Quest Firmware Archive - Downgrade your Quest firmware to an older version
adb sideload C:\path-to-update-file\update-file.zip
All of these links except for v20 are full firmware releases (so about an 800 MB download), so you don't need to worry about which version you're currently using to use these. To prevent your Quest from updating itself after a downgrade, disable "Automatically update software" in the Oculus app's Advanced Settings (required to prevent upgrades). Note that the oldest firmware version (tested 256550.6810.0) will force an update during boot when an internet connection is available.
Some apps require the latest firmware's features to work and will display a "This app needs to update your Oculus software" message instead of launching. In my testing as of September 2020, only a handful of apps (4 out of 40 tested) had this issue on v17 firmware. Note that v17 (655140.2352.0) is the last firmware to use the old UI.
how to install
These steps should work regardless of the state of the headset, and don't require developer mode to be enabled. Even if the firmware update fails, you can still use the hardware button to access the "USB update mode" to install new firmware. Before proceeding, make sure you know how to install and use adb.
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Make sure you have adb installed and running on your computer and that you have disabled "Automatically update software" in the Oculus app's Advanced Settings
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Power on the Quest while holding down the volume down button to enter "USB update mode"
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Use the volume keys to select "Enable sideloaded updates" and press the power key to select
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Your Quest will restart and when it's ready to accept a firmware update, the power LED will blink pink (just press and hold the power button to exit this mode)
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Connect your Quest to your computer, then
adb sideload C:\path-to-update-file\update-file.zip -
You'll see a progress bar for the transfer, and when complete your Quest should automatically restart and be ready.
Method for Windows
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Remember, this is not officially supported, use at your own risk! ,
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This was written for Quest1, but should be very similar for Quest2.
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Download ADB and extract it to an easily accessible folder (e.g. C:\adb)
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Make sure the "root" of your ADB folder has files eg adb.exe, fastboot.exe - zip may have them nested in another folder.
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Get the firmware (zip) for the version you are trying to update above
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Rename the .zip to make things easier, eg to UPDATE.zip and move it to the same location where you just extracted ADB.
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Open Command Prompt (right click start menu)
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CD to the location in your terminal, for example if you put it in C:\adb you would go to "cd C:\adb" without the quotes.
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Make sure developer mode is enabled on your Quest
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Connect Quest via USB-C (data cable, not just charging. The included cable may not work, but the official Link cable should)
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Do "adb devices" to verify it's connected, you may need to authorize it in Quest
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adb restart bootloader
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wait at least ten seconds
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fastboot oem reboot sideload
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wait at least ten seconds
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adb sideload UPDATE.zip
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Wait for the update to fully complete before disconnecting.
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Let the Quest sit for a while, it will fully reboot back into the Quest Home, then turn it on and reboot, (hold down the power button and select reboot)
How-to for macOS (manual)
- Remember, this is not officially supported, use at your own risk!
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Install Homebrew unless it's already installed. Run the following command in terminal
ruby -e “$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install) ”
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brew cask install android-platform-tools
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Get the firmware (zip) for the version you are trying to update above
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Rename the .zip to make things easier, eg to UPDATE.zip and move it to a convenient location (like your Downloads folder)
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CD to the location in Terminal, for example, if you put it in your Downloads folder, you would go to "cd Downloads" without the quotes.
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Make sure developer mode is enabled on your Quest
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Connect Quest via USB-C (data cable, not just charging. The included cable may not work, but the official link cable should)
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Execute "adb devices" to verify it is connected, you may need to authorize it in your task
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adb restart bootloader
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wait at least ten seconds
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fastboot oem reboot sideload
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wait at least ten seconds
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adb sideload UPDATE.zip
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Wait for the update to fully complete before disconnecting.
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Let the Quest sit for a while, it will fully reboot back into the Quest Home, then turn it on and reboot, (hold down the power button and select reboot)
Sidequest method (Quest 1 only)
- While this is done through Sidequest, it's not an official Sidequest feature, nor is it supported by Oculus, and carries the same risks as doing it manually.
We've seen reports of this not working with the Q2 firmware.
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Get the firmware (zip) for the version you are trying to update above
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Rename the .zip for simplicity, such as UPDATE.ZIP and move it to an easily accessible location, such as the root of C:
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Open Sidequest and click on the "Run ADB command" option in the upper right corner
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adb restart bootloader
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wait at least ten seconds
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Go into Quest and use the volume buttons to move to select and the power button to select the "Firmware Update" option.
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wait at least ten seconds
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adb sideload C:\UPDATE.zip ( you have to include the full path to the file, if you put it in the root of C: it will be C:\UPDATE.ZIP )
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Wait for the update to fully complete before disconnecting.
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Let the Quest sit for a while and it will fully reboot back into the Quest Home, then put it on and reboot (hold down the power button and select reboot)
common problem
- When trying to adb sideload with a zip file, you get the error "adb: cannot stat file update.zip: No such file or directory".
- This usually means you turned off file extensions in Windows and named it "update.zip.zip". You can turn this feature on in Windows by clicking the View Tab, then checking File Extensions, and correcting your file name.
- After the blue bar goes through, you're stuck on a black screen (task 2) - wait 1-2 minutes, then hold down the power button until it restarts.
Quest firmware download link 1:
Quest firmware download link 2:
Quest firmware download link 3:
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Quest reference link
Metaverse technology discussion QO group: 470140984