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
260 comments
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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. -
TEP
commented
We bought Oculus Rift, and can not purchase a cable to replace. Now Oculs thinks the solution is to purchase a new headset, as if people have money growing on trees! Just horrible customer service and care! Can not believe after all the people coming forward they simple do not care as a company to be socially responsible to their community.
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[Deleted User]
commented
I bought 2 Oculus Rift's a few years ago, 1 for myself and the other for my wife, We have 3 children 1 of which is disabled and needs extra care so our social life went down the drain. I bought the Rift as I liked the controls over its competitors and had the time of our lives... We had a social life again for hours when the kids where in bed we would get together with friends in games and on fridays as silly as this may sound "go clubbing" on VRChat it was amazing as we were more than just parents again....for awhile at least, in the first year my wifes headset began to have issues with audio and sometimes a black screen but I put that down to her PC and the fact her headset took a knock or two when the kids were home from school. I have looked after mine, kept it clean our of the way and was very careful with handling it and I treated the cables like a life line, Ive actually talked several people into buying the rift over the Vive and what an idiot I was.
My cable has recently been having issues such as a dead left ear and at times its blank.... Im at a huge loss here because I can in no way afford a replacement cable or new headset at £400 each its a big no no for us. If we at any point can afford replacement I can assure you that we will be going elsewhere as it is unforgivable how you treat your customers "oops it Broke ? oh well buy a newer headset then" soo goodbye Oculus it was fun till your jaw dropped and saw dollar signs when VRchat took off because I know you had huge sales in that period. I will take my business elsewhere in future and I hope you soon reconsider making these cables available via the store at least, please remember without those cv1 customers you wont be where you are today -
Cmdr
commented
Just bought a Rift S, it's being discontinued by the end of the year. Gonna return it and wait for the G2.
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Anonymous
commented
I'm here after buying my Rift Second hand about a year and a half ago and I seriously feel like I've been tricked after my Rift cable finally kicked the bucket, and a real pain in the **** for me because the only way I can stay fast in sim racing is VR!
Oculus, even though this poll is a year old at this point, all 1,971 of the people that signed this poll are more than willing to pay for a replacement cable, please let us ****** purchase a replacement cable *********
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Anonymous
commented
I wish i knew about the cable issue before i bought my Rift 2 years ago because if i did i would of never of bought it and just gone with the Vive and it's ***** controllers instead
because people are selling replacement cables for $150 - $400(yes there are people selling it for that much)
i honestly feel scammed by oculus for how they have delt with this i mean the rift isn't even a decade old and they already decided to stop making the parts and cables for it all because they made newer headsets so they expect people to just upgrade when their Rifts go faulty
i just wish Oculus support was useful in some way instead of only following that stupid script/template they're made to follow
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Anonymous
commented
I feel really jaded. I purchased my Rift CV1 at retail price at Best Buy, two years ago. And it malfunctioned only a week after the warranty expired. I'm almost positive the cable is to blame but Oculus doesn't even sell the cable for the CV1 anymore. I refuse to buy anymore Oculus products. If that $500 is all they wanted, its all they'll get now. I'll buy from their competitors now.
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Anonymous
commented
So that’s why I saw so many Rift Units… missing cables… and being offered so cheaply on eBay when I searched for ‘spare cables’.
My otherwise perfectly working Rift is now 'Insta Scrap'… plastic trash… forcing me into a full unit upgrade on a 2-year-old purchase… because this company arbitrarily refuses to sell replacement cables?
This company’s OFFICIAL support response is to instead send their loyal backers to Amazon? Where the bandits are selling worn out crud cables for half the price of a full Rift Refurb?
Really? That's how a big company should behave?
I have something like ~64+ titles in my Oculus Library. Proudly bought from the Oculus Store.
And this is how a business rewards the trust of those who ROUTINELY voted with their wallets? This is how a company decides to treat loyal, regular customers?
Why would I EVER continue doing business with a company who now acts like this?
