New bootloader lets you take the "Meta" out of the original Meta Quest
Remember the original Quest headset that Meta (then Oculus) trumpeted back in 2019? Meta seems to hope you don’t, since the company officially stopped supporting the wireless VR headset in 2023 to focus on the more popular Quests 2 and 3. However, tinkerers haven’t abandoned the hardware and recently released a new root-access exploit and bootloader that gives “developers and enthusiasts full control over Quest 1 hardware.”
The QuestStack project integrates previously known vulnerabilities in the Quest’s Android fastboot process into a privilege escalation chain that leads easily to full root access on the device. The bootloading process is now streamlined enough that it can be completed without any downloads through a web interface after connecting the headset to a PC.
With this exploit, the original Quest hardware can now be officially divorced from any reliance on Meta’s servers or services to be useful. That means enterprising Quest owners should be able to sideload apps without needing to register for a Meta Developer account and activating Developer Mode through Meta’s mobile app. It also means users should be able to go through the initial setup and login steps for a fresh Quest headset even if and when Meta decides to shut down the servers that currently support this process.
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/08/new-bootloader-lets-you-take-the-meta-out-of-the-original-meta-quest/Open linkView original on piefed.ca
14 replies
Hoping this can come to quest 2 and 3 soon enough. I haven't updated my quest 3 in years in anticipation for a bootloader exploit.
Figures this would happen after I already sold my Quest
Which I sold due to all the software updates that rendered my mostly FOSS setup unusable unless I streamed from PC.
Fuckin' finally!
I'm basically running mine without Meta since they mandated the switch from an Oculus to a Meta account.
I'm still pissed that they dropped support a month before adding the ability to use it while lying down to the Quest 2. All it basically does is allow you to set the head tilt to 0. That was so hard that it took them years to implement. My disabled ass could have really used it.
Oh nice, I still have my Oculus Quest. But will I be able to play the games that I bought from the store after this?
It's amazing how an appealing product can become so grotesque just by attaching Meta's name.
Glad there's a way to free them up.
who the hell wants VR
SteamOS when
I have been waiting for this day. Now I just need a free weekend to do it.
The original quest is a perfectly capable little VR headset if you're looking to tinker.
Got one for really cheap about a year or so before support was dropped. It still gets regular use. Although I've been waiting for the Frame for the more open system. Would be funny if this exploit enabled me to install SteamOS on it.
I wonder if this was a push from John Carmack? I faintly remember him talking about trying to do something like this with Facebook/Meta years ago.
he's been gone for so long I'd be amazed if it were.
Cool!
Neat, I was thinking of selling mine since fuck facebook. Would be amazing to run a custom OS on it