Why Air Link (and Virtual Desktop) Suck | A Setup and Settings Guide

[@yetije2170]

i find attaching the router to my head the best method

[@FunnyUro]

Yes works great for me too.

[@TheMarmeladian]

As long as you wear a tinfoil hat too lol

[@sparkle58dc]

Eli Musk says he has an app for that.

[@mindofcow]

@@sparkle58dc what’s it called

[@TheRealGoober25]

ah yes, portable router

[@stevetillson3268]

Excellent. Finally, someone’s video on this subject explained clearly what we need to go wireless efficiently. Clear, articulate presentation even us ancient gamers can follow.

[@GucciGamerTV]

This video has helped me out tremendously. I ended up getting the dedicated router you recommended and used that connected via Ethernet to my PC and the performance is significantly better. The way you explained everything was perfect. Thank you.

[@TropicalCyc]

The new update on VD makes the barrier to enter pcvr really low, i can even run pcvr games on my low spec laptop with this new updste, this update is extremely amazing

[@tomthb8439]

SSW look so good

[@glenrisk5234]

How low speck? Iv'e got an ASUS A15 5800H 16Gb RTX3070 8Gb and for the last 2 months Steam has been disabling my GPU so that I am left with only the performance of the APU. Which while obviously not as good is still pretty impressive. Suspect they are doing it deliberately to test software for whatever this new project is they have in development with AMD?

[@favscripts7680]

@@glenrisk5234 Sounds like a bug. Steam shouldn't disable your gpu ever

[@glenrisk5234]

@@favscripts7680 Absolutely. Thing is that I have both an AMD APU and NVIDIA GPU. The NVIDIA GPU is being disabled in favor of the AMD APU. Been complaining to Steam about it for 2 months straight and all they seem interested in is getting me to report the performance data. Considering that they have a project in development with AMD that's a bit sus?

[@ChrisC-vr9mp]

@@glenrisk5234 Make sure to reference your specific laptop website for how to enable your nvidia gpu for gaming, but in some cases you'll need to enable it through the nvidia control panel or specific laptop software. I think it may be something else besides steam which causes your system to use the amd apu, as it's a common issue for many laptops to revert to the built in apu for power-saving benefits.

[@chadfahlenkamp1134]

Still a good guide two years later. Some things have changed on the Virtual Desktop settings menus, but the key things still apply. I used an older TP Link 5G as an dedicated access point for the Quest 3 and used VD to help me pick the channel with the highest bitrate for streaming VR...went from about 450mb without the dedicated router to 1200....happy. Thanks for making this. Well done.

[@override367]

Spot on, people dont know this, but 5ghz is a "greenfield" spectrum, as the name implies, it's meant to be used in a clear open field. For best performance put an access point in the room you're using it in

[@HoshPak]

I find this is really exciting tech from a networking engineer's POV. I have my PC in the living room right now because I have no dedicated room to place it. If I had, I would stream my games by default as I hate the noise of spinning fans. It's the same with VR. Edit: One more thing about H.264 vs HEVC (aka H.265). The latter one does a way better job compressing the Image. That means you can get either get better image quality at the same bandwidth or reduce bandwidth maintaining the same image quality. Reducing the bandwidth us probably to prefer in this case as it will reduce the overall latency. Using it requires a GTX 10 series GPU or later, however. Newer cards usually make better use of this feature due to hardware improvements.

[@robloyst4514]

So I have Vd working great. Connect to the designated router and I’m good to go. But I can’t setup airline at all. Just says make sure of and headset are on same network. They are. Don’t get it. Pc is wireless out to a router outside. Designated router is hooked into pc. Doesn’t even show in airline at all. Any idea?

[@HaywirePhoenix]

For those who don't have the budget for a monster router, I've got the stock router that comes with my virgin media broadband (Superhub 3) and works fine, doesnt drop frames at all. It's not wifi6 but I use 5ghz on a DFS channel that's meant for radar so theres very low chance of interference.

[@00Clive00]

I was surprised how well the Virgin Hub 3 worked, I can even stream through the floor to the room above and don't get any lag. I also have a Tp link WiFi 6 router and the latency is exactly the same.

