It requires some power to keep them on standby to detect movement. This slowly drains the battery.
Further, if you keep them somewhere they occasionally move (wobbly desk, case, in a vehicle etc) they will often wake up increasing drain even more.
If you want to avoid it you need to remove the batteries.
That's a bad design. I thought it was because I am using rechargeables.
I always pull the trigger if I grab them. Because that's what I would expect to be necessary to wake up the controller.
That's like saying a phone must be switched on in order to recognize the power on button is pressed.
The trigger can act as a 'power button' to power on the controllers when not in use. This is similar Playstation controllers that switches on only when the PS button is pressed..
You don't need the entire phone powered up to handle the power button. Something else needs to handle that anyway to allow holding to force shutdown when the rest of the phone is frozen, may as well use that extremely simple and low-power circuit to check for when you press the button.
Fine. Regardless which button it is, why can't this be done with the Quest's controllers to prevent battery drain? I don't buy the explanation that the controllers must ALWAYS be in standby mode.. There has to be a way to switch it off when not in use
Because it isn’t necessary? The batteries last a crazy long time already. I have fresh rechargeable batteries constantly ready to go when I need a swap, and that doesn’t occur very often.
It really seems like such a minor complaint. It’s not an invalid complaint mind you, but it’s so incredibly minor.
For a very long time now the majority of the technology you use has not got an off state, that you can put it into with a button. The controllers are no different. This is the same for the headset, even when you turn it off it's still on, waiting for the signal for it to boot up.
This has to be the stupidest shit ever lol. So everytime I put them down I need to put the plastic lid back on? Damn
I mean, just let me turn them on instead of just wearing them by keeping them always on and letting me burn tons of batteries
Dude, just buy some AA rechargeable batteries and a charger. I always have charged batteries ready to go and I originally bought these batteries years ago for my Xbox controllers.
They are insanely good value and should completely eliminate the bulk of your issue.
I know. I noticed the drain and thought this has to be the reason.
Quest 3 has a bigger drain than quest 2 from my experience. I'm fine with that because I have rechargables and always a second pair in my case. But users with normal AA batteries should care because they have to remember to take them out.
The decision to be on "standby" all the time is still pretty lame. One night after a party I took my Nintendo Wii out of a round of Wii Sports after years of not using it and I didn't have to change the batteries.
I let my Q3 controllers sit unused and untouched for about month while I was using the QPro controllers. When I went back to them, they had only lost about 10%.
I think the biggest issue is that people set them down in positions that result in the buttons getting pressed and they move them often, resulting in excess battery drain.
It’s in accordance with need. People would get frustrated and complain if the controllers took too long to turn on when trying to use the headset too, so they go with the solution that creates the least amount of friction.
I use rechargeable batteries and while the quest 3 has shorter life than quest 2 (I suspect the improved haptics may contribute to this) it still has a good life and the rechargeables inconsistency is more to blame with the shorter battery life in my experience.
I really wouldn't blame the quest 3 and would look into the batteries first.
I tend to use my quest 3 daily though.
How good does the Q3 perform with rechargables/the lower Voltage on them? Q2 really had tracking issues when Non-1,5V Batts were used (rechargeable batteries mostly have 1,2V instead)
So I have multiple kinds of batteries 1.5 which are imo unstable but I bought them for wmr as 1.2 disabled haptics.
1.2 have been the most reliable (Costco brand) and while I notice less accuracy in tracking than q2, maybe it's batteries?
To make things more complicated I have weights on my q2(for exercise) and don't on my q3 so I'm moving much faster and overall more accurately on q3 :)
Yes, i know. Thats why i asked a Q3 user who said hes using batteries that almost all are 1,2V - havent found ANY 1,5V rechargables yet) how well the Q3 performs with lower Voltages...
NiMH wont do 1.5, but if you want to test them out there are lithium AA rechargables on amazon that will maintain the 1.5v. A little on the expensive side as I think it was like $25 for a pack of 4. I am eyeing them but have not pulled the trigger.
I used to travel with a Quest 2 and would just remove the battery from the controllers when I was about to jump on a plane.
Now that I've been using Pro controllers with a Quest 3 unfortunately that's not an option. Suspecting I'll just leave the headset behind instead of dealing with charge issues (or repairing the original Quest 3 controllers). At least I don't think there's an option to to power the Pro controllers off.
The controllers aren't smart enough to know the headset is off on its own. If a button is pressed or if it detects motion it will wake up and try to search for the paired headset. If you store it somewhere unstable or move them around all the time this can happen.
Also basic chemistry - all batteries naturally discharge.
