Can't purchase games after buying a Quest 3

[maxusawrus]

I saved up to buy a quest 3 and when I got it I could buy games but one day after getting it, I couldn't buy games, I still cant. Meta support please help. I tried all the things mentioned I even tried getting a friend to gift it and he got the same error 

(Edit) I had a oculus before the thing is i can add a payment methode but after i type in my pin it lodes for a bit and after that the error comes upp 

[DownunderGrumpy]

Another day, another support reply LOL
This time for one of the test account awaiting the refund.
As this was the first test account that worked I initially requested to have THIS account changed to my DEFAULT account.
Meaning changing the account name and Email details.
As you might have guessed Meta says they can't do this due to privacy and security reasons.
But thankfully they also said I could just do it myself.
As you again guessed right, the provided link to their help pages explaining it all was outdated and none of this can be used today.
Of course those who already had to fiddle on multiple accounts know where to find the settings in the current app version or by using the browser - the authentication center of course...

Now comes the fun part.....
You can not change your Email address to one already in use for another account.
Same for your username.
Means you first have to delete the account you want to swap everything to.
No big deal you say....
On my account, as stated to the support WHERE purchases and that including the new headset.
Deleting this account would mean loosing all of this.
Wondering if this might have been the intention when suggesting this 'easy fix' ...
So I replied in kind, explained the issues (again) and also that there will be a few more tickets with similar test accounts that need a fix.
Let's wait if I get an answer....

Is there then a fix for the user to 'merge' an existing account that worked until Meta broke it with a new one you created and got working?
Let's first say that out of the five accounts waiting for a refund only one is still waiting....
So sometimes Meta does things right as the missing one is the one with the active support ticket in regards to account issues and Paypal.
Means those 4 can finally be deleted.
I tried quite a few seemingly logical tricks and also a few you might consider nonsense.
And the way to merge two accounts using the same Paypal account could not be found 😞
It is just one endless circle because the things you need to change can't be change in the way it has to be done, at least not by a user.
There is a (BAD) workaround though if you ended up with two accounts that have linked purchases.
Set up the headset with one of the accounts and add the other account as a guest user.
This way you at least won't loose the apps and games you paid for and it SHOULD make things easier for Meta to merge them properly - one day in the distant future...
Of course you are (sort of) golden if you only confirmed that Paypal works on the new account and without using the app or game requested a refund.
Most allow for a certain usage time until the refund runs out, so even if you gave it a quick test you might still be entitled....

[DownunderGrumpy]

Ok, what about a 'rooted' Quest with the developer options enabled - can we backup our purchases manually and 'copy them back' onto the device with the new account linked?
There IS ways to backup your things, at least the APK files and for some a bit from the Android folder as well.
Problem is that whatever APK you might be able to find is not one you can use to install something.
A few hours in the terminal window and trying a bunch of apps and I had a backup of one of the apps with all vital data.
Or so I thought....
While you might be able to copy certain things off the headset you are not able to write them back into the same location - at least NOT with the required rights on the folders and files.
But for me it worked and was able to use the app with no issues....
Because I had the headset connected to my Wifi and when it booted up it found the app that appeared out of nowhere and also that I have it in my library.
And the sluggish response was simply the result of the thing downloading what is required.
Since it was still on the same account I did it again and used the test account.
This time, with the Wifi off the app did not even show up anywhere and no chance to start it either.
With WiFi on nothing changed other than that the files and folder got wiped and the 'backup' removed for good.
According to the developer blah-blah Meta provides a purchased title is linked to your account.
Means if it is not in there it can't be in your library either.
On top of that comes the device verification - all 'authentic' apps also come with sort of an activator on your headset.
Like a passkey if you like that verifies everything.
Even if you could perform and hardware based copy to restore all exactly as on the other account it will still fail because the headset finds the missing or wrong identification.
Needless to say that such an act would also trigger all sorts of alarm bells in the Metaverse so please don't try.

[DownunderGrumpy]

Ok time for the solution we shall mark.....

