downloading apps onto go from computer How to play SteamVR games on with ALVR. Oculus Go, the standalone, wireless headset that's made it possible for more people than ever before to enjoy a quality VR experience, can now be used in tandem with SteamVR. That's right; content that's normally enjoyed on a PC-based VR system, like Windows (WMR), , or HTC Vive, can be ported over to the Oculus Go for a wireless VR experience. How does it all work? I' here to walk you through the process of getting everything set up. What is required for SteamVR games on Oculus Go? Playing SteamVR games in your Oculus Go headset is made possible thanks to an open-source project called Air Light VR (ALVR). It's available for download on GitHub for free, and it will also work with Samsung's Gear VR and compatible phones, like the Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8+. Aside from the VR headset, you'll need a relatively high-end Windows 10 gaming PC with an NVIDIA graphics card (GPU) that supports NVENC technology. Not sure if you have the right GPU? Figure out the exact name of your GPU, and you can cross-reference it with this NVIDIA Wikipedia page to find out. If the codename of your GPU starts with GK, GM, or GP, you should be in the clear. A lot of the NVIDIA 6- and 7-series GPUs will be compatible, and anything newer shouldn't be an issue. You likewise need a wireless internet connection to stream video to your Oculus Go or Gear VR. It's recommended that your PC use a wired connection back to your router for best performance. Finally, SteamVR must be installed on your Windows 10 PC. We have a guide to getting SteamVR installed on your PC that you can reference if you run into any issues. What can you expect from ALVR? ALVR allows you to stream VR content to your Oculus Go headset. While the Oculus Go motion controller will work in some cases, most VR experiences that require a controller with (6DoF) will not work. Games that you can play with a gamepad or that don't require 6DoF, however, should work almost flawlessly. A full list of tested VR experiences that work with ALVR and Oculus Go is available at the ALVR GitHub page. If you're so inclined, ALVR should also work with Rift games played on SteamVR through Revive. Check out our guide for more information on using Revive. How to install ALVR on your PC. If you have everything that's required to make this happen, you can get ALVR installed on your PC. This first set of steps is to ensure you have the proper C++ redistributable installed on your PC. Follow these instructions: Navigate to the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 download page at Microsoft's Download Center. Click Download . Click vc_redist.x64.exe . Click Run . Click Install . (If you encounter an error, it likely means that it's already installed.) It's now time to download and install ALVR. Here's how: Navigate to the ALVR releases page at GitHub. Click the ALVR-vX.X ZIP file in the latest version's section. Click Save . Click Extract . Click Extract . Double-click the ALVR application to launch it. How to install the ALVR client on Oculus Go. Now that ALVR is installed on your PC, it's time to get the ALVR client installed on your Oculus Go headset. Whereas you'd normally have to set up an Android Debug Bridge and register as a developer, ALVR has a handy way of getting the Oculus Go app with minimum hassle. Just follow these steps: Navigate to the ALVR key distribution page in your favorite web browser. Click the Get Key button. (You will be shown a key that you can redeem within the Oculus app on your phone.) Launch the Oculus app on your phone. (In this case I'm using Android, but it will also work on iPhone.) Type the code that you received from the ALVR key page. Tap Install . How to stream SteamVR content to Oculus Go. Now that you have the ALVR client installed on your PC and on Oculus Go, you can begin streaming content. ALVR should still be running on your PC, but if it's not, launch it before continuing. Then follow these steps: Click Start server . Launch the ALVR client inside your Oculus Go headset. (It will appear as any other app in your Library .) Click Connect . A connection should be made in a few seconds, and you'll be able to see SteamVR Home inside your Oculus Go. Note that there's not yet streaming sound to your headset, but you can still use another device connected to your PC to output sound. Right now, SteamVR Home doesn't exactly cooperate with the Oculus Go motion controller, and launching a VR game straight from your PC desktop seems to be the best solution. Troubleshooting. One immediate issue I noticed was that my head appeared to be on the floor. Luckily, you can apply an offset to take care of height issues: Click the Other tab. Click Apply offset . Click Save . If you're having issues with the Oculus Go controller button mapping, you can do a bit of customization: Click the Controller tab. Click Enable controller . Click an option . Remember, the Oculus Go controller probably isn't going to work well with most VR experiences that require 