Nova Elite (Sage & Gold colorway)

[microwaved-sushi]

Just picked this headset up today. Initially wasn't detected.

asm-cli-diagnose.log

lsusb-outputs.log

Modified YAMLs

• product_ids: added 0x2270
• command_interface_index: [0, 3] → [3, 0]

Seems to be working now although I haven't tested all functions.

[loteran]

Nice work — and thanks for the captures. You actually landed on exactly the right fix on your own: command_interface_index: [3, 0] is correct, because the Nova Elite exposes its command interface on HID interface 3 (not interface 0). I just shipped that same correction for the base Nova Elite (0x2244) in issue #100 — your independent confirmation is great to have.

Your lsusb shows the Sage & Gold colorway (0x2270) has the identical interface layout (HID interface 3, alt 0), so it's the same protocol. I've now added 0x2270 to the Nova Elite device profile, so it'll be recognised out of the box in the next stable release — no manual YAML edit needed after that.

Since you're already up and running: could you confirm which controls actually work on your unit? Specifically ANC / Transparency, the EQ, mic volume, and sidetone — and the OLED/screen if your model has one. That's the part I can't verify without the hardware, and it would let me mark the Nova Elite controls as fully confirmed. Thanks again for the clean report!

[microwaved-sushi]

updated to most recent version.

Channels tab working.
Equalizer tab Sonar/Custom both work.

DAC settings
station_volume works (seems counter-intuitive GUI wise 100(max)-56(mute) guess the DAC shows -56+100)
Line Out Mode: Cannot test currently
chatmix_enabled: works
sonar_enabled: works
station_screen_brightness: works
station_screensaver: works
station_home_screen_view: works
station_home_screen_options: works
Custom Display: Does not work (messed with it a bunch, DAC display got garbled, powercycle restored)

Settings
ANC: works
noise_cancelling_level: works
transparent_noice_cancelling_level: works
equalizer_wireless: works
equalizer_bluetooth: works
Mic Volume: works
mic_sidetone_boom: works
mic_sidetone_ear: works
Mic LED Brightness: works
Wireless Mode: works (speed = hi-res on this DAC)
bluetooth_default: works
bluetooth_auto_mute: works

Sliders can be finicky, not sure if just the slight delay syncing with the DAC or just on this model.

[loteran]

Hey @microwaved-sushi, thank you for the detailed control-by-control test — that was really helpful! It confirms that all Nova Elite controls (EQ, mic, volume, sidetone, etc.) are working correctly. The one remaining gap is the OLED custom display: when ASM tries to push a bitmap to the base-station screen, it garbles instead of displaying properly, because we don't yet know the frame/bitmap protocol the screen expects.

Why we need a USB capture

The official SteelSeries GG / Sonar software on Windows knows exactly how to talk to that screen. If we can record the USB traffic while GG is driving the OLED, we can see the exact packet format (interface, report ID, frame layout) and implement it in ASM. This is the same approach that got the Nova Pro Wired OLED working (issue #76), and the base-station screen appears to use the same panel — so the protocol should be very close to what we already support.

What you need

• A Windows PC (the capture has to be done on Windows where SteelSeries GG runs)
• The Arctis Nova Elite base station connected via USB
• SteelSeries GG installed and able to show the base-station screen
• Wireshark installed with the USBPcap component checked — and a reboot after install (USBPcap is a kernel driver)

Wireshark download: https://www.wireshark.org/download.html — during install, make sure the USBPcap checkbox is ticked.

Capture steps

1. Save the PowerShell script below as capture-nova-elite-oled.ps1 (anywhere on your Windows machine, e.g. your Desktop).
2. Right-click it → Run with PowerShell — or use the .bat launcher further below if you prefer.
3. The script will check for USBPcap, set up the output file, and print numbered instructions before launching the capture tool.
4. When USBPcapCMD lists your USB hubs, pick the hub that shows SteelSeries / Arctis Nova Elite (VID 1038 / PID 2270).
5. While it is capturing (~30–45 s), do this in SteelSeries GG:
   • Switch between different OLED home-screen views (time display, EQ graph, music info, battery — whatever options are available).
   • Change the screen brightness up and down a few times.
   • Toggle any on-screen EQ visualizer if it exists.
   • Let it sit idle for about 10 seconds so a screensaver/refresh frame is captured.
6. Press Ctrl+C in the capture window to stop.
7. The script will print the path of the saved .pcap file and remind you to attach it here.

