PlaystationVR CUH-ZVR1

A PSVR CUH-ZVR1 Headset unit with inline control, and HDMI and proprietary Sony connector

The Playstation VR is a virtual reality accessory to the Playstation 4 console. It consists of a connect box and a headset unit, requires a Playstation 4 camera and can also be used with a Playstation 5 console, when a Playstation 4 camera is connected to the system with an adapter. There are two distinct versions of the system. The PSVR CUH-ZVR1 and the PSVR CUH-ZVR2. The headsets and connect boxes from these two hardware versions are not interoperable. This article focuses on known issues and repair strategies for the PSVR CUH-ZVR1 system.

Issues and strategies

Problem	Solution
HDMI broken wire	Replacing the entire wire harness connection the headset unit Solder an HDMI port to the headsets PCB, cut a hole in the side, run an external cable
Presence sensor broken solder joint	Reflow the sensor Replace the board with a salvaged one from eBay
Sony proprietary connector, broken wire	Replace the entire wire harness connecting the headset No other elegant solution known so far

HDMI Issues

File:HDMI Connector Pinout.svg

Plug side pin out of an HDMI connector, as viewed from the socket

The HDMI cable on the PSVR headset transmits the video signal for the display inside. It has 19 pins, three of which are not connected. Pins 13, 14, and 18 are not used. Pin 18 usually is a +5 V supply voltage, but because the headset unit is supplied with voltage over the second connector, this pin is not used.

Broken wire in HDMI cable

The video going to the headset is transported via 4 TMDS data links, each consisting of 3 wires. One data+, one data− and a shield. If any of the eight data+ or data− wires break, the display goes dark and no video is shown. In that case, replacing the entire wire harness is an option. However, Sony does not sell the wire harness as a replacement part and thus they are hard-to-come-by parts and are very expensive on used markets. Because most faults on these headsets involve a broken wire, it's difficult to find these in the first place.

An HDMI port was soldered to the corresponding points on the head set unit pcb. Twisting the paired cables of the TMDS pairs is very important for good image quality.

Another option is to simply bypass the broken connection, by soldering an HDMI connector to the board inside the headset and running a cable between the connect box and the headset.