Can you employ third-party controllers with the Oculus Quest 2?

Quest 2 Ps5 Xbox Steam ControllerSource: Nick Sutrich / Android Central

Best answer: Yeah, but it’s probably not what you think it is. There are no third-party Oculus Touch alternatives, but you can connect any Bluetooth gamepad to an Oculus Quest 2 controller to play traditional game titles.

Oculus Quest 2 controller alternatives

Facebook ships the Oculus Quest 2 with 3rd generation Oculus Touch controllers that only work with the Oculus Quest 2. Earlier Oculus Touch controllers cannot be paired with a Quest 2, and there are no motion controller alternatives for Oculus headsets. If you find the 3rd generation Oculus Touch controllers uncomfortable or just want a better grip, the best hand straps for Oculus Quest 2 will help hold them in place, give you a better grip, and make them even more ergonomic than to do beforehand.

Depending on how you use it, different types of Oculus Quest 2 controller alternatives can be used, including popular gamepads, keyboards, and even mice. Any accessories you use must support Bluetooth 3.0 or higher in order to pair with an Oculus Quest 2, and it is likely that you already have some gamepads, keyboards, or mice in your house that can be paired with a Quest 2 support.

My personal favorite controllers for Quest 2 are either an Xbox Core or PlayStation 5 controller. Both pair effortlessly with Quest 2 and work for a specific range of games that support traditional gamepad controllers. If you don’t have one of these already, all of the best Bluetooth controllers for Android will work because if you didn’t know before, the Oculus Quest 2 is actually powered by the Android operating system.

Any of the best bluetooth keyboards or bluetooth mice that support bluetooth 3.0 and above will go very well with your Quest 2 and can vastly improve your work from home by providing a massive virtual desktop or just in the Internet surfing the Quest 2 easier.

What can you do with a bluetooth controller?

Quest 2 PC games play Xbox controller

Source: Nick Sutrich / Android Central

The vast majority of Quest 2 experiences were designed with the Oculus Touch controllers in mind. Some even have hand tracking support. Unfortunately, when looking for a huge list of games to play with your gamepad, you will find that the list basically doesn’t exist. Some classic games are available on Quest 2 with an emulator, but you will need to install SideQuest on your Oculus Quest 2 to get access to many of them.

If you have a PC that is powerful enough to support VR experiences, the list of things you can use a gamepad for is way longer. Apps like Virtual Desktop create a giant virtual monitor to use on your Quest 2’s display and allow you to play traditional PC games or even VR games designed for seated gamepad experiences. Here is a short list of some particularly great seated VR experiences that can be played with a gamepad:

How to pair your Bluetooth controller with Oculus Quest 2

Pairing a controller, keyboard, or mouse with an Oculus Quest 2 can be done either through the headset itself or through the Oculus app on your phone or tablet. If you’re pairing a Bluetooth controller directly with your Oculus Quest 2, here are quick steps you can take:

  1. Place the Oculus Quest 2 on your head and Press the Oculus button on the right the Oculus Touch Controller.
  2. Choose Settings buttonis located on the right side of the Universal Home menu.
  3. Choose Experimental characteristics in the left menu.
  4. Scroll down to the Bluetooth Pairing option and Select the pair button.
    Oculus Quest 2 Screenshot Pair Bluetooth Device
  5. Turn on your controller and Put it in pairing mode.
  6. Choose pair new device in the menu shown on the display of your Quest 2.
  7. Choose your controller from the menu of available devices.

If you’d rather use the Oculus app on your smartphone to pair your gamepad with the Quest 2, here’s how:

  1. Then make sure your Oculus Quest 2 is turned on Open the Oculus app on your phone.
  2. Choose Settings buttonis located on the right side of the navigation bar at the bottom of the app.
  3. At the top of the list Select your Oculus Quest 2 headset to connect with it.
  4. Click in the drop-down menu Select controller.
    Oculus Screenshot Pair Gamepad
  5. Choose pair new controllers from the next screen.
  6. Choose Pair of gamepad from the next screen.
  7. Turn on your controller and Put it in pairing mode.
  8. Choose your controller from the menu of available devices in the Oculus app.

Using either of these methods, you can confirm that your controller has been added by looking in the Controllers section of the Oculus app. This will list all of the controllers that you’ve paired with your Oculus Quest 2, and you can disconnect them if necessary.

Adding your couch in VR

Quest 2 Home Couch

Source: Nick Sutrich / Android Central

While it sounds a little silly at first, Oculus has updated the Quest 2 with the ability to tell where your couch is in your room. The trick is that while you can automatically detect the couch, you have to manually define your couch area first. This makes it easy to switch between room-scale VR – this is where you define a space in the room to walk around in – and a sitting experience that is most likely best found on your couch. If you’re looking for a great gamepad experience while seated, adding your couch is the easiest way to switch between the two types of VR experiences.

  1. Place the Oculus Quest 2 on your head and Press the Oculus button on the right the Oculus Touch Controller.
  2. Choose Settings buttonis located on the right side of the Universal Home menu.
  3. Choose Experimental characteristics in the left menu.
  4. Scroll down to the Bring Your Couch Into VR option and select the option Add / Remove button
    Oculus Quest 2 screenshot add couch
  5. Your Oculus Quest 2 will now go into passthrough mode so you can see the room you are standing in.
  6. Use your controller to Draw a rectangle over the part of your couch that you will be sitting on. The Quest 2 currently only supports one couch at a time. So choose your favorite couch if you have more than one!
    Quest 2 Home Couch Real Life Picture
  7. If you made a mistake, click draw again Button and draw the rectangle again.
  8. When you’re done, press the Finished Button to apply the position of the couch.
  9. If you want to switch to a sitting experience, just sit down on your couch, which you can now see in VR.

Our choice

Xbox Core Controller White

Xbox Core controller

Traditional style

The new Xbox Core controller looks super elegant next to the Oculus Quest 2 in the color Robot White and offers you the possibility to play traditional games in VR without sacrificing comfort or battery life.

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Here are all the games you can play on Oculus Quest and Quest 2

Really wearable VR

Here are all the games you can play on Oculus Quest and Quest 2

The Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2 have 200+ games and apps, both of which can be played with some improvements for the Quest 2 versions, and all Quest purchases will carry over to your new headset. This is where you can find all of the Oculus Quest games currently available for both headsets, as well as all of the announced and upcoming titles that will be available soon.

These exclusive Oculus Rift products are worth playing wired on Quest 2

PC graphics on the Quest 2

These exclusive Oculus Rift products are worth playing wired on Quest 2

Most Oculus Store games support cross-buy between the Rift and Quest, but there are some games that are too big or too ambitious to ever fit on a mobile headset. With a VR-enabled PC and Oculus Link, you can and should play this exclusive Oculus Rift on your quest. Trust us: they will blow your mind compared to what the quest can do on its own.

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