Continue selling Rift (CV1) cables
Rift CV1 owners are concerned at the recent decision to stop selling the Rift CV1 accessories only 6 months after the sale of the last headset. Of particular concern is the lack headset cable which is probably the most fragile component. The expectation that we should buy a whole new headset if this $50 part fails is a major concern.
Many circumstances can occur outside of warranty conditions like
- pets can chew this cable
- accidental twisting over time fatigues the cable
- accidental falls can pull the cable from the PC
All these circumstances are not Oculus' fault and should not be handled under warranty. However the end user do have the expectation that they can repair a commonly failing part for their headset.
Consumer rights in the USA are very weak and favour companies over consumers. However in the EU, Australia and New Zealand the laws state that spare parts should be available for a reasonable amount of time after the product is discontinued. 6 months is not very reasonable considering that most users have an expectation that PC components should last between 3-5 years.
Ref: https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/products-and-services/problems-with-a-product/cannot-be-repaired
A survey of 250 Oculus users seems to suggest that most Rift owners expect to get approximately 4-5 years from their headset
Source of results can be found in comments for above image.
Many of us understand that this cable was possibly being made by a third party who has made the decision to no longer supply them to you. However you made the design decision to go with a proprietary cable so unfortunately the onus is on you to abide by consumer laws and will have to either make freely available design specifications and connector patents so a 3rd party can make them or source a new supplier for this cable so you can sell it yourself.
Your quality end user support compared to other VR headset vendors has earned you a great reputation in the VR community in recent years. This quality support has definitely helped accelerate the growth of your marketshare with as Oculus owners recommend your headset to family and friends based on how good your after market support is. Please don't tarnish this reputation and abandon the early adopters that have helped to grow your ecosystem. We want to remain Oculus customers but it becomes the standard that headsets (including the Rift-S) will be abandoned 6 months after the product is discontinued from sale many of us will have second thoughts about buying future Oculus products as well as using the Oculus store.
More voices here - https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/cynbei/forthosewhoneedareplacementoculusrift/
and here - https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/cyfsk3/riftcablenolongerforsaleineed_a/

256 comments
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Brian commented
I have 2 rifts that have now had their cables fail. I have 6 sensors, and 2 sets of touch controllers, and the failure of 2 chords has rendered my 2 separate VR systems useless. The fact that these cables can no longer be replaced doesn't come as much of a surprise since you can no longer get any of the parts for the CV1 and it was pretty much abandoned the second Facbook took over. I will not be investing Oculus anything going forward. IS there anyway at all to fix these wires? does anyone offer a refurbishing service?
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Ramón commented
Same thing here: cable seems to be the reason for discconections that makes impossible to have a gaming session.
Oculus support simply states that there are no cables. Not beign able to acquire a replacement seems a concious decision to abandon users.
Not feeling like buying an Oculus device any more.
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Az commented
Please sell! i really want my original rift back! the wire got twisted by use of many people daily, and i was really sad when i couldnt see anything in vr!
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Joshua Figueroa commented
Still even at this time, oculus still hasn't decided to sell these cables? My god, I am sorry oculus, but I am pretty damned sure its not my laptop, it was working perfectly fine before. Yet you give me false info. Sorry Oculus, I feel cheated.
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Rorypetts@live.com commented
Been through one new cable and two refurb replacement cables (two refurbs of which came from oculus broken and useless). I bought the CV1 at full price but was unable to use it for two years as my PC wasn't good enough. This CV1 was the most expensive single thing I had ever bought outside of PC's over the years. I simply cannot believe that oculus thinks I could recommend their headsets to others after seeing them release bi yearly products and failing to support old ones. it makes you feel like they are manipulating you into buying the new products by tying your hands only to discontinue them too!
Say I get an oculus rift s. bet you cant get replacement cables for that. Say I get a oculus quest 2. bet you wont support that in a few years when you bring out the one you need an ID card to use.
