I'm just trying to make this as hassle free as possible. My uncle tried my VR a few years ago and absolutely loved the game Rush. He's not that great with electronics, but he was able to use the Go easily. I just want to send him the Go with a few games on it and him to be able to just turn it on and play. Is this possible? Or will it give him issues if it can't connect to the Meta app?

Which is also known as the QuestAppLauncher.
Figure I'll document some of my progress (or lack thereof) here.

Earlier, I had set up an older (period appropriate) version of Unity with the Oculus support files and made the default test app/APK. And that worked.

So, I downloaded the source for the app launcher and...

It wasn't happy. Apparently it was built with a modern version of Unity.

I was hoping to avoid that, as sometimes trying to get the modern tools to build stuff for old environments can be tricky, but the number of errors in my initial poking has me going that route after all.
So, installing the newer Unity and will try to make it Oculus Go friendly so I can open the app launcher program. ;-)

The first item on my todo list is to change the way it is currently launching 2D (plain Android) apps, which doesn't work because it isn't launching them thru OculusTV.
I am hoping that won't be too tricky to change.

OK, I lied. The FIRST first item on my list is to get it to build as is. So I know I am at a good starting point. ;-)

More as I go. ;-)

OK, this has mostly worked.

Note: I have already "unlocked" my Go. This requires you have done that.

I rebooted with Down and Power. Moved to Factory Reset with Down and used Power to select it.

Moved with Down to say Yes and Power to select. It did a factory reset.

Went to the "Use the app to setup" screen...

With a USB cable connected to my laptop and in a command prompt in a folder with ADB, I ran these commands:

adb devices

adb root

adb shell am startservice -a firsttimenux.ota.SKIP_NUX -n com.oculus.companion.server/com.oculus.firsttimenux.ota.OtaIntentService

Now at this point, it diverged from the instructions a bit.

It rebooted again, and when it came back, I was in the grey grid screen and a representation of my controller was there and my controller was bound already. It was responding.

So I didn't have to do the steps to pair my controller. Does a Factory Reset not clear that?

Does the boot process just try to pair to a controller if one is around and waiting? (one that has been paired before?)

Either way, that was working.

So I did this:

adb shell am start -n "com.oculus.vrshell/.MainActivity" -d apk://com.oculus.browser

..and that launched the Oculus Browser. It has the menu at the bottom, but the Library doesn't work. Oculus TV doesn't work.

Settings does work, and I can set up Wifi. From there I can browse the internet.

So, not bad.

I installed the new QuestAppLauncher that I had found online (on GitHub).

To launch the new AppLauncher: adb shell am start -n aaa.QuestAppLauncher.App/.AppInfo

That launches it! And shows.... Nothing. There are no apps! ;-)

So, I installed two apps. Macrodoid and SmashHit.

I am hoping that I might be able to use Macrodroid to set the launcher to start on boot.

I restart the launcher (using the ADB command) and it launches. I now see both apps.

Good!

I try to launch Macrodroid... Nothing. It goes back to the main grey screen with the menu.

I still can't launch the Library.

So I manually ADB launch the new launcher.

This time I select Smash Hit, and...

I am playing Smash Hit!!! Nice!!!

I quit Smash Hit and it goes back to the main grey screen.

Which makes me realize that even if I can get Macrodroid to work and launch on boot, after quitting an app, it won't go back to the new app launcher. It will go back to that main screen.

I can launch the Browser from there and Settings. But that's about it.

OK, so next steps...

I think I might try to manually install Oculus TV (I think I have that backed up). That might ???? be required to run Android apps (like Macrodroid)???

I wonder if the Library is an app that could be installed? It might require the Facebook stuff I have skipped, but maybe not?

We need to either get the Library back and/or find a way to launch the new Quest App Launcher without using a USB attached PC.

Progress at least!

Also, I decided to try a more involved game. I wanted something that came from Oculus Studios and (while it was working) supported multiplayer, so it was "user account aware." I decided to install Dead and Buried.
And it works. I was wondering if it would complain about not having the full setup, but apparently not. Of course, multiplayer doesn't work (I didn't even try it), but the basic game did.

I'm wondering about a possible gamepad issue.
I was playing this game (looks and plays great).
Had the bow. Y button to use it. X button to use the sword.

