VR developer focused on creating immersive storytelling experiences. Follow me on Twitter: @VRHeavenNews
November 7th, 2023

Computer Not Detecting Quest 3: How to Fix it

Are you having issues where your computer can’t detect or recognize your Meta Quest 3? I had the same issue, which was weird, because I could connect my Quest 2 just fine. After spending ages trying to figure it out, I finally found a solution:

Step One: Check Your Notifications For “USB Detected”

Computer Cant Detect Quest 3

When you connect your headset to your computer, you have to enable USB debugging. For some reason, I only got this option when I went to “notifications” and clicked on the “USB Detected” message.

“Click on this notification to allow connected device to access files.”

Once you’ve clicked on that, it’ll ask you whether to allow USB debugging. Click “Allow” twice.

After that, you should be able to access your Quest 3 files on your computer and use Quest Link.

How to access Quest 3 Files on Computer

If it still doesn’t work, move on to step 2.

Step Two: Restart Device While Connected to PC

If you aren’t getting the “USB Detected” notification, then restart your Quest 3 headset while it is connected to your computer. You can restart by holding the power button for a few seconds.

Once the headset starts up again, check your notifications to see if the message is there. If it is, then follow step one. 

If not, move onto step 3.

Step Three: Enable Developer Mode

If you want to play SteamVR games through Quest Link, you’ll need to enable developer mode.

Firstly, sign up for a developer account here: https://developer.oculus.com/

Here’s a guide on how to do that:

After that is done, you might also need to turn on developer mode on your headset by going to Settings > System > Developer Mode > Turn on Developer Mode

Step Four: Change Network Profile to Private

Someone on Reddit mentioned this, but changing your computer’s network settings to private might help solve your issue:

Change Network to Private

Step Five: Try Changing Ports and Cables

Try plugging in your cable to a different USB-C port on your PC. For some reason, if I connect to a port in the front of my computer, it doesn’t work. But if I connect to a port behind the computer, I can play Quest Link just fine.

If that doesn’t work, try a different cable to eliminate the possibility of a faulty cable.

Related: List of best Quest 3 Link cables that work

Step Six: Factory Reset Your Quest 3 (Last Resort)

As a last resort, you can try factory resetting your Quest 3. This will erase everything on your headset.

If your computer still won’t recognize your Quest 3, the last resort is to contact Oculus support.

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