The Quest virtual reality headset gets a fully unlocked bootloader thanks to the QuestStack tool, which automates a complex process of privilege escalation to provide stable, privileged access to the hardware. This solidly frees the headset from its existence as a device tied to Meta’s walled garden, although the tool only works on the Quest 1.
Not simple enough? No problem, there’s also a web version by [darknight1050] that makes the unlock process as simple as plug in headset, visit web page, receive unlocked bootloader.
The first-generation Quest headset is an older (released in 2019) piece of hardware that is still perfectly capable, although it has been surpassed by later models in terms of performance and optics.
It has also been essentially forgotten as far as parent company Meta is concerned, with no requirement for new content to be compatible with it, nor consideration in general given to the device for some time now.
Hardware that is no longer supported should be opened. The Oculus Go got an official unlocked OS build which was a positive thing, but the Go was also a pretty limited device. The Quest 1 — the ‘Oculus’ part of the name having been dropped around the time Facebook renamed itself to ‘Meta’ — is considerably more capable than the Go was. Now people can have privileged access to its hardware, which may help save some of them from junk piles while enabling folks to do as they please with the hardware they purchased.
I have nothing of value to contribute other than to say that’s a very… interesting choice for the cover photo
xd
Why… He’s so very happy! Surely he’s just watching kittens frolic in a field right?
RIGHT‽
Damn beT me to it.
You might be about 4 years late here, as this is a frequently used image that was created as an original image for a 2021 Hackaday VR article. Your comment is your own opinion, but it’s hardly new or original.
Any key out of a Walled Garden is worth having. Still not interested enough to get one, but a step in the right direction.
The Quest one is a rather old device, anyway. I haven’t touched mine in years.
I’m waiting for VR to fix all it’s issues before committing large sums of money.
What issues? It just about as much fun as you can buy. I love that I’m able to experience it
As have others, since the late 80s (with the EyePhone in 1987, though widespread commercial interest wasn’t common until 1995’s Nintendo VR Boy). There’s been improvements, but if you’re waiting for all it’s “issues” fixed, you’ll be waiting for quite a long time. 😂 Better get comfortable, or simply put a deposit down to be ready in your next lifetime.
Btw, what exact “issues” are you referring to. Don’t get me wrong, there’s numerous, but overall I’d say that were at the point that VR is commercially viable. Well, except for the gimmicky and lackluster interest of the gaming industry. If the dev studies who are actually in a position to develop proper VR games (that are financially backed by the publisher, who hold all the money), were to show some more interest, we could finally see the VR market become profitable. It would lead to the release of more worthwhile games, instead of the occasional “real” game trying to isolate itself from the overwhelming abundance of gimmicky fluff and mobile-like ports.
Unfortunately, the AAA publishers mostly commissioned lazy VR ports of successful console/pc games, failed to see any real commercial interest (without understanding that most gamers can easily see through their pathetic efforts) and decided to pull the plug on most future plans. (Plus, who’s got time for VR when every single AAA publisher is rolling in money from all the overwhelmingly successful live service games that they’re all releasing and somehow finding millions of new players that haven’t already been accounted for by being tied down to an existing game. Oh wait. No, they’ve been losing hundreds of millions on them, yet keep pumping that trash out.)
I don’t even own a VR headset, but it’s easy to see the potential that’s being squandered by an industry that’s controlled by reality-detached idiots that couldn’t find a good game if it was taped to the back of the head of their corporate funded call girl.
We need this to be the law. Once a product is no longer supported or warrantied, the bootloader must be made available to be unlocked. We don’t need your software or access to your walled garden, but we must be able to add our own. If I want to turn an old iPhone into a dedicated garage door opener using a custom real time OS, that should be my right.
A BoM and schematics to facilitate repairs should be made available at that point, as well.
Exactly this. I can’t wait for EU to turn this into law
They watered down the right to repair into a soggy fry. The law would probably be something like “you need to release it, unless it’s mentioned somewhere in the company website”, so they’ll keep it up in some dusty corner not to have to release anything.
I +1 this so hard :D
Yes please. Can vote on this ❤️🤩
+1, Yes, US Congress should get involved and put a bill in place to discourage companies from effectively bricking devices long term creating landfill waste. If they won’t support their hardware, they should open source so those who want to will.
If we are going to imagine some fantasy consumer law why stop there?
Force all companies to submit all designs and documentation (including internal) to a government run 3rd party escro.
