Quest 2 hack: Man removes battery and some plastic to reduce weight
A VR enthusiast finds Quest 2 too heavy and sets out to remove as many components as possible. He documents the process on Reddit.
Reddit user u/msurguy managed to make the Quest 2 visor about 60 grams lighter, which is just over 10 percent of the total weight. His Quest 2 previously weighed 510 grams, after the hack the device weighs 459 grams (including the battery cable).
The hobby hacker took out the battery, drilled holes in the bottom of the encasing, and cut out a large chunk of the front cover to replace it with a lighter transparent plastic. Now, he can look inside the headset through a window.
On Reddit, u/msurguy explains why he embarked on this project:
I am on a quest to make my Quest 2 a bit lighter. The reason is that my neck gets tired of all of this weight after about 30 minutes and my thinking is that removing weight and rebalancing weight between front / back of my head might make it better to wear the headset for longer period of time.
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Battery can now be worn on the back of the head
In his post, u/msurguy goes through the various steps and illustrates them with photos. He bought the device online for 120 US dollars.
Removing the battery was the hardest part and reduced the weight by almost 50 grams. However, the battery is still connected to the device by a cable and can be attached to the back of the head mount or tucked into a pocket for better weight distribution. Another benefit, the Reddit user says, is the ability to quickly replace an empty battery with a fully charged one.
Removing the plastic front cover was probably not worth the small weight savings, u/msurguy says, but he likes the transparent look.
The speakers are next
He hopes for more from his next endeavor: removing the built-in speakers, which weigh a total of 86 grams. They could be replaced with lightweight Bluetooth earbuds. The headband could be next: "I think the straps can also be a good candidate for weight removal as there's lots some plastic that can be removed from the straps".
For pictures of the project, check out his Reddit post.
Notably, the battery weighs only 49 grams (64 grams with the plastic case), or about 10 percent of the total weight (including the headband). Therefore, similar to the Quest 3, it could be argued that removing the battery would not make a significant difference. An additional improvement in comfort could be achieved by moving the battery to the back of the head. Meta tried this with the Quest Pro.
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