Meta Quest 2: Tips and tricks for beginners and pros

Want to get the most out of your Meta Quest 2? We have collected the most important tips, tricks, and features.

Introduction to Meta Quest 2

Setting up and using Meta Quest 2 should be self-explanatory. However, it can't hurt to watch the official introduction video. It helps with orientation, gives valuable tips, and is divided into the following topics:

• Scope of delivery & setup
• The Oculus App
• Customize for comfort
• Setting up Guardian
• Maintenance and care
• Wearing the headset with glasses
• Streaming
• Navigating VR

Protect Meta Quest 2 from sunlight

Keep the VR goggles in a place protected from the sun. If you expose the lenses to direct sunlight, they act like a burning glass and can burn holes in the display behind them within seconds.

If you want to store Meta Quest (2) safely or take the VR goggles with you on trips or with friends, we recommend buying a case.

Passthrough: Keep an eye on your surroundings while playing VR games.

Enabling an option called Passthrough Home hides the virtual home environment and lets you see the physical environment through the Meta Quest 2's cameras. This is keeping you aware of what's going on around you and making it easier to find your touch controllers.

You can find the option by opening the quick settings in the main menu and activating the eye icon, as shown in the following image:

Passthrough Home is active as long as you don't launch a VR app. However, it is possible to activate Passthrough mode in VR apps as well.

You can find the option under Settings > Guardian > Double tap for Passthrough.

By double-tapping the case, you can now enable Passthrough mode at any time, even if you're in a VR app. Double-tap again to switch back to VR.

Avoid VR nausea

So-called motion sickness is a phenomenon that can occur with forms of passive locomotion. Many people know the symptoms from traveling, for example, by ship or as a passenger in a car.

Here, a feeling of discomfort arises suddenly or insidiously, which can increase significantly depending on the duration and susceptibility. The most common symptoms include dizziness, headaches, and mild nausea. Motion sickness is a natural physical reaction when the eye sees something different from what the body perceives. It decreases on its own.

Virtual reality can also cause motion sickness. The most common cause is artificial locomotion. Artificial locomotion is when you move purely virtually, i.e., passively, for example by pressing the analog stick, a button, or a key.

When it comes to your first contact with virtual reality, you should take it slow. If you jump right in with a racing game or a virtual roller coaster ride, don't be surprised if you feel nauseous.

The Oculus Store offers a comfort level classification for each VR app: from "Pleasant" to "Moderate" to "Demanding", the classifications are usually chosen appropriately. Furthermore, you can adjust the artificial locomotion in many VR games to your tolerance and thus minimize the risk of motion sickness.

Never sit out these symptoms! For one thing, you can't force resistance, and for another, you can amplify negative effects by ignoring your body's warning signals. If you get sick, take a break or switch to a less intense VR game. There's more than enough of that to go around.

Make privacy settings

Even though this is supposed to change in 2022: Currently, every Meta Quest 2 must be linked to a Facebook account.

Show smartphone messages in VR

Whether SMS or Whatsapp messages, tweets, or calls: With this feature, you can see what's happening on your smartphone in VR. This way, you can stay in touch with the outside world without having to take off your VR glasses. Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to messages or calls in VR. You have to use a smartphone for that.

Take screenshots

Press the Oculus button on the right touch controller to open the main menu. Then select the arrow icon ("Share") and then "Take Photo". An easier way to do this is to hold down the Oculus button and then immediately press one of the two trigger buttons. However, this may take some practice.

Create user accounts and share VR apps

Meta Quest 2 lets you create up to three user accounts for friends or family members. They'll also need to sign in through Facebook. With an individual user account, they can create their own avatar and friend lists, as well as save personal app progress, media data, and achievements.

A feature called App Sharing also allows you to share purchased VR apps with these user accounts. You can enable and set up app sharing under Settings > Accounts. You can set up a lock pattern for your account under Settings > Device > Lock Pattern.

