HTC has made the pro-consumer move of partnering with popular DIY repair website iFixit to offer replacement parts, repair guides, and more for out-of-warranty headsets. The move contrasts with one of the company’s major competitors, Oculus, which has opted to quickly discontinue older headsets with little recourse for out-of-warranty DIY repairs.

HTC announced this week that it has partnered with iFixit to offer official replacement parts for the original Vive, Vive Pro, Vive Pro Eye, Vive Tracker, and base stations.

There’s 35 parts currently offered, even including some internal electronic components (like the Vive Sensor Array), external components like headphones and cables, and even minor items like individual screws.

iFixit is also providing detailed disassembly and repair guides for the headsets and controllers for those with the skills and patience to make their own repairs.

While there are parts of the headsets that aren’t offered (like lenses and displays), the availability of components and the knowledge offered through the disassembly and repair guides are a veritable treasure trove for DIY repairers hoping to keep their headsets up and running for years to come.

The offering contrasts with Oculus which has moved to quickly discontinued its older headsets, often meaning that basic replacement parts—like headphones, cables, and sensors—are simply unavailable to out-of-warranty headsets. HTC is going several steps further by offering not just the basics, but even internal and components, casings, and even many of the bits and bobs that keep its headsets together.

HTC has a good reason for betting on the longevity of its older headsets. While its latest VR headset, Cosmos, has hardly caught on, the original Vive headset still makes up a little more than 12% of active headsets on Steam, despite being released more than five years ago. Along with the Vive Pro, these older HTC headsets collectively make up nearly 15% of active headsets on Steam.

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.


Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • I’ve been using rift for years over the vive and I gotta say, this is a nice move by HTC.

  • Lhorkan

    My Vive is still going strong, the only issue is a slightly ripped light blocker – which has been for sale as a spare part since (I believe) launch, but is now out of stock.

    • TechPassion

      time to upgrade to HP Reverb G2 and see VR as it should be seen :)

  • Tabp

    Nice. This is good marketing, since even people who don’t have those vives will be able to have more confidence in the longevity of future headsets HTC might come out with.

    • Beverley Hall

      Ashley this-past month I collected $19562 through working on pc at home in my spare-time..(w1210) I figured out to do it by spending some hours in whole day consistently-computer.(w1210) it’s very nice and any of you definetly can get this. >>> http://url.zooz.org/webmoney

  • TechPassion

    5 years too late. Nobody wants to use vive scrap

    • Michelle Lewis

      Ashley this-past month I collected $19562 through working on pc at home in my spare-time..(w1091) I figured out to do it by spending some hours in whole day consistently-computer.(w1091) it’s very nice and any of you definetly can get this. >>> http://www.Jumpzoo.com

  • This announcement for an older headset could be a sign of things to come; repairability is very important as e-waste is a hot consumer topic for good reason.

    It’s not sustainable to junk a controller or headset just out of warranty because of a small part being unavailable, all XR manufacturers really need to start thinking about this important issue.

    Spares such as tethers, face gaskets, headstraps should always be available to purchase (HTC have good form here)

    It’s also very beneficial for consumers in terms of ownership cost and minimising downtime. Parts wear, accidents happen, but let me pay to repair if I’m willing…

  • doug

    I didn’t see any base stations, or base station parts, like the article said. I missed it? Maybe they are coming later?

  • This is a very smart move, and I’m sure it will appeal all the PC VR community!