6DoF. If you run into further issues, the ALVR GitHub page is the place to visit. There are some in-depth troubleshooting guides, as well as a forum where you can have your questions answered. More resources. We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more. Here's everything we know about Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox and PC. Forza Horizon 5 is official, and it's one of the most visually impressive games we've ever seen. We've done our research and gathered every scrap of information we could find. Here's everything you need to know about Forza Horizon 5, launching on Xbox and PC on Nov. 9, 2021. The latest Forza Horizon 5 stream shows off the full map and new gameplay. The latest stream for Forza Horizon 5 has just concluded, and it showed excited fans a ton of new gameplay in the newly revealed 2020 Toyota Supra GR, and even showed off the full map in its entirety. Review: XPG's Xenia 14 is the best laptop so far from the new PC brand. It's lighter than LG's gram and it has a very competitive price. The Xenia 14 is an all-around impressive 14-inch Ultrabook that shows XPG isn't going away. The best pre-built PCs you can buy to play Skyrim: Special Edition. Skyrim: Special Edition requires some considerable PC specifications for a smooth experience, especially if you plan on modding. Luckily, with a desktop PC, you can buy pre-built systems and upgrade internal components at a later date. How to Transfer VR Videos to Your Oculus Go from Your PC (And Play Them) Lowell is the founder and CEO of How-To Geek. He’s been running the show since creating the site back in 2006. Over the last decade, Lowell has personally written more than 1000 articles which have been viewed by over 250 million people. Prior to starting How-To Geek, Lowell spent 15 years working in IT doing consulting, cybersecurity, database management, and programming work. Read more. You just got a shiny new Oculus Go headset to play games and watch VR movies, but how do you get those movies onto the VR headset in the first place? Here’s how to move videos from your PC or Mac to your Oculus Go. It’s not just full VR movies that you can play on your Oculus headset—it can be any movie that you’ve got stored as a local file. If you want to watch a regular movie on your Oculus, you just have to copy the files over and launch them from the Oculus gallery. You’ll be presented with a virtual movie theater for your viewing enjoyment. So, let’s take a look at how to copying videos from Windows, how to do it on a Mac, and then how to actually find and enjoy those videos on your Oculus. Copying VR Videos to Oculus Go from Windows. Windows makes it really easy to connect to your Oculus headset—just connect the Oculus, and you’ll see a bunch of popup messages telling you that Windows is thinking about something. Eventually, it’ll say “Device is ready” and that’s your cue to go open up File Explorer. Note that you might have to approve the USB connection from the Oculus side. In File Explorer, head to This PC and you’ll see “VR-Headset” listed as an attached device. Open that up, open the Internal Shared Folder inside, and inside that, you’ll see a Movies folder. Simply copy your videos into the Movies folder, and you’re good to go. Copying VR Videos to Oculus Go from Mac. If you’re using a Mac, you’ve got an extra step before you can copy movies over—head to the official Android website and download their File Transfer tool. Install that on your Mac, connect to the Oculus with the USB cable, and then you can find it listed under Applications as “Android File Transfer.” Note that you might have to approve the USB connection from the Oculus side. Once you’ve got that open, just drag and drop your VR or other movie files straight into the Movies folder. It’s really just that easy. Playing VR Videos (or Any Videos) from the Local Storage on Oculus Go. Now that you’ve got the files transferred over, let’s look at how to play them. Open the home screen by pressing the Oculus button, and then look down at the toolbar. Head to Navigate > Gallery to open up the Oculus Gallery. In the gallery, head to the “Internal Storage” option. That’s where local media is stored. You’ll find any movies you copied over in the list. Just launch the movie and enjoy! Making a VR Movie Play in VR Mode. If you launch a VR video from local storage, the video is initially presented in the “theater” view, which is going to look really weird for a VR movie. You’ll want to click to bring up the menu, and then click the “2D” option on that menu. From there, you can click and change the settings from 2D to 180 or 360 degrees, depending on the video format. When you choose a different format, Oculus launches the video again in full screen with the correct VR setting. You might have to try a couple of different options to get it working right. Happy movie watching! The experience of watching 2D movies in VR isn’t that interesting, but watching a VR movie can be really captivating. Sideload Onto The : How to Use SideQuest VR. In this guide, we show you