For more information on user accounts and app sharing, visit the Oculus Support Center.

Sharing the VR experience

Meta Quest offers several ways to stream the VR experience to an external second screen. If your TV does not support Chromecast, you can buy a Chromecast with Google TV (review).

Find the best VR games for Meta Quest 2

Check out our overview of the best VR games for Meta Quest (2). There's something for everyone here.

Use alternative VR stores

In addition to the Oculus Store, there's the App Lab, Meta's app store for experimental or in-development VR content, and Sidequest. The latter platform requires sideloading.

Finding the right VR game

The Oculus Store loads slowly, isn't exactly easy to navigate, and browsing it with VR goggles on your head is annoying. The VRDB web app keeps you on top of things and lets you narrow your search by criteria like rating, price, and genre. The Quest Store and App Lab are supported, as well as the Rift Store and Steam. The latter two only carry PC VR games.

Meta Quest: Return VR Games

Made a bad purchase? No problem. If you've played the VR game for less than two hours and it's been less than 14 days since purchase, you can request a refund. To do so, open the Oculus Companion app on your smartphone and follow these steps:

1. Tap "Menu" in the bottom-right corner
2. Tap on "Settings
3. Tap on "Purchase overview
4. Select the VR app you want to return
5. Tap on "Request refund

For more information, visit the Oculus Support Center.

Playing PC VR games with Meta Quest 2

You can connect your Meta Quest 2 to a computer either wired or wirelessly to play graphically rich PC VR games from the Rift Store, Steam, or Viveport. The wired solution is called Oculus Link.

You can use the official Oculus Link cable, which is expensive or buy a much cheaper compatible third-party cable (see recommendations in the Quest 2 accessories article).

You can use either Air Link or Virtual Desktop for the wireless solution, which now offers almost identical image quality. Please note that you must have a fast enough computer to play PC VR games.

Find cross-buy titles

If you buy a VR game from the Oculus Store that supports cross-buy, you'll get the PC VR version from the Rift Store free, and vice versa. The PC VR version often offers much better graphics. Good examples are After The Fall, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, and Phantom: Covert Ops. You can find an overview of all VR apps that support cross-buy in the Oculus Store or on VRDB.

Experience movies and 2D games in VR

With the VR app Virtual Desktop, you can stream media content from your PC wirelessly into the Meta Quest (2) and admire it in different virtual environments on a big screen.

Sideloading with Meta Quest

Sideloading allows you to install unofficial VR apps that aren't in the Oculus Store or on App Lab on your Meta Quest 2. The best way to do this is with Sidequest, an independent sideloading platform where you can find experimental or in-development VR content - similar to App Lab.

Sidequest offers several unique features and VR apps. With the accompanying desktop app, you can

• Easily move data between your PC and VR glasses,
• adjust special settings on the device,
• install outstanding VR ports of classics like Doom, Quake, and Half-Life, and
• Import custom songs for Beat Saber.

Watch Oculus TV in the best quality

This way, you can download and watch VR shows in the best possible quality:

• Select the three dots in a show's image, then "Save in High Quality" and finally "Cache". You may be asked to give permissions for caching.
• If you've done everything correctly, the movie will download in the best quality. This version has a higher resolution than the streamed version.
• Once the download is complete, select "Your Media" in Oculus TV. After downloading, the episode should appear here under "Cached Media."
• If you want to delete the episode from the device, select the three dots again, then "Delete from Cache" and then "Delete".

Buy Accessories for Meta Quest 2

The following accessories are worth purchasing.

• If the Meta Quest 2 doesn't fit comfortably with the standard head strap: the official Elite strap (with or without battery) or third-party head mounts.
• If you want to avoid wearing glasses under your VR goggles: prescription lenses from a VR optician (review).
• If you do a lot of VR sports or sweat a lot: insert sets from Meta or VR covers.
• If you like to carry the Meta Quest 2 around with you: the official carrying case or a third-party bag.

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