Using a cable to connect your VR headset to a computer sucks. it tethers you in place and it can even yank you back if you move too much. It´s an unfortunate necessity to be able to play video games on VR, but is there a way to go without a cable?
Well, you can try to use one of the mobile headsets, but you´ll not be able to play most of the games available in Steam Vr or the most popular marketplaces. As of now, there isn´t a way to turn your wired headset into a wireless one ... except for using Oculus Air.
What is the Oculus Air?
Oculus Air is a feature introduced in the v28 update of the Oculus Quest 2. While the Quest was originally designed to be a standalone headset, thanks to the Oculus Link it was possible to connect it to your PC and play all the PC VR games on the market.
The catch is that you needed a USB-C cable to plug the headset into your computer... or at least, you needed to have a cable. Not anymore, Oculus Air changes this.
Instead of relying on the USB-C cable, Oculus Air will let you use your Wi-Fi to connect to your PC. Your router will stream the games you want to play wirelessly to your headset, and you won´t need anything else (besides the controllers) to enjoy your game.
Now, the technology does have its limits. Oculus gives the next recommendations to have a smooth experience with the air. Play no more than 20 feet ( 6 meters) away from your router, use a 5Ghz network on an AC or AX router, make sure that your PC is connected to the internet with an ethernet cable, and make sure it meets the Oculus Link requirements.
If you can´t meet the aforementioned recommendations then the experience might be less than smooth. This can happen if you have a shaky internet connection (due to sharing the Wi-fi with a lot of people or a weak router) You might be better of still using the cable. (If the game´s performance is still shaky despite meeting all the recommendations, then you might need to rearrange your room to avoid wireless interference).
As to how you can connect your Quest 2 to your computer, Oculus prepared a short guide to help you.
What headsets can use the Oculus Air?
As of right now, only the Oculus Quest 2 is compatible with the Oculus Air. If you have Quest 1 and want to play VR games on your computer, your only option is using a USB-C cable and the Oculus Link feature.
No other Oculus headset is compatible, and since this is a proprietary technology of the company, the competition (like the Index or the Vive) will not be able to access this feature.
Does the Oculus Air work with all VR games on the PC?
Yes, you can use Oculus Air to play pretty much all the VR games available for your computer, kind of like the Oculus Link. This includes Steam VR´s library and all the titles on the Oculus Store.
And that´s it! If you want to take a look at other VR headsets and VR accessories, check out our page here!