how easy it is to sideload onto the Oculus Quest 2 or 1. We have pictures for every step of the way and our guide is updated for 2021. During the process, you’ll also learn how to use Sidequest VR and why it’s an amazing app for Oculus Quest users. With SideQuest VR you can quickly load games, applications, and modifications onto the Oculus Quest 1 and 2. It also comes with an integrated app store to explore over 500 more titles for your Quest that aren’t found in the official store. New to the article is instructions on how to use the brand new SideQuest Android mobile app to sideload onto the Oculus Quest without need a computer. Related: After this article, check out our top VR games on SideQuest! Let’s check it out! What is Sideloading? Sideloading is a method for installing apps onto a device not through its official means, such as the App Store. Sideloading is popular on Android- based devices such as the Oculus Quest and Go. When you enable sideloading, you can install apps and games not found in the official Oculus Store. Traditionally, sideloading meant that you had to manually copy files into a folder onto a connected device and maybe perform some manual configuration work. Luckily, there are programs which simplify and automate a lot of this work so that you don’t have to. The program of choice to sideload onto the Oculus Quest headset is SideQuest VR. The best program for sideloading apps onto the Oculus Quest is SideQuest VR. What Can You Sideload onto the Oculus Quest 2 and 1? The Oculus Quest 2 and Quest 1 are based on the Android operating system. This means that you can install any Android APK onto the device. There are plenty of Android apps and games and streaming apps to try out. There are also lots of third party VR games that don’t exist on the official Oculus store that you can sidequest too. Including multiplayer games, shooters, and some really sweet VR party games, and more. Just follow our instructions below for installing a sideload program and setting up your Oculus headset to accept sideloaded apps. Then you should be able to search for any APK and try it out on your Oculus Quest or Go. What is SideQuest VR? Like we just mentioned, SideQuest VR is a program that makes it really easy to sideload onto the Oculus Quest. It’s available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. There is also a new android mobile app which you can use instead of a computer. Once setup, it comes with some really nice features: SideQuest has a built-in store where you can quickly sideload a bunch of cool VR apps and demos made by developers. You can quickly view, alter, and delete all of the apps you currently have sideloaded. SideQuest has a bunch of smarts built in to it to make sure that you alter your headset safely. You should use SideQuest with your VR headset to try out apps not found in the Oculus Store. Lots of these apps are free and showcase new VR development. Loading custom content and modifications on your headset is also popular with SideQuest. You can improve the quality of your VR experience! Many of the games that started out on SideQuest have now moved on to be in the Oculus App Lab or the official store. SideQuest is also a good community for the Oculus Quest. You can chat about your favorite games, ask questions to the developers, and more. Check out our SideQuest vs App Lab vs Oculus Store comparison guide for more details on how these stores interact and work together. How to Use Sidequest VR. Using Sidequest VR to sideload games or find new ones is easy. First, you setup your Oculus Quest headset for developer mode. Then, you install Sidequest onto your computer and plug your VR headset into it. When you are done, you can browse SideQuest’s app store which has over 500 VR titles not found in the official Oculus store. Or, you can install APK files from your computer onto your headset as well. Our instructions to sideload onto the Oculus Quest below include how to use Sidequest VR, so check that out! Sidequest VS vs adbLink. The two most popular ways to sideload games onto the Oculus Quest are via Sidequest VR and adbLink. If you have the APK file, both applications do the trick just fine. Sidequest VR comes with some nice features like we mentioned above. The built in app store and the ease of use are top notch. AdbLink has a few nice features too: Install APKs to any Android based device (phones, tablets, TV boxes, etc) Does not discriminate on which APK you are installing (no Safelink) Next, we’ll show you how to install SideQuest VR and get it setup. Our tutorial covers 3 parts: Putting your Oculus VR Headset into Developer Mode Installing the SideQuest VR app onto your computer Basics of using SideQuest VR to sideload onto the Oculus Quest 2, 1, or Go. There’s a fair number of steps below but don’t worry! We’ve made things really easy to follow and you’ll be setup and ready to sideload onto the Oculus Quest in minutes. Below the main tutorial guide on how to sideload onto the Oculus Quest, we have instructions for using the new SideQuest Android app without a