Disgusting company policy.
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Anonymous commented
Hey Everyone,
G R E A T N E W S !!!
We are currently Producing Cv1 Replacement Cables!!
We're working with Spectra 7 currently and would like to know if you'd be interested in purchasing our products.Please take a look here:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/virtual-reality-cables-virtual-link-rift-rift-s/x/25363745#/I would like to provide accessory support for your VR Systems.
Let me know what you think!
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Jason Sobrati commented
*********. Honestly, Facebook must know the cable has a manufacturing flaw - since a large sample fail at the same position. Rather than fix the issue, it was just cheaper to minimize impact, get them off the shelves.
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glenn commented
can someone at oculus listen??? Thousands of your customers need access to the cv1 headset cable.
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Henry Borreli commented
adding my 2 cents here.. these cables are soo fragile.. please keep selling!
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Anonymous commented
Why not selling this **** cable ?!! Such a shame !!!
I am a DK1 and DK2 owner, and i think CV1 will be my last Oculus product ! Every move you make, like the obligatory Facebook account makes you lose the battle.
Even when i supported DK2, i was disguted to know just few weeks later, than you bought Oculus !!
EVERY MOVE.
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Anonymous commented
Why is still still an issue, produce more cables or let someone else do it at least...
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Jeff commented
Please green light the manufacture and sale of OEM cables for Rift users that are looking to get more than 2 years out of their investment in the platform
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Sean Rhone commented
Please manufacture new cables! I enjoy my CV1, and it would be a huge relief not to have to worry about where to get a tether cable if mine becomes damaged.
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Aaron commented
Come on Oculus - support your product - look after your customers.
I managed to repair mine with some duct tape and a bulldog clip over the damaged area (likely to be where the retainer clip is on the headset - just put it on and move it slightly till the red lines go away), but you definitely need to bring back the replacement cable.
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wey m. commented
It's so disappointing that the company has stopped producing replacements for this. At least I know I won't ever buy Oculus products again.
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Anonymous commented
I find it hard to believe a company like Facebook can't bring themselves to continue making a cable they already have the specs and patents for tk continue supporting early VR adopters.
Now my only options are the Index, which is very expensive, or the Quest 2, which isn't an option in my opinion because I'd be downgrading, despite it being much newer than my CV1.
Please continue making these cables so my headset, sensors and controllers aren't worthless pieces of junk because they need a $60 cable to work but a huge corporation decided it wasn't worth it to them to continue making it. -
ChrisW commented
A Question for Oculus.
Why should we continue purchasing equipment & investing in oculus? (Facebook)Customers & users that are happy with after sales service will continue to purchase Oculus equipment & recommend it to fellow users.
The laws around the world protect the customer & demand a company supply replacement parts for a reasonable amount of time.
Oculus do not supply parts for the hardware? why ?
Could this be a global class action in the making ?
Customers demanding full refundsWhy would any of us return to oculus & invest our money again if other VR companies can offer better after sales service & support to the customer.
Better still use a standard cable that is cheep to replace.if they do not want to supply the cable then let someone else.
I am sure a 3rd part company would be happy to profit from this silly & fixable mistake.This is how much of a nightmare it is to try & fix the cable that can not be fixed.
https://www.briandorey.com/post/oculus-rift-broken-cable-repair-attempt
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mohammed alnassar commented
Oculus I hope you do the right thing and put them back in the store.
I don't have the money for a new one or scalpers prices 110$+
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Graham Sampson commented
My headset just stopped working and I'm assuming it's the cable, but I can't test that because new cables at $300 anywhere I can find them. You would think a company like facebook would support their customers for more than a couple years.
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Beckers Christian commented
I am out of warrantly and no new cables are being sold.
I am now sitting on a 400€ paperweight and Oculus tells me there is nothing they can do.Bollocks.
You chose to go with a proprietary cable design and abandoned your customers.
Thanks for nothing.