PowerShell script

#requires -Version 5.1

<#
.SYNOPSIS
    Captures USB traffic from the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite (VID 1038 / PID 2270)
    so the ASM developers can reverse-engineer the OLED frame/bitmap protocol.

.DESCRIPTION
    Uses USBPcapCMD.exe (installed with Wireshark) to record USB traffic from the
    root hub that hosts the Nova Elite base station. The capture covers the entire
    root hub; we filter to 1038:2270 later in Wireshark. You must run this script
    as Administrator because USBPcap is a kernel-mode driver.

.NOTES
    Save this file as capture-nova-elite-oled.ps1 and run it from an elevated
    PowerShell window (right-click > "Run as Administrator").
#>

# -- 1. Elevation check --------------------------------------------------------
$principal = [Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal][Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()
if (-not $principal.IsInRole([Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole]::Administrator)) {
    Write-Host ""
    Write-Host "ERROR: This script must be run as Administrator." -ForegroundColor Red
    Write-Host ""
    Write-Host "  1. Close this window."
    Write-Host "  2. Search for 'PowerShell' in the Start menu."
    Write-Host "  3. Right-click 'Windows PowerShell' and choose 'Run as administrator'."
    Write-Host "  4. In the elevated window, run this script again."
    Write-Host ""
    Read-Host "Press Enter to exit"
    exit 1
}

# -- 2. Locate USBPcapCMD.exe --------------------------------------------------
$usbpcapExe = "C:\Program Files\USBPcap\USBPcapCMD.exe"
if (-not (Test-Path $usbpcapExe)) {
    Write-Host ""
    Write-Host "ERROR: USBPcapCMD.exe was not found at:" -ForegroundColor Red
    Write-Host "  $usbpcapExe" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    Write-Host ""
    Write-Host "USBPcap ships as an optional component inside the Wireshark installer." -ForegroundColor White
    Write-Host "To install it:" -ForegroundColor White
    Write-Host ""
    Write-Host "  1. Download Wireshark from: https://www.wireshark.org/download.html"
    Write-Host "  2. Run the installer."
    Write-Host "  3. On the component selection page, make sure 'USBPcap' is CHECKED."
    Write-Host "  4. Finish the installation."
    Write-Host "  5. REBOOT your PC -- USBPcap is a kernel driver and requires a reboot."
    Write-Host "  6. Re-run this script."
    Write-Host ""
    Read-Host "Press Enter to exit"
    exit 1
}

# -- 3. Determine output file path ---------------------------------------------
$desktopDir = Join-Path $env:USERPROFILE "Desktop"
$outputFile = Join-Path $desktopDir "nova-elite-oled.pcap"

# Never overwrite an existing capture -- append a timestamp instead
if (Test-Path $outputFile) {
    $ts         = Get-Date -Format "yyyyMMdd-HHmmss"
    $outputFile = Join-Path $desktopDir "nova-elite-oled-$ts.pcap"
}

# -- 4. Pre-capture briefing ---------------------------------------------------
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "========================================================" -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Host "  Arctis Nova Elite OLED Capture  --  ASM Project" -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Host "========================================================" -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "Output file:" -ForegroundColor White
Write-Host "  $outputFile" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "BEFORE starting, confirm:" -ForegroundColor Yellow
Write-Host "  * The Arctis Nova Elite base station is plugged in via USB."
Write-Host "  * SteelSeries GG is running and the base-station is visible in the app."
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "What will happen next:" -ForegroundColor Yellow
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "  [Step 1]  USBPcapCMD will list your USB root hubs and their devices."
Write-Host "            Look for the hub that shows 'SteelSeries' or 'Arctis Nova Elite'."
Write-Host "            Type the NUMBER of that hub and press Enter."
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "  [Step 2]  If asked to filter specific devices, just press Enter"
Write-Host "            (capture everything on that hub -- we filter in Wireshark later)."
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "  [Step 3]  If asked for an output file path, copy-paste the path below:"
Write-Host "            $outputFile" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "            (The script tries to pass this automatically via -o.)"
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "  [Step 4]  WHILE capturing (~30-45 seconds), do this in SteelSeries GG:"
Write-Host "              a) Switch between different OLED home-screen views"
Write-Host "                 (time, EQ graph, music info, battery -- whatever is available)."
Write-Host "              b) Change screen brightness up and down a few times."
Write-Host "              c) Toggle any on-screen EQ/visualizer if the option exists."
Write-Host "              d) Let it sit idle for ~10 seconds so a screensaver frame is captured."
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "  [Step 5]  Press Ctrl+C in this window to stop the capture."
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "========================================================" -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "Press Enter when you are ready to launch USBPcapCMD..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
Read-Host | Out-Null

