HTC Vive VR headsets begin shipping April 5, but some who made sure to purchase a unit ASAP when preorders opened in late February may not receive their handsets with the first wave of shipments.
A significant number of preorder customers reported receiving emails stating their preorder were cancelled, according to publications including VG247 and Road to VR . While HTC is working to resolve this new development, some of those who preordered with intentions of being one of the first to own the VR headset may not receive one.
News first surfaced last week that a glitch with various payment options meant some who preordered the HTC Vive were not seeing the charge appear on their financial accounts. As the Vive won’t ship until payment is received, HTC quickly addressed the issue, by giving out a hotline number (888-216-4736) that customers could call to try and correct the issue.
But now that preorders are being cancelled, there is concern that customers will “lose their place” in the shipment queue. Customers have reached out to HTC via social media and the manufacturer has responded that those with cancellations won’t lose their place. However, Reddit user Dr_Mibble s claims that those who have received cancellation emails will in fact lose their place among the first wave of HTC Vive shipments. But these customers still have a chance to quickly receive their headsets. If they contact HTC, they will be given preference in the second wave of Vive shipments. However, there is no word on when the second wave of units will ship. Later preorders are expected to ship in May.
HTC released a statement Friday indicating the issue stemmed from “auto cancellations due to processing issues with financial institutions.” Further reports indicated certain preorders “flagged as fraudulent possibly due to the 3-digit security code missing as part of the transaction,” according to Road to VR .
Still, the best course of action for customers experiencing any issues is to contact HTC at the aforementioned support number. Customers can also find other contact information at the HTC Vive website and can tweet at HTC’s official twitter account .