computer. How to Sideload Onto the Oculus Quest with SideQuest. After following these steps, you’ll be able to sideload onto the Oculus Quest new games, apps, and custom content. You’ll set your Oculus Quest 2 or 1 (or Go) up in developer mode, install and configure the SideQuest VR app, and connect your headset to SideQuest. Total Time: 10 minutes. Visit the Oculus Dashboard Page. Click here to go to the Oculus Dashboard page where you have to register as a “developer” for free before we begin. If you aren’t logged in yet, you’ll see the error message “You must be logged in to view this page”. Click on the black Log In button. Log In to Oculus Dashboard. Log in to your Oculus account (the same one that’s logged in to the Oculus app on your phone and your VR headset. If you need to create an account, you can do that here by selecting “create an Oculus account”. Create an Organization. After you are logged in, you’ll see the home Oculus dashboard screen. Click on Create New Organization. Create a name (it can be anything) and then check the “I Understand” box and click on Submit. Lastly, agree to the terms of the agreement to finish. Launch Oculus App. Next, launch the Oculus app on your phone that you have synced to your headset. Click on Settings in the bottom right hand corner. Go Into More Settings. Select your headset , which will open a menu beneath it. Click on More Settings and then on Developer Mode. Enable Developer Settings and Reboot. Make sure that Developer Mode is toggled ON. This will give you access to the “Unknown Sources” area of your headset, where sideloaded games will be installed. Next, reboot your Oculus headset by holding down the power button on the side and selecting Restart. When your headset reboots, it will start in Developer mode (you can come back to this screen to verify). Download and Install SideQuest VR. Visit the SideQuest Download page and download the install file for your operating system. When it’s done, double click on it and follow the prompts to install SideQuest on your computer the same as any other program. Launch SideQuest. Open up SideQuest on your computer and you’ll see the home screen. Connect SideQuest to Oculus Quest 2, 1, or Go. Turn on your VR headset and connect the Quest to your computer via the USB-C charging cable. Put on your headset to see a message that says “Allow USB Debugging?” Select “Always allow from this computer” and then OK. The status in the top left of SideQuest should change to green and say “Connected”. If you don’t see the above message when you put on your headset, you may have to temporarily disable the unlock pattern. This can be found in the Oculus app under Settings > Quest > More Settings > Unlock Pattern. Sideload a Game from SideQuest to Oculus Quest. The easiest way to sideload a game onto the Oculus Quest is to find one you like on the home screen of the SideQuest app. Click on the game’s image to open up its specific page and then click on “Install Latest” to sideload the game onto your device. Sideloading an External APK onto the Oculus Quest. To sideload an external APK onto your headset, click the Install APK icon on SideQuest’s top menu bar. It’s the folder with the down arrow, fifth icon from the left. Select the APK file from your computer and SideQuest will let you know if the install was successful or not. And that’s how you sideload onto the Oculus Quest using SideQuest. You will find all of the games you sideloaded under the Unknown Sources apps area. How to Sideload Using the SideQuest Android App. A new SideQuest Android app on the Google Play Store allows you sideload onto the Oculus Quest without using a computer at all. If you have an Android phone and want to set things up, follow the instructions below. Follow the first 6 instructions above to put your headset into developer mode and restart (before downloading SideQuest). Download and install SideQuest from the Google Play Store. Unlock your phone and leave it open. Put on your Oculus Quest and make sure your Guardian is setup and active. Plug your Quest into your Phone using a USB cable. Your phone will prompt you if you want SideQuest to handle your Quest headset. Press Yes and make sure the option to always allow this action is checked too. Put on your Oculus Quest and click OK on the message request to allow USB debugging. Again, make sure that Always allow from this computer is also checked. A second prompt will come up in your Quest asking you if you want to allow your phone to access the Quest’s data . Click Yes. You can now use your phone to browse and sideload onto the Oculus Quest just like on your computer. If you’d like to enable Wireless mode on your phone , click the Wireless toolbar button on the top left and select Enable Wireless. You can now install games from your phone without a USB connection! What is your preferred way to sideload? Are you having trouble trying sideloading content onto the Oculus Quest 2 or 1? Comment below to get in touch with us and we will help you out! Sideload Onto The Oculus Quest: How to Use SideQuest