[@ryanmalin]

My Comcast cable modem/router works great for VD or Airlink. It gives me 855MBPS which is enough for 120fps. My router is in the same room I game in and my PC is hooked up with ethernet.

[@juggy2006]

I also use the hub3 but my VR area is behind a wall with wires and pipes so the signal isnt very strong sadly. I'm gonna need another AP in the VR area :(. Not sure why people keep recommending wifi6 lol its actually overkill for airlink if you're close to the AP.

[@PsyJoeTV]

I bought the HUAWEI WiFi AX3 (Quad-Core) and I'm extremely happy and have zero complaints with my experience. And I prefer using Virtual Desktop. And yes AirLink is nice introduction for people wanting to try wireless VR. And then I'd switch to Virtual Desktop, as the quality is better and settings in general just allow for more customization.

[@Fearless13468]

I go for visuals over latency. I don't play any pcvr games that really demand too low latency. I usually sit around 60-70ms of latency, but the visuals are nice and crisp. I do have a setup that puts me at 48ms and has good visuals, but I use it less. VD works way better for me than airlink. It also looks more vibrant.

[@rynsart]

Thanks so much, the problem i was having was the bitrate. It was way too low, i turned it up quite a bit and now the quality of the image is better.

[@T1NYT]

For those of you that have issues with Airlink. Make sure you did not force any of the bitrate settings in your Oculus Debug Tool for when you were using your Oculus Link cable. Airlink use these settings and if you changed this for you Oculus Link cable, it will influence you Airlink experience negatively.

[@keiats]

Awesome explanation! I also use the dedicated router - ethernet + wi-fi - internet. The only difference is that I enable internet sharing through the adapter properties.

[@jamesboyce7467]

Ive watched this mans channel grow before my eyes, nice work

[@Kektus1]

I really didn't want to get a dedicated router since it was a fairly significant expense, but ultimately had to since my main router at home was an older crappy non-5ghz router. I don't regret it, because it had a major improvement of performance with game streaming. With a proper router and a good PC, playing PCVR wirelessly is so much better than it was for me before and I use it very frequently. Generally much more preferable to trying a wired setup of some kind.

[@wobblyrampack9655]

Thanks for that info! In the same boat - don't really want to pay out for separate router. But sounds like it will make it much more playable so think I will get one!

[@kpgpwi64]

Just curious, how did you hook up your router? Do you still use your previous router for regular wifi? Also which router did you end up getting?

[@SKY_11-b4r]

Thx you so much for this vid bro you help me so much

[@Mmat2016]

1:44 I literaly dont even need to watch the vid anymore now. Thank you for explaining me that you gotta place it closer! You definitely deserve my sub

[@JhustineProvido]

Airlink works perfect for me. albeit I have a high end desktop PC with an i9 10900k and RTX 2080 Ti connected to a $250 AX5700 Asus router with 2.5G Lan. Router same room as my play area. as you can expect, it works flawlessly feels like wired tbh.

[@kingchristopheus]

You are a legend, great explanations! Super clear and articulate!

[@XPLOSIVfireball]

This has helped me so much as I had no problems with my old router and today I've just been sent a new updated one and I've had nothing but problems so thanks alot !!

[@davecarsley8773]

Pretty informative and well-spoken video. Nice job, guy.

[@chrisread6292]

litterally spent 2 hours trying to get all these options to work and nothing about ready to throw my headset on the ground and burn this damn pc, this is one of the most annoying things ive ever tried to do

[@grqfes]

same

[@pirates9109]

try modding skyrim lmao

[@chrisread6292]

@@pirates9109 played lots of modded games and had a few of my own mod and have most of my vr games atm modded servers dont see how skyrim would be any different never played skyrim though cause it never interested me or looked like something I'd play

[@larspossum9201]

Can you make a video about setting up the dedicaed router?

[@alex_vr1196]

Hi, very good and usefull video! Cheers from Russia!

[@scottmorey5395]

The clip you showed of the ODT performance HUD, you're dropping frames. I've been having issues with these dropped frames also. Any experience in fixing it?

[@freemarix]

Sliced encoding

[@itsbeiko]

Thank you man!! This was incredibly helpful and so so clear and easy to understand!