If you can not get your AUTHENTIC and CONFIRMED Paypal account to work then keep creating support tickets insisting Meta fixes your Paypal issues based on the content of this thread and the resulting user feedback.
If you purchased a new headset and since then your Paypal link is stuffed up feel free to do the same.
And of course if you started fresh and only found this threat after wasting your time with support you of course tell them the same in your ticket.

The Paypal issues a growing number of people face are the result of META REFUSING the normal way of Paypal payments.
Meta won't allow you pay them for your purchase - they want the control and authorisation to TAKE the money from your account.
What makes this stink is that, for over 2 years now, the Meta support pushes people to link a credit card for no other reason than addition control.
It is dead obvious that the issues are created by Meta and how they flag or otherwise restrict a user account, nothing else.

Any Email address, except disposable ones will do just fine.
Any name will do just fine, even if your name is Duffy Duck.
And that with the SAME Paypal account Meta keeps rejecting while claiming it is Paypal issue that YOU can fix by adding a credit card or other payment method Meta accepts.
Whatever the support suggests: DO NOT TRY GIFT CARDS unless you are a user in the US of A !
There is a reason Meta won't provide physical gift cards in your country that you can buy in stores.
And the online stores selling their gift cards now only send them as Emails, some even link the to your account - or so they say.
Outside the US your purchased gift card will be useless and Meta won't provide any real help to get your money back or a code with the correct number of digits to make your card work.
Meta claims all this is to protect the user and their identity and money.
If that is so then why does Meta require a user to first give up on privacy and security for their Paypal account ?
Would you trust some online seller or shop enough to give them this level of access to your Paypal account? Of course not, so why would you trust Meta?
Considering their long history of privacy issues and hoarding user data....

EDIT:
LOOOOOOL
How could I be sooo stupid....
Of course Meta won't allow to mark a reply here as the solution, only their support can do that - go figure......
Am I the only one suffering for a fishy smell in the Metaverse? 😉

[Ashuraii]

Hello all, 

An update on my end. 

About two days ago I got an e-mail from support, saying they had changed something about my account and that I should try using paypal again. At first nothing changed. After a few hours something did change, but at first it got worse. Where at first the transaction would fail after putting in my pin, now it would fail even before getting into the payment selection screen. About a day later I tried again, and low and behold, my paypal now works. 

I do not know what they did to fix it. But i noticed this. Before, when setting my paypal for the Quest I would get confirmation with a company called "Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC". And this is something I have pointed out about three weeks ago in this thread (I think you can read it back). You see my friend whose Paypal had been just fine all this time got confirmed with a different company: "Platforms Technologies Ireland Limited". 

All I know is, now that I am able to make payments with Paypal, the payments now go to "Platforms Technologies Ireland Limited". 

Ofcourse I cannot be sure, but perhaps this has caused the issue with Paypal. Perhaps it is helpful to any of you. 

Furthermore, It seems to me that this is indeed an issue they can only solve per account. The good news is that I think it can be fixed for most of you, but the bad new is that you have to wait for it quite a while. 

[Slayerazazel]

Make sure your Paypal account is verified, and there are no blocks on your cards from your bank. Proof helps, because they will ask for it, and just keep telling you it's an issue with your financial institute. 

Then message support with your issues. Tell them your cards are not blocked, and your paypal is verified and tell them this is a known issue and you would like to expedite the regular support process and go straight to the higher level support, as they know about the issue. The regular support agents will basically just F you around for a month with generic AI scripted responses, because they can't fix the issue, and have the brains of a pelican.

[DownunderGrumpy]

Great points you guys made!
I checked my Paypal transactions and found the Ireland account for all the latest purchases.
The old purchases used the other one.
But on the one I got working as my new Meta account and use right now I have Paypal payments for both, with the first two going to the old Meta crap, the rest to Ireland.
I totally overlooked this until Ashuraii pointed it out, so thank you !
It is quite possible that this move of receiving payment accounts did not make it for existing users that had a working Paypal account !
Meaning that a purchase the user makes goes to Ireland while in the Paypal authorisation Meta enforced it is the OLD one.
The result would be that the payment can't be completed as Meta can't transfer the money into a not specified account.
And THIS rejection would happen on Meta's end and won't even get to Paypal, explaining the rejection rather nicely.

