What is Oculus Link and how do you use it to play even more VR games?

(Pocket-lint) - If you ain an Oculus Quest headset past you whitethorn person heard of Quest Link. If you besides ain a gaming PC, past you're successful for a existent treat, arsenic with a escaped spot of bundle and the close USB-C cablegram you tin play PC prime virtual world games connected your affordable VR device. 

That's right, Quest Link gives you the quality to play Oculus Rift S games connected a headset that doesn't usually request a PC to run. The main downside is that you'll request to wantonness your wireless state successful bid to play, but you volition person a batch much games to take from. That includes coagulated favourites similar Half-Life: Alyx, The Invisible Hours, Skyrim VR and a full batch more. 

How to usage Oculus Link

The archetypal measurement to getting started utilizing Oculus Link is to guarantee you person the close hardware. Yes, you request the Oculus Quest headset, but you besides request a compatible PC oregon laptop and the close high-quality USB-C cablegram (either USB-C to USB-C oregon USB-A to USB-C). 

You tin find retired if your machine is compatible by checking here, but astatine the clip of penning the minimum specs are arsenic follows:

• Processor - Intel i5-4590/AMD Ryzen 5 1500X oregon greater
• Graphics Card - Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 and above
• Memory - 8 GB+ RAM
• Operating System -Windows 10
• USB Ports - 1 x USB port

If you tick each those boxes, past you should beryllium capable to usage Oculus Link with conscionable a fewer much steps. The archetypal of which is downloading the Oculus App for PC. This is escaped bundle that's usually utilized for Oculus Rift oregon Rift S, but erstwhile you plug your Quest successful it'll beryllium recognised by the app arsenic well. 

Download the bundle and log successful to your relationship successful the mean way. Then find an due USB-C cable. The authoritative Oculus Link cable is simply a logical choice, it's 5m agelong and afloat supports the speeds request to enactment with the headset. There are different alternatives disposable though. 

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We find it's champion to plug the headset into the GPU connected your PC directly. Doing so, with the USB-C cablegram attached to your headset and your PC astatine the aforesaid clip should effect successful the Oculus bundle recognising your device. 

From present you'll spot a greenish ellipse indicating that the headset has been recognised and is connected. Pop the Quest connected and you should besides spot a popular up asking to alteration Oculus Link wrong the headset. 

If you don't spot that petition you tin find the options successful the headset's settings. Navigate to settings, devices and scroll down and you should spot an enactment to alteration Oculus Link. 

Troubleshooting Oculus Link not working

If you've done everything right, but your Oculus Link isn't working, determination are a fewer things you tin effort to hole it. Firstly effort the evident - crook it disconnected and connected again - some the PC and the headset. 

Then effort these things:

• Check you person the latest Oculus app > navigate to room and updates
• Force Oculus to restart - click settings, beta and "restart Oculus" to reboot each the bundle wrong Windows
• Join (or leave) the Public Test Channel - immoderate releases of the beta mightiness not play bully with Oculus Link. Navigate to beta and click to crook the Public Test Channel enactment connected if it's not already ticked oregon disconnected if it is. Switching betwixt these options mightiness help
• Check your USB-C cablegram is plugged successful properly, if imaginable plug it straight into the graphics paper connected your machine
• Update your graphics paper drivers to guarantee you person the latest

Get your crippled on!

When it's working, Oculus Link is great. It's a fantastic summation to the Oculus Quest arsenic it gives you the powerfulness to play full-blown VR games without the request for outer trackers and hassle and without monolithic other outgo (assuming you already ain a PC). 

You tin bargain games from the Oculus Store and motorboat them from the app. You tin besides instal and launch Steam VR and entree games that mode arsenic well. If they enactment with the Oculus Rift, they should besides enactment with your Oculus Quest seamlessly 

• Best Oculus Rift and Oculus Rift S games and experiences available
• Best HTC Vive Cosmos, Vive and Vive Pro games: Incredible experiences to play close now

Oculus Link wirelessly

Since the motorboat of Oculus Link, the institution has made moves to amended it. With the merchandise of v28 of the software, Oculus announced that it was making it imaginable to usage Oculus Link wirelessly. 

Oculus Air Link, arsenic it's called, allows Oculus Quest 2 owners to play Oculus Rift compatible games wirelessly, without needing to beryllium tethered straight to a gaming PC.

This is done implicit wireless and evidently mightiness person immoderate downsides arsenic good arsenic immoderate basal requirements successful bid to run. Oculus says, for example, that you'll request a "strong and unafraid Wi-Fi network" for the champion acquisition and ideally to beryllium wrong 20 feet of your router. 

In bid to entree Oculus Air Link,, you'll request to download and instal the Oculus app connected your PC. Then spell to settings successful the app, click connected Beta settings and click to toggle Air Link. Inside the headset, spell to settings, navigate to the experimental settings, past activate Air Link determination too. 

Writing by Adrian Willings. Originally published connected 10 September 2020.