VR. In this guide, we show you how easy it is to sideload onto the Oculus Quest 2 or 1. We have pictures for every step of the way and our guide is updated for 2021. During the process, you’ll also learn how to use Sidequest VR and why it’s an amazing app for Oculus Quest users. With SideQuest VR you can quickly load games, applications, and modifications onto the Oculus Quest 1 and 2. It also comes with an integrated app store to explore over 500 more titles for your Quest that aren’t found in the official store. New to the article is instructions on how to use the brand new SideQuest Android mobile app to sideload onto the Oculus Quest without need a computer. Related: After this article, check out our top VR games on SideQuest! Let’s check it out! What is Sideloading? Sideloading is a method for installing apps onto a device not through its official means, such as the App Store. Sideloading is popular on Android- based devices such as the Oculus Quest and Go. When you enable sideloading, you can install apps and games not found in the official Oculus Store. Traditionally, sideloading meant that you had to manually copy files into a folder onto a connected device and maybe perform some manual configuration work. Luckily, there are programs which simplify and automate a lot of this work so that you don’t have to. The program of choice to sideload onto the Oculus Quest headset is SideQuest VR. The best program for sideloading apps onto the Oculus Quest is SideQuest VR. What Can You Sideload onto the Oculus Quest 2 and 1? The Oculus Quest 2 and Quest 1 are based on the Android operating system. This means that you can install any Android APK onto the device. There are plenty of Android apps and games and streaming apps to try out. There are also lots of third party VR games that don’t exist on the official Oculus store that you can sidequest too. Including multiplayer games, shooters, and some really sweet VR party games, and more. Just follow our instructions below for installing a sideload program and setting up your Oculus headset to accept sideloaded apps. Then you should be able to search for any APK and try it out on your Oculus Quest or Go. What is SideQuest VR? Like we just mentioned, SideQuest VR is a program that makes it really easy to sideload onto the Oculus Quest. It’s available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. There is also a new android mobile app which you can use instead of a computer. Once setup, it comes with some really nice features: SideQuest has a built-in store where you can quickly sideload a bunch of cool VR apps and demos made by developers. You can quickly view, alter, and delete all of the apps you currently have sideloaded. SideQuest has a bunch of smarts built in to it to make sure that you alter your headset safely. You should use SideQuest with your VR headset to try out apps not found in the Oculus Store. Lots of these apps are free and showcase new VR development. Loading custom content and modifications on your headset is also popular with SideQuest. You can improve the quality of your VR experience! Many of the games that started out on SideQuest have now moved on to be in the Oculus App Lab or the official store. SideQuest is also a good community for the Oculus Quest. You can chat about your favorite games, ask questions to the developers, and more. Check out our SideQuest vs App Lab vs Oculus Store comparison guide for more details on how these stores interact and work together. How to Use Sidequest VR. Using Sidequest VR to sideload games or find new ones is easy. First, you setup your Oculus Quest headset for developer mode. Then, you install Sidequest onto your computer and plug your VR headset into it. When you are done, you can browse SideQuest’s app store which has over 500 VR titles not found in the official Oculus store. Or, you can install APK files from your computer onto your headset as well. Our instructions to sideload onto the Oculus Quest below include how to use Sidequest VR, so check that out! Sidequest VS vs adbLink. The two most popular ways to sideload games onto the Oculus Quest are via Sidequest VR and adbLink. If you have the APK file, both applications do the trick just fine. Sidequest VR comes with some nice features like we mentioned above. The built in app store and the ease of use are top notch. AdbLink has a few nice features too: Install APKs to any Android based device (phones, tablets, TV boxes, etc) Does not discriminate on which APK you are installing (no Safelink) Next, we’ll show you how to install SideQuest VR and get it setup. Our tutorial covers 3 parts: Putting your Oculus VR Headset into Developer Mode Installing the SideQuest VR app onto your computer Basics of using SideQuest VR to sideload onto the Oculus Quest 2, 1, or Go. There’s a fair number of steps below but don’t worry! We’ve made things really easy to follow and you’ll be setup and ready to sideload onto the Oculus Quest in minutes. Below the main tutorial guide on how to sideload onto the Oculus Quest, we have instructions for using the new