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rickmalm
rickmalm
New Participant
June 15, 2026
Question

Quest3 thermal charging issue

Quest3 stops charging at 74% and headset is warm but then I charge it in my refrig it goes to 100% in 1 hour.

 

At V2.4.1034 Build 5216847.4360.520, installed June 2, 2026. No updates pending.

 

This charging problem started sometime in the last few months, and I finally decided to investigate it.

 

When the battery is discharged to about 28%, it charges normally to around 70% in about 3 hours, then slows dramatically and appears to stop around 74%, even after another 12+ hours connected directly to an Anker 45W charger.

 

I have performed extensive troubleshooting, including:

 

-Charging directly from a 45W USB-C PD charger

 

-Charging through the Meta dock using the same 45W charger

 

-Testing multiple USB-C cables

 

-Disconnecting all accessories, including the battery strap

 

-Collecting ADB diagnostics and battery/power dumps

 

-Generating and submitting bugreports to Meta

 

-Turning off automatic power-on for updates

 

-Turning off cloud backups to avoid power usage while charging

 

-Performing a complete factory reset at Meta's request

 

-Testing after the factory reset without reinstalling any third-party applications

 

Despite all of this, the headset still appeared unable to charge beyond approximately 74%.

 

The issue persisted after the factory reset.

 

ADB dump diagnostics consistently reported:

 

-AC powered: true

 

-Weak Charger: false

 

-USB-PD charging negotiated at 9V / 3A

 

-Battery health: good

 

-Battery temperature generally 36-38°C while charging

 

While waiting for Meta Support to respond, I started wondering whether this might be a thermal issue.

 

As an experiment, I placed the headset in the refrigerator for about 1 hour while charging. The battery then increased to 100% at 6pm.

 

I disconnected the charger and left the headset unplugged overnight.

 

At 5:00 AM, an ADB dump showed:

 

-Battery: 95%

 

-Temperature: 30.0°C

 

-Battery health: good

 

I assume the 5% overnight loss may be due to standby power usage and the green LED.

 

Based on these observations, the evidence now points more toward:

 

-Charging/thermal management issue

 

-Temperature sensor issue

 

-Charging controller issue

 

-Charging appears to become severely limited when the headset is warm, but it can still reach and maintain a full charge when cooled.

 

At 5:00 AM on 6/15, with powered on the headset, connected it to Wi-Fi, left it running for about 30 minutes, and collected another dump. During that time:

 

-Battery temperature increased from about 30°C to 46°C

 

-Battery level dropped from 95% to 81%

 

Has anyone experienced similar charging behavior?

 

Any suggestions or known fixes?

      3 replies

      MaddogOne
      Inspiring
      June 18, 2026

      As of the most recent update my Q3 is also only charging to 75-78%. I also have a blinking yellow light while charging in standby mode but if I power off it gets a solid yellow and charges to 75-78%. One time it finished charging as indicated by the green LED, but when I used it a couple hours later, it was back at a yellow LED and 78%.

      I play with a BOBOVR external battery and while playing ITR2 in VD it maintains its charge for several hours until the BOBOVR battery is drained and then will slowly discharge the headset. I have also seen low battery warnings at 38% once the BOBOVR battery is no longer charging.

      I have also noticed it getting warm while charging, but that should be normal.

      How do you fo this battery dump? I'll give that a try tonight.

        lugojim
        New Participant
        June 23, 2026

        I have the same problem; I noticed last night that the lenses were flickering slightly the whole time while it was charging. This is only visible when the headset is in complete darkness. The charging issue and the built-in speakers also stopped working two days after this update (v2.4).

        TomCgcmfc
        Honored Contributor
        June 23, 2026

        I've found that after using my Q3 I need to let it cool down for at least 30-60 minutes before putting it on charge again.  Otherwise, it only goes up to ~75% charge.  Once it's cooled down it happily goes up to 100%.  Probably a battery thermal thing, and/or maybe the internal fans are not working properly, who knows?  Cheers.

        i9 13900K water cooled, RTX4090, Z790 MB w/wifi6e, 64Gb 6400 ram, 2x2TB SSD, 1000W PSU, Win 11, QPro, Q3, w/Link and Air Link, Vive Pro1 with 2x2.0 base stations, Etsy lens mod and Index Controllers
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