Here's an idea: how about while ‘the team’ finishes 'evaluating their options’ for customers outside of warranty…they put cables back in the store… on SALE… as a ‘temporary trial-run’? Or heck, make that the ONLY VIABLE OPTION.
I’m sure the higher profit margins of selling units over cables is indeed quite tempting, but don’t you realize the other ‘options’ entail the following outcomes:
1. Resentful Customers, Forced Into Upgrades -- and previously burned customers now hording cables at home while they’re commercially available (dramatically delaying HMD upgrades all the more, and encouraging future eBay gouging).
2. Resentful Customers That Simply Abandon You Altogether -- over the blatant and obscene displays of planned obsolescence. Taking all your exclusives with them into Revive.
Also, it’s a GLOBAL PANDEMIC out there. Some of us either take care of loved ones with severely weakened immune systems, or have them ourselves.
We’re scared shitless. All. The. Time. Our incomes are affected. We’re literally locked in our homes. Outside is NOT an option anymore. Might be related to the fact we don’t want to die?
VR is how some of us continue to view the beauty of our world, stay connected with our friends, make new friends safely, ‘escape the 4-walls’, and just ‘stay sane’ overall.
You’d think a company so intrinsically dedicated to the future would keep a *little* flipping perspective on cultivating long-term relationships, and not do something so petty and short-sighted as WITHHOLDING REPLACEMENTS FOR LITERALLY THE MOST FRAGILE COMPONENT ON ALL THEIR PRODUCTS, past, present (and future)?
It’s JUST A CABLE, for Christ’s Sake. Put it back in the store. If ever there was a time to sell your supporters new cables as needed, this is it!
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Shawn
commented
I am now in this boat as my original CV1 cable has failed and it was fairly well taken care of as well, 3 years to the day tomorrow from date of purchase and now to find out tonight that even if I wanted to drop $100 to keep it going I can't.
I have an Oculus Quest and I'm going to be looking at selling the unit if this is the kind of support we can expect the moment the next one comes out. Not supporting simple accessories for your user base is poor form. The older headsets will be passed on to other people when we upgrade, ideally to your new gear, and those people will buy accessories and games and ideally new headsets of their own. It makes no sense for a hybrid HDMI cable that in all likelyhood cost no more than $30 on a bad day to make a $600 set of kit head for the garbage dump. It's wasteful and poor customer service and in this day and should be considered really poor environmental stewardship.
Think twice about the cable availability. If the plan is to force those of us affected into new headsets it's not going to work like you think it will.
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Anonymous
commented
$500 GONE BECAUSE OF ONE CHEAP *** CABLE!!!!!!!
******** OCULUS !
I ADOPTED EARLY NOW YOU ******* **********DONT BUY OCULUS
DONT BUY OCULUS
DONT BUY OCULUS
DONT BUY OCULUS
DONT BUY OCULUS
DONT BUY OCULUS
DONT BUY OCULUS
DONT BUY OCULUS
DONT BUY OCULUS
DONT BUY OCULUS
DONT BUY OCULUS
DONT BUY OCULUS -
Anonymous
commented
Honestly, the most sensitive part of the Oculus Rift and there's no support whether or not it breaks.
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David Humphreys
commented
Going through this now, oculus have been no help, my cv-1 is essentially wasted plastic now. The rift-s will also have this problem as it's a proprietary cable. This feels like a design problem oculus are happy to propogate into their products.
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JohnnySimRAcer
commented
Not that the Evil Facebook Empire cares, because it’s clear at this point they do not, but when you pour out the “early adaptors” and enthusiast this is a case study in how you take a leading market position and run it into the ground. I’m on countless virtual racing forums where adaptation to VR still represents a huge market potential – does Facebook really think my experience and recommendations will in any way be favorable to the Oculus brand?
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Alex J Lennon
commented
I was just speaking to your support representative about this.
I have:
- Oculus Rift
- Oculus Quest
- Oculus Rift-SI am a great advocate for Oculus within my business community and have colleagues working on VR solutions.
I am extremely annoyed to find I have a working Rift which I can no longer use because the cable has given up due to reasonable use.