SideQuest Android app without a computer. How to Sideload Onto the Oculus Quest with SideQuest. After following these steps, you’ll be able to sideload onto the Oculus Quest new games, apps, and custom content. You’ll set your Oculus Quest 2 or 1 (or Go) up in developer mode, install and configure the SideQuest VR app, and connect your headset to SideQuest. Total Time: 10 minutes. Visit the Oculus Dashboard Page. Click here to go to the Oculus Dashboard page where you have to register as a “developer” for free before we begin. If you aren’t logged in yet, you’ll see the error message “You must be logged in to view this page”. Click on the black Log In button. Log In to Oculus Dashboard. Log in to your Oculus account (the same one that’s logged in to the Oculus app on your phone and your VR headset. If you need to create an account, you can do that here by selecting “create an Oculus account”. Create an Organization. After you are logged in, you’ll see the home Oculus dashboard screen. Click on Create New Organization. Create a name (it can be anything) and then check the “I Understand” box and click on Submit. Lastly, agree to the terms of the agreement to finish. Launch Oculus App. Next, launch the Oculus app on your phone that you have synced to your headset. Click on Settings in the bottom right hand corner. Go Into More Settings. Select your headset , which will open a menu beneath it. Click on More Settings and then on Developer Mode. Enable Developer Settings and Reboot. Make sure that Developer Mode is toggled ON. This will give you access to the “Unknown Sources” area of your headset, where sideloaded games will be installed. Next, reboot your Oculus headset by holding down the power button on the side and selecting Restart. When your headset reboots, it will start in Developer mode (you can come back to this screen to verify). Download and Install SideQuest VR. Visit the SideQuest Download page and download the install file for your operating system. When it’s done, double click on it and follow the prompts to install SideQuest on your computer the same as any other program. Launch SideQuest. Open up SideQuest on your computer and you’ll see the home screen. Connect SideQuest to Oculus Quest 2, 1, or Go. Turn on your VR headset and connect the Quest to your computer via the USB-C charging cable. Put on your headset to see a message that says “Allow USB Debugging?” Select “Always allow from this computer” and then OK. The status in the top left of SideQuest should change to green and say “Connected”. If you don’t see the above message when you put on your headset, you may have to temporarily disable the unlock pattern. This can be found in the Oculus app under Settings > Quest > More Settings > Unlock Pattern. Sideload a Game from SideQuest to Oculus Quest. The easiest way to sideload a game onto the Oculus Quest is to find one you like on the home screen of the SideQuest app. Click on the game’s image to open up its specific page and then click on “Install Latest” to sideload the game onto your device. Sideloading an External APK onto the Oculus Quest. To sideload an external APK onto your headset, click the Install APK icon on SideQuest’s top menu bar. It’s the folder with the down arrow, fifth icon from the left. Select the APK file from your computer and SideQuest will let you know if the install was successful or not. And that’s how you sideload onto the Oculus Quest using SideQuest. You will find all of the games you sideloaded under the Unknown Sources apps area. How to Sideload Using the SideQuest Android App. A new SideQuest Android app on the Google Play Store allows you sideload onto the Oculus Quest without using a computer at all. If you have an Android phone and want to set things up, follow the instructions below. Follow the first 6 instructions above to put your headset into developer mode and restart (before downloading SideQuest). Download and install SideQuest from the Google Play Store. Unlock your phone and leave it open. Put on your Oculus Quest and make sure your Guardian is setup and active. Plug your Quest into your Phone using a USB cable. Your phone will prompt you if you want SideQuest to handle your Quest headset. Press Yes and make sure the option to always allow this action is checked too. Put on your Oculus Quest and click OK on the message request to allow USB debugging. Again, make sure that Always allow from this computer is also checked. A second prompt will come up in your Quest asking you if you want to allow your phone to access the Quest’s data . Click Yes. You can now use your phone to browse and sideload onto the Oculus Quest just like on your computer. If you’d like to enable Wireless mode on your phone , click the Wireless toolbar button on the top left and select Enable Wireless. You can now install games from your phone without a USB connection! What is your preferred way to sideload? Are you having trouble trying sideloading content onto the Oculus Quest 2 or 1? Comment below to get in touch with us and we will help you out! Sideload Onto The Oculus