Facebook Halts Oculus Quest 2 VR Sales As Skin Irritation Worsens

The Quest may have been a big leap for VR gaming. But its by no means perfect. But some flaws are greater than others, and this one is bad enough to merit halting sales.

Facebook, the company that owns Oculus and the Quest, announced on Tuesday that they will be temporarily halting sales of the Oculus Quest 2 standalone VR headset. This follows several reported instances of negative skin reactions from the headsets foam face plate.

While uncommon, some instances of facial skin irritation has caused the users face to puff up and force their eyes closed. So to comply with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Facebook is changing the production process for their foam face covers and halting sales of headsets until this can be resolved.

Future models will have silicone covers to place over the foam. Existing Quest 2 owners can request a silicone cover by contacting Facebook. This will likely also be the case with already produced Quest 2 models current on store shelves, but this cannot be confirmed.

Facebook has known about the issue for a while now. Only lately, as the problem continues to get worse, are they deciding on taking a more severe response to it. For what it's worth, a study they did in December indicated that it is NOT an allergic reaction. And as such, it shouldnt be capable of evolving into something life-threatening.

If you have an Oculus Quest 2, and dont mind the hassle of using your Facebook account to use it, then we recommend requesting a silicone cover. More information about how you can do that can be found here, on the Oculus Website.