[Resolved] - Quest 3 Elite Strap with Battery only connects for a few seconds

Alright finally got a return label... It's going back. Really unfortunately, because it was pretty comfortable. With that said there are after market solutions already which probably work and look / feel better! The Bobo M3, will be great as well!

Good news! While Meta has been dragging their feet on this issue, Bobo just released the M3's on their website! (Bobovr.com) Get em while they're still available. I'm fed up with this elite strap

So my replacement battery strap has arrived.

Here is my experience so far:

• plugging power into the strap directly without attaching it to the Quest 3 headset does not charge the strap (as per the product's page Meta Quest 3 Elite Strap with Battery | Meta Store) and the LED was amber when pressed
• plugging the strap battery into the Quest 3 headset and then attaching power to the strap actually started charging the headset  as well as the extended battery, and both charged to 100% and showing both green LEDs
• pressing headset power button briefly (i.e. not turning the unit on) displays both headset battery percentage and extended battery percentage and both remain indicated, each and every time, so no disconnection

I have not yet been brave enough to turn the headset on fully for fears that some firmware update may occur and brick the strap like my last one.

What have others been doing with replacements? I see many posts about multiple straps all ending up the same way after being connected. I'm thinking I may leave the strap detached from the headset for now until the problem is addressed and/or a fix has been announced/implemented.

UPDATE 21-Oct-2023: So I turned my Quest 3 headset on with my replacement battery strap plugged in and so far so good! The battery is working as intended. My headset battery is being charged through the strap and this even works when using a battery pack. While the battery life isn't a good as the Elite Strap for Quest 2, it's better than nothing and it's super comfy. So everything seems to be working fine for the replacement...so far.  I'll update if that changes.

Note: my original non-functional strap was manufactured 7-2023, the replacement strap 8-2023.

Just had a 40min chat to Meta Help Centre via their online chat through the website.
I let them know my second Elite Strap with Battery pack stopped working and asked if they knew why and if I could get a refund. 
Long story short, they are "checking" if I'm eligible for a refund. (wtf). Despite me saying I paid for a defective product under a 30 day return policy. I was told it is a known issue. When I asked if it was software or hardware, and that would change my decision on if I would get a refund or wait for a firmware update, they stayed very tight lipped.
So now I'm awaiting to see my eligibility for a refund. Such a joke. Glad I kept the transcripts.

Oof...no update since Tuesday? Not a good sign, I'll be returning mine to Best Buy.

Mine has officially been returned to Best Buy.  When I told the cashier it was defective, he just nodded and processed the refund without any further questions.

same issue.  Tried all the discussed tricks.  Did notice that even when the strap battery is fully charged it will not charge the headset when off and idle.  

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[Edit 10/17] - The team has provided me with this - Elite Strap with Battery shows up in VR briefly when connected to the headset. After that you must hover over the battery indicator to see the battery levels of headset and strap separately. Display shows the average. Please let me know if you're able to view the percentage correctly!

is this what ppl are complaining about ?  I just assumed that was normal (battery shows average, but hovering over icon shows the status of both).  My Elite Battery Strap seems to be working ok thus far.  I'm using the official charging dock to charge both the headset and strap. 

edit - I actually WANT it to stay this way.  The battery icon is less cluttered when it only shows 1 icon, I don't need it to show 2.

I wonder if anyone with the extended battery is working?   I think it's a reverse charge issue, I've heard about USB-C devices with batteries not negotiating power direction and doing a Reverse Charge..

I did a quick test and with the extended battery connected it drained the headset 6% with just running around settings and browsing internet.   without the extended battery it only drained 2% (about 6-10 mins each try)

Well well well… Yesterday it worked fine, elite + headset charged up to 100%, I was able to use both just fine, my Headset + Elite is now charging since 5 hours, headset is full but the elite isn‘t getting recognized anymore. All it does, it‘s charging the headset. But no dedicated elite symbol anymore that shows the % of it.

Restarted my headset (elite plugged in), restarted with no elite, plugged in the elite while being on home screen, nothing worked. 

I don‘t even know how far the elite is charged… clicking the button, it simply shows orange.