Steam VR without outdated oculus rift home for quest 3.

[Marble.S]

I've recently purchased a quest 3 and gotten back into VR.
I have always been a PCVR player and almost never used the headsets I've owned as "Standalone" set's. for those it was possible to do so with. So when I bought my quest 3 yesterday, I was expecting  connecting to steam to be as seamless as it was on Rift S, and on the quest 2.

It is not.  
I downloaded the steam link app, on my headset only to find out that's for wireless pairing. and for the life of me couldn't figure out why my new and just opened link cable, wasn't working with my headset.

After around an hour of digging, I find out I need the oculus pc app or "Meta Quest Link". I download it.

It keeps telling me my pc isn't good enough for pcvr, even though it's monumentally better than my old pc from 4 years ago, which had a 2060, 6gb in it, and was rated as being great.  Nothing has changed in the titles I play, and the MQ3 is suppose to be better hardware, how is my pc not suitable for vr when the Mq3 has a literal mobile phone chip, that would literally melt in 2 seconds trying to run some of the pc games I play, natively??? the mobile chip in the mq3 isn't better than my pc's cpu or gpu, so how is it not suitable for vr?

Now after getting all set up, I just need to open steam. and the open " Meta Quest Link" , And then inside my headset, I need to enable the link. Get loaded into familiar 4 year old Rift S home/ Oculus home.  And then I need to open steam VR or a VR game on steam, in order for anything to load. While playing, have meta quest link app, eat gpu and cpu utilization in the background while its IDLING.

There is a SERIOUS problem with how awful it is to get pcvr working on quest 3. 

There's not a single reason we should need Meta quest link, if it isn't going to be modernized or made useful.

The steam link app on MQ3 should be able to read/ detect the link cable, and take us directly into steam VR. This would cut down on resource use, allow us to use the thing we've bought a headset for, and not need to go through a headache of a process every single time.
You guys NEED to FIX how PCVR is accessed via the MQ3. Many people who buy one like myself, just can't afford a valve index or focus vision, which would both be 1 click options when paired on pc. 

I understand it's meant to be a standalone set, but there's no way they made it this difficult to use pcvr compared to before. I have to put on and take off my Mq3 several times, just for pcvr to get it started up.

I think Meta needs to work with steam or in communication with steam on the steam link app, to allow that to just read a link cable, so Meta can phase out their outdated and obsolete oculus app.

[MetaQuestSupport]

Hello @Marble.S,

Thank you for reaching out! We would like to try and help you regarding this issue. 

Even though you may have a really good graphics card, some of them are at this time, not currently supported by us. We will attach a link to our minimum PC requirements, so that you are able to check and see if your PC is compatible with your Quest 3. If your graphics card is not specified on this list, it may not be supported. 

As well as this, we currently do not support Steam VR, as it is a third party application, this means that we have no ability to control how their application works in tandem with our software and devices. Steam VR is mostly made to be compatible with Valve index, such as Quest Link is made for Quest 3. We do not recommend or encourage the use of third-party applications. 

We hope this was able to provide some clarification on this issue for you! 

Have a lovely day! 

[Marble.S]

Hello. My PC far exceeds the recommended specs for PCVR. 4 years ago, I had a 20 series card. I now am in the upper end of 30 series ( which says supported) and my CPU far exceeds min specs. THE MQL APP IS BUGGED.

The MQL app on pc is buggy, and outdated.  I understand y'all can't directly work on third party apps, but I do know it's possible for an open line of communication between Megacorporation's to exist.
At the bare minimum, the " Link" feature shouldn't take us into the Rift S home. The app needs to be modernized, or link needs to be made into a 1 click solution and the MQL app discontinued. We can already use desktop and various other features while in steam VR. Making MQL on pc a waste of resources and near pointless. Essentially all Meta is doing, is doubling the resource load for no reason by making us use your app for pcvr. 

The way I believe it could work is, the link features checks if you're connected to a pc that has steam open

Check for connection with pc > PC found> if steam is open > User is then allowed to confirm if they wish to enable link >   launch steam VR. The checks could be done relatively fast, and not loading into rift S/ oculus home would be a major win for this generation of VR.

This is the most reasonable and achievable solution, as opposed to it being a series of hoops for no reason.

If PCVR was more easily accessible, it would just be another good selling point for MQ3 headsets. I'm enjoying my headset and being back in the VR space, but it's more tedious to start up pcvr now, than it was in the past.

You guys should EASILY be able to test pcvr, and see how it's a nightmare of hoops to load into and not a good experience on quest 3 on initial load.

Once steam VR is running the EXPERIENCE IS OUTSTANDING. but it's the set up portion that isn't graceful, and really kills the experience a lot. And having to go through the same process, every time is such a let down.

Again, I understand the overall intent of the MQ3 and MQ3s is as standalone gadgets, though I don't think the ease of use should have devolved, and gotten worse over the span of 4 years, in the way it has. The experience for getting into PCVR should have improved along with ythe hardware and software.

[Marble.S · Accepted solution]

Turns out, I was correct.

