Two Ray-Ban Stories (Gen 1) bricked by Meta AI app update — asking Meta for a remedy
Hello — I'm a longtime Meta hardware customer writing about two first-generation Ray-Ban Stories that your software made unusable, plus a discontinued Portal.
What happened: I own two pairs of Ray-Ban Stories (Gen 1) — a Black Wayfarer Transitions (RW4002) and a Blue Meteor (RW4005). Both worked until your app migration. Since the Meta View to Meta AI transition, the app forces a firmware update during setup that always fails with "Try Again, we ran into a system error," looping forever. The glasses can't be paired. This isn't wear and tear — it started with your 2026 app change.
This is a known issue hitting many Gen 1 owners, documented on your own forums since June 2026 with no fix and no staff response:
- https://communityforums.atmeta.com/discussions/ai-troubleshooting/rayban-stories-will-not-update-to-use-with-app/1374901
- https://communityforums.atmeta.com/discussions/ai-setup-pairing/my-ray-ban-stories-cannot-be-paired-with-the-meta-ai-app/1381551
- https://communityforums.atmeta.com/discussions/ai-setup-pairing/ray-ban-stories-error/1381476
I exhausted everything: phone restart, app delete/reinstall, sign out/in, and a factory reset — which permanently destroyed stored photos and still didn't fix it.
What it cost me: I had to cancel a $140 sale with a waiting buyer and pull a $120 listing — I won't sell defective glasses. I planned to give a pair to my daughter, and your own Meta AI assistant called that "a really smart plan" without warning me they were bricked. I also own a Portal you discontinued and stripped of features, plus a Quest 2 and Quest 3.
What I'm asking: Replace my two bricked Gen 1 pairs with current-generation equivalents (Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3), or equivalent credit toward them. Your own warranty covers "software issues that can't be resolved through troubleshooting" — that's exactly this, caused by your update, not by me.
Full timeline and documentation: ***
I just want to be able to use what I own. Thank you.
[edited for privacy - this is a public forum]