I decided to tear apart my Windows Mixed Reality VR headset because it will soon become just a paperweight. I don't expect to find much that I can repurpose, but I still wanted to see what's inside. Thankfully someone has already written a teardown guide on iFixit which will save me time. It also lets this post focus on items not already in the guide.

The guide has location for all the screws, but one thing not explicitly called out is the fact the screws are tiny and some of them are very deeply recessed. A large handle with an interchangeable screwdriver bit wouldn't fit here. I had to dig up an actual tiny screwdriver.

A good VR headset would minimize weight hanging on our head. So I had expected to find a fully optimized design but I see many unpopulated footprints on the main logic board. I don't know enough to speculate what they might have been but it's clear this board isn't as optimized as I had thought it would be. Sure, we're probably talking about surface mount components that wouldn't weigh much on their own, but consider their downstream effects. Their footprints and associated wiring makes this logic board larger. Which meant the enclosure had to be larger, and so on. Each individual step may be a small weight gain but they add up.

The guide got as far as removing this headband assembly and didn't go into any more detail about it. This headband was very adjustable to accommodate a wide range of human head sizes and well padded for comfort holding up the weight that it did. I thought this headband might be the component most likely to get reused. Technology and market forces has rendered rest of the headset obsolete, but I still have the same head!

The hinge mechanism was secured by four screws hidden under a sticker.

Opposite those screws were a set of four clips.

Removing screws and releasing clips allowed the hinge mechanism to slide free of the visor chassis.

The hinge came apart easily once freed. It looks very promising for reuse if I ever wanted to build something to wear on my head. The underlying spring-loaded mechanism has a round output shaft with flattened top and bottom, a shape I should be able to 3D print and mesh with. Or I could try to design and print something that fits into the clips and screws. Both are possibilities for the future. Right now I'll set it aside to look at the display unit.