SteamVR Beta 2.0.3 through 2.4.1 Fails to connect to Window Manager

[Esras]

Describe the bug SteamVR "Failed to connect to window manager (497)" on KDE Plasma (Wayland).

To Reproduce

• Log in to desktop environment
• Start SteamVR via the icon in the upper right

Expected behavior SteamVR launches properly.

System Information (please complete the following information):

• Distribution: Fedora 39
• SteamVR version: 2.4.1
• Steam client version: 1709168962
• Opted into Steam client beta?: Yes
• Graphics driver version: 550.54.14
• Gist for SteamVR System Information: https://gist.github.com/Esras/8b981184dc9594014e569060f90d4d64

Additional context

• There are also log messages in journalctl via plasmashell, but none of them seem particularly useful. Included as separate file in the gist.
• I see a core dump from vrwebhelper, but it seems to be after there's already a failure to connect. Stack trace in the gist. - The headset was rendering the pretty void (the one with the vague vaporwave feel to it) and could see the base stations as well as the boundaries that had been set awhile ago, but launching something failed to launch it in the headset. Headset no longer shows anything on 2.3.3
• Headset shows the vaporwave background again on 2.4.1!

---

Note: Commenters who are also experiencing this issue are encouraged to include the "System Information" section in their replies.

[LandonDeam]

I believe I might be having the same or a similar issue. I'm getting a different error/code combo ("A key component of SteamVR isn't working correctly. Please reinstall SteamVR.", code 303), though perhaps it's because I'm on X11 and not Wayland, or because of the distro difference.

System Information Distribution: Arch Linux (Zen Kernel 6.5.5-1) SteamVR version: 2.0.3 Steam client version: 1696019606 Opted into Steam client beta?: No Graphics driver version: mesa 1:23.2.1-1 Gist for SteamVR System Information: https://gist.github.com/LandonDeam/09d7b4d210063d3f72baa0f5882198bf

Edit: Using the stable version of SteamVR works just fine, working on checking version 2.0.2 atm

[caseif]

@LandonDeam My money would be on it being a separate issue, but I obviously could be wrong about that. In any event, I've created #623 to track it.

[TarsiSurdi]

I'm experiencing this same issue on Fedora 38 using Wayland + NVIDIA Drivers 535.113.01 even under the latest patch (2.0.3). Would also like to add that I'm using an Oculus Quest 2 with Air Light VR. Tested under X11 and I get errors related to lib-pango and error 303 - Shared IPC Compositor Init Failed (#623 related?).

System Information

Distribution: Fedora 38 SteamVR version: beta 2.0.3 Steam client version: 1696541351 Opted into Steam client beta?: Yes Graphics driver version: 535.113.01 Gist for SteamVR System Information: https://gist.github.com/TarsiSurdi/3759fedc1a20c4835ca629accae2a51e

P.S. @LandonDeam how do you downgrade to 2.0.2?

[ThaSwapMeetPimp]

Having same issue (error 497) with beta 2.0.4 when using Steam Client Stable Channel on KDE Plasma (x11).

Hasnt actually worked at all since the update in Beta to 2.0.x. None of them have worked at all using Client Beta branch, and this is the first time I tried Stable Channel since 2.0.3 when it was claimed to be fixed for some Linux system. Just apparently not for mine and a few others systems.

Edit: Spoke too soon. Theres no SteamVR Home, but games launch on my system even with the Failure to Connect to Window Manager error. At least, Contractors does.

Edit 2: And when I exited Contractors, lo and behold it loaded up SteamVR Home.

Edit 3: Its like they saw I had it working and had to update the next day to take it away lol. Not getting VR Space even on Stable now that they updated to 2.0.5.

[TarsiSurdi]

Interesting... just tested beta 2.0.4 and I still got the same error messages and no SteamVR Home. Launching a game (Beat Saber) is successful but the game is displayed on the PC's screen only; on the headset it's just a black void.

It is also not respecting the refresh rate and etc... that I have set up in Air Light VR but this could be a problem on their end.

[jarettmillard]

I'm getting the same thing with the Steam VR beta 2.0.5, Pop OS 22.04, Steam client stable, Gnome/X11, Nvidia card with driver 535.113.01. I'm also using ALVR.