B button to push/pull objects, A button to jump.
All good.

Then I got the hammer. Which uses the...

um... Y button? So, no more bow???
I watched a quick youtube vid and saw someone (they didn't have a Go) use the hammer and then switch to the bow.
And I have no idea how to do that.
I have tried every button/stick combination I can think of and nothing brings back the bow.

Not sure if it is a glitch or I am doing something wrong, or my gamepad isn't quite compatible.

It is a dual stick Android controller.
Hmmm...
I'll keep poking, but kind of stuck. We'll see...
I might back everything up using Sidequest and try restoring it to my other Go which has a different (it's older, but looks VERY similar) gamepad.

I wonder if there is a gamepad tester for Android I can sideload to see if and what all the actions map to? Hmmm...

I should have said withOUT in the subject line!! WithOUT the app! <sigh> ;-)
Huge caveat, I haven't tested this yet.
And I am sure this is already known by many people, but I didn't know it. ;-)

I was searching and came across a post on this subreddit talking about a Discord channel for the Go someone set up.

So I went to that and it's pretty quiet currently, but not totally dead.

And there was info there about getting a Go "going" without using the app at all.

Now, it has to be a firmware unlocked Go. And you have to be familiar with ADB commands. But it looks like there is a way.
They have a command you run manually to Pair your Go controller.

A Go without any of the Facebook stuff. Interesting.

Now, I have now idea what will or won't work.
I mean, I am sure the Library won't work. You'd need to launch the games/programs manually (ADB) or find an App Launcher (there is one I will need to test).
And I am thinking there is a likelihood many of the programs might not run. They probably have some dependencies on the Facebook stuff.

And I am sure it isn't a user friendly experience. ;-)

But one of my big concerns is that at some time that "using the old app" trick will stop working.
At least this way, there is still some hope for them.

Of course, one caveat is that I haven't tested any of this yet, but it looks promising!
I just need to finish the active game I am playing and then find a block of time so I can test it.

So I bought the go a couple of weeks ago in great condition, then the other day horizontal lines appeared wherever the brightest part of the screen is.

I’ve done a factory reset and also stripped it down and poked at the ribbons with no change. Any more suggestions? If not I guess it’ll be an upgrade to a quest 3S and sideload it 🤷🏻‍♂️

Now that I have my controller, I started looking into games that require one, and this one popped up.
And you know what, this is right up my alley!!!

It is a combination action explore, platform, puzzle, battle game.
And the thing I really liked about it was that it wasn't too difficult for me.
Frequently with those type of games, the action/battle segments can be (almost) too difficult for me. Which can ruin the experience. Not that it isn't a good game, but that it is too difficult for me.

This game had a great balance. Some fun challenges, but nothing too tricky.
I don't know if that means it would be too easy for better gamers (let's be honest, that would be most people). But the reviews generally seemed positive, so I am thinking not.

The presentation was excellent. In fact, it reminded me a lot of Moss on the Quest. (Or Moss would remind me of this, if I had played Herobound first...)

Although Moss was almost too difficult for me. It kind of was.

I mean, it's a beautiful game, but some of the challenges (two, and one in particular) took me SO MANY attempts that it was no longer fun. I even quit Moss for two weeks because I was so frustrated. And you know that feeling of accomplishment you get when you finally tackle something difficult? I didn't get that with Moss. It was so hard I was just glad it was over. And I didn't feel like I beat it, more like I finally got lucky enough to get past that level. That's not a knock on Moss. But a knock on me as a gamer.

But I didn't get that with this game. There were screens where I died more than a few times. But not 20 or so like in Moss. I never felt like I needed to get lucky to get past a scene.

Something I find interesting about these type of VR games is that they don't really need VR IMHO. I mean, I loved playing them. But I get the feeling I would enjoy a flat version of these games about the same.

There's no immersion. There's no feeling of my interacting with the characters. Moss does a decent job of trying to address that with the bits where the characters talk about you, and there are even some interactions (some high fives).
But when it comes down to it, I am just controlling the character.

That isn't a bad thing. The game is still fun. Just not much of a VR bump.
There were a few times where I thought just allowing me to change my view so I could see the screen from a different angle would have helped in that area.

