Quest 2 controllers visible but don’t move in Isaac Sim

Omniverse Isaac Sim
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Environment

  • Headset: Meta Quest 2

  • OS: Pop!_OS 22.04 (Xorg session)

  • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

  • Driver: 580.82.07 (user-space + kernel)

  • Vulkan: vulkaninfo lists GPU 0 = NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti

  • Isaac Sim: 4.5 (Linux)

  • OpenXR extensions in Isaac: omni.kit.xr.system.openxr enabled

  • Runtimes tried: SteamVR OpenXR and WiVRn (Flatpak)

  • WiVRn dashboard log: Driver "NvidiaProprietary" "580.82.7.0"

What I’m trying to do

  • Use Meta Quest 2 controllers inside Isaac Sim.

  • Ideally I’d like to know if controllers can work without SteamVR (i.e., with WiVRn only). If SteamVR is required, I’d like guidance to fix my SteamVR startup issue on Linux.

Current behavior

  • With SteamVR: when I try to bring it up, I repeatedly get “Restart SteamVR” and it never stabilizes. Because of this, I tested WiVRn instead.

  • With WiVRn (OpenXR runtime): Isaac Sim connects to the HMD; in-HMD I see both controllers and Isaac Sim also visualizes them. But they don’t move—no pose updates and buttons don’t affect anything. They just stay fixed in place (screenshot attached).

Errors / logs I’ve seen

  • Earlier, when WiVRn was selecting a non-NVIDIA ICD, I hit:

    • Failed allocate Vulkan Instance/Device for OpenXR

    • xrGetVulkanGraphicsDeviceKHR: result: VK_ERROR_EXTENSION_NOT_PRESENT (list included VK_EXT_depth_range_unrestricted)

    • XR_ERROR_FORM_FACTOR_UNSUPPORTED

  • After forcing NVIDIA ICD for WiVRn, the HMD session comes up, but controller pose/buttons are still not updating in Isaac Sim.

What I’ve already tried

  • Ensured NVIDIA Vulkan ICD is used when launching Isaac Sim (__GLX_VENDOR_LIBRARY_NAME=nvidia, VK_ICD_FILENAMES=/usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/nvidia_icd.json), and cleaned env (unset LD_LIBRARY_PATH, deactivated conda).

  • Toggled Window > XR > Enable VR and Enable Input in Isaac; OpenXR extension is on.

  • Verified vulkaninfo picks NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti.

  • For SteamVR: set SteamVR as OpenXR runtime (active_runtime.json), removed steamvr.vrsettings, killed all Steam/VR processes, installed 32-bit Vulkan/GL libs, and tried launching vrstartup with NVIDIA ICD forced. Still loops on Restart SteamVR.

Questions

  1. Is Meta Quest 2 controller input supported in Isaac Sim over WiVRn (Monado) without SteamVR?

    • If yes, what exact steps and input profile/bindings are required so that pose + buttons update in Isaac? Any sample action map or known-good config?

  2. If SteamVR is required for Quest controllers, are there known steps on Linux (Pop!_OS 22.04, NVIDIA 580) to fix the “Restart SteamVR” loop so Isaac Sim + SteamVR + WiVRn works reliably?

  3. Any Isaac Sim XR Input debugging tips (e.g., how to verify XrAction pose/button states inside Isaac beyond the XR Input Debugger) that could help pinpoint why the controllers appear but don’t produce pose updates?

Repro steps (WiVRn path)

  1. Launch WiVRn (Flatpak, NVIDIA ICD).

  2. Connect Quest 2 → HMD view is OK, controllers appear.

  3. Start Isaac Sim → Window > XR > Enable VR (+ Enable Input).

  4. Observe: controllers are visible in scene but no pose/button updates.

Repro steps (SteamVR path, desired)

  1. Set SteamVR as OpenXR runtime.

  2. Launch vrstartup (forcing NVIDIA ICD).

  3. SteamVR shows “Restart SteamVR” repeatedly and never stabilizes.

Attachments

  • Screenshot: controllers visible in Isaac/Quest but not moving.

  • Can provide kit_*_log, active_runtime.json, vulkaninfo excerpts, and SteamVR logs (vrserver.txt, vrcompositor.txt) on request.

Any guidance or a known-working recipe for Quest 2 controllers on Linux would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Screenshot from 2025-09-16 01-17-41
Screenshot from 2025-09-16 01-17-411440×944 111 KB

3

Hi @JEONGSEO, thank you for posting this issue. Currently Quest 2 controller is not supported in Isaac Sim. We are working on expanding the set of VR devices that are supported in Isaac Sim/Lab and may soon have this path available.

4

Hello!

We noticed that this topic hasn’t received any recent responses, so we are closing it for now to help keep the forum organized.

If you’re still experiencing this issue or have additional questions, please feel free to create a new topic with updated details. When doing so, we recommend mentioning or linking to this original topic in your new post—this helps provide context and makes it easier for others to assist you.

Thank you for being part of the NVIDIA Isaac Sim community.

Best regards,
The NVIDIA Isaac Sim Forum Team