Teardown of the Acer / Microsoft “Mixed Reality” VR headset

I wanted to see whats inside the new Acer VR headset that my company (Packet39) received a few days ago. So I took it apart and documented the process.

Velcro comes off, then 6 small screws. Then the plastic “face cover” detaches, and the headband with it.

The two lens holders (or maybe protectors, as they don’t actually hold anything) pop off. Four more screws and then another plastic cover comes off (not easily though).

Now the IR proximity sensor and audio jack are exposed.

One more screw and the audio jack comes out.

Four additional screws and the LCD+lenses module comes off. I didn’t open that one, because they are usually hermetically sealed and I don’t have a clean room to put it back together. The LCD module is connected to the main board by two ribbon cables, and the IR sensor is the third.

Back side of the main board, and the QR code / serial number.

The two cameras, each have their own ribbon cable and a fancy cable protector. I peel off the shielding but there is no label on the camera itself. Sadly, I still have no idea what kind of cameras these are. Each camera has a flat and flexible heatsink glued to the back, that extends to the sides of the headset.

There is nothing else in the headset, no additional sensors or emitters.

Here is the front side of the main board, with some closeups on the chip numbers. I haven’t looked these up yet, if you know what they do please comment on this blog post.

Everything was put back together in reverse order without much difficulty. Headset still works, so great success. I hope you find this useful.

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