Lately there have been a lot of fuss about the download apps in Oculus Quest. Due to the fact that Facebook recently explained the rules for the maintenance of the system, more attention has been given more Quest and a popular application that facilitates the process, called SideQuest. This guide will take you through the steps necessary to start additional download content in the Oculus Quest.
Oculus Quest launched in may 2019 as a standalone headset. No need for external tethered console or PC — everything is controlled on the device itself. In result, Facebook decided to implement a policy of curating content that appears in Quest through the Oculus Store. This policy works similarly to traditional consoles such as Xbox or PlayStation, but it was a relatively new idea for VR. However, he saw some strong results for some developers.
However, with the policy supervision also had a clear, immediate question: will there be a way to start another Quest content that is not supervised by Facebook in Oculus store…?
Yes, by lateral load.
What is lateral loading?
“Lateral load” is a term that is usually applied to content that is downloaded to some types of modern computers from sources not expressly approved by the reviewers of the content. The term and definition can sound a little scary. Although caution should be exercised when participating in such activities, this term also applies to everyday technical situations. For example, download unverified software from the Internet site and install it in Windows are technically unnecessary download. Proceed with caution, but it’s not always as scary as it seems.
As for Quest, side loading refers to the process of downloading content to a device that is not approved or tested Oculus and is not visible in the Oculus Store. If you are installing in your quest something that is outside of the content store you download it.
What to download?
Good question! If the store Quest is this remarkable, curatorial and optimized content, why do you need to put something else or need anything else on your device?
However, the lateral load also allows you to do other things that you normally can’t do on the device or can’t find in the Oculus Store:
- Install the pre version released by the developer before the game is finished and / or released.
- To install apps that are not available in the Oculus store Store (as they have been rejected have not yet applied for a listing of the store or otherwise).
- Use alternate Assembly approved the Oculus app Store — alternative assemblies can offer additional content for a lateral load that is not approved in accordance with the recommendations of the store.
- To upload user generated content — some games and applications can support the installation of custom content.
- To install the tools that give a new view on how you use your quest.
How to download?
Technically, anyone can upload content to your Quest just by using ADB commands (Android Debug Bridge) from your PC , if the quest is in developer mode . However, if you don’t know what it means (and most people probably don’t know), then there is a much simpler solution: SideQuest.
SideQuest is a third-party application for PC that eases the download of the content in Quest. It has a store page, which presents a number of popular applications available via side loading, and a few extra features (which we will not speak). While the SideQuest requires some initial configuration on first use, then it becomes very simple — most actions are performed in just a few clicks, with user-friendly interface for download.
Initial setup: prepare the Quest and PC
To use SideQuest, you need to do several things with your account Oculus, your Quest and your computer. It’s only a one-time configuration step — you don’t need to do this every time you want to upload, only the first time.
Make sure you have a USB cord to connect the Quest to the computer.
Charging cord shipped with the Quest, is a small reversible USB type-C on both ends. USB-A uses the old standard USB port that you see in most computers over the past few decades. You may need a cord with a USB-A for your computer on one end and USB-C to your quest on the other. Of course, if your computer is not equipped with a USB-C port — then you can use the attached USB charging cable-C for connection to the computer. This the included cord is USB 2.0, so if you have a lot of data to transfer, you may need a cord with the increased bandwidth of USB 3.0.
Sign up as a developer account Oculus related to your Quest.
To use your quest in developer mode (which is required for side loading), you must first register as a developer organization.
Visit this page and make sure you are logged into the same account Oculus, which was your quest. Enter the new organization name and select “I understand” (‘I understand’), to accept the Terms of service Oculus.
Enable developer mode on your Quest.
Now that you are a registered developer, you can enable developer mode on your Quest. You can do this through the Oculus app with the phone that is associated with your account Oculus / Oculus Quest.
Open the Oculus app on your phone, including the Quest, so he can connect to the app and then:
1. Click Settings (‘Settings’) in the lower right corner.
2. Find your Oculus Quest specified on the “Settings” tab, and make sure it says “Connected” (‘Connected’). (If the application is unable to connect to your Quest, you may need to enter the Quest in the settings to try and manually connect the app. If it still cannot connect, make sure the Quest is enabled and your phone is Bluetooth and Wi-Fi is also included)
3. Click on the arrow next to your device to access additional options
4. Click ‘advanced settings’ (‘More Settings’)
5. Click “developer Mode” (‘Developer Mode’)
6. Turn the switch to “On” instead of “Off.”
7. Completely restart your Quest, press and hold the power button on the side and select “Power Off” or “Restart”. Your quest must fully reboot to properly start in developer mode.
