Meta Backpedals On Bricked Quest Headset Support After Angry Backlash

Meta Quest headsets are by far the most popular choice in the VR space, and many were likely given out as gifts during the holidays season. Unfortunately, a lot of those new users might feel as if they got a lump of coal instead, as a recent update is bricking the device for many users. The situation was worse for longtime owners, who were told by the company they were out of luck. However, it appears as if Meta is backtracking on leaving customers high and dry.

The update causing users problems seems to be V72, which has been pulled by Meta. After applying this update many users ran into an error message stating that "Your device is corrupt. It can't be trusted." Other users experienced a boot loop sequence where the device would continually restart, eventually leading to the screen displaying a “dead Android image.” A factory reset failed to fix these issues.


While new owners had the option to return the device to a retailer, owners who were past the warranty were left with a broken device. A user on the OculusQuest subreddit shared their experience, saying that, “I contacted Meta support, and after troubleshooting, they informed me that the headset is dead, and I will need to purchase a new one. So like any other normal person would do, I threw the headset in the garbage.” It’s unfortunate that this user felt their only recourse was to throw it away, needlessly creating more e-waste and missing out on a potential replacement now that Meta is seemingly backtracking. User forums often come up with creative hacks and workarounds to repair devices as well.

Meta now has a message available on the dedicated help site for its Quest headsets. It acknowledges the issues caused by the software update and that it’s working on fixes for devices that were affected. Importantly, it now has a button for “Next Steps” available for owners whose devices have been bricked by the update.

It’s good to see that Meta will try and rectify the situation for its customers, but it’s surprising to see how poorly it handled this at the outset considering how niche VR is currently. Hopefully customers receive a positive resolution and can get back to enjoying their VR headsets ASAP.