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/
phoenixdigital
shared this idea
259 comments
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Anonymous
commented
I backed Oculus rift and supported them . My first rift i purchased in 2016 soon broke with the common right ear phone design fault. After suffering this a year later the cable broke. I really looked after my rift too. After 6 months with no rift. i decided to purchase another and so far its worked. But the cable is already crimping itself and i know where this is going to lead to. I paid for my rift £550 GBP. i bought touch controllers on top of that and the many over priced lack lustre games on the oculus store. Guys if you don't look after people like us. then expect never to have support again with your products because this is YOUR problem, not ours. We shouldn't be punished for your mistakes. Please at least get stock of spares. You will only win again because yet again its us, the consumer that will pay for the replacement of your defective designed product.
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Anonymous
commented
As rift S user i am worried about what if mine VR Headset would be discontinued in such way, so please, oculus, don't ruin your reputation.
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G.m
commented
What are you doing Oculus...
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Yohann
commented
With the "Electronics right to repair" movement that is getting bigger and bigger, they will need to think about a solution soon...
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Vince
commented
I think the cable is the big one but even the controllers and cameras should be available for at least 7 years then organise a cheap offshore manufacturer to make stuff after the 7 year period like every other gaming console in history. The investment in this platform was not cheap and to be left with a dead device over a cable or broken camera is going to sour an already shallow well. It wouldn't be smart to burn your exisiting customer base buying software from your store this could very much lead to a huge hiatus from VR for a lot of enthusiasts.
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EarlyAdopter
commented
If my CV1 Rift cable breaks I will be switching to the HTC Vive. I have had my Rift for over two years and I love the design of the headset, the controllers and the set up in general. After Oculus was purchased by Facebook, I worried the company would trend toward money instead of the consumer. Every business needs money, but if you continue to upset those that support you, the company will go out of business. Seeing Oculus move against the trends of VR to satisfy the “family friendly” VR system, instead of those who make up their main consumer base, already indicated that Oculus does not care about their early adopters. If cables are offered again (which, it seems legally they should), I will be buying a spare. Once my headset dies for good, I - among other users - will be switching to a headset supported long-term by the company creating it. Extremely disappointed in how Oculus is handling this.
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Digi
commented
If Oculus will not support their CV1 customers then I will refuse to sell or support Oculus products in the future at my stores. Companies that abandon customers just because they want to sell their next gen products are greedy pirates and I will not support such behaviour.
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Przemek
commented
If this issiue is not going to be resolved by supplying cables to the customers then I am sure that next headsets me and my friends will buy, they are not going to be from this company. It would be unreasonable to stick with something so unreliable
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Nik commented
Common Oculus, my Rift isn't THAT old.. Even tho it's out of warranty at this point, it works good enough. The cable is getting old, even tho I'm careful, and I was planning to buy a backup cable to have around just in case. Didn't realize I missed my chance till it was too late.
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B Mill
commented
I would like Oculus Rift supplies to remain available for the HMD. It's a shame this is how Oculus wants to handle things like this. I don't think ANYONE should be buying games in the Oculus Store, Get everything on Steam because you can switch HMDs when Oculus leaves you blowing in the wind with a broken HMD that can't be fixed because the Proprietary parts are no longer available.
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NoMoreClownShoes
commented
It used to be that consumers only had so many choices when it came to VR, and Oculus was at the helm. Now, there are *definitely* other options out there, and I would urge everyone to move towards them.
Goodbye Oculus, I would like to say "it was nice while it lasted", but honestly since the FB acquisition, it's been a downhill slide.
Won't be buying another Oculus product, software or otherwise, again.
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NoMoreClownShoes
commented
Yep, I'm done with Oculus at this point. Couldn't care less if they re-consider and decide to continue providing cables for CV1.
Nice job Zuck lol. XD
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Squid Kid
commented
No guarantees Oculus won't pull the same stunt with Rift S, so I probably won't be buying another Oculus product again in the future.
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Karen Cusimano
commented
My headset is two year and two weeks old, and is in mint condition. I tend to be very clumsy in VR, so while my cable currently is still working, I am extremely concerned about the ability to NOT get a replacement for it should it go out. They really REALLY need to figure out a way to supply cables to the folks that are out of warranty, especially ones who just bought in the last couple of years.
I've done nothing but rave about my Rift since I got it two years ago, and have always said that it would take a serious customer service breach for me to want to change to a different brand. If they don't resolve this, THIS is that customer service breach that's going to send me elsewhere.
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Mark Collins
commented
All legal stuff aside. I mean, come on! **** move oculus!
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Anonymous
commented
EU Law requires them to continue to offer service and repair for product sold in the EU for 7 years from the date the last product was manufactured or sold. My dog ate my cable but I still have a legal right to purchase a replacement for 7 years from when I bought my Oculus. If Oculus want to take money from EU customers and trade in the EU then they must comply with EU law. (Also, the default opt in on this uservoice page is not compliant with GDPR! )
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Vince
commented
That cable design is the biggest joke, there are so many things i love about the Rift and but the custom HDMI cable was the worst idea. Cables get lost, break, degrade... you dont want to whittle away you're already slim customer base with bad ideas like custom cables but since you did, you better make sure we can buy replacements whenever we need them for years to come.
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emily commented
:/ I haven't had my headset more then 2 or 3 years so it will be very upsetting to throw out something this expensive if the headset or cable break. Please Support this longer by just selling cables at least.
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Anonymous
commented
The cable at the very least needs to be available for purchase, I am very disappointed in Oculus taking this path!
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Mike
commented
I am not naive enough to expect indefinite support but I think spare parts for a minimum of 12 months after being pulled from sale shoud be a legal requirement TBH. (And good customer service would be parts for 12 months after ALL units were out of warranty)
Edit some comments may be missunderstanding where we are. There ARE spares for headsets in warranty it's is just those out of warranty who are boned (which still sucks)