If you decide to use your Oculus Quest 2 outside and in direct sunlight, there is a good chance that you can damage it from the sunlight.
While there are a lot of factors that come into play as to whether or not damage will actually occur, just know the safest best is to simply not use your Oculus Quest 2 outdoors and in the sunlight.
Whatever your reason may be for deciding to use your Oculus Quest 2 in direct sunlight, time can play a big role in if damage happens or not.
The longer you spend with your Oculus Quest 2 in direct sunlight, the more risk there is for sun damage to occur. Think of a magnifying glass, direct sunlight, and a piece of paper. With enough time, a magnifying glass can burn a hole into a piece of paper if there is enough sunlight.
Your Oculus Quest 2 is the same. If the lenses of your Oculus Quest 2 are exposed to direct sunlight for an extended period of time, a hole can be burned in the headsets display. This will completely ruin your Oculus Quest 2 as without the display, you will be unable to see the virtual reality.
Keep in mind this does not just apply to the outdoors and direct sunlight when you are only outside.
Even if you are indoors, your Oculus Quest 2 can experience sun damage. If sunlight is entering your living space from a window, a sunlight, an open door, or any other sort of area where exposure can occur, the same damage as outdoors can absolutely happen.
To avoid this from happening, keep your Oculus Quest 2 in something such as a bag that offers protection from the sun when you are not using it and do not use it in areas of your living space where sunlight is constant and strong.
Oculus Quest 2 Yellow Spots
You may notice some yellow spots when using your Oculus Quest 2. These yellow spots can be in a variety of different places including anywhere you look on while having your Oculus Quest 2 lens on as well as on the display directly.
If you are noticing these yellow spots, it is most likely due to sun damage to your Oculus Quest 2. These yellow spots may look like some liquid has seeped into your display or look like a pixel has gone out in your lens.
Also, these spots do not have to be bright yellow. They may have tones of brown, yellow, orange, or any thing else that may seem a little yellow to you.
Some spots may also appear incredibly dark, but be surrounded by a yellow ring or have a yellow ring inside of the dark spot.
These spots may also be visible through just one side of your lens, or even both. However they are appearing, yellow posts are a serious indication that your Oculus Quest 2 has experienced sun damage.
Can You Use Oculus Quest 2 in the Sun?
While there are certain scenarios where you can use your Oculus Quest 2 in the sun, your best course of action to avoid any unneeded damage is to simply just not use it in the sunlight.
However, if it is absolutely unavoidable for you to use your Oculus Quest 2 in the sun, there are some ways to avoid sun damage. If you are simply just moving your Oculus Quest 2, but you have to move it in areas where there is sunlight, keep your Oculus Quest 2 in a protective bag or wrap it in something that will lessen the effects of the sun.
If you are actually using your Oculus Quest 2 outdoors, try to use it in areas where you have cloud coverage as this will help lessen direct sunlight exposure.
If the conditions outside are incredibly hot, sunny, and no cloud coverage, try to avoid using your Oculus Quest 2 as much as possible.
If it is hot and only semi-sunny with plenty of cloud coverage available, use your Oculus Quest 2 in areas that are shaded by the clouds where it is also a little cooler and your device is not in as much direct exposure.
Also, if it is cooler outside and the sky is pretty much completely covered by clouds so there is little to no direct sunlight, this is the safest conditions to use your Oculus Quest 2, but remember, sunlight can easily penetrate these clouds so you are still absolutely risking sun damage even if the sun is hidden.
Additionally, time will play a huge role in if your Oculus Quest 2 gets any sun damage or not.
Just a few minutes in incredibly sunny conditions still has a chance of ruining your Oculus Quest 2, but a couple moments of sunlight exposure is not nearly as dangerous as longer amounts of time spent using it in direct sunlight.
The less time you decide to use your Oculus Quest 2 outdoors, the less likely you are to have any sun damage occur to it.
How Do I Know If My Oculus Quest 2 Has Sun Damage?