After you restart your Quest needs to be in developer mode.
Install SideQuest on your computer
Go to the download page SideQuest and download the installation file for your operating system. Install the program in the same way as any other program for your operating system. SideQuest also automatically installs the drivers necessary to communicate your Quest with your computer so you don’t need to worry about that, no matter what operating system you are running (previously this was done manually but now the SideQuest will take care of this for users).
Allow USB debugging between your PC and your Quest
It should also be a one-time configuration step, if done correctly.
1. Open the SideQuest on your computer
2. Turn on your Quest and install guardian
3. Connect your quest in your computer
4. Inside your quest , not on your computer, you should be prompted to “Allow USB debugging” (“Allow USB debugging”)
5. If you do not want every time you connect the Quest to the computer to click “OK” on this screen, select the check box “Always allow from this computer” (Always allow from this computer’).
6. Click OK
Now your Quest and the PC should be configured to easily download the app via SideQuest.
Some notes:
For the most part all of the above steps must be disposable for computer and Quest. However, if you want to use a different computer, you’ll need SideQuest to allow USB debugging for this device.
In the past firmware updates Quest also turned off the developer mode. If your Quest gets updated and no longer works with the SideQuest, return to the app Oculus and double-check to see if the switch to developer mode. If you need to turn it back, you also need to restart the quest.
Download applications and games
Heavy work is done in the initial stages higher. After everything is set up, load applications and games is very simple.
Some games and applications are available directly through the SideQuest that allows you to easily install them. Some other games and apps available for download only from the outside, but not in the SideQuest, but they can be easily installed with the help of a SideQuest.
Regardless of which option you use, once your Quest is connected to your computer and open SideQuest, check that SideQuest can connect to your Quest. If everything is in order, in the upper right part of the SideQuest will be a green dot that says “Connected” after the version number of the SideQuest:
If SideQuest has a red dot, check that the Quest is turned on, connected correctly, and you correctly performed all the configuration steps (especially steps enable debugging USB).
Download content from the store page SideQuest
In the application SideQuest on your computer in the menu bar there is a tab “Games and apps” (‘Games and Apps’) that takes you to the store page, as shown below.
Here you can browse game and applications, as well as descriptions and screenshots of each of them. If you want to install it, just click on the list of applications or games and click “Install latest version” (‘Install Latest’)
SideQuest install the game or application. To check installation progress or make sure that everything is installed correctly you can press the button “Tasks” (‘Tasks’) in the upper right corner, and if the application was downloaded and installed correctly, you will see a line that reads “the APK file installed OK !!” (The“APK file installed ok!!”)
And that’s all you need to do! You have successfully downloaded one of the apps from the store SideQuest.
Download .apk from external source
Not all applications or games available in the store SideQuest for easy installation. There are many apps that you can find on the Internet that can be downloaded to a Quest that is not available in the shop SideQuest.
In this case the developer will probably connect you with the APK file (.apk). You can easily use SideQuest for side file download Quest APK. All you have to do is click the “Install APK file from folder” (‘install APK file from folder’)
This will allow you to find and choose the APK file that you downloaded. Then the SideQuest will install the app or game on your quest, similar to how it is done for one of the official apps SideQuest. You can verify a successful installation on the Tasks tab, as described above.
To run downloaded applications
The downloaded application will run the same as any normal application Quest, but they will not show up in one place.
In the library of your Quest any downloaded applications or games will appear in a new tab called “Unknown sources” (with’Unknown Sources’). You can start a loaded application from there.
As a warning
When you side load you need to remember that you placed on your device content that has not been approved by Facebook and could potentially damage your device or have a malicious nature, even if at first glance it is not .
When you download content it is also important to know what is Oculus Content Guidelines to make sure you don’t violate anything with the content that you upload to your device.
You can also find a List of games and applications available for download on your Oculus Quest tracking with the SideQuest.
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