How to Setup Meta Quest Link: Quest to PC Tutorial

The Meta Quest Link feature lets the Meta Quest function as a PC VR headset. You can play Steam VR and Oculus Rift S games on your Quest headset. In this guide, I will show you how to setup Meta Quest Link with the Meta Quest step by step.

Oculus Link has been renamed to Meta Quest Link and they are the exact same thing. This guide works on all Meta Quest headsets.

I’ll also go over the advantages of connecting your Meta Quest VR headset to your PC

I review all those details and other Meta Quest Link tips and tricks below.

If you have trouble setting up Meta Quest Link, comment at the bottom of this guide, and I can help you.

If you want to use Meta Quest Link without a wired connection, Meta also has Air Link, a wireless Virtual Desktop alternative. Click here to read that tutorial guide after this one (it will open in a new tab).

RELATED: Click here to check out the best Meta Quest games.

Meta Quest Link Requirements 

A VR-ready PC

Not all PCs are compatible with the Meta Quest Link, even if they are “VR Ready” PCs. To connect your Meta Quest headset to your PC, you’ll need the following computer specs:

• Windows 10
• At least 8 GB of RAM
• A spare USB 3.0 port
• A CPU for VR that is equivalent to or greater than the Intel i5-4590 or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
• A graphics card for VR great than the NVidia GeForce 1080.

Check out this list of gaming PCs for VR here. Any of these can run Meta Quest Link and any PC VR games you want!

Meta Quest Link Cable

The original requirement for the Meta Quest Link cable was a USB 3.0 one that met the following requirements:

• Length: 5-Meter Headset Cable
• Type: Full-featured USB active optical cable. USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C.
• Signal Requirements: USB 3.2 Gen 1 Signaling 5 Gbps USB 2
• Infrared Signal Loss Tolerances: <500mV VBUS @ 3000mA; <250mV GND @ 3000mA
• Power Supply: 3A
• Bandwidth: 5 Gbps
• Support for SuperSpeed USB ports

Meta sells an official Meta Quest Link cable on its website so that there is no confusion.

If your Oculus PC software is up to date, it now allows Meta Quest Link to work with USB 2.0 cables. This includes the charging cable that comes with the Quest. That means you don’t have to buy any additional hardware to make this work – other than the gaming PC!

A recent update by Meta now allows a USB-C to USB-C or USB-C to USB-A 2.0 cable. The C-to-C version is what comes with the Meta Quest 1 for charging.

The Meta Quest only comes with a 1-meter charging cable, so it cannot be used for Link play.

You can buy the official and third-party Meta Quest Link cable directly from Amazon below.

Click here to check out 25 other top Meta Quest 2 accessories.

Oculus Home

Oculus Home is the PC software that lets you search, download, and play PC VR games. It’s also required to complete the Meta Quest Link setup on your Meta Quest.

You can also play Steam VR games on your Meta Quest, which can be set up after you have Link ready to go. Once everything is set up, you can play Oculus Rift S games on your Meta Quest using your computer. You can also download new games to your Home via the Meta app on your phone.

11.0 Firmware

Your Meta Quest firmware must be on version 11.0 or higher to support and setup Meta Quest Link. Since the firmware version is up to version 70 or higher, this shouldn’t be a problem for most players. If you don’t like to update your firmware, you’ll want to ensure before you follow the Meta Quest Link setup below.

You can set up Meta Quest Link with your Meta Quest if you meet the minimum requirements! Quest 2 owners will be good to go right out of the box.

Let’s show you how to set things up.

Under our setup guide, learn more about the Meta Quest Link cable and check out common troubleshooting questions and answers.

What is Meta Quest Link?

Users love the Meta Quest headset because it is completely wireless. It runs off of an internal processor and you can take it on the go wherever you want.

However, the internal Snapdragon processor is not nearly as strong as a VR gaming PC. Tests show that Quest 1 is almost 5 times less powerful than a typical gaming PC, and Quest 2 is 50% less powerful.

Setting up Meta Quest Link allows you to run all of those awesome PC virtual reality games again. You use your Quest display and controllers, but the games are powered by your PC.

Plus, the selection of VR games available for PC in the Oculus Home store or Steam VR is far greater than the Quest. So by setting up Meta Quest Link, you’ve just multiplied the number of games to check out. Like Roblox VR or any of the awesome multiplayer VR games we’ve featured before.

Click here to see PCVR game deals such as Skyrim VR, No Man’s Sky, and more.

With the basics out of the way, let’s show you how to setup Meta Quest Link.

How To Setup Meta Quest Link With The Meta Quest

And that’s it! You’ve setup Meta Quest Link with the Meta Quest and are ready to start playing PCVR games through your Quest VR headset. You can check out and download games to your PC via your computer or the Oculus app.