Quest: How to Use SideQuest VR. In this guide, we show you how easy it is to sideload onto the Oculus Quest 2 or 1. We have pictures for every step of the way and our guide is updated for 2021. During the process, you’ll also learn how to use Sidequest VR and why it’s an amazing app for Oculus Quest users. With SideQuest VR you can quickly load games, applications, and modifications onto the Oculus Quest 1 and 2. It also comes with an integrated app store to explore over 500 more titles for your Quest that aren’t found in the official store. New to the article is instructions on how to use the brand new SideQuest Android mobile app to sideload onto the Oculus Quest without need a computer. Related: After this article, check out our top VR games on SideQuest! Let’s check it out! What is Sideloading? Sideloading is a method for installing apps onto a device not through its official means, such as the App Store. Sideloading is popular on Android- based devices such as the Oculus Quest and Go. When you enable sideloading, you can install apps and games not found in the official Oculus Store. Traditionally, sideloading meant that you had to manually copy files into a folder onto a connected device and maybe perform some manual configuration work. Luckily, there are programs which simplify and automate a lot of this work so that you don’t have to. The program of choice to sideload onto the Oculus Quest headset is SideQuest VR. The best program for sideloading apps onto the Oculus Quest is SideQuest VR. What Can You Sideload onto the Oculus Quest 2 and 1? The Oculus Quest 2 and Quest 1 are based on the Android operating system. This means that you can install any Android APK onto the device. There are plenty of Android apps and games and streaming apps to try out. There are also lots of third party VR games that don’t exist on the official Oculus store that you can sidequest too. Including multiplayer games, shooters, and some really sweet VR party games, and more. Just follow our instructions below for installing a sideload program and setting up your Oculus headset to accept sideloaded apps. Then you should be able to search for any APK and try it out on your Oculus Quest or Go. What is SideQuest VR? Like we just mentioned, SideQuest VR is a program that makes it really easy to sideload onto the Oculus Quest. It’s available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. There is also a new android mobile app which you can use instead of a computer. Once setup, it comes with some really nice features: SideQuest has a built-in store where you can quickly sideload a bunch of cool VR apps and demos made by developers. You can quickly view, alter, and delete all of the apps you currently have sideloaded. SideQuest has a bunch of smarts built in to it to make sure that you alter your headset safely. You should use SideQuest with your VR headset to try out apps not found in the Oculus Store. Lots of these apps are free and showcase new VR development. Loading custom content and modifications on your headset is also popular with SideQuest. You can improve the quality of your VR experience! Many of the games that started out on SideQuest have now moved on to be in the Oculus App Lab or the official store. SideQuest is also a good community for the Oculus Quest. You can chat about your favorite games, ask questions to the developers, and more. Check out our SideQuest vs App Lab vs Oculus Store comparison guide for more details on how these stores interact and work together. How to Use Sidequest VR. Using Sidequest VR to sideload games or find new ones is easy. First, you setup your Oculus Quest headset for developer mode. Then, you install Sidequest onto your computer and plug your VR headset into it. When you are done, you can browse SideQuest’s app store which has over 500 VR titles not found in the official Oculus store. Or, you can install APK files from your computer onto your headset as well. Our instructions to sideload onto the Oculus Quest below include how to use Sidequest VR, so check that out! Sidequest VS vs adbLink. The two most popular ways to sideload games onto the Oculus Quest are via Sidequest VR and adbLink. If you have the APK file, both applications do the trick just fine. Sidequest VR comes with some nice features like we mentioned above. The built in app store and the ease of use are top notch. AdbLink has a few nice features too: Install APKs to any Android based device (phones, tablets, TV boxes, etc) Does not discriminate on which APK you are installing (no Safelink) Next, we’ll show you how to install SideQuest VR and get it setup. Our tutorial covers 3 parts: Putting your Oculus VR Headset into Developer Mode Installing the SideQuest VR app onto your computer Basics of using SideQuest VR to sideload onto the Oculus Quest 2, 1, or Go. There’s a fair number of steps below but don’t worry! We’ve made things really easy to follow and you’ll be setup and ready to sideload onto the Oculus Quest in minutes. Below the main tutorial guide on how to sideload onto the Oculus Quest, we have