Introduction
Follow this guide to replace the hand strap or adjustment strap on the left-hand controller for a Valve Index VR headset.
Power off your headset and controllers before you begin your repair.
Note: The photos used in this guide are of the right-hand controller, but the process is exactly the same.
-
-
Press and hold the elastic band adjustment button.
-
Slide the elastic band out of the controller.
-
-
-
Insert an opening pick under the round plastic cover next to the A and B buttons.
-
Slide the opening pick around the top of the controller until all three plastic clips are disengaged.
-
-
-
Use a T5 Torx screwdriver to remove the two 6.1 mm screws securing the adjustment strap to the controller.
-
Once the adjustment strap is unscrewed, the spring underneath may fall out.
-
-
-
First, loosely screw the strap back in. Don't screw it in too tight, or you'll have trouble getting the spring in. Once it's screwed in, adjust the mechanism so that it's lined up with one of the pegs.
-
Place the spring so that the coil is around the nearby spoke, and the lower arm is seated in its little notch behind the strap screws.
-
Put pressure on the coil of the spring so that it doesn't fly out, and move the arm of the spring over the top of the fastener, and push it in so that it stays underneath the lip.
-
While keeping pressure on the coil, quickly tighten the screws. Tighten the screw closest to the spring first. This will prevent the spring from unseating itself and springing back out.
-
Compare your new replacement part to the original part—you may need to transfer remaining components or remove adhesive backings from the new part before installing.
To reassemble your device, follow the above steps in reverse order.
Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.
Repair didn’t go as planned? Try some basic troubleshooting, or ask our Valve Index Answers community for help.
5 comments
Doesn't explain how to put it back together with the spring which is conveniently missing from the photos.
Draylynn -
I'm several months late, but just in case I figured I'd toss a reply just in case you were interested in the imgur guide I made to help out anyone else struggling with this. It's posted as a separate comment on this post. Hope your repair went well otherwise!
I appreciate the guide, but as someone noted above, you are seriously lacking in the spring instructions, which might be the most important part of this assembly. However, I managed to find a way to get the spring seated back in on my own, and so for any other unfortunates stumbling onto this guide, I made my own crappy Imgur gallery guide for re-seating the spring. Each image has a small paragraph beneath it explaining the steps to take. I hope it manages to help anyone else struggling to swap out a strap.
(NOTE: Images were made for Right hand controller, simply mirror for Left hand.)
https://imgur.com/gallery/RQYtS5e
I hate this guide for not including the pics for the spring. You don't happen to still have the pics, do you? The imgur link is dead and I've spent the last hour or so trying to fit the spring, but I can't figure out any way how. Would be a lifesaver if you could share these pics again!
DarkKryo -
In fact, using a pry tool alone cannot open the circular plastic cover. You can try using a small flathead screwdriver or tweezers to insert into the joystick hole on the side near the tracking ring, utilizing leverage to create a gap (first push the joystick down before inserting). Then, insert the pry tool and unlock each clip one by one. However, this method requires a certain level of skill and may cause cosmetic damage, so please proceed with caution!
Hrenact -