How to use a Quest 2 for Desktop-Quality Wireless VR
As a long-time VR Developer (since DK1), I’ve used just about every headset out there. With the Quest 2, I now have the best VR setup I’ve ever used — for Gaming, Development, and exploring the endless multiverses of VRChat.
It’s worth the setup time.
I’ll be straightforward with you — there are some hoops through which you must jump to get this going. If you’re new to VR, you’ll be able to do this, just make sure to read the steps closely. If you’ve been using it for a while, you’ve probably been through much trickier setups!
The basic breakdown of my setup:
- Oculus Quest 2 (the first version will work, but with lesser quality)
- Gaming PC (VR-Ready)
- Headphones (I use SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless)
- Virtual Desktop for Oculus Quest (about $20)
- Virtual Desktop Streamer for Windows (Free)
- Fast WiFi Router (I use Google WiFi)
Get Virtual Desktop Running
First, we need to get Virtual Desktop running on both our PC and the Quest.
Visit the Virtual Desktop website, and click on “Download Streamer App” button. This free application will send your desktop to the Quest over a wired or wireless connection. Run the Installer and launch the Virtual Desktop Streamer app.
Next, you need to purchase the Virtual Desktop for Oculus Quest app. It’s $20 as I write this, and worth every penny. It’s made by a single developer — Guy Godin — and this experience would not be possible without it. Thanks, Guy!
Purchase and install the app on your Quest, make sure your Quest is on the same network as your PC, then run Virtual Desktop from your Quest. You should see your computer listed on the ‘Computers’ tab. Click it on it to connect.
If you don’t see your computer listed, make sure you’re running the Streamer application and you’re on the same network on both devices.
Once you’re connected, you should be able to see your PC’s screen within the default environment. Switch to the ‘Environments’ tab to try out the different setups. I like the ‘Computer Room’ environment for daily use since it’s similar to my desk setup - it helps when I’m switching back and forth between VR and reality.
Audio Setup
You’ve got a couple of options for audio. The easiest way to go is to leave the default “Stream audio” on in Virtual Desktop Streamer, and the streamer will send the output of your currently selected audio device to the Quest. However, I prefer a dedicated headset for better quality audio and mic isolation for VRChat. I use a SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless headset that I picked up refurbished. I like these because they are wireless but they are NOT bluetooth, instead sending the audio signal over the 2.4GHz spectrum. This helps in two ways — no discernible latency, and they don’t connect & disconnect when I power them up and down, since the computer always sees the transmitter dongle as a valid audio source.
In my case, I uncheck “Stream audio” in Virtual Desktop Streamer, since my PC is just sending audio normally as far as it’s concerned. I wear them around my neck, put on the Quest, then pop them on top of the Quest’s head strap.
Jumping Through Hoops — patching Virtual Desktop
This initial setup is great if you want to play 2D games in VR and watch movies — you can switch to one of the awesome Movie-watching environments to kick back and enjoy. However, in order to play actual Desktop VR games on our Quest Headset, we need to go through a one-time setup process to enable the feature.
1. Register as an Oculus Developer
In order to connect to the headset and run the commands we need, you need to be registered as a developer. This is free and easy. Just visit this link, make sure you’re logged in with the same Oculus/Facebook account as you’re using on your Quest, and follow the instructions.
2. Enable Developer Mode on your Quest
- Open the Oculus app on the phone that you’ve linked to your quest.
- Tap the ‘Settings’ icon in the lower-right corner of the screen
- Choose your Quest from the menu of nearby headsets.
- Once you’re connected, the status dot turns green and you’ll see an arrow on the right-hand side of the device info.
- Tap this arrow to reveal some settings, then tap ‘More Settings’ to dig deeper.
- Tap ‘Developer Mode’ in the list that comes up.
- Finally — tap the toggle that comes up to turn it on!
