Widespread reports of an error preventing users from launching the Oculus software that powers the headset began appearing earlier yesterday. The company has today released a repair tool that patches the error in lieu of an automatic update.
Update (03/08/18): Oculus has pushed out a patch to the critical error first reported yesterday. You can find the tool here.
Downloading and running the exe. file results in a repair of the Oculus runtime. No game data or game files are touched during this process. Here’s a walkthrough of how to install the patch in case you have any doubts.
Oculus says manually updating the software is only necessary if you’re unable to start the Oculus desktop app; if you aren’t seeing an error, the system will update itself to the new version automatically. To boot, the company is also throwing a $15 Oculus Store credit (or currency equivalent) to people impacted by this issue , payable to anyone who played on Rift after February 1st, 2018. The credit will be added to user accounts automatically within the next 7 days.
The original article detailing the issue follows below.
Original article (3/7/18): There’s a good chance that if you try to fire up your Rift right now, none of your VR games will work correctly, or you’ll receive this error outright:
Reports of the error are widespread. Of the two different Oculus Rifts (on different systems) that we’ve tried here at Road to VR, neither are working due to the error. We took a quick poll of our Twitter followers and have yet to hear from a single user presently able to launch and play a Rift experience.
Oculus officially acknowledged the issue earlier today on their forums, saying that they are “actively investigating.” A recent update to that thread details the cause of the problem, but the company is still working on a fix:
Update
This is an issue with our software certification that we’re still actively working on. For security, we use a certificate to ensure that the software you receive actually comes from Oculus. That certificate has expired, and we’re looking at a few different ways to resolve the issue. We’ll update you with the latest info as available. We recommend you wait until we provide an official fix. Thanks for your patience.Update #2:
Hey everyone – We’re still working hard to resolve the cert issue. We’re in the process of integrating an updated cert. Unfortunately, pushing the update out to affected users has some added complexity, as the expired cert blocks our standard software update path. We’re working through the options now, and we expect to have more details to share later this evening.
While some unofficial workarounds have been proposed, Oculus is encouraging patience for an official fix, as workarounds could have some unforeseen consequences. Exactly how Oculus will deploy a fix is in question, as the software may not be able to launch to update itself.
As Rift-less players become reacquainted with actual reality, some have taken to social media to joke about the loss of their virtual worlds. Reddit user EgoAnt shared this mashup, based on the Ready Player One trailer.
VR satirist Damo9000 has coined the mass de-Rifting, “The Day VR Died.”
We’ll keep an eye on Oculus’ investigation of the issue and keep our readers up to date when a fix is available.