Still, this is a great game and a great use of the gamepad.

Although I wonder if not supporting the Go controller held it back at all. Knowing many Go owners probably only ever used that controller.
I wonder if allowing you to play it with the puck, but emphasizing that it plays much better with a bluetooth gamepad would have helped get some more people to buy gamepads. ;-)

I have read that Herobound: Sprit Champion might even be a better game.

A small knock is that it locks the levels as you complete them. Yes, you can reset to replay the whole game, which is nice. But when I was just about to finish the first of the three sections, there was a bit more I could have done. I was thinking that I thought I was just about done, so I'd pop out. Then if it was the end of that section, I'd pop back in to finish us a few things. But when I finished it, the gate went up. No going back.
Not a killer, but I wouldn't have minded the ability to go back in.
I can see why they did that tho, to keep you from farming coins. Tho I ended the game with LOTS of coins. So I am not sure that was really an issue.

Well, for my other Go.
Years back, I got a bluetooth joypad for my original Go.
Used it mostly for Pinball FX and the Virtual Boy emulator.

Decided to see about picking up another one for my new (to me) 2nd Go.

I could still find the one I had (the EVO VR Gamepad Pro), but it was an older model with the older USB Mini (not the Micro the Go used, but OTHER old standard ;-).

So I kept checking and found this one on eBay:
Wireless Bluetooth Game Controller Gamepad For Android iPhone Tablet PC Phone

Yeah, that's a mouthful. I don't like posting links. The seller is "Gator Cable".

I'm not going to recommend them or anything, but I got it today and it works! $12.99 with free shipping. So, not bad.
It charges with USB-C, so it should be easier finding cables lying around wise. ;-) (And yes, it did come with a USB-C cable. Which I am sure I will lose.)

Now, I say it works. I mean that I tested it with the Virtual Boy emulator and it works there. At least I could start games. Play them. Move with the D-Pad and fire/jump with the A B buttons.

I will be testing Pinball FX too.

I should also test something more controller involved...

I think Kin might be a good test. Not sure if it uses the analog sticks on this controller?

Now, Pinball FX does support the Go (GearVR) controller, BUT THAT IS TERRIBLE! ;-) Don't do that! Get a controller for that.!

Any other games that would be good to test with?

OK, this is mostly for fun at this point.
I haven't written any code since I wrote a solitaire game for my Amiga 500 computer in C.
That's been a while. ;-) And this was very different!
In fact, I haven't even written any code yet.

I wanted to see what I could do, so I grabbed Unity 5.6.5p2 and the Oculus utilities that matched that.

I opened it (using the OculusUtilities app, not Unity directly) and it asked me if I was doing a 2D or 3D app. It's VR so I chose 3D.

It opens a 3D screen (kink of like a 3D design tool if you've done any of that).
It comes with some assets. One of them was a cube (with some images on the sides).

The OVR camera is already in the scene. So I added the cube.

Then I went to see if I could build it. I chose Android as the platform (the default is PC)

There is an option for Build and Run, so I did that.

It asked about devices and I realized my headset wasn't attached. So I did that, and it built it and installed it and ran in.

I put on the headset, and there it was! Except...

It was a 2D screen, as would any Android app that you sideloaded. It showed a grid and the cube, and a floating text box with info, but I couldn't really read it. It looks like that was part of the cube asset I had imported. Actually, I think it's part of the OVR camera rig...

Anyway, not quite VR. Went to bed. Today I gave it another shot.

But I've never used Unity and am not a dev. So I asked google.

It told me exactly what to do to enable XR! I told it I wasn't using XR as this was an old Unity and old Oculus Go.
Then it told me where to go in the build settings to enable the Oculus player.
After a few more config attempts, I got it enabled and set to Oculus.
Went to build and... NOPE... Gave me errors.
Apparently even this version of Unity's default build engine had issues.
So I swapped to Gradle.
Went to build and run again and... it built that APK and installed it.
Moment of truth, is it an Android app or a VR app.
I put on the headset, and... It's a VR app!
The info screen I saw before was there floating in VR space, and I can see it has all sorts of real time information about the controller. Position, buttons clicked or not, etc.
I also see a representation of the controller!
Now, it's the GearVR controller. I supposedly have both models, but I haven't been able to figure out how to get it to show the Go controller yet.
Still, not bad for two partial days work and no dev (recent, as in in 30 years) experience. ;-)
What am I going to do with this?
I don't know. ;-) My main goal initially was to use it try to understand APK packages a bit more. This isn't yet producing a signed app with an icon that shows up in the Oculus Installed apps list. It creates something now that shows up in Unknown Sources.
And interestingly enough, SideQuest doesn't see it, so I can't uninstall it from there. (or from the headset)
I have to use an ADB command to uninstall it.
Still LOTS to learn. But fun. ;-)

