Quick steps
- Change your Oculus Quest 2 settings
- Use Oculus Link cable instead of Air Link for PC VR
- Turn off the Quest 2 when not in use
- Use an Oculus Quest 2 Elite strap with battery
As a wireless device, the Oculus Quest 2 (now Meta Quest 2) offers users a chance to experience virtual reality without the need for a PC or external device. Unfortunately, that also means it has to rely entirely on its internal battery.
If you’re deep into one of the best Quest 2 games, it can be a major disappointment when you’re booted through charge depletion. To help, we’re here with the best ways to improve your Oculus Quest 2 headset battery life and play longer.
- Oculus Quest Link cable (optional
- Oculus Quest 2 Elite strap with battery (optional)
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- Change your Oculus Quest 2 settings. The first thing you’ll want to do is switch to VR on your Oculus Quest 2 and open the Settings menu. Here, go to Device > Power and you will see two options: Auto-wake headphones and Auto-sleep headphones.
We recommend that you disable the auto-wake headset and enable the auto-sleep headset and set it to about 15 seconds. Disabling auto-wake will prevent your headset from accidentally turning on (and burning its battery) if it’s jostled and thinks it’s being used, while auto-sleep will automatically put the headset to sleep if it detects that it’s being used. is not used.
You may also need to turn off some experimental settings, such as 120Hz gaming, which will warn you that they will reduce your Quest’s battery life. These are disabled by default, but you can check if any have been enabled by heading to the Experimental tab in Settings.
- Turn off your Oculus Quest 2 when not in use. While it won’t use a lot of standby power, your headset will slowly drain unless it’s properly powered off.
To get the most out of your Quest 2 headset, we recommend that you properly power it off after each use rather than simply putting it to sleep. To do this, hold down the Power button for a few seconds and then tap Power off when the option appears in front of you.
- Use an Oculus Link cable instead of Air Link when playing PC VR. If you’re sticking with the Oculus Quest 2’s own library then that won’t be too much of an issue for you, but if you frequently use your headset to play PC VR games then you’ll want to get a link cable.
While Air Link maintains the wireless aspects of the Quest 2, it puts more strain on the Quest 2’s battery through additional signals it has to pull.
However, the Link Cable isn’t a perfect solution either, as oddly it doesn’t charge the Quest 2 while you’re using it. This should increase battery life slightly, but don’t expect unlimited plugged-in VR gaming.
- Buy the Elite bracelet with battery. This add-on is one of our favorites for the Quest 2 because not only will it give you an extra hour or two of playtime, but the weight of the battery makes the weight of the headset feel more balanced when you’re wearing it.
The Elite Strap with Battery unfortunately doesn’t come cheap – it costs around $110 / £100 / AU$160, which is around a third of the price you’ve already spent on the headset. If you’re desperate to improve the battery life of your headphones, this is the best way to do it.
Final Thoughts
We hope these tips help you maximize the battery life of your Quest 2 headset so you can get back to playing the best VR games.
Beyond what we’ve covered above, you can also take care not to wear down the battery by overcharging it by unplugging the device whenever the power light changes from yellow to green. This can be a pain to watch, especially if you’d rather do things than watch your headphones charge.
However, if you notice that it’s fully charged, unplug the power cable and that should help keep your Quest 2’s battery healthier and longer lasting.