[@lordgallus7264]

I like how I can launch VD from apps, and it gives me a menu with all my PC Oculus and Steam games in one menu. With airlink I'd have to freaking go to my pc, turn on airlink, go into my headset, pair and connect, then launch. Then I get in there and it gives me some trash menu bar with icons. VD is just better lol. Plus the settings really help, with Airlink everything was blurry no matter what for me.

[@adamkhateeb4867]

Yea and with the update for beta version where it also uses the performance of the xr2 in the quest 2 helps because I have a laptop with a 1650 so it struggles playing vr games

[@00Clive00]

I use Chrome Remote Desktop on my phone to turn on airlink or do anything else, saves going back to the computer.

[@AbdullahAburob24]

whenever i press pair with pc, it does nothing. oculus shows up on my pc in bluetooth, but the oculus itself doesnt actually pair. any solution?

[@OrganicKourts999]

for me if I am not wearing the headset for 2 minutes the Air Link will disconnect. Is it a bug?

[@Irishkennedy931]

All this 100%, awesome video. Got myself a NexusLink Gaming Router Extender and even though it has to go through a wall I can still get at least 90fps easy with no stuttering even with other people using the main router. Costs $90 on Amazon but I am 100% wire free gaming now with everything and don't have to worry about other wifi users. I couldn't be having a better time right now. Follow all the steps in this video and you can too!

[@ruudw.2403]

For me VD work flawlessly and Air Link is like a slide show. Im on 5 GHz and 2m from the router.

[@TheAtlanticDragon]

ACTUAL GOD TIER you have helped me so much, i was able to find my old router and connect it to my new one, which has to be like 2 rooms away, via ethernet and now i no longer have those annoying stutters with the network spiking in latency!! even if it isnt a gigabit, 300 with downgraded visuals is far more tolerable than beautiful with constant skipping. Im soon to buy a gigabit tho!!!!

[@QuestNation3221]

After using VD for several months and trying to use Airlink in giving up on both. Using oculus link there is zero latency and much better visuals.

[@michaeldidikof634]

For internet I use my old smartphone connected by USB cable to PC (WiFi or mobile data). Router (no internet) is connected only with Quest 2. This way got clean connection

[@PsyJoeTV]

Great video by the way. Knew most things already, though I will be trying Virtual Desktop with the automatically adjusted bitrate setting later, just to see how it feels.

[@Tommo_]

The low, medium and high settings in virtual desktop change the rendering resolution on your PC. Afaik, low is native, then higher than that is supersampling.

[@VirtualPandaVR]

I figured that's what it was, but I really can't see much of a difference between them.

[@Tommo_]

@@VirtualPandaVR yup, supersampling improves visuals only slightly at a massive cost to performance. I've found the medium setting is the upper bounds until the improvement isn't noticeable.

[@sparkle58dc]

What Oculus does not mention is, to have a better game expirence you need a Doctorate in computer. This was the best "Blah Blah" explanation so I gave it a like.

[@ryanmalin]

Its true. You should start leaning Blender and Unity right now!

[@noobulon4334]

Are you 12?

[@qineappl3]

Air link works perfect for me. I get no delay. The only thing is the controller spring effect.

[@TheDarmach]

You don't need an expensive access point for fast streaming. Belkin 3200 or Totolink 5000R are two great and cheap solutions. Belkin has 160MHz wide AX which nets plenty of troughput - more than quest will ever use up.

[@nicko7520]

What if i only have access to the 2.4GHz connection on my home router but a deticated router with a 5GHz connection. do both my home router and deticated router need to be 5GHz?

[@claybomb1064]

Awesome vid. So helpful. Thanks for this!

[@mitochondria3873]

I had a 5ghz router before my Quest 2, soooooo I never had any issues with either.

[@robbieburns3564]

Might revisit this video as I'm setting up my PC for Quest2 air link, but it's really hard to watch . I couldn't get through it as one of the worst choices that some youtubers make is to have cartoon avatars instead of their own selves. It's distracting (and not in a good way). It's nice you are helping people out, but this is hard to sit through.