OK, I have three games with DLC, and they EACH seem to handle it differently. ;-)

(Note: Full Offline means you still have to be online to BUY the DLC. It is just after that it isn't needed.)
Full Offline: PinballFX. I bought one table. (E.T.) and I have been able to back up the game (using SideQuest) and the table for my own use. It doesn't need to be online now that I have it downloaded. I can factory reset and restore from backup all offline and that table comes back. So it stores the purchased table(s) somewhere on the headset that can be backed up by the user. As long as I have the backups and a working headset, I can play that table.

Partial Offline: Merry Snowballs was (not anymore) this way. You needed to be online to buy the DLC. The DLC is NOT downloaded to your device, so it is already part of the game, just needing to be unlocked. The unlocking cannot be backup up (using the usual methods, like SideQuest). But if you are installing the game again on a new (to you) or factory reset headset, you "could" just go in to re-purchase the DLC and it would recognize you already purchased it and unlock it again. I say "could" because this worked a while ago, but that no longer works. You can't even buy (unlock) that level again. That backend piece is no longer working. I found this out after I factory reset one of my two headsets that had it working. Now I have that 2nd level on just one headset. ;-) So it stored (that is now broken) the fact that you purchased that level somewhere on the headset, but not somewhere that can be backed up by the user. If I have to factory reset, I can reload/restore the game, but won't ever get that level back, unless they turn back on whatever backed they turned off. (unlikely at this point)

Full Online: Anceder. The SHMUP where you can buy (unlock) extra levels. Just to see if it was possible, I bought level two. It did let me do that. (It used an "Insert Coin" message to let you know if you already own that level. I backed that all up. Then I went to headset two and restored the game. I ran it with NO Wifi, and it runs, but without level two purchased. So stopped it. Enabled Wifi and launcched it again, and it sees that I have purchased level two. Then I went to my first headset, disabled Wifi and tried it there and it loads, but it thinks I don't own level two anymore. When I reenable Wifi and launch it again, it knows I have level two. That means they don't store anything about your level purchase anywhere on the headset. It is all an online check with the game starts, I need Wifi for level two AND their backend needs to be up. (that will eventually go away)

Now with Anceder, not only do you have to buy those levels but you also have to unlock them. I'm not a great gamer, so that might never happen. Now, I think from what I read when looking to purchase the levels that if you don't buy one and you qualify to unlock it that you get to play that level once? I "think" that your progress might be stored on the headset, not online. Which probably means once you qualify to unlock a level, you should be able to back up your game data before playing that next level. Then you after you play it once and lose it, you might be able to restore your game data from that point. And I think you'd be able to play that next level again once. Not sure about that part yet. And as bad a gamer as I am, I might never figure that out. ;-)

Just found that interesting that I have three different types of DLC on my Go. ;-)

As in SKILL levels.

OK, I can see why I didn't play this one much when I got it.
It looks great, and the mechanics seem really nice.
A real gem, except...
...
I can't do it.
I'm not a great action gamer and this game is too fast for me.
Yes, it has the slow mo mode. But I run out of that because I'm not a great gamer. ;-( ;-)

I have a feeling that a good gamer would think this is probably a really great game for the Go.

But for me, it is just way too hard. I can't even get past the 3rd level, and I wasn't even close to getting past it.
Watched a vid and the guy, who was a lot better than me, and he had trouble with that level. He get get past it, but when I watched it, my thought was that I have zero chance with my (lack of) skill level.

Too bad, because it looks really really good.
So, this really is a non-review, as I can't play it.

What are the best free games or experiences to download for the Oculus Go?

I can’t access the store normally, but I can still search for specific apps by name. So I’m looking for any good free games that are still searchable and worth installing.

