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/for_those_who_need_a_replacement_oculus_rift/
and here - https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/cyfsk3/rift_cable_no_longer_for_sale_i_need_a/
phoenixdigital
shared this idea
268 comments
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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.
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Teigue
commented
I have 2 rift CV1, bought 1rst in 2016 (end of year) & the 2nd in 2017. I play echo arena a lot & it twists cable, so having headsets for 3 years I broke 3 cables, cable usually lasts about 8-12 months.
I contacted support as there are no cables on the market & it took me 2 months & couples of weeks to make them resend me a replacement cable, they considered my cable broken in about 2-3 weeks after endless discussions & providing all logs, photos etc. But then just took really long pause for 1.5 months, so I assumed they just had no these cables. But I finally got them. I hope they will restock them, as I have rift S & Quest as well & I almost never use rift S as it feels cheap & display grid breaks immersion (not SDE but the pixel arragement & colors) , Quest is good, but is too front heavier (even with DAS & vrcover) I use it often, but CV1 was the best for me.
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Bernie Meyers commented
Enjoyed my Oculus Rift until the cable got a short and no longer displays video. It only lasted a year. I can't believe support said I should buy a new Rift S or Quest. You expect better support for an expensive product that is less than a year old.
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Carmen
commented
Cable or I delete Facebook and never buy oculus **** again.
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Angery Father
commented
**** Turpin wore a mask. I feel totally cheated by their choice to discontinue the cable so early after ceasing sales. My rift has loads of life left in it if it was not for the cable. Surely they can see the profit they could still make from it. Not everyone has the spare money laying around to get a new HMD whenever a new one is released. Its an out rage. I will never buy a product from them again if this is the end of the matter.
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F L
commented
No replacement cables? Fine, I'll simply throw it out and buy vive