trip several times and breaking the copper wires inside.

    • joejoe4games

      sry but a wireless headset wouldnt do anything to the cable because it already uses digital audio (presumably over HDMI) to connect to the computer. the only thing I can think of (but I’m not shure if it would be feasable due to length and compatibility limitations) is use Displayport and carry the USB data over the same wire.

      • Strawb77

        vive uses usb audio according to my control panel / sound [w10]

    • stonej

      that’s not an audio cable that you can leave out. its a power cable for the headset. the audio is from the headset to your headphones which is already on you so no tether and no problem there. the problem is that the original “hdmi+usb+headset power” tether cable is big and heavy. this new 3 in 1 cable put “hdmi+usb+headset power” into 1 cable. small and light.

      • DiGiCT Ltd

        Your right it uses the HDMI fro audio and the audio looking cable is actualy indeed the power wire.
        Yes it is leighter , but still you can replace them with your own cables, even shorter ones if you only do seated ot standing games.
        They might just have chosen for thos thicker cables to not have many returns as paeople trip on the wires easy.

    • Dorian

      Having been plagued with the dissatisfaction while playing with my vive because of tripping over the cables so many times, I agree with your point. I did everything in the book, from tapping the wires, to mounting them from the ceiling. Finally, I put a stop to this madness, and started looking for wireless alternative. I found these guys to have a promising product (www.immrobotics.com) and wanted to know your opinion. Please let me know what you think.

      • DiGiCT Ltd

        Looks promising.
        Although I cant say its good or not as i did not try it yet.
        But what i see is that the battery seems small. not sure how laong it last powering the HMD, and secondly how fast it charges and how many time it can be recharged without loosing to much battery redundancy.

        I think those solution will be working great, as there are several working on it, and it seems valve/htc themselves are into that too.
        I can only suggest you to try it and share your opinion as i did not try any myself yet.
        At the end i think still the best way would be a notebook sized computer in a backpack is the best solution.
        But i also think that will be much more expensive.

        I bookmarked this page as i did not know this one yet, as soon as more of them hit the market I will start selecting one of them based on what I think will be the best at that time.

        Currently I dont really play many VR games very intensive, as I am too busy developing our own games, which in most cases is a quick step in and get out again to adjust or confirm it works.

        That makes we less tripping wires for sure lol, but yeah after a several times the wire also like to easy spin around, forcing me to unplug it and unwrap it again.

  • blobface

    Just checked with the live chat and they said it’s still the old one should you go buy a cable from the accessories store, they also won’t know when that will all be replaced.

    Also side note, why does it cost £29.99 to ship a cable that’s £35 to the UK? That’s insane.

  • CaptJellico

    Nice! As soon as these become available, I’ll pick up one and keep the original cable as a backup.

    • bschuler

      Same here. Since it is round and not ribbonish, this looks a lot easier to straighten out too.

  • J.C.

    Nice, hopefully this becomes the standard, until they sort out making these wireless. My wires are hung from the ceiling, so tripping isn’t a hazard, but tangling your arm in it (especially in games that think you should spin around) absolutely is.

    I wonder if wireless will even be an option for quite a while. That’s a LOT of video data to feed, and any blip or latency will cause discomfort. Plus it’d require a battery, which adds weight…although it could mount on the back of the headset strap, effectively balancing the head unit.

  • OgreTactics

    Absolutely fucking stupid. I was satisfied, not shocked or excited, at the news that Vive was testing a wireless headset because FUCKING DUH. The Vive is a disaster in real agency, business, ads or creative situation because NOBODY wants to fucking unpack a radiator sized boxe with 12 fucking cables, period. NOT ONE brand or studio has invested in Vive because of how unpractical it is a common device: it’s still a gadget, and gadget don’t make long-term mainstream markets…

    • SiliconAddic

      *rolls eyes* Welcome to a gen1 product dude. They could have done wireless. But then you’d be complaining that how dare they put out a $1200 VR device. Its dead on arrival. How dare they! Yadayadayada. Its all about balance. You want a wireless headset? Here…. Drop $3,000-$5,00 and knock yourself out
      https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us/order-now

  • Talked with chat, and they said indeed this is not released yet, but if you chat with them, they will email you once it’s in the store.

  • OgreTactics

    Oh I stumbled on this article again, it pisses me off so much: “Wooo” now three out of the 11 fucking cables are tied together to be plugged to the same break-out box, to be plugged with the 3 same fucking external cable, as well as the same 5 charging and connecting cables for lighthouses and pans…

    What a fucking horrible device in terms of ergonomics. A super cool gadget and technology rendered unusable in real agencies, branding and events situations. The return for 80% of the clients who received a Vive and that we prospected can be summed up by “So we received the huge-box, and installed it, the experience was a disaster” and the other 20% “yeah that’s a cool gadget for now”.

    I don’t fucking understand: who works (or doesn’t work) at these VR headset companies so that they make products that badly designed? Well, the Oculus and PSVR are okay, and expensive, but right now nobody wants to fucking invest seriously and standardly in VR.

    • Tyler Spencer

      Setup takes less than 10 minutes.

      1. Find an outlet.
      2. Plug in my 12 outlet splitter.
      3. Plug in computer.
      4. Plug in a screen.
      5. Connect screen to computer.
      6. Setup breakout box. 3 cables…easily installed.
      7. setup first lighthouse. Takes a minute.
      8. Setup second lighthouse. Another minute.
      9. Plug in the vive to breakout.
      10. Power on computer and play.

