Do You Really Need A PC For Oculus Meta Quest 2? (All Answered!)

Oculus is a brand that developed Oculus Quest, which is a virtual reality headset. You can use this device to have the most immersive experience, you can play all sorts of games using the headset and its controllers. While you can see everything through the headset, other people watching you may be wondering what you are flailing your arm at.

So, in order to show them what you’re flailing your arms at, you would need to use a PC or a TV, basically a big screen that people can watch the virtual reality and see you play in it. However, there’s no need for a PC, you can still play without it because all three of the devices of Oculus Oculus Go, and Oculus Quest line (Meta Quest 2) come with a headset.

Moreover, first, you need to connect your Oculus Quest to the laptop using screen mirroring, and as for a TV, if your TV has Airplay, you can use that to connect your Oculus or just go with the Screen Mirroring feature.

They’re a bunch of ways to connect your Oculus Quest to a laptop or a TV, so keep on reading to find out.

Can You Play Oculus Without A PC?

Yes, you can play Oculus without a PC, or for that matter without any outside device like a TV or a Smartphone.

Oculus has developed a device that has its own operating system, it doesn’t rely on any other device except the ones that come with it.

All the devices of Oculus come with a headset that you put on and experience virtual reality, the only time you would need a PC is when other people want to see you play.

Oculus Quest is its own operating system, you don’t need any device to turn it on, all you have to do is press the Power button, which can be located on the right side of the headset, after you press the button, a white light should turn on if you see a red light, it means you need to charge your headset.

In addition, after turning on the headset, use the two controllers to navigate, you should be able to see everything through the headset.

What Games Can You Play On Oculus Quest 2 Without A PC?

As I said Oculus doesn’t need any outside device, you can play all the games on Oculus without using a PC, however, there’s a catch, you can play all games that are stored in the Oculus Quest without a PC.

Nevertheless, I suggest you should have access to a PC as most of the amazing games are played using a laptop, check out the list of games you can play using your laptop:

• HALF-LIFE: ALYX
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR
• STAR WARS: SQUADRONS
• PHASMOPHOBIA
• TABLETOP SIMULATOR
• NO MAN’S SKY
• STRIDE
• MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR
• HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE VR EDITION
• PAVLOV VR
• DCS WORLD STEAM EDITION
• THE LAB
• BONEWORKS

While there’s no denying that Quest Store has an amazing list of games, there’re many other fantastic games (like the ones listed above) that you may be missing out on because for you to play these games, you’ll need a PC.

Now that you have your PC, you should know how to connect it to your Oculus, so for that, follow the steps below:

• Download the Quest 2 software on your PC from the Meta website.
• Now download Steam and Steam VR on your PC.
• Connect the USB-C cable to your PC as well as the Quest 2 headset.
• Open the Quest 2 app and select “Devices” in the menu panel.
• Connect your headset and complete the setup process.
• Next, you’ll see “Link (Cable)” in the setup process, select it.
• Open the app Steam, click on “Steam VR, and you’re ready to play.

The above connection requires a cable, but if you don’t have one, you can still play games on the Steam app using a PC.

Follow the process below to connect your PC without a cable:

• Download the Quest 2 app on your PC.
• Download Steam as well as Steam VR on your personal computer.
• Open Quest 2 app and go to Settings in the menu panel.
• Select “Beta” and there you’ll see “Air Link”, toggle it on.
• Now, put on your headset.
• Press the Oculus button to open the home menu.
• Open Settings and then go to “Quick Actions” to choose “Oculus Air Link”.
• “Air Link” will show you a list of available PCs, you need to find yours and select it and click on “Launch”.
• Now, open the Steam app and go to the home menu.
• Select the “Desktop” button, which you can locate at the bottom bar.
• Find Steam.
• Access your Steam VR games and you should be connected to start playing.

What Does Oculus Need A PC?

While with Oculus Quest and Quest 2, it’s choice to connect to a PC, The Oculus Rift S is a tethered VR headset, which is only designed to work with a PC.

Oculus	Kind	Release Date (Y/M/D)
Oculus Rift	Tethered VR	2016/03/28
Oculus Go	Standalone VR	2018/05/01
Oculus Rift S	Tethered VR	2019/05/21
Oculus Quest	Tethered VR and Standalone VR	2019/11/18
Oculus Quest 2	Tethered VR and Standalone VR	2020/10/13
Meta Quest Pro	Standalone VR	2022/10/25

Unfortunately, the Oculus Rift S line was discontinued because of the very reason that Meta wanted to focus on headsets that don’t require to be tethered to a PC in order to work.

Nonetheless, it’s a good thing that it was discontinued because you would have to go through the hassle to connect your headset EVERY time you want to play.

With other Oculus headsets, you can choose to connect to a PC to play, if you want to know how to connect your headset to your PC, follow the steps below:

• Download the Meta Quest app onto your PC.
• Press the Oculus button on your right touch controller to open the toolbar in the headset.
• Select Quick Settings, and open Settings.
• In Settings, you’ll see System, click on it.
• From here, you need to scroll until you find “Quest Link”, and toggle it on.
• Below that, you’ll see the “Launch Quest Link”.
• Then select “Use Air Link” and toggle it on.
• Now, you need to select the name of your PC and then click on “Pair“.
• After completing the verification step on your PC, your Quest should be connected.

It’s as simple as that, however, if you had to do this every time you want to play, I’m sure you would have stopped using the Oculus altogether.

Furthermore, in the above method to connect your headset to your pc, you don’t need a wire, however, if you want to know how you can connect using the cable, check out the process below:

• Download the Meta Quest app on your Laptop.
• Make sure that Meta Quest 2 is turned on.
• Open the Meta Quest app and select “Devices” from the menu panel.
• Now add your headset and select Link (Cable) as the connection.
• Get your cable and plug one side of the cable into your headset, and the other side of the cable into your PC.
• Then, click “Continue” on your PC in the Meta Quest app, and you’re connected.

If you ask me using a cable to connect your headset to your PC is far easier, but there’s a downside to that, the wire will allow you to move at a certain distance, so if you’re playing a game that requires you to jump around, I suggest you connect your headset wirelessly.

Watch this video to see the process of connecting your Oculus Quest 2 to a PC:

Conclusion

• Oculus is a brand that creates headsets, which provide virtual reality. Oculus headsets don’t need to be connected to a PC, however, Oculus Rift S requires a PC to work.
• Besides Oculus Rift S, you don’t need a PC with any of the Oculus headsets, but you can choose to connect using a cable or using Air Link.
• In addition, while the Quest store has many games, you might be missing out on what can be found on Steam, but for that, you’d have to connect your headset to a PC.

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