# -- 5. Run USBPcapCMD ---------------------------------------------------------
# USBPcap captures at the root-hub level (one hub at a time). The -o flag
# pre-fills the output path in versions that support it; the user can also type
# the path shown above when prompted. Filtering to 1038:2270 happens in Wireshark.
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "Starting USBPcapCMD -- follow the prompts above." -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Host "(Ctrl+C here when done capturing.)" -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Host ""

& $usbpcapExe -o $outputFile

# -- 6. Post-capture summary ---------------------------------------------------
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "========================================================" -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Host "  Capture finished!" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "========================================================" -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Host ""

if (Test-Path $outputFile) {
    Write-Host "File saved to:" -ForegroundColor Green
    Write-Host "  $outputFile" -ForegroundColor Green
    Write-Host ""
    Write-Host "Please attach this file to GitHub issue #101."
    Write-Host "Thank you for helping improve Arctis Sound Manager!"
} else {
    Write-Host "The expected output file was not found at the default path." -ForegroundColor Yellow
    Write-Host "  $outputFile" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    Write-Host ""
    Write-Host "If USBPcapCMD asked you to enter a path manually, locate the"
    Write-Host ".pcap file you specified and attach it to GitHub issue #101."
}

Write-Host ""
Read-Host "Press Enter to exit"

.bat launcher (if PowerShell execution policy blocks you)

Save this as run-capture.bat in the same folder as the .ps1, then double-click it. It will request UAC elevation automatically.

@echo off
:: Launches capture-nova-elite-oled.ps1 with Administrator rights.
:: Save this file in the same folder as the .ps1, then double-click it.
:: UAC elevation is requested automatically if needed.

net session >nul 2>&1
if %errorlevel% neq 0 (
    powershell -Command "Start-Process -FilePath '%~f0' -Verb RunAs"
    exit /b
)

powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "%~dp0capture-nova-elite-oled.ps1"
pause

What to attach

Once the capture is done the script will tell you where the file is (on your Desktop, named nova-elite-oled.pcap). Please drag and drop that file into a comment on this issue.

Don't worry about privacy: the capture contains only USB control packets exchanged between your PC and the headset — no keystrokes, no audio, no personal data.

This should give us everything we need to implement proper OLED rendering for the Nova Elite in a future release. Thank you so much for taking the time — this kind of capture is genuinely the only way we can figure out the frame protocol without owning the hardware ourselves!

[microwaved-sushi]

I don't have access to a Windows machine currently. Not sure if a VM with USB passthrough would give useful data?

[loteran]

Yes — a Windows VM with full USB passthrough will give us exactly the data we need. USBPcap runs inside the Windows guest and captures at the guest's USB stack, so it records the real GG ↔ base-station transfers (report IDs, frame/bitmap layout) regardless of the fact it's virtualized. The OLED protocol is identical whether GG runs on bare metal or in a VM.

A few things to get right so the capture is usable:

• Full device passthrough, not high-level USB redirection. The Nova Elite base station is a composite device (audio + HID), and the OLED traffic is on HID interface 3. Make sure the whole device (VID 1038 / PID 2270) is handed to the guest, not just selected interfaces/endpoints. With VirtualBox, VMware Workstation, or QEMU/KVM this works fine — just attach the device to the running Windows guest from the host.
• Confirm GG actually drives the screen in the VM. Once the device is passed through, open SteelSeries GG in the guest and make sure the base-station screen is visible and you can change views/brightness. If GG sees it and the OLED reacts, the capture will be good.
• Then run the capture-nova-elite-oled.ps1 script from my earlier comment inside the guest and follow the same steps (switch home-screen views, change brightness, toggle any EQ visualizer, let it idle ~10 s).

Note: capturing on your Linux host with usbmon won't help here, because once the device is passed through to the guest the host no longer sees its traffic — and GG (the thing that knows the protocol) only runs on Windows anyway. So the VM is genuinely the right approach.

No rush at all — whenever you can get to it. Thanks again!