Meta Quest 2 literally melts as users report QC issues
Users of Meta’s Quest series of headsets have questions for the company after a user reports their headset almost setting alight during charging.
Fans of the Meta Quest have had a rough time of it recently. From issues with the controller tracking on the Meta Quest 3 to a problem with the Elite Strap, and now users might need to watch out for their headsets catching fire during charging.
Reddit user KarnageShot went on the site to report that their Meta headset almost set on fire during charging. The headset in question appears to be a Meta Quest 2, and the user clarified that they were using the official power outlet and cable. The headset was at roughly 50% charge, so the user decided to give it a quick top-up in anticipation of a prolonged gaming session on Ghosts of Tabor. However, the user noticed that after a brief period, the plastic near the charging port was melting. Picking up the headset and removing the cable caused the user to catch their finger on the metal and receive a nasty burn.
Not the first time a Quest 2 has melted
Other users in the replies indicated that this wasn’t actually the first time such an event has occurred, though further details on the specifics of these other incidents were sparse. One user wrote that Meta has previously claimed that incidents such as this were due to using an unapproved third-party charger or cable.
MetaThe problem with this explanation from Meta is that a charging cable can only supply as much power as the unit can draw. It isn’t possible for a USB charging cable to provide too much voltage unless the device is trying to draw too much power, thus causing it to overvolt, overheat, and potentially start a fire.
KarnageShot was lucky that they caught the issue before it could get much worse. They have indicated that they intend to seek a replacement headset. We can only hope there are not too many more incidents like this one.
