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It's been well over a year since I pre-ordered my new Meta Quest 2 virtual reality headset, unboxed it and began to explore the freedom associated with an untethered VR experience. My Quest 2 headset quickly became my go-to headset, due to its ease of use and capability to use it anywhere I have a broadband WiFi internet connection.
As business professionals continue to acquire Meta headsets to explore all that virtual reality has to offer, I'll continue to update this blog post to keep the information current. For more in-depth information, including performance and quality reviews, see my Meta2 Reference Guide.
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Getting your Quest 2 unboxed, setup and configured for its first use, is an important part of ensuring that you’ll have a good Virtual Reality (VR) experience with your new all-in-one headset.
Based on my and other Quest 2 owner experiences, the information that follows can get you off to a good start familiarizing yourself with the Quest 2 and some VR experiences.
Thanks to quick start, reference and support guides and other resources provided by Meta (Facebook), 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 the information that’s currently available, based on a person’s area of interest. My interest in the Quest 2 for non-gaming applications; business and professional applications is my focus.
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 from reputable VR Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) began to be published on YouTube.
Several trusted SMEs 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 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 receive it. This will help ensure 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 fully charge your headset as a first step, download the Oculus application to your smartphone while your headset charges. If you do not already have a Facebook account, now is the time to create one, as Quest 2 requires an active Facebook account.
Editor's Note: During the 2021 Facebook Connect event Keynote presentation, Meta (Facebook) CEO Mark Zuckerberg mentioned that in 2022, creating a Facebook account will no longer be required for new owners of Meta Quest VR headsets. I'll update this blog post as this announcement progresses toward becoming a reality.
If you have both an Oculus and Facebook account, I'll describe how you can 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, along with 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.
After reviewing a screen that provides the FB/Oculus merging information, tap on the button to merge your Facebook and Oculus accounts.
Your FB and Oculus account will then be merged. The Oculus app will then display the Home screen, featuring Quest/Quest 2 applications.
I decided to remount the original standard nylon strap back on to my Quest 2, to 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 its 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) nearly matches the distance between the pupils of my eyes.
I noticed that even without my glasses on, images and text were 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 eyestrain.
ThrillSeeker’s Oculus Quest 2 Review: The New VR Standard covers the headset’s IPD settings, and the sound quality (microphone and speakers) integrated into the headset.
From time to time, I’ll publish updates to this blog post.
JimIntriglia.com Subscribers can reference the comprehensive Meta Quest Detailed Reference Guide, updated monthly. This special reference guide includes:
> Setup and configuration tips, tricks, and workarounds for known issues.
> Curated references and resources published by noted Subject Matter Experts on a variety of Meta Quest VR topics.
> Resources for entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals seeking Meta Quest applications and experiences.
I welcome your feedback, tips, and tricks for first time Meta Quest 2 users, for future updates of this blog post.
