How Do The Oculus Quest 2 Controllers Charge

A hand holding an Oculus Quest 2 controller. — Geewon Jung/Shutterstock.com

Charging Oculus Quest 2 headsets is as uncomplicated as plugging in a cable, but the controllers utilise removable AA batteries to provide power. This means there'southward no direct way of recharging the controllers, simply workarounds do exist if you need them.

Quest Controllers Accept Surprising Battery Life

One of the reasons Meta decided to forego an internal rechargeable bombardment is simple the Quest's controllers use very picayune power. Using disposable alkali metal batteries, their bombardment life is measured in months.

This reduces or eliminates the need for controller battery charging unless you're a truly heavy user of VR. Even then, you may never see this result. The folks over at Upload VR, who we assume utilise VR more than most people, only had to change controller batteries afterthree months! The most oft people have to change batteries seems to be to be around the 1-calendar month marking. That'southward serious battery endurance.

Keep Extra Disposable Batteries

Considering how long Quest ii controller batteries final, the simplest strategy is to buy spare disposable AA batteries and proceed them on paw when your current batteries run out of power. Information technology'due south faster than recharging them anyway and you lot'll be back to chirapsia those sabers in no time.

There'southward definitely an environmental argument to be made for using rechargeables, but honestly, the Quest ii controllers need a battery swap so infrequently that it doesn't really make much of a deviation. Peculiarly since alkali metal batteries are safety to dispose of. Still, you volition be reducing your waste past using rechargeable alternatives.

As long equally they aren't connected and left in their packaging, alkaline batteries take a long shelf life. Cheque the expiration date and put a pack in a drawer somewhere for the day you need them. Whether in a controller or another device.

Utilise Rechargeable AAs

The Quest 2 controllers will accept any battery that fits in the AA size standard and provides the right voltage. So you have many options when information technology comes to rechargeable alternatives.

You can employ NiMH (Nickel-metal Hydride) batteries with an external charger to power your controllers. Most controllers charge four batteries at once in sets of ii. Then if you purchase four NiMH batteries and accuse all of them, you'll always have a charged pair to bandy to.

Using a dedicated charger can be inconvenient, so nosotros actually use lithium AA batteries that recharge using USB power. Some of these batteries have a removable cap that allows you to insert them into a USB-A port. Others have a port in each bombardment to allow charging with a cable.

This works well, merely in our experience, these lithium batteries tend to self-discharge whether you use the controllers or not. We don't know if this is due to self-discharging built into the battery's circuitry or but the nature of lithium-ion battery chemistry, simply the long bombardment life of other batteries in Quest controllers isn't quite at that place with the lithium batteries we've tried. Of form, you can quickly and hands recharge them, so it'due south not a major tradeoff.

The last controller charging option you have is a custom bombardment pack made specifically for Quest 2 controllers. For example, Anker'south Quest 2 charging dock, which nosotros consider one of the all-time Quest 2 accessories you can buy, comes with batteries and replacement controller battery covers. The covers have external charging contacts, which let the dock accuse the included AA batteries past simply slotting them into the dock.

Bombardment Storage Matters More

A much bigger issue than recharging your Quest 2 controllers is whether you should leave the batteries inside them when you lot don't utilize your Quest for extended periods of fourth dimension. Alkaline batteries, especially inexpensive ones, are prone to leaking corrosive chemicals if left in a device for too long without being used. This can trash your controllers and exist an expensive mistake.

Leaving your rechargeable batteries in for too long without using them tin can lead to a total discharge that tin damage them.

So regardless of which bombardment solution you cull, if you aren't going to apply your Quest 2 for a few weeks or more than, it's probably a skilful thought to have the batteries out until you need them again.