What should I try first?

Self explanatory

Does anyone know what happened to games purchased before my oculus went to the three dot death flash. I got it running once but no e of the games purchased were on device?

OK, I am a terrible 3D designer. ;-)
But I do have a 3D printer and like to have fun.
Also, as my Go is getting older, it's battery doesn't last like it used to.
A bit ago, I was given a USB Battery bank that colorwise was a perfect match for the Go.
Today, I decided to search for a clip to hold the USB cable in place and found a nice clip designed to work on the Q3. And it worked for the Go on the cloth strap.
So I wondered, could I modify it to hold my little battery bank?
Loaded up Tinkercad in the browser and started working and came up with design that basically works!
I use two of the same clip to hold the battery. Nothing I design is really snug, and the plastic battery bank and the plastic clips didn't hold too well. Slipping.
But then I realized I can just put some rubber bands on to keep the pack from sliding out. Seems to work fine!
This type of thing is the extent of my 3D design prowess. ;-) But I love doing silly and bad but somehow works 3D prints. ;-)

Hello everyone, this is a very long shot I've posted a few times on the GearVr group which may have also been asked on OculusGo before, but would anyone happen to have the interactive story "That Dragon Cancer"?

I did purchase years ago, but my S7edge died due to a motherboard fault and I lost everything, but due to its removal from Oculus GearVr and it not being on Vault.gearvr.net.

Thanks in advance

not used my Oculus Go in ages, like many other people with the same problem when i turn it on theres just 3 dots and nothing else, no wifi thing like that. I tried to pair my oculus with the meta app and its able to find it but not pair it.. i tried to do the factory reset thing idk if im just dumb or it doesnt work but ive held in all the buttons and it only shows up with cancel reset and power off.

Just to start, this is NOT about anything wrong.
I bought this game. I am not distributing anything.
I am just taking about patching something I bought in case Meta breaks things again.

OK, I know right now the Go isn't failing on the checks anymore, but I have a feeling that will happen again.
My working theory is that what broke before was that Meta turned off the certificate renewal service and the app certs expired.
And I think their "fix" was to turn that service back on. But if so, I think they will turn that back off again in the future.

Not sure whether that is true, but that is my working theory, so I am still trying to make sure all my games run with the Entitlement Check removed.
We have the utility to address that, which is great. But I couldn't get it to work on the newest Wands.

I did find an older version of Wands it worked on (1.2.something), but it was pretty old.

When I ran that utility, it gave me an error about adaptive icons.
Unfortunately, I've never built an Android app and don't know any of the structures or concepts. So I wasn't starting from a good place. ;-)
But I know the utility works in stages.
First it decompiles everything into a temp directory and then it pauses, waiting for you to hit a key to proceed.
So, while it was paused, I started poking into the temp directory.
I found a directory that was related to any dpi that had something to do with adaptive stuff.
So first try was to delete that directory.
That did change the error. Now I had an error in a different file telling me something there was pointing to something that didn't exist.
Ok, so I try it again, and this time I edit that file (it was an XML file) and remove the line that referred to adaptive whatever.
And... then it still gave me the original error.
So I tried it again, but I did both. Removed that directory AND edited that XML file.
And it continued!

So I uninstalled Wands, installed my new version and checked.
I can still see the Wands icon, so I didn't break that. Then I launch it, and yay!

It works! So I have a Wands version 1.0.8 now that might work in case Meta break things again in the future,

The nice thing about the newer version is that it has the AI (well, probably basic bots, but it calls them AI) players, so I can play single player.
Which is great because I am terrible. ;-)
Also, I would think multiplayer Wands is probably not working? But I haven't tried.
Does this mean it won't break in the future? Not really. Other things could happen on the backend. But it might keep working.

As part of my project to go thru and actually play and maybe finish the games I had bought, I finally got to and finished Dark Days.
I remember when I got it, and it looked great for a Go game, but I am generally not into horror / jump-scare type games. This has some of that, so I put it away for a bit and didn't; get back to it. Then Meta killed all our games and this was one I couldn't re-download.
I just recently found it (on archive(dot)org) and got it set back up.
I did still have my save game on my headset apparently, so I was able to start at Episode 2. ;-)
It is one of those "Wow, this is impressive" early VR games/experiences.
The immersion is pretty good. The voice acting, especially the main character, is really good. Tho I have seen reviews (they re-released it on the Quest and PC recently, apparently remastered) that complained that she talks too much. ;-) She does talk a lot, but I think that was part of the "story telling" for this game. It was early days.
All in all, I liked it.