Basic chemistry my ass. Don't act smart.
I know that, but I have lot of devices with batteries in it and they don't discharge that quick even with the same batteries in them.
I’ve noticed this too, way more battery drain than the Q2. Also had to buy rechargeable batteries for them as I was going through an unnecessary amount of AAs
Wait, I just leave them in the box as I like I don't care about how they are placed. You mean I have to rest them face down because else it's like they're on? Kinda like quest 2 controllers neede to rest on the ring?
My pro controllers has recently discharged after a week or two of not using them. The headset was completely off 100% so were the controllers. Yet they didn’t turn on when I powered the headset and after manually powering them they were at only 5% of battery as if they were on the entire week or two of not using. This hasn’t happened before and I believe it could be a bug
Because they are not off, but only on standby and as soon as you move them a little or touch them they will try to connect to the headset. Some people report it on only one of their controller, some people don't have any issues.
This can probably be addressed by a software update (so you actually have to press a button to turn them on).
Have similar controller issues. After each VR session with the Q3 already powered Off, few days later when abt to start gaming again, the left controller had already drained on its own ,more battery power than the right one eg 40% more) albeit both were kept under same conditions.
Huh? How fast exactly are your controllers discharging? I’m playing almost daily since I bought quest3 in January and I had to change the batteries twice. Like this is insanely good compared to controllers of other HMD like Index or wmr.
Nice, I think I'm gonna get a knock-off version from some Chinese site but the problem stands, will they just get into an infinite loop of charge discharge?
Don’t bother with a knockoff Chinese charging station. Just get some cheap rechargeable AA batteries. You can get a package of them that even comes with a charger. Just make sure you have 4 of them so you can hot swap.
Only button that "klick" really turn something off, because they disconnect the battery from the circuit. All other buttons (even the power button on a phone) mean the device is "on" and is waiting for you to press it. Just put a Nintendo switch away for 6 months. It will be Deep discarched and won't turn on. A Nintendo DS will hold it's charge for years.
I my Q3 controllers may drain slightly faster than my Q2 ones, but I have not noticed any really problem. That said, my headset is not idle for weeks on end. I am still going about 3 weeks on a charge with my rechargeable batteries. While not ideal, a slight parasitic drain is pretty common on modern gadgets. This would be pretty far down on my list of things for Meta to focus on.
It must be a hardware or software version issue. I just bought the meta3 a couple of days ago. If I sit the controllers down they will go to sleep/idle even if the headset is on. I just picked them up with the headset off and when they sensed movement they came on for a few seconds and then went back off. If I press a button they will come on for a few seconds and then go back off.
I'm not sure why you are spamming everyone with this response.
I got my meta3 about 3 days ago. I've used it for about 15-20 hours during that time. Most of the time I just use keyboard and mouse through virtual desktop. The controllers still have their original batteries and they are still showing fully charged.
I just lay them on their side on my desk when I'm not using them. They are laying with the side that has the button up.
I use regular alkaline AA batteries and the controllers go to sleep properly. I got my Q3 at release and have only had to change the battery in the right controller one time because I play so much walkabout mini golf.
You should really just use normal batteries.
If you insist on rechargeable you should try the lithium ion 1.5v rechargeable ones.
My Quest 2 controllers did the same thing, its just a quirk of how they work I guess. With a good battery I'll still get a pretty long amount of time before changing though.
I have the same problem. I use my Q3 on average 4 hours per week and have to change my batteries every week. They usually discharge 10-20% between uses just sitting there for a day or two. It's crazy.
Make sure no buttons are being pressed. I've heard that depending on how you set them down you could be pressing in the grip, which would cause them to constantly stay on searching for a headset. I always set them down with grip facing up and I get long life with my rechargeables.
They don’t really ever turn off. If you don’t want the batteries to drain, take them out. But even a rechargeable battery sitting idle in a draw will discharge over time.
Invest in eneloops, I don’t play that often but need to charge them maybe once every 2 months.
Yay caps post from someone who doesn't have a clue how most electronics work today. If you haven't noticed, the controllers do not have a power switch. So the controllers are always in a standby mode. Still, most things today use a push button on/off instead of a switch and are constantly supplying a little bit of power.
Using rechargeable batteries compounds the frustration quite a bit because your batteries are already half dead at full charge. 1.2v vs 1.5v. And the controller does not have a high tolerance for low voltages. I feel like I am always delaying my play sessions to charge up the batteries first.
There is a possible answer, amazon has an number of brands of lithium based AA batteries that you can recharge. I have been eying them for my blink cameras (these guys do not tolerate voltage drops at all, so you have to use the expensive lithium AA batteries) but they require a costly upfront investment so im still on the fence.
