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/

253 comments
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John Heys commented
The Rift S cable is far too rigid, and badly kinks, I have been waiting weeks to have a replacement sent (at £79) and get excuses that it is difficult to post to Jersey!
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Jay commented
It seem very unreasonable that the 1 weak link the the Oclus Rift system, the cable, is the 1 thing they done sell anymore. I will not replace my VR system with a new system from the same company that doesn't support its product.
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Nate Fagan commented
Really disappointed that I have to turn to other options for VR now that my CV1 headset cable is twisted to the point where all I can see are green dots constantly and a TV fuzz appearing every few minutes. I genuinely enjoy my CV1 and want to use it longer than a year and a half but I suppose I don't have much of a choice. I'd understand not selling the headset itself anymore but I should have the ability to replace a part for it if it's easy to misuse and render unusable over time. Time to save up for a Steam Index.
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Ben commented
Cable died 1 year after I purchased the rift. After a back and forth with customer service was told my device is out of warranty and therefore no cable available for me. Facebook is really the worst! So glad I left Facebook, they just don't care about about their customers.
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CASEY SHAW commented
Bought a lightly used CV1 headset, first time with VR and had a blast! Bought a bunch of games from Oculus store. Cat chews cord in less then a month, I look for replacement, discover headset no longer supported. Search for headset replacement cable to no avail, Never buys anything Oculus related ever again.
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Steve Ruthen commented
I feel like I've been conned.
Being sold a product by a company that knows or doesn't seem to care that I will not be able to use if a cable breaks. I don't get how this is legal? I feel like they have stolen my hard earned money for their own benefit.
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Jeremy G commented
Had gotten my 8-year-old son in December. The cable broke. No one will send a replacement. I offered $100 for it. Still got no where. Wants us to buy a newer model.
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kobs commented
Up to yesterday my rift was working fine and all of a sudden (from evening to morning) my oculus app doesn't even start on my PC I think Oculus just cut me off, there's absolutely no reason why my pc would not start the oculus app but just for laughs I reloaded windows, no change. Now i'm stuck with a rift paperweight and a ticket that probably will not be answered. We all should've known better than to put our money in Facebook
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Barthcore VR commented
Own the rift since 2017. Now that cable died(runs until randomly one screen gets black). So my Rift is simply useless. Hating myself for buying the Quest last year. I mean I love Oculus and put the last few years my whole Entertainment budget in VR, especially Oculus, but ending up with no working PCVR? And because of a f#*&n cable?? Seriously??? That's a little bit weak for a world concern like Facebook. I am a Shooter player, so "inside out tracking Headsets" are not relevant to me. Seems like it's time for me to sell my Quest, burn my Rift and turn to PIMAX...
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Justen Burrhus commented
These are the kinds of decisions that kill brands slowly. Everyone who finds out that they just stopped making the cable 3 months after they sold off the last of the supply knows it's a **** deal. I'm already looking at VIVE as my next piece since a $50 cable has laid me low. Don't suppor this brand.
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Anonymous commented
I have had mine for just over two years I opened a ticket and have yet to have a response. I bought a 3rd sensor 2 months ago and now since my cable is no longer working I have wasted my money. How can they still sell assesories and not a simple cable I feel absolutely conned by this and truly disappointed.
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Anonymous commented
How can oculus not offer a replacement cable........ when the cable brakes so easy. Thats like selling a vehicle then not selling gas or oil. Do any of the other VRs back their products ?
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Anonymous commented
my $500 oculus rift is worthless without a cv1 cable. Anyone know where i can find one for less than $250
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Anonymous commented
Agreed. The lack of spares so soon after stopping production of the CV1, will convince me to stay away from Oculus next time.
If they do not review this and start selling the old headset cable, headphone parts etc, I will look elsewhere for my next VR set.
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Matthew Horoszowski commented
Been an Oculus user since the Dev Kit 1, had the Kit 2 and now the Rift... but it looks like my next purchase will have to go to Vive. That you can't purchase replacement parts less than one year after the product is discontinued, for a product in the hundred of dollars range, is just unacceptable.
What you doing Oculus?!?
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Robert Kehoe commented
No way I’d buy Oculus again with this kind of support. Terrible decision not to sell spare parts. No support = no customers.
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Shaun Elliott commented
Not selling a replacement cable is just bad business. I won't but another Oculus product until this is resolved, but, I may just buy a Vive
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Michael Oretsky commented
Really lame that you can't support the original and the first supporters of Oculus Rift. We are the ones who introduced it to our friends and spread the word. How quickly you forget about the loyal customers who have been using your product for years now. The replacement headset cable I bought from Oculus.com just this past August 2019 is already needing to be replaced and you won't provide them to users like us. So lame. You make me want to buy a Vive and campaign about how badly your customer care has become. If you can't make a $50 cable last 4 months you sure as **** should keep a healthy supply of them. Otherwise you're that tech company that can neither make quality goods or make a happy consumer.
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DIssappointment commented
Complete utter disappointment in this brand and their business practices. You shun your original funding backers to create new headsets and stop production of accessories because generation 1 customers are no longer beneficial. On top of the fact that Oculus didn't release the schematics for 3rd parties to create a viable working option and replacement. In their mind I guess 3 1/2 years was enough (from Oculus cv1 release date) for a brand NEW market that people are still slowly getting into and still haven't fully delved into or have been convinced until this day. If this isn't resolved somehow, I will never be purchasing or recommending ANY Oculus product ever again...
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Tervos commented
Please make them available again. We need them to be.