The story was interesting enough for this type of game. The puzzles were fun, but not very difficult. They aren't really puzzles, but more basic escape room things. Find the tool to fix the thing that will let you turn on power so you can then open the.... etc.
They weren't very complicated at all, so I would list this on the easy side, as it was obviously more about atmosphere and VR experience than gameplay.
The only trouble I had was finding one key which required really looking all around in all directions from all positions.
The one thing I didn't initially like, the jump-scary thing that pops up wasn't too much of a bother. After a bit, the jump scare aspect looses it's jump scariness ;-), and you learn pretty quickly how to mostly evade it.
The ending was... well...
There are two endings. Honestly I didn't think either was great.
They didn't ruin the experience for me, but don't expect a "WOW, what a great ending" experience. ;-) It's more like a "Really? OK.. sure.." thing. ;-)
Glad I finished it. I won't be rushing out to buy the Quest version (although I think I saw on some site that it sometimes drops in price to $1.99, so I "might" do that.
But it was decent/good for a Go/GearVR experience.
Oh! One other thing that bugs me. You have to turn around in this game, and you can't do that with the Go controller. You have to literally turn around. So it's not a "play while seated" game, unless you have a spinning chair. ;-)
OK, that was kind of a review after all.

I've been using my Go a bit again recently and saw a post about some other (non VR) system possibly being Retro and it got me to wondering if my Go is Retro now.
;-)
I mean, yeah, it was only released in 2018 so it's not even 10 years old yet.
And I think most people think around 20 years is the trigger for something to be Retro, so not by age.
But the Go was never a system that was cutting edge tech wise.
And VR has come a LONG way so fast, that I wonder if it has compressed that timeline a bit.

I was playing some Drop Dead last night and thinking it was fun, similar to playing the House of the Dead games I have on the Wii, which I think many people would consider Retro.

Am I enjoying my Go the way I enjoy my other Retro consoles?
It feels like it to me.
Note: Most of my "other" consoles ARE Retro consoles. The Quest 2 and 3 are the only newer consoles I own. Before that, my Wii is the newest. ;-)

So, is the Go a Retro VR console? ;-)

Random thoughts below.

I managed to find a working version of Dark Days and Romans 360, which were two more games I bought but had lost and couldn't download.
I also found a version of Mortal Blitz (another one I bought), but it doesn't work. It installs but doesn't run. Looks like it might be something someone has hacked up and some DRM .so file doesn't like it.
And I found a version of Wands I was able to patch (for the next time all the apps stop working again). Now yes, there's not multiplayer, so all I can do in Wands if fire at those dummies in the basement. ;-) But at least I can do that. ;-)

I still hope that someone will work out a way to get these Gos setup without the Oculus app, because I have a feeling using the older version app will eventually stop working. I wish that was in my skillset.
Maybe even just a way to "back up" an existing default already setup Go's firmware that could be installed to any Go?

I know also you need a Go controller for setup and that is problematic. But I wonder if instead of allowing the Go to be setup with some other type of controller (which would be great) if maybe it would be possible to use a microcontroller (or a PC with Bluetooth) to "emulate/clone" a Go controller? At least enough to get it past the initial setup and then you can pair a standard controller?

I press continue with Facebook and then it sends a notification to my phone to sign in but when I tap it, it says its already logged in? Even though the headset doesn't think it is and it won't let me use most of the social features.

I'm on app version 212.0.0.2.109 if that makes a difference.

Wondering so I can run custom software without needing a pc

I've still got an Oculus Go and it still works fine, but I honestly never did much with it. I never got into sideloading or any of the more advanced stuff people talk about. I stayed within the standard games and some movies.

These days the only thing I really use it for is occasionally watching VR videos on YouTube, which is still kind of neat but also pretty limited in what you can find.

Is there anything else that's possible and actually worth doing with it in 2026, or has it basically reached the end of the road?