I've not had any luck with rechargeable batteries for Quest controllers. I initially bought Eneloop AAs for my Quest 2 and they were complete garbage, tried those and Duracell rechargeables with my Quest 3 and they are still extremely poor - they only last 1-2 sessions before needing a recharge and they show "low battery" warnings almost immediately.
I absolutely hate buying disposable batteries for anything, but apparently they don't make decent AAs yet. Disposable batteries provide WAY more playtime.
Wait, I just leave them in the box as I like I don't care about how they are placed. You mean I have to rest them face down because else it's like they're on? Kinda like quest 2 controllers neede to rest on the ring?
It requires some power to keep them on standby to detect movement. This slowly drains the battery. Further, if you keep them somewhere they occasionally move (wobbly desk, case, in a vehicle etc) they will often wake up increasing drain even more. If you want to avoid it you need to remove the batteries.
This, or put a plastic tab between charging point and the battery. The one you most commonly find in electronics with included battery
That's a bad design. I thought it was because I am using rechargeables. I always pull the trigger if I grab them. Because that's what I would expect to be necessary to wake up the controller.
Pulling the trigger would still require the controller to be on to recognize the pull.
That's like saying a phone must be switched on in order to recognize the power on button is pressed. The trigger can act as a 'power button' to power on the controllers when not in use. This is similar Playstation controllers that switches on only when the PS button is pressed..
Well, a phone is kinda in "Standby" when turned off to receive the (digital) signal from the Power Button. Its not a mechanical switch...
You don't need the entire phone powered up to handle the power button. Something else needs to handle that anyway to allow holding to force shutdown when the rest of the phone is frozen, may as well use that extremely simple and low-power circuit to check for when you press the button.
Not quite. If you want to say use the meta button, perhaps. That would be equivalent.
Fine. Regardless which button it is, why can't this be done with the Quest's controllers to prevent battery drain? I don't buy the explanation that the controllers must ALWAYS be in standby mode.. There has to be a way to switch it off when not in use
Because it isn’t necessary? The batteries last a crazy long time already. I have fresh rechargeable batteries constantly ready to go when I need a swap, and that doesn’t occur very often. It really seems like such a minor complaint. It’s not an invalid complaint mind you, but it’s so incredibly minor.
For a very long time now the majority of the technology you use has not got an off state, that you can put it into with a button. The controllers are no different. This is the same for the headset, even when you turn it off it's still on, waiting for the signal for it to boot up.
This has to be the stupidest shit ever lol. So everytime I put them down I need to put the plastic lid back on? Damn I mean, just let me turn them on instead of just wearing them by keeping them always on and letting me burn tons of batteries
Dude, just buy some AA rechargeable batteries and a charger. I always have charged batteries ready to go and I originally bought these batteries years ago for my Xbox controllers. They are insanely good value and should completely eliminate the bulk of your issue.
Dude, You literally can't read! Wow
Explain. Because I assure you that isn’t the case.
I picked up the charging station and it's always charged now.
The rechargables themselves have some drain, even if they are not in a device.
I know. I noticed the drain and thought this has to be the reason. Quest 3 has a bigger drain than quest 2 from my experience. I'm fine with that because I have rechargables and always a second pair in my case. But users with normal AA batteries should care because they have to remember to take them out. The decision to be on "standby" all the time is still pretty lame. One night after a party I took my Nintendo Wii out of a round of Wii Sports after years of not using it and I didn't have to change the batteries.
I let my Q3 controllers sit unused and untouched for about month while I was using the QPro controllers. When I went back to them, they had only lost about 10%. I think the biggest issue is that people set them down in positions that result in the buttons getting pressed and they move them often, resulting in excess battery drain.
This was my experience. I hate to be "That guy", but OP's issue really does sound like user error.
thats. not a good idea dont store the bats in the controller or they can leak
It’s in accordance with need. People would get frustrated and complain if the controllers took too long to turn on when trying to use the headset too, so they go with the solution that creates the least amount of friction.
I use rechargeable batteries and while the quest 3 has shorter life than quest 2 (I suspect the improved haptics may contribute to this) it still has a good life and the rechargeables inconsistency is more to blame with the shorter battery life in my experience. I really wouldn't blame the quest 3 and would look into the batteries first. I tend to use my quest 3 daily though.
