Powering up your gadgets should feel like a breeze, shouldn’t it? Pop in the charger and chill until that battery level hits 100%.
With the Oculus Quest 2, however, people seem to have a lot of confusion with different aspects of charging the headset. For this reason, I gathered some of the most common questions that VR users have asked and tried to give an answer to them.
So without further ado, let’s dive in!
Can You Charge Oculus Quest 2 While Playing?
Oculus Quest 2 allows you to plug in the charging cable and keep on playing. You can also connect the headset to your PC and charge your Quest 2 in Oculus Link mode. However, when your Quest 2 is in active use while charging, it often uses more power than it can take back in (resulting in a slow discharge).
Charging your Quest 2 while playing will significantly extend the continuous playtime. However, with a long enough play session, you will eventually have to take a break and let it charge up properly.
If you want to know more about the topic and the different ways you can extend the playtime with your Quest 2, make sure to read my previous article.
Can You Charge the Quest 2 Overnight?
Oculus officially recommends that you unplug the charger from your Quest 2 when the battery is full. However, similar to smartphones, the Quest 2 has protective mechanisms to prevent overcharging and any damage when you leave the headset charging overnight.
The thing to keep in mind here is that when you often leave your Oculus Quest 2 charging overnight, you risk reducing the battery life over a longer time span (this will take months up to years).
I personally would not be too worried though. In addition to Quest 2, I have had the original Oculus Quest for more than two years. Even though I quite regularly left it charging for prolonged periods, the headset and its battery are still going strong.
If you want to be sure and read more about charging the Quest 2 for longer periods, make sure you read my detailed discussion here.
Can you Charge Oculus Quest 2 Controllers?
The Oculus Quest 2 uses a single AA battery for each controller (included and already inserted when you receive the package). When the battery gets empty, you can either put in a regular AA battery again or replace it with a rechargeable one.
If you are a regular gamer, I would recommend you to get 4 rechargeable AA batteries (these ones are great) with a compatible charger. This way you will always have freshly charged batteries ready to go.
If you want absolute convenience, you can opt to buy the Oculus certified official Anker charging station for your Quest 2. The charging dock allows you to charge the headset and controllers simultaneously so that you are always ready for another VR session.
Can you Charge Oculus Quest 2 with a Phone / Macbook, etc Charger?
Oculus officially only recommends using the charger included in the original package. However, if the charger output of your phone, Macbook (or any other third-party charger) is rated at 5V/2A (same as the official Quest 2 charger), you can safely use it instead.
The thing to also keep in mind here is that chargers don’t actually “push” current to devices. Instead, the Quest 2 pulls as much as it needs.
Based on this article for choosing the correct power adapter for devices, you can safely use an alternative charger for the Quest 2 as long as its output voltage is rated at 5V and the output current is 2A or higher.
This is also proven by the fact that the output of the Oculus-certified Anker charging dock for Quest 2 is rated at 5V / 3A. I also dug out the power adapter for my original Oculus Quest, which is also rated at 5V / 3A (15W).
Can you Fast Charge Oculus Quest 2?
Based on the information from Oculus Quest 2 product page and the feedback from Oculus Support, the Quest 2 does not support any fast charging methods. To avoid any unintentional damage to the headset and its battery, Oculus only recommends using the charger included in the original package or its equivalents (output rated at 5V / 2A)
The fastest way to charge your Oculus Quest 2 is to plug the power adapter into a wall outlet (instead of using your PC or a power bank) and turning the headset off before charging.
Can you Charge Quest 2 with Link Cable?
Based on the information from the Oculus Link Cable official product page, it can both move data and charge the Quest 2 simultaneously. However, oftentimes the power output from the USB-C port is only enough to slow down the discharge instead of actually charging your headset.
Note! Several customers have had problems getting charge to the headset when using Oculus Link. There is a detailed discussion about the issue in the official Oculus forum.
Do you Have to Fully Charge Oculus Quest 2 Before First Time Use?
Although the Lithium-Ion battery used in the Quest 2 doesn’t need an initial full charge for calibration (like older Nickel-based batteries did), Oculus officially recommends that you fully charge the battery before starting with the headset initial setup.
Most resellers tend to leave the Oculus Quest 2 charged at around 50% which is the optimal charge level to store devices with Li-Ion battery long term.
Even though 50% is plenty for completing the headset initial setup, Oculus most probably recommends you fully charge the headset so that your first-time VR explorations would not be interruputed by an empty battery notification.
Oculus Quest 2 Charger Specifications (Power, Voltage, Amps)
As can be seen from the photo taken of the original power adapter, the Oculus Quest 2 chargers specifications are following:
- Output Voltage 5V
- Output Current 2A
- Output Power 10W (5V x 2A)
If you are looking to buy a replacement for the original charger (and don’t want to pay the hefty price of the original Oculus accessory), this one from Amazon will do just fine.
If not available, search Amazon for standard USB-C chargers where the default output voltage is rated at 5V and the output current is 2A or more.
Oculus Quest 2 Flashing Red Light
When your Oculus Quest 2 shows a red flashing light it means that the battery of the headset is completely empty. Plug in the power adapter and let your headset charge for up to two hours. If the flashing red light does not turn into solid red or orange by that time, contact Oculus Support.
You can read more about troubleshooting Quest 2 charging issues step by step by clicking on the link to read my detailed guide.
Note! If the battery depleted unexpectedly, make sure that your power adapter and charging cable are not damaged.
HARDWARE USED FOR TESTING AND WRITING THE ARTICLES:
* Meta Quest 2 (My “daily driver” headset, which I absolutely love & recommend)
* Lenovo Legion 5 Pro (AMD Ryzen 5 5600H, Nvidia Geforce RTX 3060, 16GB RAM)
* TP-Link Archer C6 (budget dedicated router for Air Link, see my full setup tutorial)
ESSENTIAL QUEST 2 COMFORT ACCESSORIES:
* VR Cover Foam Replacement (one of the easiest & cheapest ways to improve headset comfort)
* BoboVR M2 Head Strap (reduce pressure on your head and improve the overall fit of the headset)