If you're using your Oculus Rift for the first time, check out our:
Before you set up your Oculus Rift or Rift S, check to make sure the following things are up to date:
Graphics drivers enable your graphics card hardware to communicate with your computer. Staying up-to-date with the latest drivers available for your graphics card is needed for a smooth experience with Oculus Rift or Rift S. Occasionally, you may need to repair or uninstall and reinstall your graphics drivers to resolve a driver related issue.
There are two options to download and install the latest drivers for your NVIDIA graphics card:
There are two options to download and install the latest drivers for your AMD graphics card:
If you've completed the steps above and continue experiencing issues, please collect logs and contact Customer Support.
USB drivers allow a hardware device, such as an Oculus Rift or Rift S, to communicate with your computer. Staying up-to-date with the latest drivers enables a smooth experience with Oculus Rift or Rift S. Occasionally, you may need to repair or uninstall and reinstall your USB drivers to resolve a driver related issue.
USB driver updates should be included with Windows updates. If you're having a problem with your USB driver, check to make sure you're running the most up to date version of Windows. If this doesn't solve the problem, you can also install updates directly from your manufacturer’s website:
To set up your Oculus Rift S or Rift, you'll need to download the Oculus app on your Windows PC. The Oculus app requires approximately 10gb of space on your hard drive to install. Check to make sure that you have enough space on your C: drive.
To download and install the Oculus app on your computer:
Learn about installing the Oculus app on a different PC hard drive.
You can check the status of the Oculus Rift S or Rift devices you’ve connected in your settings.
To check the status of all the devices you’ve connected:
If you ever need to reconnect your devices, you can add them individually or run a full setup.
To reconnect your devices:
You can check the Battery Levels of Oculus Touch Controllers you’ve connected in your settings.
To check your battery levels:
Looking for help with Rift S?
Before you get started, update your Rift and PC firmware and software.
Plug in your headset
After making sure everything is up to date, check to make sure your headset and headset sensor cables are plugged into the right ports:
Plugging in Your Headset:
Plugging in Your Headset Sensors:
Set up your headset software
Next, open the Oculus app on your PC and go through software setup:
Fit and adjust your headset
Put on your headset and make sure it fits comfortably.
If the image in your headset isn't clear, move the image slider on the right of the bottom of your headset.
If you're having issues setting up your Rift headset, try the following articles:
To remove the headset cable from your Oculus Rift headset, you’ll need to remove facial interface first. The facial interface is the foam-lined plastic insert found inside the headset.
To remove the headset cable from your headset:
Before you wear your Oculus Rift headset with glasses, check to make sure the width and height of your frames are the following sizes:
To wear your headset with glasses:
To take off your headset with glasses:
Note: If your glasses don’t fit in the headset or the lens of your glasses touch the Rift lens, we recommend you take off your glasses while using your Rift.
If you want to use your own headphones with your Oculus Rift headset, you can remove the on-ear headphones using the audio tool. You can find the audio tool in the accessories compartment of your Rift box.
To remove the on-ear headphones on your Rift:
To use your own headphones on your Rift:
Note: If you’re using wired headphones, check to make sure you have enough space when using your Rift.
To set up your play area for your Oculus Rift S or Rift, please choose your device from the dropdowns below.
If you’re setting up your Oculus Rift for the first time, follow the on-screen instructions to set up your sensors. If you're using more than one sensor, you'll need an additional USB 2.0 or higher port.
If you want to manually add a new sensor, you can set it up in your settings.
To set up a new sensor:
Entering your standing height lets Rift calculate the distance to the floor. This makes your experience in VR feel more realistic. You only need to set your height once, even if you decide to sit or let someone else use your Rift.
To make sure your sensors can accurately track your movement, follow these tips:
Space
Sensor Placement
If you’re having trouble setting up your sensor, try these troubleshooting tips.
If you’re setting up Guardian with your Oculus Rift S or Quest for the first time, follow the on-screen instructions.