How good does the Q3 perform with rechargables/the lower Voltage on them? Q2 really had tracking issues when Non-1,5V Batts were used (rechargeable batteries mostly have 1,2V instead)
So I have multiple kinds of batteries 1.5 which are imo unstable but I bought them for wmr as 1.2 disabled haptics. 1.2 have been the most reliable (Costco brand) and while I notice less accuracy in tracking than q2, maybe it's batteries? To make things more complicated I have weights on my q2(for exercise) and don't on my q3 so I'm moving much faster and overall more accurately on q3 :)
Thanks buddy
You simply have to read the required spec and meet it. 1.2v is out of spec and it behaves like it.
Yes, i know. Thats why i asked a Q3 user who said hes using batteries that almost all are 1,2V - havent found ANY 1,5V rechargables yet) how well the Q3 performs with lower Voltages...
NiMH wont do 1.5, but if you want to test them out there are lithium AA rechargables on amazon that will maintain the 1.5v. A little on the expensive side as I think it was like $25 for a pack of 4. I am eyeing them but have not pulled the trigger.
Will check em out, thx buddy
I used to travel with a Quest 2 and would just remove the battery from the controllers when I was about to jump on a plane. Now that I've been using Pro controllers with a Quest 3 unfortunately that's not an option. Suspecting I'll just leave the headset behind instead of dealing with charge issues (or repairing the original Quest 3 controllers). At least I don't think there's an option to to power the Pro controllers off.
They're not in stand by, It's all off. You mean they stay in standby even if vr headset is off?
The controllers aren't smart enough to know the headset is off on its own. If a button is pressed or if it detects motion it will wake up and try to search for the paired headset. If you store it somewhere unstable or move them around all the time this can happen. Also basic chemistry - all batteries naturally discharge.
Basic chemistry my ass. Don't act smart. I know that, but I have lot of devices with batteries in it and they don't discharge that quick even with the same batteries in them.
I’ve noticed this too, way more battery drain than the Q2. Also had to buy rechargeable batteries for them as I was going through an unnecessary amount of AAs
Put them on a more solid surface. If you have them somewhere prone to vibrations or movement, they'll drain faster.
Move are in a case in my semi truck, vibrating down the interstate all day... no wonder I gotta recharge so much...
Wait, I just leave them in the box as I like I don't care about how they are placed. You mean I have to rest them face down because else it's like they're on? Kinda like quest 2 controllers neede to rest on the ring?
No, just don't have them on a flimsy desk, or on furniture where they will be bumped constantly.
Box was under my bed no one was bumping it in any way but they still were fully discharged
Perhaps one of the buttons was depressed the whole time. That would potentially make it drain faster.
My pro controllers has recently discharged after a week or two of not using them. The headset was completely off 100% so were the controllers. Yet they didn’t turn on when I powered the headset and after manually powering them they were at only 5% of battery as if they were on the entire week or two of not using. This hasn’t happened before and I believe it could be a bug
Because they are not off, but only on standby and as soon as you move them a little or touch them they will try to connect to the headset. Some people report it on only one of their controller, some people don't have any issues. This can probably be addressed by a software update (so you actually have to press a button to turn them on).
I always thought the battery draining fast for one controller over was due to dominate hand usage?
Have similar controller issues. After each VR session with the Q3 already powered Off, few days later when abt to start gaming again, the left controller had already drained on its own ,more battery power than the right one eg 40% more) albeit both were kept under same conditions.
Same here, left controllers is always almost done or totally drained
That might be a defect with your controller, especially if it is only happening to one of them consistently. Contact Meta support to find out
Strange. I have no such issues.
Huh? How fast exactly are your controllers discharging? I’m playing almost daily since I bought quest3 in January and I had to change the batteries twice. Like this is insanely good compared to controllers of other HMD like Index or wmr.
I dont have problem with normal AA batteries. They last very long even when playing daily.
Mine last for months
Same, always discharged when picking them up. Wtf?
I'd suggest a quest charging station. You put the controllers on it when you aren't using them and they charge.
how they charge? They have some kind of rechargable battery? As much as I know quest controllers runs on normal AA batteries
They come with a replacement side panel that has little metal connectors and a special rechargeable battery that contacts the panel.
Nice, I think I'm gonna get a knock-off version from some Chinese site but the problem stands, will they just get into an infinite loop of charge discharge?
They might but if you put them on the charger when you’re done it doesn’t matter.
Don’t bother with a knockoff Chinese charging station. Just get some cheap rechargeable AA batteries. You can get a package of them that even comes with a charger. Just make sure you have 4 of them so you can hot swap.
Then you have to swap batteries though. That's like 70% more effort.