There are a couple of different signs your Oculus Quest 2 might be showing if it has experienced any sun damage. Remember, even if you have not taken your Oculus Quest 2 outside, sun damage can still easily occur so keep that in mind if you are having any issues with your Oculus Quest 2.
One of those is having blurry or foggy lenses. This can be a very faint sign where you are questioning if it is really blurry and foggy or not or can be to the point where you can barely even see out of your lenses.
If you are having this issue, the first thing you should do is clean off your lenses. Once you have deep cleaned your Oculus Quest 2 lenses with a microfiber cloth, put your headset on and see if this has gotten rid of the foggy or blurry issue you were experiencing earlier with your Oculus Quest 2 lenses.
If the blurriness or fogginess is gone, this means that the symptom is not a product of sun damage. However, if these issues still exist, it can easily have been caused by sun damage to your Oculus Quest 2.
Some other symptoms of sun damage to your Oculus Quest 2 are burn marks and yellow spots. Sun damage will create burn marks and yellow spots, so these are also some very good signs that your Oculus Quest 2 has experienced sun damage of some kind.
Oculus Quest 2 Burn Mark
Another way that you can easily tell if your Oculus Quest 2 has been exposed to the sun and received sun damage as a result of it is by seeing burn marks. These burn marks will present themselves as dark spots surrounded by a light circle.
Unlike with the yellow spots, burn marks are not seen through the display but will be on the lens or other devices that make up the Oculus Quest 2.
However, the burn marks will be most common directly on the lens.
Thinking back to the magnifying glass, sunlight, and a piece of paper, these burn marks occurred because there was too much sunlight on the area that has the mark. The sun literally burned these marks onto your Oculus Quest 2.
Oculus Quest 2 Sun Damage Repair
In almost all cases of sun damage to the Oculus Quest 2, there is nothing that can be done to fix your device and the only option available to you is to repair your Oculus Quest 2. However, sun damage is usually done to the display itself and that’s it.
With that, this means that the damage has only affected the display instead of the entire Oculus Quest 2. Sadly, replacing only the display is not an option, In order to undo all of the sun damage that has occurred, you have to replace your entire Oculus Quest 2.
However, for example, if you are only seeing a little yellow spot in one area of your lens and can use your Oculus Quest 2 without annoyance from this yellow spot, you do not necessarily have to buy a replacement device and can simply continue to use your current Oculus Quest 2, you will just have to work around the little yellow dot.
However, sometimes these dots can take up an entire half of a screen or burn marks that may make it impossible to see various aspects of the virtual reality being displayed to you.
In these instances, continuing to use your current Oculus Quest 2 may be almost impossible as you are unable to properly see anything or play anything on your device.
It is when this happens that you will need to entirely replace your Oculus Quest 2 as there are no fixes to sun damage and you are unable to work around the visible damage.
How to Protect Oculus Quest 2 From Sun Damage?
The easiest way to protect your Oculus Quest 2 from sun damage of any kind is to never use it outdoors and never use it inside where there are extended periods of sunlight entering the area.
Additionally, if you are moving your Oculus Quest 2 and have to go through areas of sunlight or outside while moving it, you can get the Oculus travel case (view on Amazon).
To find this case from Oculus, simply search Oculus Quest 2 Travel Case into google or any other search engine. You will now be met with a series of different websites that sell the Oculus Quest 2 Travel Case as well as some other brands that offer a similar case to protect your Oculus Quest 2.
If you decide to shop for it in person, once you get to the store, head on over to the technology department and start your search. If you are struggling to find it, find a worker and they will be able to direct towards the Oculus Quest 2 Travel Case by Oculus.
You can also buy one online at your local store and then go to the store and pick it up in person. This is a very convenient option if you do not want to shop in store but need it today.
Additionally, if you do not want to spend $50 but are in need of a case that protects your Oculus Quest 2 from sun damage, there are also off brand options not made by Oculus that range from $20-$40, so they are offered for a little bit cheaper than the one made by Oculus.