Guardian lets you create boundaries in VR that appear when you get too close to the edge of your play area. When setting up Guardian, your play area will show as one of these sizes:
To reset your Guardian in VR:
When you use a game or app, you can reset your view while wearing your Oculus Rift headset. This option is only available when a game or app is open.
To reset your headset view while using a game or app:
If you want to change the location of your headset sensor, you can reset the tracking in your settings.
To reset your headset sensor tracking:
If you want to attach your Oculus Rift sensor onto a tripod or camera mount, you’ll first need to remove the sensor body. Once you remove the sensor body, you can attach the sensor body’s 1/4"-20 camera mount to a compatible tripod or camera mount.
To remove the sensor body from your Oculus Rift sensor:
Once you attach the sensor body to a tripod or camera mount, make sure to reset your sensor tracking.
When you set up your Oculus Rift, we recommend putting your sensors in front of where you’ll be wearing your headset. But you can choose to try our experimental 2-sensor 360 setup. Learn more in our 2-Sensor 360° Experimental Setup Guide.
Note: The 2-sensor 360 setup may not work with your PC computer or play area.
If you’re setting up your Oculus Touch controllers for the first time, follow the on-screen instructions when you plug in your additional sensor.
To add your Touch controllers from your settings:
If you’re setting up Guardian with your Oculus Quest 2, Quest, or Rift S for the first time, follow the on-screen instructions.
Guardian lets you create boundaries in VR that appear when you get too close to the edge of your play area. When setting up Guardian, your play area will show as one of these sizes:
Below Minimum: If your play area is below minimum, it doesn’t meet the 3 feet by 3 feet (1 meter by 1 meter) requirement to use Guardian.
Minimum: You have enough space for the minimum required play area, but some apps may recommend at least 6.5 by 6.5 ft for the best experience.
Recommended: You have the recommended play area for Roomscale experiences. This means that your play area meets or exceeds the 6.5 feet by 6.5 feet (2 meters by 2 meters) space needed to set up the Guardian System.
To reset your Guardian in VR:
Select Settings from the bottom toolbar.
Select Guardian in the left menu.
Click Adjust Guardian.
Follow the on-screen instructions to reset your Guardian.
Once you set up your Guardian, you can make additional adjustments at any time from your Guardian settings-panel option in-VR. The settings you can adjust here include:
Headset distance sensitivity: Lowering your distance sensitivity means that you won't be alerted until you're closer to the edge of the guardian boundary.
Controller distance sensitivity: Lowering your distance sensitivity means that you won't be alerted until you're closer to the edge of the guardian boundary.
Headset speed sensitivity: Lowering your speed sensitivity means you'll be alerted less when making fast movements near a boundary edge.
Controller speed sensitivity: Lowering your speed sensitivity means you'll be alerted less when making fast movements near a boundary edge.
Clear Boundary History: Selecting this option will clear all existing guardian maps from your Oculus Quest.
If you’re setting up your Oculus remote for the first time, follow the on-screen instructions when you set up your Oculus Rift.
To add a remote from your settings:
Before you change the battery on your Oculus Rift remote, check to make sure you’re using a CR2032 lithium cell battery.
To remove the battery on your remote:
To replace the battery on your remote:
The Xbox One controller is an optional controller that you can use with your Oculus Rift. If you'd like to use an Xbox One controller, you can choose to buy one separately.
To setup your Xbox One controller wirelessly:
To setup a wired Xbox One controller:
You can open the Universal Menu at any time when using your Oculus Rift. To open the Universal Menu, press the Oculus button at the bottom of your Oculus remote.
Once you open the Universal Menu, you can view and adjust the following things:
![]() | Select to view your current game or app activity | ![]() | Select to adjust the volume in your on-ear headphones |
![]() | Select to view your notifications | ![]() | Select to reset your view |
![]() | Select to view your friend list | ![]() | Select to adjust your lens spacing |
![]() | Select to turn our Guardian boundaries and walls on or off | ![]() | Select to turn off notifications |
![]() | Select to return to Oculus Home |