Below is some extra information for you to check out about the Meta Quest Link cable. Underneath that, I have some troubleshooting tips and help.

USB 2.0 vs 3.0

The obvious question is whether you have any performance drop when you use a USB 2.0 cable for Meta Quest Link instead of a 3.0. Data transfer in a USB cable is dependent on two main factors:

Speed

USB 2.0 supports a maximum transfer speed of 480mbps, while USB 3.0 supports 5gbps. While this sounds like a large difference, Meta Quest only requires a recommended 150mbps of data transfer.

So for the speed at which data transmits to and from the gaming PC to the VR headsets, either standard is fine.

Duplex

USB 2.0 cables are half duplex. Data can only ever transmit in one direction at a time. This means from the host (gaming PC) to the slave (Meta Quest) or vice versa. Each side must wait until they’ve received data before sending data in return.

This sounds complicated, but it happens millions of times per second.

USB 3.0 cables are full duplex. This means that your gaming PC and Meta Quest can transmit data to each other simultaneously.

Meta Quest Link 3.0 cables use full duplex communications. This means that data is sent from your headset controller to the PC while your PCVR video is fed to the headset simultaneously. Since 2.0 cables can’t do this, you can expect additional latency while playing. 

Meta Quest Link 3.0 cables use full duplex communications. This means that data is sent from your headset controller to the PC while your PCVR video is fed to the headset simultaneously. Since 2.0 cables can’t do this, you can expect some additional latency while playing. 

Meta Quest Link Tips

Optimize Meta Quest Link with these tips and tricks to let you play games with less latency and buffer.

Use USB 3.0

I just went through all the reasons that USB 3.0 is better. Another tip for using it is that USB 3.0 will enable 80 Hz and 90 Hz refresh rates. On USB 2.0, you will be forced to a maximum of 72 Hz.

You also need to ensure that you are plugging into a USB 3.0 port on your computer, or else your cable will be for nothing.

Use a new Nvidia RTX Graphic Card

Your video signal through the Meta Quest Link cable is compressed by your graphics card in your PC. Nvidia RTX cards (30-series in 2020 and 40-series in 2022) have better video encoding features than AMD or older Nvidia cards. To make your framerate smoother, check out our new Nvidia RTX GPU guide here and pick one up today.

Let us know if you have any other ways to set up Meta Quest Link the best.

Meta Quest Link Alternative

The main alternative to Meta Quest Link is Virtual Desktop. VD for the Meta Quest has an extra mod via SideQuest that lets you play PCVR games wirelessly on your Quest.

To get setup, you simply have to install Virtual Desktop, the VD mod from SideQuest, and configure a wireless network connection from your computer to your Quest. If you set things up right, you can play wirelessly with little or no latency. Even the Meta touch controllers work seamlessly with VD too.

I have a full setup guide for Virtual Desktop on the Meta Quest, which goes through everything!

Meta Quest Link Not Working: FAQs 

If you are having trouble setting up Meta Quest Link, we’ve compiled some questions and answers to some of the most popular questions on the internet.

Why does my Quest connect to my PC and then quickly crash?

Most often, this is because of incompatible specs on your gaming PC. To check this:

1. Go to your PC or laptop’s spec page and look up the GPU, CPU, Memory, operating system, and USB ports.
2. Compare these specs against the minimum requirements I stated above. 
3. Check your GPU against Meta’s official table. If your GPU is not currently supported, you may be able to setup Meta Quest Link with your device but is more likely to have performance issues with Meta Quest Link.

My computer won’t recognize Meta Quest Link when it’s connected.

Ensure your operating system is up to date on your PC and Quest. Then, restart your computer and see if that fixes things.

I can’t see where to select the Meta Quest in the Oculus PC software.

If you can’t see the option to add the Quest, log out of the PC software and log back in. Also, make sure you have the latest version installed.

I can’t see the “Enable Link” option on the Meta Quest.

If you can’t see the “Enable Link” option under Settings on your Meta Quest, turn the headset off completely and restart.

My Height is Incorrect When Using Meta Quest Link

Some users report that their height is calibrated incorrectly while using Meta Quest Link. To fix this issue, you need to unplug your Link cable and plug it back in.

Doing this will pass the room size information between the headset and the Oculus Home software again.

Can you setup Meta Quest Link with a Mac?

The Oculus PC software is only available for Windows. This means that you can’t get Meta Quest Link working with Mac natively.

However, some users have reported using Bootcamp to install a virtual version of Windows on their Mac. Then, you can install the Oculus software in Bootcamp and run Meta Quest Link if your Mac specs are good enough.

Were you able to setup Meta Quest Link with your Meta Quest? If you have any questions, let us know below!