You can shop for these off brand options that same way as for the Oculus Quest 2 Travel Case by Oculus. Whether it be online, going in person, or buying it through curb side pickup, there are plenty of ways to purchase one that will be convenient for you.
If you are shopping in person and are struggling to locate a travel case, workers at the store you are shopping at will be able to show you a range of options that will protect your Oculus Quest 2 from sun damage.
While the best protection for your Oculus Quest 2 from sun damage is to just never put it into sunlight, sometimes this is unavoidable but thankfully you can find protection by purchasing a travel case directly from Oculus or from another brand.
Does Oculus Cover Sun Damage?
There are quite a few damages that can happen to your Oculus Quest 2 that will be covered by Oculus if they occur. These damages are essentially anything that is not your fault and could not be avoided.
There may have been a manufacturing error or the display just randomly quit on you with no warning signs. In these instances, you will typically have to send your Oculus Quest 2 into Oculus so they can determine the cause of the issue.
Once it is proven that you were not at fault for whatever happened to your Oculus Quest 2, Oculus will cover it and send you a replacement device. However, sun damage is avoidable and not Oculus’s fault.
This means that Oculus will not cover your sun damage and replace your Oculus Quest 2. Since sun damage typically only is the user’s fault, there is no reason they should be covering it.
Even if you had no clue that leaving it in your living room where the sun penetrated through a window and caused the damage, it is still not Oculus’s fault. Due to this, sun damage will not be covered by Oculus.
Oculus Quest 2 Sun Damage Warranty
If you purchased a warranty on your Oculus Quest 2, you may be wondering if the warranty you purchased covers sun damage. First off, there are two different types of warranty you could have purchased when you first bought your Oculus Quest 2.
The first is a two year warranty that costs $32.42 and has a $25 deductible. The other is a three year warranty for $44.93 and has a deductible of $25.
Both of these warranties are accident proof and will protect your Oculus Quest 2 with repairs or replacements for a majority of damages if they happen within the time frame of your warranty, but sadly, both of these warranties will not cover you if you experience sun damage to your Oculus Quest 2.
Since sun damage is not a fault of the manufacturer and is fairly easy to avoid, warranty does not cover it. However, there have been some cases of Oculus users who have gotten a one time exception from Oculus if they did purchase one of these warranties.
This means that if you have purchased either of these warranties, there is no harm in reaching out to Oculus directly and seeing if you could also get one of these one time exceptions where Oculus will either fix or replace your Oculus Quest 2 if you have purchase a warranty and are within the time frame as well of said warranty.
Replace Display Oculus Quest 2
Your Oculus Quest might be damaged beyond repair if it has experienced too much sun damage. Buying a new Oculus Quest 2 (view on Amazon) might be your only option to getting your Oculus Quest 2 to work and reverting the damage that has been done.
One way you can get one is to reach out to Oculus directly and ask for a replacement Oculus Quest.
There is a potential that Oculus will offer to replace yours for free and send you your new Oculus Quest 2 if you were not at fault for the damage caused, but this can take potentially up to a few weeks for them to hear your problem and send you a new one.
Additionally, if you ever purchased some sort of warranty or insurance on your Oculus Quest 2, your insurance or warranty may cover the replacement Oculus Quest 2 and you can get a new one this way as well.
Just look into the details of the insurance or warranty that you purchased to see if you are still in the time frame of your warranty or insurance, and if you are, if it covers any sun damage to your Oculus Quest 2.
You can also go and buy one yourself to get your new Oculus Quest 2 in a much faster way. If you want to shop in person, head on over to any store similar to Best Buy, GameStop, or even Target.
Once you get there, go to the technology department and locate a new Oculus Quest 2. If you are struggling to find this Oculus Quest 2, ask the nearest worker to help you.
You can also find one on Amazon, Ebay, or any other online store and get it shipped to your house. Oculus Quest 2 is around $400 but can also be cheaper and a little more expensive depending on the version and storage you decide to get, so you should be able to find one that fits your budget if you do not want to wait for Oculus to send you your Oculus Quest 2.