Only button that "klick" really turn something off, because they disconnect the battery from the circuit. All other buttons (even the power button on a phone) mean the device is "on" and is waiting for you to press it. Just put a Nintendo switch away for 6 months. It will be Deep discarched and won't turn on. A Nintendo DS will hold it's charge for years.
I my Q3 controllers may drain slightly faster than my Q2 ones, but I have not noticed any really problem. That said, my headset is not idle for weeks on end. I am still going about 3 weeks on a charge with my rechargeable batteries. While not ideal, a slight parasitic drain is pretty common on modern gadgets. This would be pretty far down on my list of things for Meta to focus on.
Rechargeable batteries are the way
It must be a hardware or software version issue. I just bought the meta3 a couple of days ago. If I sit the controllers down they will go to sleep/idle even if the headset is on. I just picked them up with the headset off and when they sensed movement they came on for a few seconds and then went back off. If I press a button they will come on for a few seconds and then go back off.
Wait, I just leave them in the box as I like I don't care about how they are placed. You mean I have to rest them face down?
I'm not sure why you are spamming everyone with this response. I got my meta3 about 3 days ago. I've used it for about 15-20 hours during that time. Most of the time I just use keyboard and mouse through virtual desktop. The controllers still have their original batteries and they are still showing fully charged. I just lay them on their side on my desk when I'm not using them. They are laying with the side that has the button up.
I'm not sure why that bothers you. I already do what you said and it doesn't work.
It DOES work.
I use regular alkaline AA batteries and the controllers go to sleep properly. I got my Q3 at release and have only had to change the battery in the right controller one time because I play so much walkabout mini golf. You should really just use normal batteries. If you insist on rechargeable you should try the lithium ion 1.5v rechargeable ones.
They do discharge fast though. I use rechargeables and is no big deal.
I've noticed that too. It makes no sense.
My Quest 2 controllers did the same thing, its just a quirk of how they work I guess. With a good battery I'll still get a pretty long amount of time before changing though.
I don’t worry about it with rechargeable batteries. I always have a backup in the wings.
The controllers have an off switch? If not they have to keep listening for the headset to turn on which takes some power.
I have the same problem. I use my Q3 on average 4 hours per week and have to change my batteries every week. They usually discharge 10-20% between uses just sitting there for a day or two. It's crazy.
Make sure no buttons are being pressed. I've heard that depending on how you set them down you could be pressing in the grip, which would cause them to constantly stay on searching for a headset. I always set them down with grip facing up and I get long life with my rechargeables.
I've had the Quest 3 for two weeks now, played for over 20 hours and the Controllers are still on 4/4. No idea what you're doing wrong.
Mine are fine. The batteries stay good.
They don’t really ever turn off. If you don’t want the batteries to drain, take them out. But even a rechargeable battery sitting idle in a draw will discharge over time. Invest in eneloops, I don’t play that often but need to charge them maybe once every 2 months.
The fact that Quest controllers vibrate when HMD is close means that they are never off
Yay caps post from someone who doesn't have a clue how most electronics work today. If you haven't noticed, the controllers do not have a power switch. So the controllers are always in a standby mode. Still, most things today use a push button on/off instead of a switch and are constantly supplying a little bit of power. Using rechargeable batteries compounds the frustration quite a bit because your batteries are already half dead at full charge. 1.2v vs 1.5v. And the controller does not have a high tolerance for low voltages. I feel like I am always delaying my play sessions to charge up the batteries first. There is a possible answer, amazon has an number of brands of lithium based AA batteries that you can recharge. I have been eying them for my blink cameras (these guys do not tolerate voltage drops at all, so you have to use the expensive lithium AA batteries) but they require a costly upfront investment so im still on the fence.
I DON'T KNOW
They could do with a switch, I guess. More cost though, huh.
I've not had any luck with rechargeable batteries for Quest controllers. I initially bought Eneloop AAs for my Quest 2 and they were complete garbage, tried those and Duracell rechargeables with my Quest 3 and they are still extremely poor - they only last 1-2 sessions before needing a recharge and they show "low battery" warnings almost immediately. I absolutely hate buying disposable batteries for anything, but apparently they don't make decent AAs yet. Disposable batteries provide WAY more playtime.
There you go. Rechargable batteries. That's why. Normal batteries don't discharge that much when not in use.
Not true
Doesn't make any sense
It makes a lot of sense. Rechargable batteries lose charge when not in use a lot faster than regular batteries.
Because there’s no ring on the controller to stop buttons from being pressed
Wait, I just leave them in the box as I like I don't care about how they are placed. You mean I have to rest them face down because else it's like they're on? Kinda like quest 2 controllers neede to rest on the ring?