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FredTA
Inspiring
January 30, 2025

Passthrough on windows desktop VR

  • January 30, 2025
  • 11 replies
  • 1904 views

I'm finding loads of guides for how to get passthrough working on a standalone android build, but what about when running on windows and connecting via a link cable? Is this possible? I haven't been able to get this working on either OpenXR Meta or Meta XR SDK. I understand there might be some security thing preventing the headset from streaming its camera output to a PC... in that case, can I at least call some API to put the headset into passthrough mode so that just the user in the headset sees through the cameras, and not stream this data to the PC? Would like to be able to programmatically allow the user to see through the cameras for a few seconds, and then put them back into the unity scene again 

Best,

Fred

      This topic has been closed for replies.

      11 replies

      qleenie
      Up and Coming
      January 30, 2025

      I guess there are many devs who want access to passthrough and hand tracking for OpenXR / PCVR, including me. And I guess it would be incredibly easy for Meta to allow it. It seems like an artificial restriction to push this features for standalone only, probably because Meta is not earning money with PCVR software, and/or they just don't care about it. I hope as soon as there will be competition things will change rapidly.

      MENTAL1ST
      New Participant
      January 30, 2025

      Passthrough via Quest Link can be activated in the settings of the Meta Quest Link app. Then it can be activated using the functionality in the XR_FB_PASSTHROUGH_EXTENSION in the same way as in Android.

      qleenie
      Up and Coming
      January 30, 2025

      But does it work in a build? Last time I tested it did not. And even to make it work in Editor you need to set up a dev account.

      MENTAL1ST
      New Participant
      January 30, 2025

      It works in native OpenXR development. I see this is the Unity forum (I could have sworn it was the Quest Link forum), I have not tried it in Unity, it's possible the limitation is in their engine.

      TheAlanski
      New Participant
      July 13, 2025

      I see Meta restricts access of passthrough to PCVR. But would it instead be possible to have "transparent" pixels where the VR will fill it in with the passthrough? The PC doesn't need to "receive" the camera/passthrough data that way. It's because I want to make some piano VR things and the user needs to see the piano to be able to play it.

      Even having the whole VR experience being semi-transparent is fine, as long as the user can see what piano keys to press in the real world.

      TheAlanski
      New Participant
      July 13, 2025

      Hmm, there's Virtual Desktop Passthrough, I guess we could have users green-screen it that way. >_>

      qleenie
      Up and Coming
      July 13, 2025

      Yes, with green screen and VD passthrough works. VD has access to passthrough, as it runs on device.

      I asked in Unity discussions why passthrough does not work in PCVR builds, they mentioned it would be too much QA effort. This is a really strange argument. But at least from that respond it sounded that it's a Unity and not a Meta issue... 

        

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