Recently, I made up my mind that I would do whatever it needed to get my Meta Quest 2 to play my own collection of Beat Saber music. The free application I ended up using, SideQuest, just required an hour or two of tinkering to get going, making it the ideal weekend activity.
And SideQuest isn’t only for tweaking Beat Saber; it also allows you to sideload user-created games and experiences, as well as customise the Quest home environment used as a backdrop by the system’s menus and app picker.
If that interests you, keep reading; we’ll explain how to set up SideQuest and load apps into your headphones.
Placing Side Quest
Getting SideQuest onto your PC is the first order of business. Get started by visiting the site and downloading either the Basic or the Full setup.
During installation, I opted for the Advanced version because I incorrectly believed that it was necessary to instal a manually downloaded APK app file in order to make changes to Beat Saber, and the Easy version does not provide this option. If you’re not sure if you’ll want to instal programme files or games from a PC (which we’ll cover later), then I recommend starting with the Easy version.
However, the installation method for SideQuest on your Quest is the same for both versions. The Easy option is the quickest route to being satisfied with library management on your headset alone.
Start up SideQuest once it’s downloaded and installed. SideQuest headset setup instructions are included in both versions; depending on when you download, the instructions in one may be more up-to-date. This article outlines the actions I took, though.
Prep to Become a Programmer
It is necessary to have Quest in developer mode in order to use SideQuest. To begin, you must sign up for a Meta developer account.
- To sign up, visit developer.oculus.com/sign-up/, read the guidelines, and then hit the Sign Up button.
- Join the virtual reality experience by signing in with your Facebook, Meta, or Oculus account.
- Create a group at this point, and label it whatever strikes your fancy.
- In the following section, you will enter the Quest into the developer mode.
- The quickest method is to open the Quest app on your mobile device, navigate to the Menu, and then select Devices.
- Choose your Mission, and then the Headset options.
- To enable developer mode, navigate to Settings > About > and then tap the toggle.
Assuming it isn’t already on, now is the time to plug a USB cable into your computer and turn on your Quest. Turning it on for just a second will bring up two prompts, one asking if you want to enable USB debugging and the other if you want to enable data transfer. The two can coexist if you click the Allow button.
Setting up Side Quest on Your Quest
After enabling debugging in the SideQuest Advanced client, you will be able to instal programmes from your PC. It is possible, however, to instal a version of SideQuest onto the headset itself if doing so from the device itself is a priority.
Once your developer account is set up and debugging is enabled, the SideQuest client will suggest installing the headset version. If it does, great; if not, it will tell you what you need to do to prepare for your Quest. Once you’ve found the programme you want to use, click the Install option to have it downloaded to your headset.
It’s important to remember that in order to utilise the headset version of the software, you’ll need to link a SideQuest account. Sign up for an account here, and then link your Quest by following the on-screen prompts after you run SideQuest. Get ready to instal programmes straight from your headset or your computer.
Apk Downloads via Side Quest
The games in SideQuest’s marketplace come from a number of different places, such as Oculus’ App Lab and Itch.io. The SideQuest user interface also features a library of useful apps that can be downloaded and installed on your Quest.
After connecting your headset to your computer and clicking the PC app’s Download app (sideload) button, installing a sideloaded programme is a breeze. SideQuest will get and set up the software on the headwear.
The SideQuest app is the most convenient way to browse the Oculus App Lab and instal any of the apps that catch your eye.
The App Library has a dropdown menu (probably labelled “All”) at the top right corner.
Aside from SideQuest, any apps you’ve sideloaded will be located in the Settings > Security > Unknown Sources menu. However, App Lab games will be accessible from the main menu once installed.
Have a Good Time!
Now that you have SideQuest loaded and can use it to load other games and apps onto your Quest, you should try out some of the top titles now available for it.
My method for obtaining user-created music for Beat Saber is a bit involved and may require rolling back the game’s version on your headset. The Beat Saber Modding Group Wiki guide is the one I’d recommend using, as it’s comprehensive and, hopefully, up-to-date.
Finally, keep in mind that the Quest’s operating system and hardware will still put some constraints on what you can do, even using SideQuest. If you want to play PC games with your headset (like Half-Life:
Alyx, the major reason I bought a Quest in the first place), you may do so by following our guide on how to wirelessly link your computer to your Quest. Watch the video we’ve embedded below to learn more about the great extras and features available for your Quest.
