In an Instagram AMA, Facebook’s head of VR has advised buyers to ensure that their accounts are in “good standing” before they purchase the Oculus Quest 2 headset.

In a video AMA on Instagram, Facebook’s Vice President of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth has advised users to ensure that their Facebook accounts are in “good standing” before they purchase the Quest 2 headset after several users complained that they had problems accessing their Facebook accounts which limits their access to the Oculus Quest 2 headset. The new headset requires that they log in using their real Facebook accounts. Many buyers are finding that the Quest 2 headset has already pre-banned them. Some players are now returning the headsets as it has become practically worthless without a working Facebook account.

According to the requirements, new Quest 2 users must log in with their Facebook accounts. Existing users can merge their Facebook with their Oculus accounts. Because Oculus Quest 2 cannot be used without a Facebook account, the headset is rendered practically unusable in the event an account is blocked by Facebook and is irrecoverable.

Some users have found themselves afoul with these new requirements although Facebook hasn’t stated the number of users affected by the log in issues so far. Facebook has stated it is a “small number”.

Login Issues Mostly Affect Certain User Categories

Users creating new Facebook accounts or reactivating very old Facebook accounts to use the Oculus Quest 2 headset are seeing their accounts rapidly getting suspended. In response to a query on this issue, Boz stated that Facebook has been closely tracking this from day one and that the number of affected users isn’t large. He stated that users must ensure that their “Facebook accounts are in good standing before they buy the headset”. If their Facebook accounts have any outstanding issues, they must work through them before they spend their money on the headset.

Boz also explained that Facebook is rapidly working through the accounts that have been suspended and resolving the issues that are coming up. Some of these account issues can’t be resolved thereby rendering the Quest 2 headsets practically useless for the affected users. However, Facebook assured that it is promptly working through those account issues that can be solved.

He further explained that Facebook isn’t the only tech provider that requires account login, citing Google, Xbox and Apple. The account sign in requirement, he justified, allows Facebook to provide better services as well as stronger guarantees around issues such as data security and compliance with regulations.

You can watch the full response on Instagram below: –

It is likely that the Facebook account suspensions are being automatically administered by a machine learning agent and Facebook has to resolve the suspensions through a manual review process which can be lengthy and difficult.

The new rules for Oculus have been in effect since October 11, 2020. Anyone using Oculus devices for the first time from this date needs to have an active Facebook account and they must use this to log into the Oculus platform. Users who had set up a separate Oculus account before this date can link this to their active Facebook account or they can choose to remain Facebook-free until early 2023. However, this exception does not apply to Oculus Quest 2 as these VR headsets must only be operated and used with a genuine Facebook account.

No Fake Profiles

The Facebook usage guidelines prohibit the use of fake Facebook profiles. Users must be registered with their real names. Facebook is using an AI-supported verification system to recognize the fake profiles. However, it is still possible that Facebook’s AI triggers can flag a genuine account as fake and block the account for whatever reason. Some users have experienced this when trying to operate Quest 2 with their Facebook accounts. This happened particularly for users with old, reactivated or new accounts. The users received messages that their Facebook accounts had been blocked. They appealed and the action was reviewed and could not be reversed. In such cases, the Quest 2 headset is rendered practically obsolete for these users.

In the meantime, Facebook has asked all those experiencing issue with their Facebook accounts to contact Oculus Support. The content that has been purchased in the Oculus Store will not be lost and will become available as soon as the login problems are resolved.

Oculus Support on Facebook Issues
Oculus Support on Facebook Issues

According to screenshots shared on Reddit and Twitter by the affected users, Oculus Support stuff are claiming that their hands are tied and passing the buck back to Facebook.

https://virtualrealitytimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/The-Quest-Elite-Strap-600x381.jpghttps://virtualrealitytimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/The-Quest-Elite-Strap-150x90.jpgSam OchanjiBusinessOculusIn an Instagram AMA, Facebook’s head of VR has advised buyers to ensure that their accounts are in “good standing” before they purchase the Oculus Quest 2 headset. In a video AMA on Instagram, Facebook’s Vice President of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Andrew 'Boz' Bosworth has advised users to...VR, Oculus Rift, and Metaverse News - Cryptocurrency, Adult, Sex, Porn, XXX