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Alternative Wi-Fi Options

If you are having issues with your Wi-Fi connection being poor, inconsistent ping, or your trackers are unable to connect to your Wi-Fi you have a few alternative options. Wi-Fi based SlimeVR trackers have known issues with Dormitory/College and ISP/Network provider based Wi-Fi networks.

In these cases it is recommended to either setup a Windows Mobile Hotspot or use a secondary router to create a local Wi-Fi network for your trackers to connect to.

Windows Mobile Hotspot

You can set up a Wi-Fi hotspot for your trackers through Windows using the Mobile Hotspot feature. This allows you to create a new Wi-Fi network sharing your PC's existing Ethernet/Wi-Fi connection.

  1. Close SlimeVR if it is running.
  2. Open the Windows Settings app and navigate to Settings > Network & internet > Mobile hotspot.
  3. Turn off the Hotspot if it is on, then under Properties section click the Edit or Options button.
  4. Set the WiFi network name and Password to whatever you want, it is helpful to use a simple name and password.
  5. Click on "Network Band" and make sure it is set to 2.4 GHz in the dropdown. Make sure it is not set it to "Any", if it is set to "Any" then it will not create a 2.4GHz network and it will not work.
  6. Click Save.
  7. Now that you have configured the hotspot, toggle the "Mobile hotspot" ON.
Windows SettingsMobile Hotspot SettingsConfigure Hotspot

Once your Mobile hotspot is ON, you can connect your trackers the normal way.

  1. Open SlimeVR and click on the "Connect Trackers" button in the left panel.
  2. Input/select your Mobile Hotspot network name and the password you set in Step #4 above.
  3. Turn OFF the tracker, plug it into your computer, then turn ON tracker.
  4. Repeat until all of your trackers are connected to your new Wi-Fi hotspot.

Common notes:

  • If you restart your Windows PC make sure to turn your Mobile Hotspot ON.
  • The WiFi signal should show as a full green wifi icon on the trackers that are connected. If your signal shows low, check the WiFi antenna at the back of your PC are fully screwed in.
  • Windows only allows up to 8 devices to connect to the hotspot (on most Wi-Fi cards). If you have more than 8 trackers, you will need to purchase one of the recommended Secondary Routers below instead.

If setting up a Windows Mobile Hotspot is not working/possible for you, you can purchase a secondary router in order to have a better Wi-Fi connection for your trackers (and with some router models your headset).

You can use these to either "repeat" a Wi-Fi network or create a new Wi-Fi network using an ethernet connection. These routers are very helpful if you have a "Captive" Wi-Fi network that opens up a webpage and requires you to sign in before connecting to the internet (common for Dormitory/College Wi-Fi). These secondary routers are able to connect to the "Captive" Wi-Fi network and create a new Wi-Fi signal that only requires the network name and password to connect, which is exactly what Wi-Fi Slime trackers require.

These Gl.iNet routers are commonly used and tested by the SlimeVR community.
These specific models have been tested and are widely used by the community:

SlimeVR Tracker capability only:

SlimeVR Tracker and Wireless Virtual Desktop/Steam Link capable:

SlimeVR Tracker, Wireless Virtual Desktop, and general home internet capable:

  • $159 USD Gl.iNet Flint 2. Dual band.
  • $199 USD Gl.iNet Flint 3 Tri band. Needs line of sight to effectively use the 6GHz band for wireless VR.
  • $169 USD Gl.iNet Flint 3e. Dual band version of the Gl.iNet Flint 3. Recommended if you don't need the 6GHz capability of the original Flint 3.

Page updated with recommendations by Amebun. If you have router suggestions or more information, use the documentation channel on the Discord.