When Facebook Reality Labs released the sequel to the already quite successful Oculus Quest, the Quest 2 quickly became one of the most accessible and affordable VR (virtual reality) headsets. This was thanks to its robust hardware, which packs a lot of punch for its comparatively cheap price tag.
Its minimalist design, good battery life, and easy-to-use software made it the obvious choice for an all-in-one VR experience.
However, as accessible as it is, the headset is not without its issues. One problem in particular that users seem to run into time and time again is that upon trying to turn the headset on, they are greeted with the ‘No Command’ error message on the internal screen of the Oculus Quest.
What does the Oculus Quest 2 no command message mean?
Even for the tech-savvy user, this can be an unhelpful and confusing error to receive. So today, we will help you fix this problem by explaining what causes the error message and exactly how to fix it.
Generally speaking, this is caused by a battery issue or some software that has become corrupted or glitched. In either scenario, these are relatively easy problems to deal with.
Error during software or firmware updates
The nature of this type of hardware that interfaces with an ever-growing and changing software environment is that Facebook will often need to give out updates to your Oculus Quest 2 device.
Unfortunately, it’s common for these updates to experience a glitch or error during the updating process, which may leave them non-functioning—giving you just that ‘No Command’ issue as your only indication that the whole VR headset is not entirely dead.
So updating the software, firmware, or potentially performing a full factory reset and re-installation can, in many cases, solve this problem.
Battery related issue
With a 2 to 3 hours battery life, the Occulus Quest 2 boasts one of the better batteries of the currently available virtual reality headsets.
But it can experience issues such as overheating, not holding a charge, or perhaps a problem with the power/charging cable is present.
Fortunately, replacement batteries or battery banks/extenders are cheap and easy to replace if the battery is causing an issue.
App related issue
The Oculus Quest 2 can run various games and virtual reality apps developed by third-party developers. The outside nature of third-party apps running their software on your headset can easily cause unwanted bugs, glitches, or behaviors, which may manifest as the ‘No Command’ error.
Faulty hardware
Once we can ascertain that the Oculus Quest 2 is updated, powered, and doesn’t have any faulty or buggy virtual reality apps installed on it. If the issue persists, then it may indicate that there is a problem with the hardware itself.
This is much more difficult to diagnose and rectify by yourself, so in this scenario, Facebook/Oculus Go will need to be contacted and will most likely issue a replacement device, provided your VR headset is still under warranty.
How to fix the Oculus Quest 2 no command issue
Fortunately, most of the time, this is just a software-related issue, and some basic troubleshooting steps can get this fixed up and your quest headset back to working order before you know it!
Let the device cool off
The Oculus Quest 2 has in-built protection against overheating. So when using the Quest headset for extended periods, particularly running from the mains, there is a high likelihood of it overheating.
Before anything else, the first thing to do is let the headset sit for 5-10 minutes while not running any app and allowing it to cool off.
Once the time has passed, give it another try, and you may find it now boots without issue.
A hard restart of the Quest 2
This is the most effective method of fixing the ‘No Command’ error, and many users on the support forums have reported that this immediately fixed the issue for them.
A hard restart differs from just turning it off and on again so that it completely boots the device down and stores no information in the memory. It will start up more ‘fresh’ than just a regular reboot.
Hold the power button down for about 20 seconds to perform a hard restart. You will see the screen go blank and begin to restart. At this point, release the power button, and it will continue to boot.
There is a high likelihood that this will solve the problem. However, if the error message persists, then continue reading.
Factory reset the device
This slightly heavier-handed approach will completely wipe the device, including all your saved preferences, settings, VR games, and apps. So we recommend taking note of your settings so you can program them back in manually after the reset is complete.
But it also does a great job of fixing any software or update/firmware-related bugs and glitches and provides your headset the chance to start ‘fresh.’
Hold down the ‘-‘ volume button and the power button simultaneously to access the command screen/advanced settings menu to perform a factory reset.
From here, navigate to ‘factory reset’ using the volume keys and, click, yes & then confirm using the power button.
Replace the battery
In some rarer cases, the battery itself may be defective or unable to hold a charge, affecting the device’s ability to run apps. Fortunately, unlike other more serious hardware issues, a replacement battery for the Oculus is relatively cheap.
You can replace the battery by removing the battery cover on the back of the device. To do this, use a coin to twist the cover off, pull the battery out, and replace it with a new one.
Ensure the battery is pushed down so it can maintain a solid connection to the device.
Contact Oculus/Facebook
If the battery is not the issue and the factory reset did not work, it may indicate another hardware-related problem within the device.
Unfortunately, these are much more difficult to diagnose and solve by the user. So at this point, your best option is to contact Oculus or Facebook support, who will most likely issue a replacement device if it’s still under warranty.