instructions for using the new SideQuest Android app without a computer. How to Sideload Onto the Oculus Quest with SideQuest. After following these steps, you’ll be able to sideload onto the Oculus Quest new games, apps, and custom content. You’ll set your Oculus Quest 2 or 1 (or Go) up in developer mode, install and configure the SideQuest VR app, and connect your headset to SideQuest. Total Time: 10 minutes. Visit the Oculus Dashboard Page. Click here to go to the Oculus Dashboard page where you have to register as a “developer” for free before we begin. If you aren’t logged in yet, you’ll see the error message “You must be logged in to view this page”. Click on the black Log In button. Log In to Oculus Dashboard. Log in to your Oculus account (the same one that’s logged in to the Oculus app on your phone and your VR headset. If you need to create an account, you can do that here by selecting “create an Oculus account”. Create an Organization. After you are logged in, you’ll see the home Oculus dashboard screen. Click on Create New Organization. Create a name (it can be anything) and then check the “I Understand” box and click on Submit. Lastly, agree to the terms of the agreement to finish. Launch Oculus App. Next, launch the Oculus app on your phone that you have synced to your headset. Click on Settings in the bottom right hand corner. Go Into More Settings. Select your headset , which will open a menu beneath it. Click on More Settings and then on Developer Mode. Enable Developer Settings and Reboot. Make sure that Developer Mode is toggled ON. This will give you access to the “Unknown Sources” area of your headset, where sideloaded games will be installed. Next, reboot your Oculus headset by holding down the power button on the side and selecting Restart. When your headset reboots, it will start in Developer mode (you can come back to this screen to verify). Download and Install SideQuest VR. Visit the SideQuest Download page and download the install file for your operating system. When it’s done, double click on it and follow the prompts to install SideQuest on your computer the same as any other program. Launch SideQuest. Open up SideQuest on your computer and you’ll see the home screen. Connect SideQuest to Oculus Quest 2, 1, or Go. Turn on your VR headset and connect the Quest to your computer via the USB-C charging cable. Put on your headset to see a message that says “Allow USB Debugging?” Select “Always allow from this computer” and then OK. The status in the top left of SideQuest should change to green and say “Connected”. If you don’t see the above message when you put on your headset, you may have to temporarily disable the unlock pattern. This can be found in the Oculus app under Settings > Quest > More Settings > Unlock Pattern. Sideload a Game from SideQuest to Oculus Quest. The easiest way to sideload a game onto the Oculus Quest is to find one you like on the home screen of the SideQuest app. Click on the game’s image to open up its specific page and then click on “Install Latest” to sideload the game onto your device. Sideloading an External APK onto the Oculus Quest. To sideload an external APK onto your headset, click the Install APK icon on SideQuest’s top menu bar. It’s the folder with the down arrow, fifth icon from the left. Select the APK file from your computer and SideQuest will let you know if the install was successful or not. And that’s how you sideload onto the Oculus Quest using SideQuest. You will find all of the games you sideloaded under the Unknown Sources apps area. How to Sideload Using the SideQuest Android App. A new SideQuest Android app on the Google Play Store allows you sideload onto the Oculus Quest without using a computer at all. If you have an Android phone and want to set things up, follow the instructions below. Follow the first 6 instructions above to put your headset into developer mode and restart (before downloading SideQuest). Download and install SideQuest from the Google Play Store. Unlock your phone and leave it open. Put on your Oculus Quest and make sure your Guardian is setup and active. Plug your Quest into your Phone using a USB cable. Your phone will prompt you if you want SideQuest to handle your Quest headset. Press Yes and make sure the option to always allow this action is checked too. Put on your Oculus Quest and click OK on the message request to allow USB debugging. Again, make sure that Always allow from this computer is also checked. A second prompt will come up in your Quest asking you if you want to allow your phone to access the Quest’s data . Click Yes. You can now use your phone to browse and sideload onto the Oculus Quest just like on your computer. If you’d like to enable Wireless mode on your phone , click the Wireless toolbar button on the top left and select Enable Wireless. You can now install games from your phone without a USB connection! What is your preferred way to sideload? Are you having trouble trying sideloading content onto the Oculus Quest 2 or 1? Comment below to get in touch with us and we will help you out!