[@interlinkedMedia]

EZ fix for me was to just glue two WiFi6 routers to the R&L side of the quest (make sure you are ok with the size adjustment because you can no longer change this!) as well as be direct linked in to my PV via USBC. I also got more fps after cutting the sleaves off half of my shirts and feeding my cats dog food. Everyones situation is different so good luck!

[@piano-topia9971]

I’m a simple man. I see best girl mugi, I click. I see vr, I click too

[@amesasw]

Seems like the way to go is to get a WFI6 Tri or quadband router and then dedicate a full channel to the airlink. And that one full channel should be able to sustain close to 1000 gbps. The down side of daisy chaining is if you are ever able to setup 2.5 Gbps ethernet. Most routers only have one right now.

[@seangillen6696]

Cool video. One thing, when taiking about the set-up with 2 routers the second router will need HDCP turned off on the internet interface. this is so you are only using the routers connections and WAP. you don't want it to be giving addresses to devices.

[@krismichaeldreemurr7818]

You see I have a 5K wifi router my old pc was able to connect to it instantly but it died and here is the problem I am having, I try to link my headset with a new pc but is not linking or just taking forever to do so what do I do?

[@capawesome3d988]

Hey man, thanks a lot. Finally the airlink stutering stopped! I knew wasnt my pc or 100mb connection! :D

[@TheKimerson]

Thanks for the great video! Also I love your avatar -does it look like you?

[@TaxEvasionUS]

No one is that black

[@jurajxaviergabzdil]

Thank you for the video! Also, what app did you use to record it? VRChat?

[@MaximumDiver]

Thank you so much Mr Panda for all these informations! You're awesome and I'm ordering the Asus Router this week :)

[@charlesball6519]

I have a Netgear RAX20 WiFi 6 router. When I first used Airlink, I thought connecting an Ethernet cable was only a suggestion. I was able to run VRChat over Airlink that way, but visuals were terrible. I then connected my computer to the router with a Ethernet cable. Visuals did get better, though. Now I'm using Virtual Desktop. It seems to be a bit more fussy than Airlink. I'm getting about 50-70ms in Virtual Desktop. I have an RTX2070 8GB VRAM, a Core i7 11700K, and 64GB of RAM

[@TheWeppyHappy]

Me who had zero problems and it's all smooth.

[@qtKelta]

same

[@velocity8683]

Do you need a router

[@TheWeppyHappy]

Ye.

[@albundi2985]

Thanks for such a densely informative video! I personally hook my PC to the home WIFI via ETH, then set up an Asus USB-AC53 wireless-AC1200 USB adapter on windows as a Hotspot. With the Quest 2 connected to the Hotspot I get satisfatory results. I'll definately employ the techniches in this video to measure perforance. So thanks again.

[@albundi2985]

Follow up: The ASUS AC55 USB 5Ghz WIFI module may be capable of 802.11ac mode, but Windows 10 sets the module up as 802.11n which gives you a crappy 140Mbits per sec. Best option is to get the suggested WIFI router suggested in this video still.

[@wobblyrampack9655]

@@albundi2985 Very useful to know! Thanks for posting.

[@SuperUsman11]

i have no issue getting 1200mbps 5ghz hotspot on windows 11. using intel ax200 m.2 wifi card never checked with 10 but im sure it will be same.

[@bunsenb]

god i love ASRock motherboards, 5 years ago when i built this pc i thought all of the extras would just be gimmicky, turns out of used almost every feature. M.2 SSD Slot, USB-C on the board and now finally I have a use for the dual ethernet ports z270 still keeping up in 2021

[@jeremycronic]

Thanx for the video. The part I was confused about was if I can plug the second router into my pc, and my pc connected with wifi to my actual router which is across the house.

[@toxicshot4528]

I just bought virtual desktop and maaaan, its much smoother than airlink, i have a gtx 1050ti and it runs smooth in vd

[@FrancisKlipp]

ive got a rx570 and with VD its runs great but AL gets bad tearing

[@AngelMorales2714]

Man. Thank you so much for this video, and for all the advices and solutions you gave me. Thank you so so so much.

