Oculus Quest 2's strict Facebook integration renders some units unusable

With Facebook account verification required to use the new VR headset, buyers experiencing issues creating or recovering accounts are left with a useless piece of hardware.

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When it was first officially confirmed that the Oculus Quest 2 would require a Facebook account to operate, the decision was met with disappointment at anger from a large portion of the VR enthusiast community. Since the social media giant had acquired Oculus years ago, the VR hardware had yet to explicitly require a Facebook account for basic operation. With the Quest 2 breaking that trend, some new owners have been left with inoperable hardware after encountering issues with Facebook’s account verification process.

A new report from the folks over at UploadVR has confirmed that Quest 2 buyers that have failed to create new Facebook accounts or recover dormant accounts have been left with expensive paperweights, through no fault of their own. Facebook has some strict rules that are meant to ensure that each account is tied to a single verifiable person, and when this allegedly automated process determines that a new account application is in violation of its rules, the applicant is out of luck.

The account verification process may also require users to submit photo identification that must be cleared by actual humans, an ordeal that could potentially take weeks. Some users that have attempted to resurrect dormant accounts have been met with instant bans and no way to use their new VR headsets. The lack of an appeals process further exacerbates the problem.

UploadVR reached out to Facebook for an official comment and were met with a decidedly unhelpful response:

“People who are having trouble logging in to their device aren’t losing access to their purchased content, based on what we’re seeing in customer service reports. Someone may temporarily experience an issue accessing content if they have trouble logging in to Quest 2 with their Facebook account, but they will be able to access their content once those login issues are resolved.”

Prospective buyers of the Oculus Quest 2 should ensure that they already have a working Facebook account prior to acquiring the hardware, lest they want to end up with customer support that rivals AT&T and Comcast.

Contributing Tech Editor

Chris Jarrard likes playing games, crankin' tunes, and looking for fights on obscure online message boards. He understands that breakfast food is the only true food. Don't @ him.

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