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Getting your Oculus Quest 2 unboxed, setup and configured for use, is an important part of ensuring that you’ll have a good Virtual Reality (VR) experience with your new all-in-one headset.
What follows is a reference guide that can be used prior to, or just after receiving your Quest 2, to help ensure you get a good start familiarizing yourself with the Quest 2 and embarking on your VR journey to explore the best VR experiences for the Quest 2 headset.
I’ll also cover some of the things I encountered during my unboxing and setup of my Quest 2 headset, that was not mentioned by any of the review that I read, prior to pre-ordering my Quest 2 back in September.
Thanks to quick start, reference and support guides and other resources provided by Facebook/Oculus, VR journalists, and a vibrant and productive VR user community, there’s no shortage of information on getting started with the Quest 2.
What’s challenging, however, is sorting through all of the information that’s currently available, based on a person’s area of interest. My interest in the Quest 2 for non-gaming applications, which I’ll begin to cover going forward.
For users new to the Quest 2, what follows is a reference guide that will help ensure a good start and VR experience with this innovative, all-in-one VR headset.
Shortly after the Quest 2 was announced at the Facebook Connect 7 event, reviews of the headset from reputable VR Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) began to be published on YouTube.
Several trusted SME’s noted that the optional Elite head strap was significantly more comfortable when wearing the headset for extended periods of time. The Quest 2 comes with an adjustable nylon strap, that some reviewers found uncomfortable to wear.
As I knew my VR sessions could easily exceed two-hours when developing or collaborating in a VR working session, I pre-ordered the $129 Elite Strap with extended use battery pack and a hard clamshell storage/travel case package.
The integrated battery compartment is located in the back of the strap, positioned on either side of the headset adjustment wheel. The weight of the battery pack would offset the weight of the front of the headset, distributing the load more equally across the head for added comfort.
I’ll have more on the Elite Strap later in this article.
Investing time to learn and familiarize yourself with the Quest 2 before you actually receive it, is a great way of ensuring you’ll waste no time getting your headset up-and-running after you’ve unboxed it.
Start your orientation and learning journey with the resources provided by Oculus for the Quest2.
When your Quest 2 arrives and you’ve finished some preliminary unboxing tasks, like removing the plastic pull-strips that electrically connect the batteries in each of the controllers, you can begin charging your headset, using the provided home power outlet wall charger and provided USB cable connector.
If you do decide to first fully charge your headset, download the Oculus application to your smartphone while you headset charges. If you do not already have a a Facebook account, now is the time to create one, as the Quest 2 requires an active Facebook account.
If you have both an Oculus and Facebook account, I cover how to merge both accounts, a Facebook requirement, later in this article.
As headsets will have 40-50% charge when they leave the factory, you can choose to begin the process of setting-up and configuring your Quest 2 for first use.
Skip down to the First Steps with the Oculus Smartphone App to begin configuring you Quest 2, Facebook and Oculus app for use.
If you want a good visual overview of the Quest 2, including unboxing, setup and configuration, and some good getting started tips and tricks, Mike’s (Virtual Reality Oasis) Oculus Quest 2 Setup, Unboxing & Tips, provides an excellent unboxing and getting started overview.
If you previously downloaded and installed the Oculus app for use with another headset, like the Rift S, you’ll be prompted to login to the app using your Facebook User ID (UID), to access social, and new/updated features.
If you log in to your Oculus app with your Facebook UID, your Oculus and Facebook accounts will be merged, permanently.
To learn more about what this means for you, respective of capabilities and privacy, read more in the Account section of the Oculus resources. Several VR journalists are covering privacy issue concerns represented by the merging of Facebook and Oculus accounts.
According to Facebook/Oculus Terms of Service (TOS), support for Oculus account log in will end on January 1, 2023, when all Oculus users will be required to login using their Facebook accounts.
If you’ve ordered your Quest 2, you’re likely aware of all of the above, so the next step is to log in to the Oculus app using your Facebook UID.
I decided to remount the original standard nylon strap back on to my Quest 2, and see how it compared to my Elite Strap with the supplemental battery pack integrated into the rear of the strap.
As I chose to first unbox my Elite Strap with Battery and Carry Case, I was a bit puzzled by the lack of a charging adapter and cable in the box.
Thanks to Jamie Feltham’s Quest 2 Elite Battery Strap & Case Review, I learned that the Elite Strap battery charges when connected to the Quest 2 headset, via the USB-3 connect cable.
A smart charging system manages the charging of the two-hour battery in the Quest 2 headset, and the additional two-hour battery built-in to the Elite head strap.
Norm Chan’s Quest 2 Review (Adam Savage’s Tested) illustrated how to go about the careful process of removing the nylon head strap from the Quest 2, and positioning and snapping on the Elite head strap onto the plastic headset arms.
Norm also shows how to insert the plastic eyeglass interface offset, which provides more space between eyeglass and the headset lenses.
For me, even with the Elite head strap opened to it’s maximum width, I could not put the headset on while wearing my glasses. There just wasn’t enough room to clear my eyeglass frames.
Rather than purchase third-party prescription lens that can be attached to the headset lenses, I find it much easier to just wear my contact lenses when I plan to spend extended time in VR.
With respect to the Quest’s 2 three Interpupillary Distance (IPD) settings, the #2 setting (63 mm) almost exactly matches the distance between my eyes pupils.
I noticed that even without my glasses on, the images were relatively sharp and text was legible. It’ll be interesting to see if I can use my Quest 2 headset without wearing my glasses or putting in my contacts. When using my Rift 2 headset, I needed glasses or contacts to enjoy a comfortable VR experience without any eyestrain.
ThrillSeeker’s Oculus Quest 2 Review: The New VR Standard covers the headset’s IPD settings and also the sound quality (microphone and speakers) integrated into the headset.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be updating this reference guide with more information, as I talk with other Quest 2 users about their experience, tips and tricks.
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