[Open Beta] + [Unity 6] Bug when starting VRChat
available in future release
Illucio
Yesterday in Open-Beta and today in Unity 6 Beta the first time I open up and login to VRChat it fails to load and turns black. Once I close the application and reopen VRChat it runs normally. I think there may be a bug or most likely a memory leak issue. After looking at my log, during initial start up I did get:
NullReferenceException after entering my home world at start up.
The world hasn't been updated in some time and has perfectly loaded before. So is this a VRChat-Client Side issue?
Log In
K
KaaneWolf
I Did a whole lot more digging today and launched vrc hundreds of time and narrowed the issues, and concluded its not a VRCX issue. let me explain below.
if you are using the new SteamVR 2.17.4 version the issue happen when vrchat is getting launched in VR mode alongside others steam apps getting launched at the same time.
this is why for me, when VRCX was running in the background it had the auto launch feature in VRCX enabled which launches multiples other apps for me along vrchat at the same time. This launching of multiple apps along VRC will make vrchat hang in the world loading screen when you first launch it.
I tried leaving the auto launch feature of VRCX on and removed all the different apps from the auto launch folder and VRchat launch just fine every single time.
As soon as i add the multiples apps back into the vrcx launch folder, it hangs again. In my case i was trying to run these: vrcvideocacher, vrcfacetracking and babbalonia. (others steam apps getting launched alongside VRC may cause the same issue as well)
Then if all the apps are removed from the auto launch folder of VRCX and I instead manually launch these apps quickly from steam while vrchat is in the process of getting launched at the same time then the same issue happen again which prove that it is not a VRCX issue but instead a issue when one or multiple others steam apps get started/launched at the same time as VRC in VR mode.
if you individually run and start these applications before you launch VRC (for example if you make these apps launch with SteamVR first) then launch VRchat by itself afterward, then the issue does not happen.
TL;DR: To Conclude it seems to be a bug from the new SteamVR 2.17.4 and using the "Previous" branch of SteamVR fix all the issues stated above OR you also have the option to keep SteamVR 2.17.4 and individually run and start your different applications BEFORE you launch VRC (for example if you make these apps launch with SteamVR first) THEN launch VRchat BY ITSELF afterward and the issue should not happen.
StormRel
Merged in a post:
refuses to connect in vr mode
r
rat bastard420
Description
game refuses to connect in vr mode, works fine on desktop but refuses to work in vr, simply stuck in s "connecting..." screen forever, ive waited for 10 minues with no result
Reproduction Steps
boot the game up in steam vr. a workaround that sometimes works is reinstalling or deleting files and checking file integrity on steam
Details
- Category: Networking
- Frequency: Always
---
platform: PC (platform: Windows, store: Steam, headset: None)
rawPlatform: WindowsPlayer
clientVersion: 2026.3.2p1-1902-20253ca7ae-Release
unityVersion: 2022.3.22f2-DWR
In-Client Report
---
Log file:
output_log_2026-09-13_23-03-44.txtprotochill
j'ai fait des petit test deconnecter son compte avant de fermer vrchat regle propleme.
I ran a quick test: logging out of the account before closing VRChat solves the problem.
WubTheCaptain
Duplicate, can be merged with: https://feedback.vrchat.com/open-beta/p/open-beta-unity-6-bug-when-starting-vrchat
_
_tau_
updated the status to
available in future release
Illucio
Have you figured out the exact cause and problem? I found nearly every single one of my friends were experiencing this issue logging in on Saturday. Which was strange because they all began experiencing it suddenly at the same time. Was it a SteamVR issue or something client side on VRChat itself? Or was it apps launching alongside VRChat?
dorpomi
_tau_ I'm also extremely curious to hear what's the cause, it's hard to imagine what change in SteamVR could lead to VRC out of all things not logging in.
_
_tau_
dorpomi The issue was related to the Steam dashboard setting a "paused" state at a different time which caused internal delay and time calculations to go out of sync.
WubTheCaptain
For me the workaround has been to use Launch World links from VRChat Home to see and hear the login screen sound every time.
_
_tau_
updated the status to
tracked
K
KaaneWolf
I Did a whole lot more digging today and launched vrc hundreds of time and narrowed the issues, and concluded its not a VRCX issue. let me explain below.
if you are using the new SteamVR 2.17.4 version the issue happen when vrchat is getting launched in VR mode alongside others steam apps getting launched at the same time.
this is why for me, when VRCX was running in the background it had the auto launch feature in VRCX enabled which launches multiples other apps for me along vrchat at the same time. This launching of multiple apps along VRC will make vrchat hang in the world loading screen when you first launch it.
I tried leaving the auto launch feature of VRCX on and removed all the different apps from the auto launch folder and VRchat launch just fine every single time.