As soon as a product becomes EoL or if the company disappears, all that information becomes searchable public record.
Don’t want your super secret intellectual property being public knowledge?
Cool, then keep supporting it.
Want to license ownership to a 3rd party so THEY can manage it and it stays private? Sure thing, just change the admin name and make sure they keep checking in so the dead man’s switch doesn’t trigger the release.
And obviously it gets funded with a new corporate tax.
This system is needed because companies behave badly. They get to pay for a system that keeps them in check.
Also everyone gets a unicorn or dragon if they want one.
This is pure fantasy after all…
Froce all IoT things (Wasching machine, Dishwascher, Fridge, etc) to have a local unified Rest API that gives you all info & control without the need for a App to use the device your purchased.
I like you,P
You seem kind of..not stupid .
That’s actually brilliant!
What can we do with this atm? Do we have ways to scrub out all the Meta junk to guarantee privacy?
Oculus Quest 1 was released in 2019, not 2021. May 21, 2019 to be specific. Quest 2 was released the following year in October (2020). What was released in 2021 was a vulnerable firmware version that can be jailbroken and used to unlock the bootloader.
Here’s hoping the Open Sesame for the Quest 2 is soon to follow: I bought my 2’s with the intent of using them as a VR sandbox and to share Worlds with other users, only to have the cyber-rug pulled out from under me by Meta’s closing Horizon Worlds to creators.
Don’t worry about horizon. It was brutally horrible anyway.
What you want is VRChat. Which is excellent. It’s free. Uploading worlds is free. It’s infinitely better than Meta’s attempt and that’s not hyperbole.
Naw, if you want in-world building, that’d be Resonite. However, there’s no standalone build at this time.
So are the go and quest 1 the same?
No, the Quest is way more powerful. The quest one still beats the performance of most people’s phones today, obviously going by volume not those who carry flagships. It’s still a punchy device. The only issue is the 4GB of RAM makes it struggle a bit for some games and content. The 2 has 6GB, the 3 and 3s have 8, and the pro has 2 hardware but with 12GB of RAM. This is the primary reason Meta so quickly left the Quest behind. It’s not really the performance that’s the issue.
And by doing so, Meta left this customer (me) behind. I want to continue playing Quest games, but I abstain, because Meta broke my Quest 1 and I refuse to buy a new Quest, because of how I, and the Quest 1, were treated, and because I despise unnecessary e-waste. I will not reward Meta for doing bad things by buying more of their products. Isn’t Valve coming out with a standalone headset? Hopefully they will treat their customers and the environment better.
Don’t forget also the quest pro no one bought
No. The article clearly states that the Go is less capable than the Quest 1.
Is this header image from a VR porn ad?
Can I run backups using this!
For those wondering, the Quest 1 is a very capable device. Even without unlocking, you can use it to play Steam VR games like Half Life: Alyx using Virtual Desktop and the performance is great. Still an amazing device.
Someone please port SteamOS ARM (Armada OS is a good example) to the Quest 1, PLEASE!
Still have mine, the OLED screen is still amazing.
Hopefully some clever nerd will do this for the Quest 3s that I have 😁
honestly, Im hoping that this is a step towards a new subsection of cyberdecks that are made out of vr headsets. cybersets? vrdecks? IDK im bad at names
A cyberdeck is assembled from discreet parts at the site of use.
A perfect example is the scene from Johnny Mnemonic in the store where he picks out the gloves, “compute unit”, HMD, and modem and assembles them in the store.
1 single thing can’t be a cyberdeck.
That said, this project is a perfect fit for a more open HMD as PART OF a cyberdeck.
That’s an odd definition; I’ve never heard anyone define a cyberdeck that way. What are you basing that definition on?
I have never once heard cyberdecks defined that way. The most common description of them I have seen is that they are custom built portable computers with integrated IO, not entirely dissimilar from a laptop in function, though whether that IO takes the form of a screen/keyboard, HMD/haptics, or something like a neural interface depends entirely on setting. It’s the fact that they’re custom rather than pre built mass market computers that matters, not being made on-site.
Most of the IRL projects that are commonly called cyberdecks are built with SBCs in custom chassis, very much falling within the definition above, but definitely not fitting your definition.
I use my quest 1 every week still , I have a quest 3 . But only the quest 1 has beatsabre modded with ” a lot” of beatmaps .