[LeFlorians]

I have the same issue with SteamVR Beta 2.0.6, NixOS, Sway/wayland, using the Monado SteamVR plugin

[Limpooka]

I'm on Pop!_OS with Valve Index and AMD, and I can't get SteamVR to start any more.
Tried with 2.0.6 and got the window manager error. Rolled back to 1.27.5 and I'm still getting the window manager error.

Basically can't use SteamVR now.

[TarsiSurdi]

I'm on Pop!_OS with Valve Index and AMD, and I can't get SteamVR to start any more.

Tried with 2.0.6 and got the window manager error. Rolled back to 1.27.5 and I'm still getting the window manager error.

Basically can't use SteamVR now.

I still cannot get the 2.0.6 beta to connect to the window manager, however, when downgrading from it the the stable version (1.27.5) gets SteamVR to work as intended and connect to the headset ONCE. After exiting the app, however the entire Steam (beta) Client crashes and upon opening it again SteamVR has an ~500Mb update to be done. When this specific update is allowed to be installed, SteamVR is completely borked again. Seems like there's something weird going on with the way Steam is handling SteamVR's depots when downgrading or something... 🤔

Installing the stable / beta channels from scratch (full uninstall) yields different results:

• Stable: launches but cannot get past window manager connection;
• Beta: doesn't even launch;

It' really weird but the only instance in which I managed to get VR to work on my setup (once) is to downgrade from beta to stable like this...

[ThaSwapMeetPimp]

Alright, after replacing vrsetup.sh with the updated script from #618, getting error 497 on SteamVR Beta 2.0.6 on Beta Channel, however I have vr space and Library access, am able to launch Contractors VR, exit out and Home comes up. This time consistently across two attempts. Going to reboot and see if it still works, check a couple other games.

[ThaSwapMeetPimp]

Alright, after replacing vrsetup.sh with the updated script from #618, getting error 497 on SteamVR Beta 2.0.6 on Beta Channel, however I have vr space and Library access, am able to launch Contractors VR, exit out and Home comes up. This time consistently across two attempts. Going to reboot and see if it still works, check a couple of other games.

Edit: After reboot, getting shared ipc compositor init failure. Weird. Am in Home but the desktop window says 'SteamVR'. Going to post in other thread.

[josh4364]

Running into this with SteamVR Beta 2.0.8, Also getting left behind vrwebhelper windows when closing and opening steamvr, beta or normal. Trimmed system info:

System:
  Kernel: 5.15.0-87-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 11.4.0 Desktop: Cinnamon 5.6.8
    tk: GTK 3.24.33 wm: muffin dm: GDM3, LightDM Distro: Linux Mint 21.1 Vera
    base: Ubuntu 22.04 jammy
CPU:
  Info: 24-core (8-mt/16-st) model: 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900K bits: 64 type: MST AMCP
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GA102 [GeForce RTX 3090] driver: nvidia v: 535.113.01
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 3840x2160 s-dpi: 60
  Monitor-1: HDMI-0 res: 3840x2160 dpi: 61 diag: 1836mm (72.3")
  OpenGL: renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 535.113.01
    direct render: Yes

[JupiterSky11]

SteamVR Beta 2.0.8, beta Steam client. Having the 497 issue, alongside a black window that is un-killable. Also, the microphone isn't activating but that might be a separate issue.

System:
  Host: MAIN-NODE Kernel: 6.2.0-33-generic x86_64 bits: 64
    Desktop: GNOME 42.9 Distro: Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish)
CPU:
  Info: 8-core model: Intel Core i7-9700K bits: 64 type: MCP cache: L2: 2 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 4600 min/max: 800/4900 cores: 1: 4600 2: 4600 3: 4601
    4: 4601 5: 4600 6: 4600 7: 4600 8: 4600
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GA102 [GeForce RTX 3080] driver: nvidia v: 535.113.01
  Display: server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.4 driver: X: loaded: nvidia
    unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa gpu: nvidia resolution: 2560x1440
  OpenGL: renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080/PCIe/SSE2
    v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 535.113.01

[ThaSwapMeetPimp]

Steam Beta 2.0.8, Client Beta: Failed to connect to Window Manager error 497. Exits cleanly after error 497. Edited: Was not accurate as was a quick test on my lunch break at home.