After Some digging, I found out the RIFT S home is ABSOLUTELY POINTLESS and can be bypassed.

A modder made an app that completely kills the oculus app and loads you straight into Steam VR with a SINGLE CLICK. and all it took was RENAMING a single file in the Meta Quest Link app. All that needed to be done is loading directly into SteamVR instead of oculus dash.

This can be furthered by using developer mode to completely bypass asking if you want to link, if your headset is already connected, and will load directly into it without asking, essentially making the headset a PCVR piece that now runs FLAWLESSLY because  an entire quarter of all system resources from cpu, gpu, and ram, aren't being needlessly consumed by the RIFT S home while it idles in the background. Since discovering this, I haven't had a single issue getting into pcvr, haven't had frame rate issues, visual desyncs, and haven't had issues for games like No Man's Sky, where previously I couldn't even play it because Rift S home was taking so much ram, the game couldn't load into it's VR mode without crashing Steam VR.

A modder provided a solution. Updates their solution regularly ( Unlike meta's app being 4 years outdated) and their solution works flawlessly in transforming how great the headsets performance can be for pcvr.

[Terminusaquo]

I didn't need to go through any of that as I have a wireless VR bridge. If you are using the quest link or any other cable then you need the quest link app to connect.

I just launch the Steam Link app, connect to my PC then pick a VR game and it just loads with no issues.

[Choleni]

A modder made an app that completely kills the oculus app and loads you straight into Steam VR with a SINGLE CLICK. and all it took was RENAMING a single file in the Meta Quest Link app. All that needed to be done is loading directly into SteamVR instead of oculus dash.

Or you just use Steam Link for avoiding the Meta link app.😉
You can get it free in Quest store.

Steam Link on Meta Quest | Quest VR Games 

[Marble.S]

Steam link is a poor option because not everyone has a wired connection for their pc via ethernet, as well as a 5ghz band to use for air link. 

Steam Link is only a good option for an extremely small minority of people playing PCVR games.

Steam link and air link are optimal for people with enough money for good internet and even with good internet, not everyone can run an ethernet cable through their entire house for a wired pc internet connection, on top of also broadcasting a 5GHZ network ID, but A link cable will always be more stable and dependable at the end of the day.

Being in a minority group that can meet all conditions for a single solution, doesn't mean that folks wanting proper updates and features for the other primary methods of the same interaction type, should be discredited. Weird as hell tbh.

Steam link requirements for good experience :

1. Have decent internet that is consistent at all times for stable wireless connection.
2. Have wired pc connection via ethernet.
3. Have pc with steam vr, and vr games. that can run them.
4. have 5ghz network band broadcasting
5. use steam link.


Link cable:

1. Have pc with steam vr, and vr games. that can run them.
2. Have link cable.
3. use oculus killer to prevent oculus home from running and using 1/4 system resources by idling.


one solution is less expensive, and more feasible to achieve consistently, for an average user.
A majority of areas in just the US, don't meet internet requirements to use steam link because the connection would be too slow to have a consistent experience. And assuming just because your area does have what you need to meet the requirements, that everyone else must too, is extremely BOLD. Meeting every other requirement for steam link wouldn't be feasible compared to just buying a link cable, using it, and hoping meta eventually makes the oculus killer repo a feature.

[Marble.S]

My post is specifically about using link cable.

Just because one solution is good for osme, doesn't mean folks who can't use that solution or are forced to use a specific one, sohuld be discredited and have it treated as a non- issue.

People using steam link, air link, and other wireless methods for pc vr are not the majority, and we can gather that much just by looking at average internet speeds in different countries.

[MetaQuestSupport]

Hi,

As Steam VR is not officially supported, we recommend you to reach out to there  Support agent.

They are the best person to resolve the case for you.

Thanks for understanding.

[Marble.S]

The case is already resolved. no thanks to Meta.
Talking to a support agent would be a waste of time.

No offense to you, because I know you're just a regular person doing their job, but did you actually read the post and replies, and ignore the marked solution as well? Or just ignore the entirety of the post, to try suggesting a runaround solution that would solve nothing?

Oculus killer, is the solution and forces steam VR to launch instead of Rift S/ Oculus home. It completely bypasses launching Oculus home, and is the literal solution. There's no need for Oculus home to be running for PCVR. For folks that have to use Link Cable, and can't use air link, or steam link reliably, it is the solution.

Meta does not need permission from steam, to check if steam is running on a players computer, and then launch the exe, if the player chooses to launch it.  There is no " official support" that's needed, it's a simple check meta could do to see if steam is running when a player chooses to link, and ask if someone would prefer to launch steam vr. This isn't a tough concept. as again someone has already made a 1 click solution available for free.

This reduces hardware usage entirely since only Steam VR is running when playing via a link cable, and is the exact thing I was posting about.

Meta needs to hire the guy who made Oculus killer, and that person should be directing the state of pcvr and Oculus link features. They've figured out something meta can't fathom, apparently.

Steam link is a 1 click solution for people with good internet.
Link cable, should be plug in, and 1 click. and is currently only capable of being 1 click via a free modification, and that's honestly sad.