Fury after Quest 3 Elite Strap sales paused as fans blast “shocking” quality

The VR community reacts with anger as sales of the Elite Strap for the Meta Quest 3 are paused after faults were found with the battery firmware.

Meta has paused sales of its Elite Strap with Battery for the Meta Quest 3 after widespread reports of charging faults that cause the battery to fail. Customers and the wider VR community have reacted with anger that the $130 accessory is facing these problems, especially since manufacturing problems also afflicted the Quest 2 Elite Strap.

Reports of problems started trickling in of a problem with the Elite Strap with Battery in mid-November, shortly after the Elite Strap went on sale. The accessory is meant to provide better ergonomics and an extra two hours of play compared to the default strap, but many users reported that the battery refused to charge, with some users finding that the battery failed after only a few days of use.

Meta has not issued a recall

As reported by Road to VR, Meta initially said that simply replacing the units with new ones may not resolve the issue, indicating a deeper problem with either the hardware or firmware. Meta has not issued a recall and is instead said to be working with retail partners to stock new units which should have eliminated the fault.

Amazon

Sales of the Elite Strap with Battery have now been officially paused, and retailers such as Target and Best Buy have removed listings for the accessory, some reports indicate that units are being pulled from physical store shelves.

The VR community has taken to Reddit to vent their feelings, with one user saying: “It’s shocking they messed up the elite strap again.” Others expressed disbelief that Meta does not seem to have improved Quality Control since the issues with the Quest 2 Elite Strap: “You would think they would have spent some money on quality control after the Quest 2 Elite strap debacle. Nope.”

Other users went through more than one strap trying to get one that wasn’t faulty: “My first one died in a few days and this current one has lasted a few weeks.” Some indicated they were planning on returning their Elite Strap and getting a third-party alternative instead of waiting for a replacement from Meta.