What you need to know
- Someone claims to have jailbroken the Quest 2, bypassing the requirement to log in to a Facebook account to use the device.
- Independent XR research firm XRSI says they have verified the legitimacy of the jailbreak claim.
- Rooting the device and bypassing the Facebook login could be in violation of Facebook Terms of Service.
Ever since Facebook originally announced that a Facebook account will be required on Oculus headsets, folks have been asking the community for an alternative way to use their Oculus Quest 2. Following-up on a claim from someone on Reddit one week ago, independent research firm XRSI, a not-for-profit organization, says it has confirmed the viability of root access on the Oculus Quest 2.
While root access is generally thought of as a way to flash ROMs or modify the operating system in the Android smartphone world, root access on a Quest 2 means folks would be able to bypass the requirement to log into a Facebook account before being able to use their Oculus Quest 2. Right now, this root method is not available to the public and has not been publicly shown off beyond a handful of screenshots that appear to show the Quest 2 working without a logged-in Facebook account. Rooting a Quest 2 is almost certainly a violation of Facebook Terms of Service. We've contacted Facebook about this matter and will update this article with their response.
Aside from simply wanting to use an Oculus Quest 2 without logging into Facebook first, some users have been unable to use their Oculus Quest 2 at all due to their Facebook account being banned. These bans have stemmed from several issues, including legitimate violations of Facebook's community standards, as well as erroneous bans from Facebook's algorithms that attempt to identify fake accounts.
XRSI also states the importance of total device ownership, or the Right to Repair, in the era of climate change and excessive e-waste. The logic dictates that you fully own any device that you purchase, including the right to modify it or otherwise use it as you would like. While this wouldn't apply to any Facebook services, it would mean that users could continue to use their Quest 2 via third-party app stores like Sidequest without fear of having their device bricked or otherwise rendered unusable.
Little effort, big pay off
You won't need a PC or a console to play on the Oculus Quest 2, which makes this the easiest way to play in VR.