As soon as i add the multiples apps back into the vrcx launch folder, it hangs again. In my case i was trying to run these: vrcvideocacher, vrcfacetracking and babbalonia. (others steam apps getting launched alongside VRC may cause the same issue as well)
Then if all the apps are removed from the auto launch folder of VRCX and I instead manually launch these apps quickly from steam while vrchat is in the process of getting launched at the same time then the same issue happen again which prove that it is not a VRCX issue but instead a issue when one or multiple others steam apps get started/launched at the same time as VRC in VR mode.
if you individually run and start these applications before you launch VRC (for example if you make these apps launch with SteamVR first) then launch VRchat by itself afterward, then the issue does not happen.
TL;DR: To Conclude it seems to be a bug from the new SteamVR 2.17.4 and using the "Previous" branch of SteamVR fix all the issues stated above OR you also have the option to keep SteamVR 2.17.4 and individually run and start your different applications BEFORE you launch VRC (for example if you make these apps launch with SteamVR first) THEN launch VRchat BY ITSELF afterward and the issue should not happen.
dorpomi
KaaneWolf IMO it doesn't make much sense, because no matter how you look at it, it's __VRC__ that's refuses to start, not any other app. So the bug may be caused by external tools, but the issue is still within VRC. If not, I'll be very curious to hear how an external tool can interrupt VRC's startup and not considered a bug
K
KaaneWolf
dorpomi its a SteamVR bug, not a vrchat bug, running the previous branch of SteamVR instead of the stable release branch does fix the issue, that is why running vrc in desktop mode doesnt have the issue because it doesnt utilize steamVR
Illucio
KaaneWolf
I can't recreate this because I already open my apps before launching into VRChat and still come into this problem. With VRCX and Facetracking. Or the apps not being on with no auto launch and going into the game.
I don't have auto launch for any app for VRChat on.
The only reliable method I found is to close and open VRChat until I hear sound from my loading screen. If it takes me straight to the initializing and loading world screen it's not going to work and I immediately leave and start up 1-3 times until I hear sound.
K
KaaneWolf
Illucio strange because a couple of my friends have that hanging issue and doing my fix seems to all have fixed their issues, are you sure there is no 3rd party app set to launch along vrc like vrcvideocacher for example
Illucio
KaaneWolf I manually remove VRCVideocacher via console after downloading it for a few days. I can ensure you, that's not it.
I do have 3rd party steam apps for VRChat, but again, they are also on disable. Sometimes I launch Steam and it will say "It's disabled apps at launch" when Steam initially crashes at launch, but they were already disabled.
This sounds like a problem other people are experiencing on startup, but it doesn't sound like the problem I am experiencing.
Enverex
KaaneWolf Couldn't you have concluded this wasn't a VRCX issue by just launching it once without VRCX? I'm confused why it would take hundreds of launches. Also many of us don't even use VRCX and have the issue thus it can't be a VRCX issue...
Enverex
KaaneWolf Doesn't that mean it's a VRC bug which SteamVR triggers? As the issue is VRC not doing something it's supposed to, not SteamVR not doing something it's supposed to. SteamVR works fine, it's VRC that "gets stuck" which means that even if rolling back SteamVR works, the issue itself is still within VRC.
Flux_Knot
I have to tell Steam to use the previous version of SteamVR after it force updated to the latest SteamVR last night. It works fine on the previous version. If I leave it on the updated version of SteamVR, the game DOES start and shows the thumbnail for my homeworld, but gets stuck on the "Connecting" screen apparently forever while my GPU pins at 100%. I waited a couple minutes with it stuck in this state before giving up, reverting to the previous version of SteamVR and then it worked fine afterwards.
K
KaaneWolf
Flux_Knot check my latest reply in this thread im pretty sure i narrowed down the problem
dorpomi
Flux_Knot I made a report about this, pretty sure it's VRC being uncapped and just maxing out the frames for no reason, but it just got closed: https://feedback.vrchat.com/bug-reports/p/uncapped-100-gpu-usage-during-connecting-or-joining-screens
Artsy_Moon
Okay so me and KaaneWolf discovered that users that have vrcx running on launch have been having this issue and when we both decided to not have vrcx launched when booting vrchat it fixed the issue. We dont know why or how but wee tested it 10 times without vrcx and 10 times with vrcx and every single time it worked without vrcx launch when you first boot vrchat. This may not be the solution for everyone but it worked for me and Kaane. I hope this helps but it could still absolutely be a bug with steamvr or even vrcx or both.
StormRel
Merged in a post:
vrchat stuck on connecting since new steamvr update
Artsy_Moon
I tried launch on desktop and i even tried restarting steamvr after rebooting vrchat on desktop then launching steamvr and trying it still gets stuck on connecting. This has been an issue since the steamvr introduced this update in beta months ago. I really hope this can be fixed soon
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