Why Your New Meta Quest Might Not Be Working

The holidays are the worst time for a software update that will render your Meta Quest headset unusable, but that’s exactly the situation users encountered last week. According to messages on Reddit And Meta’s own forumsUsers have been experiencing issues with new and existing Quest 2, Quest 3, and Quest 3S headsets essentially locking up with either an error message or an endless black screen after installing the latest software update. Fortunately, the situation appears to have been largely resolved, although there are still a few issues that need to be ironed out.

Affects new and old headsets

It’s not entirely clear what caused the error, although a popular theory on the Meta forums seems to focus on devices that haven’t been used in a while. Essentially, while users running the most recent version of Quest firmware seemed to be able to update their devices just fine, those updating older firmware versions were more likely to encounter problems (including me, although my headset is currently in several hundreds of miles away from me, so I’ll have to rely on user reports instead).

However, according to Reddit, this problem is also common on new headsets. Here, users are reporting that new headsets will attempt to update immediately after being turned on and are receiving an error message as soon as their updates are completed.

It’s entirely possible that new headsets that have been sitting on the shelf for a while will also have outdated firmware, but there’s a common theme across the Reddit and Meta forums: a factory reset doesn’t help and should be avoided. Chances are, if you are affected, you simply won’t be able to boot and will instead be stuck on a black screen until you give up.

The problem seems to be solved

Members of the meta forum say that customer support was initially unable to help beyond offering to buy a refurbished Quest as a replacement, but the company has since changed its position and, with an update to its support page on December 30, says the situation has been largely resolved. Previously, Meta suggested Quest owners experiencing this issue try to reset their headsets by turning them off, then holding the power button for 45 seconds before releasing it. The company now says that this step is not necessary at all. telling users that “in most cases you can now use your device normally.”

What to do if you still can’t use your headset

If the “most of the time” disclaimer makes you nervous, Meta is currently directing those who still own Quest 3S headsets to a link to get a free replacement. Meanwhile, those with faulty Quest 2 or Quest 3 devices are asked to “please contact us for support.” Some community members in the latter situation they confirmed that they are also offered a replacement when contacting support.

The meta still doesn’t say exactly what happened or how to fix it, though users assume that the problematic update responsible for the problem is no longer being released. In this case, users who have been putting off turning on their Quest headsets after reading reports of unresponsive devices can likely now safely turn on their devices.

However, this solution will not necessarily help those who have already downloaded the update with an error. In addition to referring users to support, Meta says it is still “working to resolve the issue for all users.” There may be a fix available soon that doesn’t require you to return the headset.

Updated December 30th with additional information from Meta about Quest 2/3/3S support.