I know it looks like a lot of steps, but it’s pretty simple, check it out:
After you enable Developer mode, you’ll want to reboot your Quest. Hold down the power button on the side, then choose ‘Restart’ inside the headset. When it starts back up, you’ll be in developer mode.
3. Install SideQuest
If you haven’t yet come across SideQuest, you’re in for a treat! It’s a third-party application for discovering and installing apps on your Quest outside of the official store. The official Oculus store is highly curated, so this app and community offers a way to get early-access and non-approved apps onto your headset.
You can download SideQuest fore free here: Get Sidequest.
Install and run Sidequest. Important — don’t have the Oculus app running at this point (Quit it if you do).
4. Plug your Quest into your PC with a USB Cable
You need to use a cable that can transmit data, not a power-only charging cable. Other than that, any USB 2 cable with a C-port for your quest and A-port for you PC should work fine (you can use a C-to-C if you’ve got a USB C port on your PC, too).
Once you’re plugged in, you’ll get a question on your Quest headset: “Allow USB debugging?”. This feature allows the commands that SideQuest uses to download/upload from your Quest, so click ‘Always Allow’ and then ‘OK’.
At this point, you should see a green dot in the upper-left corner of SideQuest, confirming that your headset is connected, as shown above.
5. Patch Virtual Desktop
At this point, you can use SideQuest to search and browse for all sorts of cool apps you can install on your Quest.
DISCLAIMER: I’ve never had an issue with something installed from SideQuest BUT — it is not as controlled as the official Oculus Store, and I can’t guarantee that installing apps from here is safe.
That said — the “Virtual Desktop VR Patch” is from Guy Godin himself (the creator of Virtual Desktop). It only works to patch the official, purchased version of Virtual Desktop, so make sure you’ve got that installed first. Then you can use the link above and press ‘Install to Headset’, or search for “Virtual Desktop” in SideQuest (it’s often on the main Apps page of SideQuest since it’s so popular).
Install this on your Quest using SideQuest and you’re done with this step.
6. Enable 90fps on Quest 2
If you’ve got a Quest 2, there are a few apps that can use 90fps natively, while many others await updates. However, SideQuest can enable a mode that enables 90fps more widely. With SideQuest open and your Quest 2 connected, click the wrench in the top bar to open your settings and click on the ‘90HZ’ option under Refresh Rate.
Finishing Up
Now that Virtual Desktop is installed and patched, and you’ve set your headset to 90HZ, we’re ready for the final steps.
Launch the now-patched Virtual Desktop app on your Quest, and open the Settings tab. You may want to play around with all these settings to customize things for your situation. For now, just choose 90fps under Frame Rate if you did the 90HZ setting up above.
You can now use the Games tab of Virtual Desktop to launch any Oculus or SteamVR games that you’ve got installed and they’ll start up in their full VR modes, running at 90fps if your system can handle it!
I recommend you check out the buttons in the ‘Input’ tab to learn how to easily swap between VR and Desktop modes, how to call up the keyboard, and switch between monitors if you’ve got multiple displays connected to your PC.
The Hard Part is Done
Ok, that was a lot of steps. BUT — if you made it through successfully, all you have to do in the future is have Virtual Desktop Streamer running, and launch Virtual Desktop on your Quest. If you fully power-down or reset your Quest, you may need to run the 90HZ command again.
I personally work with the Streamer on my PC and Virtual Desktop on my Quest running by default, with the Quest plugged into a power source. Both apps will sleep when not in use, so it’s not a drain on my machine. Then when I’m ready to test something in VR, I just pop on the headset and I’m up and running! If I want to move around the room, I disconnect that power cord and I’ve got full-quality wireless desktop VR!
Troubleshooting
For my particular setup, I found that everything just worked on the first try. However, your mileage may vary based on a lot of factors. It looks like the wireless setup can be the most finicky part of it. Here are some sources I’ve found for further reading if you need help or want to tweak further:
WiFi Settings Equipment Guide (Reddit Post)
