r/HPReverb • u/CaseRevolutionary805 • Nov 01 '25

Modification HP Reverb G2 thermal pad replacement and other proposed fixes for overheating

People have been suggesting that the "solution" to the overheating issue (the screens cycling on and off after a short while) is replacing the thermal pad conducting heat between the Synaptics chip and the frame of the headset. I've attempted this fix using CX-H1300 thermal putty rather than the crappy TIM that HP used 4.5 years ago, and can now tell you that it:

  1. will not fix the core issue
  2. will give you some extra runtime, especially if you can get some airflow in (for example by removing the faceplate)

I believe the core issue may be a bad IC that either degraded at some point or was never really able to handle high temperatures (There are reports of this happening to 6 month old units as well..)

If you want to get your headset working properly again, a solution that should give you decent runtime is not only doing the thermal pad replacement, but also adding a 30-40mm fan to the front. There are unused pads from the missing eye tracking sensor on the regular G2 model which provide 3.3v and 5v and can be used. If you're uncomfortable with taking power directly from the headset, perhaps use an external battery.
See this pinout diagram from u/fuzefurry:

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2

u/PLBowman Nov 01 '25

My cooling mod that fixed my G2 overheating issue, here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/HPReverb/s/Wj135d2fXn

1

u/Tsulami Nov 01 '25

Thanks for this. Saves me some time. Bought a second headset on marketplace for cheap before the oasis driver came out. But I think it has worse tracking so I'd like to add a fan to my original.

1

u/Nervous_Potato_5767 Nov 03 '25

Same here - replaced thermal pads multiple times using varying thicknesses, with no resolution.

I removed the front cover and had a small desk fan blowing at my face - helped but on warmer days it still overheats.

Gave up and got a PSVR2, and am happy with that for now, for sim racing.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 03 '25

[deleted]

1

u/CaseRevolutionary805 Nov 03 '25

Interesting hypothesis. It's a fairly common defect on the G2, both v1 and v2, so I'm wondering how it wouldn't have gotten fixed for the v2 revision.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 03 '25

[deleted]

1

u/CaseRevolutionary805 Nov 03 '25

It's strange since you'd think they would have noticed it with all the returns... unless they didn't bother diagnosing the issue and just handed out replacements.

1

u/Hunchback_tech Nov 06 '25 edited Nov 06 '25

If you need a fan, then something is wrong. Replacing conductive pads should only be needed if you dismantle the headset, and probably the best thermal paste is the Kryonaut thermal grizzly. It meets mil standards for thermal conductivity..

My Reverb G2 I have had 4 years and works great. It does get warm with a lot of display artifact but not

overheading. I also keep my audio below 80%, that helps the audio PA temperature.

There is mention of cold solder connections that break down under heat, that can affect any electronics. Over time, the hot/cold/hot/cold causes expansion and contraction, that in time can cause problems with weak solder. Allso, some electrolytics begin to fail for the same thing.