[@JilleDeMon]

i recommend the TP-LINK Archer C7 V5 it works flawless for me

[@beefyonyt]

I got a separate router for virtual desktop, 35ms overall latency is great

[@MedienGulli]

great until u try beatsaber or synthriders on master

[@beefyonyt]

@@MedienGulli most people don't need to do a low-latency task like that so wireless is fine for the majority of people

[@MedienGulli]

@@iStrong113 natively and wired are about 4ms. wireless around 30ms.

[@MedienGulli]

@@iStrong113 boneworks alyx and s&s i have all played without any issue. its mostly competetive games that suffer. like eleven table tennis, or synth riders and beat saber. story games and social games are working just great and if you check my channel, you can see racing sims working fine as well.

[@MedienGulli]

@@iStrong113 less than ideal

[@andreafreeman6488]

Wooooow - thank you for this!! Instantly solved my problem 🥳

[@gramsci1094]

I struggled to get this to work but what finally fixed it for me was turning on 120hz now I can run anything 125 bit rate with 40ms lag

[@jkfodor]

Thanks man, super clear and easy to follow

[@skscotch]

How did you record yourself talking in front please? Great info!!!

[@Jayden_Caban]

I figured out that if you go in the virtual desktop streamer and go to about it will show the best codec for you

[@Ozzy_Helix_]

I figured out how to use a Wifi 6 wifi card and the Windows hotspot feature to connect my quest 2 directly to my PC Virtual Desktop works well over that. too note its not user friendly so its not a setup I recommend

[@Akab]

i think afaik for steam games all the "vr graphics Quality" option does, is changing your steam vr quality settings without going into its menus directly which is why i have it on medium and manualy configure it afterwards on a per game Basis inside steamvr (but i don't know about how or if it works with oculus apps)

[@youngidealist]

My problem is that Skyrim ONLY resolved high detail for object that are in my face. I can see scars on cheracters if I'm close to them, but just 2ft-ish away and it's a blur. It'intentional in the software. Doesn't seem to be needed for performance.

[@spectrairsoft]

Hey i have oculus quest 1 and I can't connect my pc to the router with Ethernet because when i connect it and then i put head set on me I can't find my pc to choose on airlink

[@niemand262]

Wonderful content without the childish fake enthusiasm. Love it.

[@kymerahYT]

I’ve tried using Airlink completely wirelessly in my house while my Pc is in my garden shed using WiFi and got a good connection. It’s really case by case. Also make sure you’re the only one (if possible) using the Wifi.)

[@Drake.9713]

I suppose you also need a way to connect this Asus router with a modem right?

[@Alexrocks1253]

For me it’s the oculus app corrupting itself then repairing. Usually I have to restart the oculus service from the beta tab to get it to stop giving me errors in headset.

[@CONSPIR4CY]

Here is a tip if u actually wanna use 200mbps max it out on oculus dynamic then put an offset of 40mbps on the debug tool it will use the full 200.

[@tjeastcoast1556]

There was a time where I could play steam vr games through vr desktop, without an ethernet cord, AND without a cable hooked from my headset to the pc. The only time I noticed real poor performance was when I joined someone's heist in Payday while someone had a mod the makes bodies pile up and not despawn.

[@NerdENerd]

My router is in a cupboard and I am getting awesome results. I am selling Rift S now as I wont use it again.

[@clemZboubtoila]

I use vr desktop because it is way superior than airlink if you play steam games. I do have a wifi 6 asus ROG router at 5 ghz and it rocks

[@ZzzyaxTheCuber]

This is a really helpful video. I've been playing half life Alyx over air link and was looking at ways to improve it and this has so many useful tips

[@coinsagE46m3]

Same!

[@JAYZ999]

According to VD discord, not all WiFi 6 routers will work fine, for example Huawei AX3 ones have been reported to be iffy sometimes. Also the cheapest recommended router is the TP Link C6/A6 which is the one I have and it works pretty well 97% of the time.

[@JAYZ999]

@@Quayledant yh that C6 or A6 is AC

[@abudi88ful]

when i connect my quest to the dedicated (no internet) router thats tethered to my PC it does not connect to the router because it has no internet.