      My computer also doesn’t use a mouse or keyboard which saves setup time. I use a steam controller. The USB dongle stays in the computer.

      If you honestly find it hard to setup you shouldn’t even be in the industry or trying to demo a vive.

      The issue VR isn’t catching on as fast is cost…not setup.
      My setup cost over $4000.

      the other issue is the amount of idiots in our world. They don’t understand technology and can’t respect it. They act dumb, stumble around have zero situational awareness. look st people who throw wii controllers. I can’t even fathom that idea. It is quite literally impossible for me to accidentally throw a controller like that….yet idiots out there do it.

      So ultimately the issue boils down to two things.

      1. The vive is expensive.
      2. The vive is not idiot proof…at all.

      • OgreTactics

        So in a few words, you’re a fucking loser. If I find it not “hard” but obnoxious to set-up, is maybe because I work in a real-world advertising, production and agency environment, not in some unperceptive unself-aware geek who doesn’t see the problem in the 10 (yet uncomplete) steps to describe to just fire-up a Vive

        • Tyler Spencer

          It is neither hard nor abnoxious to set up. Get off your high horse, because believe it or not I’ve set up the vive a good number of times in both professional set ups and personal showcases.

          I have a pair of tripods and a pair of floor to ceiling poles. This makes lighthouse positioning a breeze. Which I use depends on the room/venue.

          Beyond that it’s literally plug and play.
          You can quick calibrate the vive which takes all but a click of a button and it’s good to go.

          A big part of an easy setup is organization.

          I’ve even gone as far as to do green screen drop cloths with an augmented display. Showing both the player and the game interacting.

          • OgreTactics

            I guess it’s a matter domain and country. Here in France, especially in brands, medias and advertisements, people don’t want to deal with something that both requires a certains space and 11 eleven fucking cables to be set-up.

            Then the debate is larger than just the specific Vive setting, check my other posts.

          • Cameron Abt

            It’s clear you don’t have enough of a grasp on the technology or the VR market to make it usable in your field. My company is currently using it with great success – it just requires someone who knows how to make it a great experience for others. Clearly not you.
            We’ve got a super small rig that we set up in less than 5 minutes, with full room-scale use setup in less than 20 on location. Very easy cable management, very exciting experience for our users.
            Instead of knocking improvements to the product, how about you start getting familiar with it or else watch your competition pass you by.

          • OgreTactics

            We don’t work in the same league. The brands or advertising agency are billions dollars company, and sadly enough, the ridiculous money they’re willing to plug when VR takes of doesn’t equate the time and patience they’re willing to spend.

            And you know what I understand them, fuck Vive, that horribly incomplete designed product, because if 80% of our clients have having the same reaction independently from one another, it means they’re just right, period, the market doesn’t lie, isn’t patient or comprehensive on shit design, no matter how fun the initial experimental idea might be.

            But let me reinsure you, Oculus and PSVR are now starting to compete for “that” spot.

          • Jason Pope

            No one that works in the so called “big leagues” as you put it would speak like low class gutter trash using the language you have been using here. Not only that but since it seems the Vive and general PC technology is too much for your 4 letter word mind to handle, those “big league” companies would have a substantial IT dept that could assist you in making the “horrible” technology work. In short.. The Vive can be set up by someone who knows what they are doing in under 15 minutes from opening the convention box to ready for demo.

          • OgreTactics

            Oh you’re probably one of those fucking “hustling” loser with big words with no depth. “Big league” companies don’t give ONE SHIT about mobilising their “IT dept” (whatever bullshit you probably don’t know crap about) for a market that hasn’t picked-off because of shit design headset like the Vive.

            I can name-drop Dior (who have their own GearVR build upcoming), Chanel, Balmain, Nike, EADS, EDF, Free etc…(CAC40 companies) but you probably don’t know shit about the processes behind.

            Do you know about Gary Vaynerchuck, one of those few american “hustler” I don’t consider like the type of losers you are? Look at his video on speaking like a “low class gutter trash” you vapid unperceptive spineless cunt.

          • Jason Pope

            Yup, you just proved my point for me. Nothing to see here everyone just a low class, uneducated, anonymous, troll trying to be something he is obviously not. GG keep hiding on the internet big man let the rest of us adults work in the real technology and marketing sector.

          • OgreTactics

            “You just proved my point” never proved any point you fucking pre-teen loser. Good look with your “VR Parties”, we’re not in the same league and I hate kool-aid drinkers like you.

          • Enverex

            You sound like a 12 year old trying to be edgy. What are you trying to achieve here?

    • Enverex

      The lighthouses connect to the mains and nothing else (not even your PC). You set them up once and never touch them again.

      The breakout box connects to your PC and uses split cables because it has to connect to 3 completely different things (USB, HDMI and power).

      The original lead for the headset is split at the ends, but is one “cable” except for those ends. So only one “cable” runs from your PC to the headset.

      If you want to use the headset, you literally plug in one cable (which consists of 3 plugs, all of which plug into unique sockets 1cm away from each other). You’re making this sound far more complicated than it is.

      Where did you even get that ridiculous 80% number from?

  • WOOT! I need one of these! wish I hadn’t missed this article when it first came out. It’s all back ordered now. :/

  • I’d guess that most people moaning about cables in general here are not ‘Generation X’?

  • Blaze Call

    https://www.vive.com/us/vive-deluxe-audio-strap/ check out the cable on the pictures in the deluxe audio strap page. It’s the slimmer cable.