@Slayerazazel : What can I say ? ....
Your points are all very valid and very good.
And I am sure they WILL help those starting with their Paypal issue and the Meta support.
For me though things went quite different already when I started my Meta support marathon .
When it became clear that the problem is not with me, my account or Paypal I ended several times with the higher level support.
Sadly though they were VERY focussed on my network configuration and the various firewalls and my extra router.
Stating I should use a 'more direct' connection as my setup might interfere LOL
Never mind that the same setup worked flawless until Meta broke my Paypal account ROFL
When I finally got someone higher up to actually check my Meta account setting and whatever might be linked to it the result wasn't pleasing either.
All green lights from Meta with nothing to worry....
I tried this route again with one of the test accounts, the last one STILL waiting for a refund....
And here the story was TOTALLY different.
Stated right away the known issues and how too many face the same and requested a high level support member looking into my account to find those issues.
"I see there seems to be a problem with the autorisation, can you send me the transaction record for this purchase from your Paypal account?"
After that I got a reply stating they are working on it and that the refund should be processed within the next two days.
As this did not happen (so far) I requested another session wanting to know WHAT exact issue they found and what 'fixes' they tried.
Too bad I did not know out the two Meta accounts used by the company, otherwise I would have asked them if they forgot to authorise their Ireland account in my settings.
For me all the Meta support is a hit and miss and for my original account and the now working additional one I seem to be unable to reach the higher support levels.
All I get is the same bots and same replies in more variations LOL
But at least I can use Paypal again....

[manolobiene]

Same issue since I purchased my Quest 3. I can't add new payment methods, and I'm also unable to purchase anything in the Store from any of my devices. I've created a ticket and support did come back to me and said that THEY CAN'T FIX THE PROBLEM and that they're not authorized to tell me why.

[Slayerazazel]

The first level support team have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. Even though my issue is only partially fixed, and I can purchase. But still can't add any of my actual payment methods (currently using an online only refillable visa card)

They replied to me:
"I do not have any details of the blacklisting of this card, only that it is not allowed on the system. Currently there is no way to re-apply this card to a Meta Account"

And then I got quite furious. And the next support person replied with this:
"I sincerely apologize for misinformation provided by the previous agent as well as for the inconvenience of not being able to purchase through your payment methods" Blah Blah Blah still looking into it.

And it's now been well over a month and I still cannot add my 2 cards or my actual paypal account, which mind you is verified, has been verified for years, has my 2 cards attached to it, and It's a business paypal account (Has been for 5 or more years now)

There is absolutely no way they can block a payment method, without having the ability to remove that block. That's not how things like that work. I have previously worked in IT support, nothing as big as meta, but I have a basic understanding of how they work and operate. And how things like this should work.

If something can be blocked/blacklisted, it can be unblocked/whitelisted.

[TechTitans]

Bit of an update from my end, now that the Black Friday coupon has expired, and my welcome coupon also; I am able to buy games. Which is either a rather unlikely coincidence or a very dirty sales trick.

Anybody from Meta care to comment on this?

[Bludnut]

Forget about the paypal saga, the problem is with Meta Store UI and they won't admit it, I still cannot link A VALID PAYPAL account as payment method due to being flagged all the time link fails. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG with my Paypal account or the Bank Card linked with same. I use this payment method today for all my internet transactions from Amazon to Ebay etc. MY WORK AROUND FIX which I have suceeded after near 8 weeks banging my head against the wall trying to get support tickets properly responded to :-

Go to your bank and open another low interest low fee Mastercard debit account. You can then transfer from your main stream account as required to protect your main account from scammers and you are also saving a heap from exorbitant interest on credit card fees. This is only my advice to protect your self and not part of the fix.

The FIX :- Install the latest version (I stress latest version) Meta store app to your Smart Phone, link your Credit Or debit card to this account (not paypal) and problem fixed. The phone will automatically link your smart phone purchase to your headset. Thats it. Simple but worked.

Thankyou Downunder Grumpy. I am also VERY GRUMPY over this 3 tickets 8 week lack of support issue and also from South East Australia Just call me Down Under grumpier mark II

I feel my problem was using earlier version app or a corrupted installation. 

Sincerely and cheers Pete aka Bludnut, Australia