[@IncessantWake]

Thanks man. I bought a wifi6 router and didn't realize why I was still getting stuttering until I realized the oculus app has set the resolution at 4128 x 2096 which is wayyy too high lol.

[@silve4zephyr662]

My quest and pc were in the same room as the router. Pc has the oculus app opened but i cant do what you said because in order to access my quest on the app I need to set it up. I click quest 2, air link (Wireless), then on my quest it says ''Searching for Pc..'' for HOURS. Its actually pissing me off at this point. BTW my pc is a windows 11 laptop, the latest one, specifically made for gaming so its powerful. So can somebody help me out

[@AgentaDark]

I have ASUS DSL-AX82U AX5400 Dual Band WiFi 6 xDSL Modem Router, WiFi 6 802.11ax, ASUS AURA RGB, Lifetime Free Internet Security, Mesh WiFi support, Gear Accelerator, Adaptive QoS, Port Forwarding Is it good

[@karnliberated8891]

I can't notice any difference with movements but VD graphics look better. Ive only had VD for a week though. I have 400MBPS internet and a decent non gaming 5 ghz router. I play in garage or other side of house without any issues. This is with 3 walls in-between.

[@mechapineman]

I can get airlink to connect, open steam etc. But my oculus home in airlink is gone, the button on the menu bar is gone as well. I just launch into a large white grid room woth just the menu bar. I would be ok with this but it has an annoying ambient noise I cannot find out how to disable. Where do I go to get my oculus house back. The one shown in this vid with the fireplace, guns, and light sabers?

[@Boi-the-Stick-figure]

Does spectrum work well because I have it just wondering

[@L3nkYT]

Elliot you are my fav youtuiber

[@Bogdan100pink]

I'm happy that I have good internet even though my router is in the other room and air link works AMAZING for me

[@robperin5365]

My setup works without having dual ethernet ports on comp. Connect dedicated router cable to the "WAN" port of the gaming router then connect PC to gaming router (I use an tplink ax1500 wifi 6 router)

[@simonoregan4744]

Hello. That Avatar that you were using for the video ? How can I use something like that ?

[@Deanmrd]

Good video Virtual Desktop is way better I only need my pc on to use it not having to turn air link on before use, the only issue I have with Virtual Desktop, when using touch controllers mouse left clicking seems not t left-click it seems to try and move icons. have you found a way to get mouse functions to work better with touch controllers?

[@FlexinVR]

wait, how does the wifi 6 router connect to my home internet/ is it via wifi or via ethernet?

[@Bert1986]

Great video. Thanks!!

[@AdeptuS.AnonyMouS]

Great tips I always left VD alone and got ok performance w/1070 7700k@5.2ghz using a 5ghz Linksys wrt3200acm. I've been having issues with cable/air link freezing while gaming then my picture is like a jetlagged crapshow. So I hope this helps a little.

[@L3nkYT]

ELLIOT IM YOUR BIGGEST FAN

[@ZeqifyVR]

I keep getting 3 dots and it’s won’t let me go to my pc

[@gar_ee8884]

Virtual Desktop is more stable and reliable than even plugging the darn Oculus USB cable in and using link mode. I've never had a single VD related crash, where as link always has at least one disconnection. And even if VD did crash, you can close it and relaunch it anyways and just right back in where you left off, where as when link crashes, it always takes out the application I was running with it.

[@LilSnownut]

Bro, I literally have the exact same problem. Playing PCVR over wifi shouldn't work better than directly plugged in with link, but it does. That's both cool and really dumb at the same time

[@iguanac6466]

Skip the router and just put your motherboard's 5Ghz wifi card in hotspot mode and connect the Oculus straight to your computer. That guarantees a dedicated connection to the machine running Steam (also make sure your dedicated wifi is on an unused channel...use a wifi analyzer app on your phone to figure the best channel to set your wifi to). It also removed an extra point of failure and/or a point of latency. VD was garbage at first because it started off connecting at only 100Mbps. Once I got it up to 800Mbps, it was a better experience than my official Oculus link cable.

[@subbydwg]

I'm missing something.. my issue is my modem is no where near my pc and vr room. Only every option was ethernet to modem.. Would a moca connection work for this?