Quest 3 controller batteries drain when headset is not in use.

[marios_bt]

As the title states, the batteries drain REALLY quickly, I use it for 10 minutes in one day, and the next day they are completely drained.

The headset is pretty much brand new, I haven't even used it for more than 8 hours

[Das.Bearski]

This has been the behaviour since v72.

Best to pull the batteries when done with a session.

[marios_bt]

That's insane, and they still haven't fixed it?

[Das.Bearski]

Nope, best to get 2 pairs of rechargeable batteries and do the swap as needed.

[purrfectchaos]

I came home from a 3 week vacation to find the batteries in my Quest3S controllers to be nearly dead.

This confused me, because I specifically remembered installing fresh batteries right before I left.

And I always, always, always, completely power down the headset after each usage.

Googling around, I quickly found the million threads on Reddit and the official Quest forums to see that I was not alone.

Perhaps the two most notable discussions are:

https://www.reddit.com/r/OculusQuest/comments/1gh72ug/so_is_meta_simply_ignoring_the_controller_batt...

and

https://communityforums.atmeta.com/t5/Get-Help/Quest-3-Headset-and-controllers-battery-draining-fast...

I only bought the Quest3S to play one specific game (Thrill of the Fight) for some cardio 3-4 days a week.

I have a setup and shutdown routine that is identical each and every time I play it.  I'm the only one in this 2 person household that uses it.

From reading the discussions I saw all sorts of theories as to what might be causing the drain, including:

a) the way you store the controllers (laying flat versus hanging)

b) not turning the headset off completely

The only 'solution' anyone seems to have is to remove the batteries after each use, which seemed ridiculous to me.

So I decided to start testing the batteries using my Klein Multimeter.

I would test the batteries before and after each time I used the Quest, which as I say, was generally around 3 times per week.

TESTING METHOD

1. Take batteries out of controllers.  Use the multimeter to test and record the voltage in mV.

2. Play Thrill of the Fight for approximately 45 minutes.

3. Take off headset and completely power it down.  Test the batteries again and record the voltage.

4. Put batteries back in controllers and store the controllers.

   I would vary the way I stored the controller to see if there were any difference, including

   a) laying flat, joysticks up

   b) laying flat, joysticks down

   c) hanging from the wrist strap   

5. Wait a few days.  Repeat.

After doing this for a while, I found that the controller storage method made no difference.  

The batteries were definitely decreasing while in storage.  My spreadsheet shows that on average they lose 24 mV per day (each controller battery) while in storage.

For reference, during my 30-45 minute Thrill of the Fight sessions, each controller battery loses about 20 mV.

So each controller, just sitting around doing nothing all day, is using up about the same amount of battery juice as a daily workout session with a boxing game.

So you are essentially using your Quest 3S controllers each and every day, whether you realize it or not.

POSSIBLE PARTIAL SOLUTION

But I kept digging into what people had posted about this issue and their possible solutions.

Eventually I ran across a post where someone mentioned Meta telling them to do a 'hard reset' on their controller.

For the Quest3S controllers it works like this:

Left controller - Hold the Menu and Y button at the same time for 4 seconds.  The controller will vibrate and the white light will starting flashing for a little while.

Right controller - Hold the Meta and B button at the same time for 4 seconds. Same thing.

So I tried this before storing the controllers, and what I found is that my batteries no longer depleted during storage.

My batteries no longer showed an average depletion of 24 mV per day while in storage.

Using the hard reset method, I have yet to experience a decline in mV during storage, no matter what way I store the controllers, and in fact there's an average gain of about +10 mV per day.

(AI explains this as: "Chemical reactions inside the battery slow down after usage, allowing the internal components to reach a more stable state. This can result in a small increase 

in the open-circuit voltage).

I also discovered that this hard reset is not a permanent solution.  It only works until the next time you use the controllers.

Now it should be said that I have not tested this for long terms yet.  My longest storage period during this testing has been 5 days.  I'll try a longer term test during

my next vacation.

So here is my current routine:

1. Play VR

2. Take off headset, completely power it down (hold power button for beyond just putting it to sleep) .

3. Perform hard reset on controllers before storage (described above)

It's still a little annoying having to do this, but preferable to the hassle and extra wear and tear of physically removing and reinserting the batteries each time.