Even if Oculus won't manufacture these I have absolutely no doubt you could allow a third party in China to make these to support your user base.
I want to be very clear here. If I have to write off a working Rift because you won't support customers with replacement cables then I will be using your competitors devices in the future.
I am quite sure that there are many others who feel the same way as me.
You have a good product. Please do the right thing and support your users on this.
Alex Lennon
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Anonymous
commented
was going to buy a used rift, but most dont come with a cable and seeing the inflated price, i might as well get a different brand
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UnspecifiedHuman
commented
Yeah Probably gonna switch off oculus my headset cable is worn down and I don't want to go through this again so yeah.
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Keith Mcknight
commented
Ok, unfortunately I may had hit the text limit on my previous thread so please read that before this to put the following reply into context.
Just so you know the replies are rather typical from support with no effort whatsoever to even help. Basically, your unit is dead once the cable finally fails unless some genius comes up with a solution because it isn't going to happen from Facebook.
I've managed to buy a new boxed and sealed cable as two of our work colleagues bought into the Oculus Rift after trying mine. One of them bought a second cable for an extension and realised it was incorrect cable and never returned it until I passed comment on my situation and he never uses his after buying an Oculus Quest.
I was very fortunate, but many aren't and there are no viable/affordable options either which is a huge shame. As for me, I personally will buy a different brand in the future based on the lack of support from Facebook.
Make of the next emails and replies "what you will" but one thing is for sure, support and Facebook have no interest to help resolve this situation.
This is my final post on this matter. As far as Oculus are concerned I am done with them. Any VR title I'll buy from now on will be through Epic Store or Steam.
I wish you all luck and keep safe.
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Jul 12, 2020, 1:47 AM PDTDear Support,
I’m hoping you can help me source a replacement cable for my Oculus Rift CV1 unit.I bought this unit on day one release directly from your website of which I purchased a 3rd sensor to improve the VR experience for me. I have invested into over 50 games (the majority from the Oculus store) and use VR for social activities/business as well as gaming.
I bought the headset in July/August 2017 and I understand it is out of warranty. My headset is in excellent condition as I always look after my hardware and the cable looks like new as all my usage has been seated with no tears or snags to the main cable (see attached files).
Recently the screens in my headset have been randomly disconnecting or displaying artefacts of which I diagnosed it was the cable that seems to have a micro break at the point where the cable drops from the headset (see attached image showing the kink in the cable).
I have tried to source a cable from the net but seems they are no longer being produced or there are opportunistic sellers on eBay selling them for an exorbitant price which is a huge shame on the piece of tech which would render my investment completely useless.
I am very happy to pay for a replacement and I have been proactive to extend the product life by posting a temporary fix in your forums here to help others:
Keith Mcknight commented · July 11, 2020 12:22
I’m just very concerned that I’m on borrowed time with the unit and it seems raising a support is my last hope.
Any feedback to the resolution would be greatly appreciated.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Keith McKnight.
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BryanG (Oculus Support)Jul 13, 2020, 12:54 AM PDT
Hi Keith,Thank you for reaching out to Oculus Support. I can certainly look into this for you.
I am sorry to hear that You are having issues with your Rift cable. Thanks for the pictures.
As Rift is a product that is no longer in market, our team is evaluating options for customers outside of warranty. For further information and updates, please keep an eye on our public communications channels.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
All the best,
Bryan
Oculus Support
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Hi Bryan,Yes, I would be grateful if you could look into this please.
As for keeping an eye on forums etc, is there an official statement from Facebook regarding this unique scenario?
Look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Keith McKnight
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CzaniahA (Oculus Support)
Jul 27, 2020, 5:18 AM PDT
Hi,Thank you for getting back to us.
As per your question, there's no official statement from
Facebook yet with regards to this kind of scenario. We are still keeping an eye and standby for updates regarding the Oculus Rift CV1 cable.If you have additional concerns or questions, please don’t hesitate reply back to us again.
Sincerely,
Czaniah
Oculus Support
