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
233 comments
-
Ben Kellermann
commented
I frequently show off my Rift to friends - some of whom have then purchased one. My cable may be the cause of my current issue of flashing black / static and I cannot find a replacement. If this post is true and they are still not being manufactured in an apparent attempt to get one to upgrade, I believe it's bad business practices and can no longer purchase nor recommend Oculus. Please advise if and when this policy changes. Thank YOu
-
Morris A. McCormick
commented
I will state that the companies policy on no replacements (or sale) of cables for Rift "out of warranty" is criminal. The product lasted less than 2 years and now the option given was to repurchase an entire unit (OF THE DISCONTINUED-UNSUPPORTED MODEL)from them at a discount. If this is the mindset, then I would agree with others it is time to move on to a new platform. There are many things wrong in "good ole' USA."
-
Jamin
commented
Also, I recommend everyone here join me and take to social media campaigns over Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, and any other networks you participate in. @mention Oculus and turn up the heat. Dont worry about what people say, just hit Oculus' reputation where it is public. If Oculus doesnt cave to its paying customer's pressure, then their online brand can be knocked a peg to represent their market ethics.
Suggested theme: CV1 is now Wireless! Catchy headline aint it?
-
Jamin
commented
Oculus did admittedly have pretty good support. But the situation with no replacement cables is not acceptable by any manufacturer standards. They unethically passed their poor business decisions to their customers. They should be sued in markets where there are protections for these sorts of shenanigans. For the most part, I'm a lost customer, but I still expect a cable regardless. Just might open up a sliver of loyalty.
-
Neil Stewart
commented
If there in't a replacement cable made available soon then I will not be purchasing future Oculus products. Its that simple.
-
Arnab Fan commented
I'm playing less these days. because I'm scared if my cable broke, my Vr gone.
-
Angie
commented
Same here... broken cable. I've purchased 3 of these previously... this is a hefty investment just thrown away: $400 for the initial headset purchase, $100 for extra sensor, $150 for multiple replacement cables when my teens twisted them to the point of not working anymore, and easily over $800 in vr game/experience purchases. I have a lot of money invested in this. And (when the cable was working) used it every single day, for hours. When my boys broke this last cable (about 3 months ago) I told them I wasn't buying them another... unless they saved up and contributed for the replacement... little did I know Oculus would stop supporting/stocking it! I'm baffled!!! Had I known I would have stocked up ahead of time!!! We had every intention of buying the Rift S and the Quest for Christmas (so we could be more mobile and more than one can play at a time)... but now I'm rethinking that idea. It was bad enough learning I'd have to repurchase games just to play them on the Quest. But to have zero alternative on the device we already have that's now rendered useless, It saddens me deeply. We've been very loyal customers to Oculus from nearly the beginning. I can't believe they aren't making this right... or, if they are planning on making it right... why aren't they communicating their intentions so we can have peace of mind that these are going to be available again (w/ an ETA). We're not asking for free equipment. We're paying good money for them. Don't leave us in the lurch. You're going to lose those who helped make you the success you are now. That's a pi$$ poor thank you.
-
Michael Claridge
commented
I was seriously thinking about a Rift S for my son this Christmas. Sorry not going to happen now.
-
John
commented
Absolutely atrocious state of affairs that people can be left with unusable headsets due to a lack of aftercare from a company of this size. The irony is its the very people who took the leap of faith with vr and who without their early adoption the rift would have been dead on arrival, now it appears oculus are more interested in ******* about with gimmicks like finger tracking on quest. Apparent they cant keep up with demand on the quest.
All very well but don't forget who got you to this point in your road map.
-
Anonymous
commented
This is what they sent to me:
I agree it sounds like a problem with the cable based on the troubleshooting you have completed.
Please allow us some time to investigate our options for you since you mentioned you are out of warranty.
We will get back to you as soon as we have more information.
-
Ty Webb
commented
It feels as though Oculus and Facebook just doesn't understand that there are only so many people that will be able to buy and utilize the new Rift S. A significant number of those people own the original Rift or a Vive so alienating those users is just baffling to me.
I'm only asking to pay you more money to get a shoddy overpriced cable for an expensive machine I bought 2 1/2 years ago. Is that honestly too much to ask?
-
Mark Chinsky
commented
This is insane! My cat chewed the cable 2 times, but never had a clue it would go permanently out of stock a month after the new model was released. This is a 600 item that is 2 years old that is rendered a paperweight because of a $50 cable (that is also designed poorly such that the stress of moving your head eventually breaks the connectors.
Please, please get stock of these made for sale. If that doesn't happen, I'm done with Oculus and moving to HTC Vive
-
Dee
commented
Like most on here, broken cable! after 2 years and no replacement available. My cable appears to have broken due to headband adjustments as there are 2 users on my Rift. My daughter now has a Go, but if i'd known about the poor support service from Oculus, I'd have bought her something else.
Very disappointing. -
Adam Murray
commented
I've only had my oculus rift for 2 years and the cable has died on me. I don't know what happened as i play seated but now the HDMI cable is dead and i haven't even reach the 3 to 5 year life time and i cant get a new £10 cable because it seems like oculus just want people to buy the new head sets. This is such a poor practice and if i do get a new head set it certainly wont be from oculus. Please oculus, restock this cheap cable for all of your early adopters.
-
wolfenburg
commented
I reached out to support and they told me I'm SOL. My cat chewed my cable so I now have a $400 paper weight I can't repair. This is a ****** business practice to force us into buying the new model. I'll never ever buy anothe Oculus product as long as I live.
-
Daniel
commented
Where can I buy a replacement cable for Oculus Rift CV1?
-
Daniela Kazarian commented
I just bought my first oculus (picked rift S), I was unsure because of this CV1 cable thing, I hope I didn't make a bad decision
-
SyntaxTerror
commented
OC 6 has come and gone and no word on this yet? Come on, Oculus!
-
Julian Aydar commented
Having spare parts for a product that still works fine, is a must! Not everyone need or want to change their old product. I know that it´s the way for selling products, but please, don´t do that!
-
Sven Vïking commented
HTC’s reputation has been badly damaged by customer support horror stories, and even Valve isn’t immune to it with some people unhappy about their response to controller issues etc, but Facebook is throwing away Oculus’ prior advantage in this area by ending support for an expensive product after such a short time. If it’s not dealt with it will take a long time to try to claw back that good reputation. There’ll constantly be some bitter ex-customer/s in discussions and comment threads warning people against your products, and others will hear those warnings and spread them. Look at the effect bad word of mouth had on WMR, deserved or not.