Edit: After retesting, it appears that its random that error 497 will open with VR Space displayed in the HMD. When outside of VR on main Display the full settings show up when it is displaying in headset, when it does not show full settings just Startup/Shutdown and OpenXR categories, it does not display in the headset. After getting it to go to Home by running a game (usually Contractors VR) and exiting, then once Home has poppep up, exiting VR, then exiting and relaunching Steam Client, SteamVR opens with error 303 one time. Then starts throwing error 497 again until it displays in the headset, restarting the process.

[megagtrwrath]

I've found a temporary workaround for this. I can get past this by 1: Turn off SteamVR 2: unplugging the headset 3: Plugging in the headset 4: Start SteamVR 5: Repeat until video in headset.

Tested with Index headset, with Nvidia Drivers on KDE with Wayland on.

If this works for you and you don't have either, do create a comment.

When it doesn't work, by doing xrandr it shows an xwayland display as disconnected. This will stack until you reboot the system.

Distribution: Arch [KDE Wayland] SteamVR version: 2.0.8 (Stable) Steam client version: 1698260427 Opted into Steam client beta?: Yes Graphics driver version: 545.23.06 Gist for SteamVR System Information: https://gist.github.com/megagtrwrath/f72135dc0435c4f515678d35d33d62e8

[extraymond]

Using native runtime instead of steam runtime allows me to bypass this error and face the 303 instead, but at least it's working.

system setup: os: ubuntu 22.04 desktop environment: kde plasma 5.27(x11) steam: steam beta (official deb) notable ppas:

• kubuntu-ppa/backports-extra
• kisak/kisak-mesa gpu: amdgpu rx6800

reproduction:

• install dependencies for i386 packages using the command here
• launch steam without steam runtime STEAM_RUNTIME=0 steam
• able to start steamvr without facing "Fails to connect to Window Manager"
• able to launch app from within

observations:

• while using steamvr-beta 2.0.8 with steam-beta, it's still showing the old UI, and some features are not working:
  • showing desktop is not working
  • clicking on store not working
  • clicking on library not working
  • recenter/open settings work
  • close steamvr works

[JupiterSky11]

Here's the relevant part of my vrcompositor.txt log if anyone's interested. All it really says is that it can't do the thing, which we already know to be the case. No other logs have any information regarding any errors. When I could get the previous versions of the beta to actually start up, they did connect, so this behaviour is new for me in 2.0.8.

Thu Oct 26 2023 18:34:03.234428 [Info] - Async support disabled by user setting
Thu Oct 26 2023 18:34:03.281222 [Info] - m_pVkInstance : 0x5644b2d213a0
Thu Oct 26 2023 18:34:03.281266 [Info] - m_pVkPhysicalDevice : 0x5644b2df2ca0
Thu Oct 26 2023 18:34:03.281275 [Info] - m_pVkDevice : 0x5644b3171420
Thu Oct 26 2023 18:34:03.281283 [Info] - m_pVkGraphicsQueue : 0x5644b2dec390
Thu Oct 26 2023 18:34:03.281290 [Info] - m_pVkComputeQueue : (nil)
Thu Oct 26 2023 18:34:03.281302 [Info] - HMD swapchain mode:2 count:3
Thu Oct 26 2023 18:34:03.299534 [Info] - Direct mode: enabled
Thu Oct 26 2023 18:34:03.300075 [Error] - CHmdWindowSDL: Failed to initialize mirror window
Thu Oct 26 2023 18:34:03.300101 [Info] - Enabling GPU profiling! /home/jupitersky/.steam/debian-installation/steamapps/common/SteamVR/bin/linux64
Thu Oct 26 2023 18:34:03.300925 [Error] - Error making window!
Thu Oct 26 2023 18:34:03.310346 [Info] - Failed to kill gpu-trace
Thu Oct 26 2023 18:34:03.310490 [Info] - Failed to initialize compositor
Thu Oct 26 2023 18:34:03.310516 [Info] - Failed to start compositor: VRInitError_Compositor_CannotConnectToDisplayServer

[ThaSwapMeetPimp]

Ugh.....on 2.0.10, only getting error 497 now. Edit: When it randomly displays in the HMD, no home and no dashboard. Can launch games from desktop and exit from game in VR to get to Home.

