File transfer to QUEST 3

[KGy47]

"Upgraded" from PICO 4 to QUEST 3.  I want use it mainly for viewing my 3D stereo home videos and photos, and I got truly amazed, feel cheated.

IT IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS THAT META DOESN'T PROVIDE A PROPER FILE TRANSFER TOOL FOR ITS 700 EURO HEADSET IN 2024!

With the Pico I am using the Android File Transfer app on Macbook.  Just plug a USBC cable from the Pico to the Macbook and - boom - the Pico's file system appears on the screen and you can start moving entire folders up and down.

Yes, I could use SideQuest to upload my more than 4000 files to the new Quest headset - one by one.  What is it that the PICO developers could solve but META could not.

Am I alone with this problem?  Or am I missing something?

[james.cooper.98031]

I was having a similar problem, but I finally just used a USB cable (USB A on the computer end, USB micro C on the headset end), and got my Windows PC to "see" the headset as just another disk drive in the "my computer" display.  Then, I using the PC, I could just go into the headset folder, see all the folders on the headset, then open another "my computer" window on the PC, navigate down to whatever files on my PC I wished to transfer, then just drag and drop files from the PC drive window to the headset drive window.  I could select multiple files to transfer this way and they all would be copied to the headset. 

[KGy47]

Hí James,

I am using Macbook Pro that does not see the Quest 3 when connected by cable. It is not a cable problem as I can transfer files to/from the Pico4 using the Android File Transfer app.   Tried using Windows 11 on Parallels VM, which cannot see it either 😞

[james.cooper.98031]

Hi... I'm not sure about using a Mac, but for the transfer to work if you look in your headset, when you plug in the cable you will (or should) get a message about allowing the headset to transfer files.  This has to be approved.  (When I plugged the cable in I actually got two messages, one about the power transfer rate being slow, and then this one about allowing file transfer.)  I actually had posted a similar question to this forum in April 2023 (when I had a Meta Quest 2 headset) and was told that I may have turned off seeing the message about allowing file transfers by clicking "don't show this notification again" at some earlier time.  The only way to re-enable seeing the question was a convoluted series of steps that involved activating "developer mode" before you could re-enable seeing the question.  good luck!

[MetaQuestSupport]

Hey there @KGy47 ! We appreciate you reaching out to us to voice your concern. We definitely want you to be comfortable while gaming with us. Were you able to get this resolved while using the steps provided by our colleague @james.cooper.98031? If not feel free to reach back out to us via private message by selecting our name to get to our profile page, or click here. Next, click "Send a Message" to privately message us! Please remember, you must be signed into the community first to send us a private message. We'll be looking forward to hearing back from you on this.

[KGy47 · Accepted solution]

 Hi,

Thank you for your mail. 

James's comments were very helpful.  I have just waited with the answer realising that I had been on the wrong track.  I should not have insisted on the Android File Transfer program that did not work, not even in developer mode, but should rather do some research.  I have been lucky.  I found the "Phone Manager for Android" app in the Apple App Store that does the job brilliantly.  You can simply drag and drop folders complete with subfolders and files easily, delete folders or create new ones in the Quest’s memory and it can even play videos directly from there that the AFT couldn't.  

So the solution for file management between Mac computers and the Quest 3 is the PHONE MANAGER FOR ANDROID that is available for 9.99 EUR in the App Store.  Please tell the other fellow MAC users who are having the same problems that I had.

Thank you and best regards

György Konda 

[MetaQuestSupport · Accepted solution]

Thanks for getting back to us on this. We're happy to hear that you got this resolved and will definitely be passing your feedback on to our specialists to use in the future. Of course, feel free to reach back out if you have any further questions. We're always happy to help. 

[ChumpyWhiskers]

I was just told today by Meta tech support that the Quest 3 does not support file transfers from either Mac or PC. This is after hours working on this over the past couple days on first a Mac then a brand new PC that meets all Meta specs. This is despite the instructions on the web site for setting up file transfers at least from a PC. When I was trouble-shooting the problem on my Mac I tried the Android File Transfer app and looked at Sidequest, etc., and nothing worked there and the support agent told me I would have to roll back my MacOS version to 13.4 (at least 1 1/2 years old) for anything to work on the Mac. 

I have to say that I'm simply amazed that there doesn't seem to be any interest at Meta for implementing file transfer to the device. I'm retired and have grandkids, and I would love to start doing some VR video with them to view in the Quest 3 which is a use case that I can't believe that anyone can't see for the device. If Meta has a chance to view this, I would love to know what the priority is for deploying this capability if it exists. I can't say I'm optimistic since the last time it worked for the Mac was 1-2 years ago. To me, it's more than kind of nuts that there doesn't seem to be a priority for this at Meta. ????????????

[KGy47]

Hi ChumpyWhiskers,

I WAS desperate for a proper file transfer app for the same purpose as yours.   After a long search, I found the solution: Phone Manager for Android in the MAC Appstore (see attached pic.)  It is working perfectly, I was so happy when I found it.  It runs on Sonoma, and it costs about 17 EUR if I remember well.

I have 2D and 3D photos and videos of my children and now of my grandchildren that I have transferred to the Quest 3.  

PS: The iPhone 15 Pro can shoot Spatial (3D) Videos that look great in Quest 3.

[ChumpyWhiskers]

Thanks, KG, you're exactly right-- that DOES work on my Mac too! It gets you right into the file system on the Meta Quest 3, and I was able to upload a file! GUESS WHAT? I had already tried that app and abandoned it, because I made the mistake-- which I just learned a couple days ago WAS a mistake of plugging the transfer cable directly into the USB-C port on my battery headset strap. As I stated on that thread, I could have NEVER guessed that the battery strap USB-C port is POWER ONLY rather than power+data like the USB-C port that it plugs into on the headset itself. That issue itself, if I had known about it up front would have saved me many days of effort to figure out what is keeping me from using the Link cable. I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA why Meta used a power-only USB-C port in the headset strap. To me, that particular issue is a design screw-up FOR THE AGES on the part of Meta. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP, and I hope this entire discussion will help others.