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New Participant
October 24, 2025
Question

Link not working in any capacity on new quest 3

I’m not new to this. I bought the quest 1 and 2 on release day of each. I was a little late to quest 3 but I’ve got one now. I’ve tried everything in my power to get link to work, including but not limited to: 

Trying different cables and different ports. I used 3 different cables, all USB 3.0, in every possible port on my pc. Including a USB hub

Launching airlink instead. This works somewhat, but is unable to launch steamvr which is what I am really after 

restarting headset and computer. They always say try this, but it didn’t fix anything

before you ask me the stupid questions, yes I am absolutely 100% sure my PC meets the minimum specifications, and I am 100% sure that they are both on the same network. When I plug my headset into my pc, I get the connection notification in both the headset and windows, so I know there is some level of communication going on. Why the meta desktop app or my quest are unable to recognize eachother is one of the most frustrating mysteries I have came across in a minute. I am seemingly unable to attach images in these forum posts, but I have relevant images. One of which shows my PC monitor searching for a link, and then my in quest screen also searching for a link, with the cable connecting the two clearly visible. Looking to get this resolved with a patch of some sort, as I’m assuming this is a software issue (also yes I am running the latest version of all relevant softwares)

15 replies

MetaStoreHelp
Community Manager
October 24, 2025

Hello cj_but_better,

 

We see that you're having some trouble getting the Meta Quest Link Cable to work, so let's see what we can do to get you set up and running.

 

To start off, we’d like to provide the following steps to try:

 

Check if the Link connection is properly established:

 

  • Open the Meta Quest Link app on your computer.
  • Turn on your Quest headset.
  • Plug your USB 3 cable into a USB 3 port on your PC and then plug the other end into your headset.
  • A message displays in VR prompting you to Allow access to data. Select Deny. If you mistakenly 'Allow' the prompt, you must unplug your USB cable from the Quest and plug it back in.
  • When prompted to Enable Meta Quest Link, select Enable to begin remote rendering using Meta Quest Link.

Ensure Air Link is disabled in Settings on the headset.
 

Check if the following is set correctly: 

  • Open Windows Services and locate Oculus VR Runtime Service (OVRService).
  • Change the startup type to Automatic (Delayed Start).
  • Restart the PC, then wait a few minutes before launching the Meta Quest Link app.
  • Run the app as Administrator.

If the problem persists, please let us know!

If you're the author of a thread, remember to mark a reply as the Accepted Solution to help others find answers!
Participant
March 14, 2026

Thank you soooo much for the advice in this last section of your reply. I've been fighting with my Quest 3 headset locking up using steam VR playing IL2 for a long while and your advice finally was the fix.😃

Choleni
Honored Contributor
October 24, 2025

Hi cj_but_better​ 🙂

If you are not necessarily need a cable connection, you could try steam link instead of the Meta app.

It's free in the Meta store.

Steam Link on Meta Quest

New Participant
October 24, 2025

I'm having the same problem on Quest 2. It seems to work just fine when i freshly install, but when i click that update button, it refuses to connect at all. I thought it was my cable at first, which it isn't. It's the app itself. Waiting for a fix currently.

steve40
Honored Contributor
October 25, 2025

The Meta Quest Link app (v81.0.0.930.254) is working fine. I am not on the PTC.

steve40
Honored Contributor
October 24, 2025

Launching airlink instead. This works somewhat, but is unable to launch steamvr which is what I am really after

You should be using SteamLink if you want to run SteamVR. Don't run the SteamVR app through a QuestLink/AirLink connection, it will usually be a horrible slideshow. You could instead try using QuestLink/AirLink with the Steam OpenXR runtime set as default.

New Participant
October 25, 2025

I just tried Steam link. Would not recommend as the visuals are very crusty. Same with virtual desktop but thats slightly less so. And it is an update issue. May not affect you but it sure is affecting me. As i've stated above I have to do a fresh uninstall/reinstall for it to even work, and i have to deny the update. (Which for some reason automatically downloads even though i have automatic downloads turned off.)

steve40
Honored Contributor
October 26, 2025

I just tried Steam link. Would not recommend as the visuals are very crusty.

**cough cough**

The visuals in SteamLink are at least as good as QuestLink. You need to increase the rendering resolution a bit higher than the default setting in the Steam menu under VR Settings. I use 150% by default. It's also possible to set the rendering resolution in Steam VR on a per-application basis. In QuestLink, you can only set it globally.

 

 

steve40
Honored Contributor
October 24, 2025

Try unpairing your PC by toggling the Link button in your headset settings off and on. Reboot the PC and headset. Now go back to the Link settings in your headset and redo the pairing process.

Note, I had no problem switching from AirLink to Link. I just changed the setting in the headset, then hot-plugged in my USB cable, and Link worked. However, when I toggled the AirLink setting back on and hot-unplugged my USB cable, the headset could not find my PC when I tried to connect AirLink. I had to close the Meta Quest Link app on my PC and restart the OVRService in Windows (restarting the OVRService is quicker that rebooting the PC), and then AirLink started working again.

yes I am running the latest version of all relevant softwares

*Cough* *cough*. The way Meta rolls out their updates, not everyone gets the same version! I am on v81.0.0.930.254 (non PTC). I know others that are on different versions of 81 or were even rolled-back to v79.

New Participant
October 25, 2025

Hi cj_but_better,

I found myself in the same situation for all of today, but then tried this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/OculusQuest/comments/1oe7sdl/comment/nl09g00/

There's an update to download upon joining the PTC, and (finally) this includes a cable testing button.

It should get your Quest Link back up and running. All the best.

 

 

 

Up and Coming
October 25, 2025

Ahh sorry mate, you shouldn't expect this to work. This is just scam, piece of hardware that never works consistently. Even if you make it work today it will get effed up tomorrow or the other day. It's just typical Quest 3 experience. Scam, avoid it if want to use with PC. 

New Participant
October 25, 2025

Hi Gutek458, the reddit poster mentions first off that its a temp solution. Beta release products which are undergoing public testing shouldn't be called a scam, and shortcommings are to be expected. Its testing is authorised by Meta, which is another reason why it's not "a scam".  

At the end of the day, if it works for now, then it should be used. And if Meta want feedback after becoming part of the Public Test Channel, then one should happily participate as such contributions will only help Meta to produce a reliable, final product .


Up and Coming
October 26, 2025

Dude you're joking right? It's Quest 3. Not Quest Alpha, not Quest 0.1. It's third model that doesn't work correctly. This is scam as they advertise product that isn't working how they show it. If someone buys it just to play with PC, for example in racing they are getting scammed because this is not working. Simple as that. 

New Participant
October 25, 2025

I finally got the link cable to work -- i used the meta horizon app on my phone click on settings top left - select devices - select your headset -  select headset settings -select developer mode - and turn ON. Also go to advanced settings and turn off auto upload crash reports and public test channel.  I hope it works for you.

New Participant
October 25, 2025

love u