Oculus Quest stuck on 'Software update required' screen for some, issue acknowledged (workarounds inside)

Oculus Quest is the Virtual Reality (VR) headset from Meta (formerly Facebook). These devices are characterized by integrating all the necessary hardware to enjoy the experience.

Meta is currently working on its next big release: the Meta Quest Pro. This will mark its full commitment to standalone VR headsets after discontinuing the Oculus Rift that required connection to a PC.

However, currently some Oculus Quest (1 and 2) users are getting a ‘Software update required’ error that prevents them from using or setting up their devices.

Oculus Quest VR headsets receive constant updates through Oculus/Meta app. Many times, these updates are mandatory, which means that you will not be able to use the device if you do not install them.

But an issue is preventing devices from detecting the latest update available. Affected Oculus Quest users are unable to access their games and apps by getting stuck on the ‘Software update required’ screen.

Oculus not updating

My oculus isn’t updating. I’m in the system update menu and I click update, it shows the loading symbol and does that for a little then goes back to showing the update button. It either does that or shows downloading update. But it stops whenever I take the headset off.
Source

Need to perform a system update but no update available

Just moved into college and set my quest 2 up to the wifi. I have not had any problems prior to this. The quest 2 is requesting a perform a system update to log in, but the settings will not fine a system update.
Source

The issue doesn’t just prevent existing Oculus Quest users from accessing their content. New users are also unable to set up their devices and even link the controllers.

Initial setup with new controllers

I recently purchased a quest 2. Both controllers were damaged beyond use(dog). Now I’m attempting to complete the initial setup with controllers I can’t pair through the app because it just prompts that it needs to update the software.
Source

Fortunately, the Meta team is aware of the issue and working on a fix but there is no ETA yet.

Hi there! This is an ongoing issue that many of our users are experiencing with the code error. At this time, our engineering team is working diligently to find a resolution for this issue. We look forward to provided an update on this fix as soon as possible.
Source

In the meantime, there are some workarounds you can try. If you are dealing with the issue that prevents you from accessing your content, you can follow this procedure:

Alternatively, you can try the following:

Hey guys! So I’ve seen a few people who are getting this error (saying your headset needs to be updated during the initial setup) since Meta accounts have been rolled out. What appears to work here is factory resetting the headset, and then go through the setup again.
Source

If the problem prevents you from linking the controllers to the Oculus Quest, this link has some troubleshooting steps that you can try.

Also, the following video can help you set up your controllers if you are experiencing problems.

We will update this story once new related events arise.

Featured image: Oculus (Meta)

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.