Edit 2: After getting in to Home, when i exited VR from Desktop, Steam Client closed. After reopening, relaunched SteamVR, no error, and new UI! Edit 3: Once! And then back to error 497!

Edit 4: Ok. Error 497 seems to throw while showing in the HMD when I launch SteamVR after restarting the Client. Every once in awhile from restarting SteamVR after restarting Steam Client (possibly after entering a game from VR Space, exiting to get back to Home, and exiting SteamVR from Desktop Window), get no error, displays in headset, and get new UI, though red and blue channels are switched. After exiting VR from that, error 497 and no display in headset.

[ThaSwapMeetPimp]

Seems to be fixed as of 2.1.1. Even getting the new UI, though red and blue channels are switched still.

[wallcarpet40]

Started working for me too on Fedora 39 beta, which was not working at all up until now. KDE Plasma Wayland, AMD CPU and GPU, kernel 6.5.9. New UI also works, with flipped colors. Other issues rose, but will be discussed elsewhere.

[TarsiSurdi]

Can confirm SteamVR 2.0.10 is now working on Fedora 39 (545 NVIDIA drivers) even on GNOME Wayland, also tested KDE Plasma.

However, OpenXR applications aren't working, but that's another issue entirely.

[sparker256]

SteamVR-2023-11-08-AM_10_03_38.txt

Ubuntu 22.04 KDE Plasma not working for me.

[phil-flip]

Same issue here. Version 2.0.10 Rocky Linux 9.2

[jon-bit]

fixed a bug a few days ago. Now I have this :(. looks the same as @sparker256

steam vr: 2.1.4 linux: jos linux (realy just slightly modified mint) headset: HTC vive

[jon-bit]

Quick update: Flatpak steam works HOWEVER steam .deb file does not. I just wanted to let everyone know in case if it helps someone.

[twhitehead]

Quick heads up that I started getting this on an AMD GPU under X11 one day out of what seemed like the blue sometime I got this as well Seemed like the only thing I couldn't get was a working StreamVR. Even when I went back to versions I knew had worked before.

Finally traced it down. DRI3 had become disabled due to me having upgraded mesa without also upgrading the Xorg amdgpu driver. Relevant message in Xorg log file

...
Nov 27 19:02:26 tux xserver-wrapper[19514]: DRI driver not from this Mesa build ('23.1.9' vs '23.0.3')
Nov 27 19:02:26 tux xserver-wrapper[19514]: failed to bind extensions
...
[   132.209] (==) AMDGPU(0): DRI3 disabled

and xdpyinfo output

...
number of extensions:    27
..
    DPMS
    DRI2
    GLX    <-- DRI3 should follow DRI2
...

The reason it was so puzzling was the was a several day delay between when I upgraded the mesa drivers without upgrading amdgpu and when I logged out and back in, restarted Xorg, and triggering the loss of DRI3.

Now that I know what it is. It is totally reproducible. Make sure the mesa version agree, and everything works fine. Make them different, and it is all broken. Hope this info will help someone else.

[elijahsgh]

Happy New Year Anyone figure this out? Fedora 39. Beta doesn't work. Tried the suggested desktop environments (Xorg, Hyprland, Sway, ...), verified xrandr --verbose, cable works fine in windows, ...

[poVoq]

Fedora 39, KDE on Wayland. Steam Beta 2.4.1 (on stable it is the same) AMD RX7600 HTC Vive Pro

Same error still.

[elijahsgh]

Fedora 39, KDE on Wayland. Steam Beta 2.4.1 (on stable it is the same) AMD RX7600

Same error still.

Yeah I don't think anyone is working on this or fixing it so we have a large Valve Index Paperweight. :(

[poVoq]

To me it looks like SteamVR 2.x regressed to trying to access the screen through Xorg, which even with Xwayland will fail.

It used to work fine on KDE with Wayland before though.