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
232 comments
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Titan Pilot
commented
I support this too, my dog just chewed up my headphones. Luckily I had a pair of earbuds on standby for if the headphones ever died on me but I cannot buy a new pair of headphones anymore
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Kelly
commented
I fully support this. It doesn't seem fair to us end users to have to upgrade to an entirely new headset for a hefty cost if our current cables become unusable. This also makes me wary of purchasing new Oculus products in the future.
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Anonymous
commented
Please make the CV1 cables available again. Thanks.
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Quetzhal
commented
Fully agreed. While I've purchased a Rift S (because my CV1, while working, is in frankly a deplorable condition), I can't in good conscience continue supporting Oculus if replacement cables and repairs aren't offered to a reasonable timeframe. I've no guarantee this won't happen again with the Rift S.
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Anonymous
commented
CV1 owner, still waiting on the opportunity to buy a replacement cable. Oculus, if you want to save your reputation and guarantee good publicity, ship replacement cables for the CV1 and start doing it soon. I speak for many when I say that several of us are not going to be switching to the Rift S or the Quest for a LONG time, if ever. We are more than happy with our CV1s and will do everything we can to maintain and care for them.
That being said, in order to keep our HMDs operational, some components will, naturally, need to be replaced over time. Cables are especially prone to wear and tear, and should be replaceable at the drop of a hat. You can't just launch a product and act like it never existed 3 years later. You have shipped hundreds of thousands of Rift units to the general public, many of which WILL inevitably experience faulty components in the near future. If you think that using this as an opportunity to push more Rift S units out the door to people who don't want to buy them is the best way to mitigate this situation, you're making a grave mistake and betraying the loyalty and trust you worked so hard to build with many of your customers.
LET US BUY REPLACEMENT CABLES FOR THE RIFT CV1.
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aran
commented
Failing the supply of cables if it really comes down to that, at least offer a professional repair using existing active connectors
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hekixav
commented
Don't give the middle finger to your customers, it's not going to do you any good.
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Paul Hammond
commented
My bird chewed through my cable about a month ago and I finally got around to try and buy another, only to learn they've been discontinued. I'm more than happy to throw money at Oculus, please make these available.
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Davepc2u
commented
Cv1 owner. Make it availble.
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Rob
commented
I bought a new computer just so I could have two vr setups and now the cable is going out in my original rift which is only like a year old. Please make this replacment available!
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Marcus Antonius
commented
As an owner of both the DK2 and the CV1 this is highly disappointing. Please support your existing hardware and continue to offer replacement parts for common faults or I will never purchase another Oculus product again.
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Morgan
commented
My IPD is too large for Rift S, so if my CV1 cable dies, I have no option but to look at Valves offerings as Oculus do not make a suitable product that I can use.