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Oculus GO Use when Plugged In?

Shadowmask72
Honored Visionary
I think a number of people are worried about Oculus' recommendation of not using the GO whilst "charging" . I am not sure if that extends to plugged in whilst the battery is fully charged, but let's assume it does. The 2.5 - 3 hours battery life comes as a bit of a downer if say a movie lasts 3 or more hours (and there are plenty of those in recent times). One of the GO's biggest selling points is viewing movie content, but seems to stumble with the battery limitation. Also for those on long haul flights/journeys, having to charge the device back up to full can take up to 3 hours which is a bit of a shame. Some people are likely to opt for an external portable USB charging unit to keep the device topped up or recharged when in the field.

Now I posed this question on Reddit which was kindly answered by Oculus tech communications officer Lisa Jaloza who reiterated not to use GO whilst "charging". No other reasons were provided.  But it's the reasons why that is important here. Are Oculus simply being overly cautious or is there a real danger of diminishing the life of the battery far quicker when using it this way.

There is quite a bit of anecdotal evidence as of now where people have used the GO whilst it's plugged in/charging with seemingly no ill side effects. However, we don't know if there is risk over the longer term to the battery life or potential hazard of something much worse. 

@cybereality Please can someone at Oculus answer this question in greater detail rather than saying a blanket response. I think this is quite important and if there is no real risk to users then surely they can be the judge of whether they want to use it whilst plugged in. 

That said, PL has just offered a tear-down showing the 2600mah battery inside making a good case for modification to a better battery.




System Specs: MSI NVIDIA RTX 4090 , i5 13700K CPU, 32GB DDR 4 RAM, Win 11 64 Bit OS.
61 REPLIES 61

Anonymous
Not applicable
You think these will be allowed on planes? I see real life problems with this. No explanation needed.

RedRizla
Honored Visionary



RedRizla said:

Well even with a mobile phone you are told not to use some while they are charging.  Don't Apple tell you not to do this with their iphones? 



Don't think I've ever read my phones instructions, having said that, my phone calls tend to be pretty short.

Not so bothered if it lets go in my hand while I'm playing with it (still talking about the phone).




I read about a few people killed through getting an electric shock while using their phones while charging. That's when I read about not using your mobile while it's charging. I'm not sure holding anything while it is charging is a good idea..

Ronin2306
Explorer
I notice that it takes longer to fully charge it than it takes to deplete it in use. Doesn't that mean that it will never fully charge while in use?

Deckyon
Explorer
I may have cheated last night in setting mine up.  I was impatient and didnt want to wait until it was fully charged, so I got a USB battery charger (one of my big ones, 26800 mah) and used it to charge the unit while I was using it.  I spent about an hour messing with the Go and getting apps installed and other settings situated, and it went from 56% to 92% in that hour.  I was paying attention to (feeling for) any heating issues of it being on and operating while plugged in; I didnt find anything.

My goal was to use my batteries like this when I travel to keep it topped off and charged/recharge while on the go.  As for using on an aircraft?  What difference is there between this and a sleep mask other than it having a screen and battery?  We all use tablets and phones anyway?  Why would there be "real life problems" on aircraft?  I travel with my drone all the time.

Ronin2306
Explorer
It is a simple question - why should the Oculus Go not be used while on charge? I cannot understand why someone from Oculus does not take the trouble to answer this question. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that they do not care about their customers. People are always more likely to take notice of something if an explanation is given.

fcoulombe
Honored Guest

Ronin2306 said:

It is a simple question - why should the Oculus Go not be used while on charge? I cannot understand why someone from Oculus does not take the trouble to answer this question. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that they do not care about their customers. People are always more likely to take notice of something if an explanation is given.


or maybe they just dont want to be liable for saying "it's not THAT dangerous"

it's easier (cheaper) to say don't do it.

edmg
Trustee

Ronin2306 said:

It is a simple question - why should the Oculus Go not be used while on charge?


Because the battery could explode and burn your face off?

I'm guessing there's no specific reason, just a bunch of unlikely ways that people could hurt themselves which Oculus don't want to take responsibility for.

Pickleschlitz
Expert Protege
What other device do you strap the battery pack OVER YOUR EYES? We've all heard the stories about people's phones catching on fire when they got hot. Imagine that right on top of your baby blues!

Ocalazin
Explorer
What I don't get is why you can't charge from an external battery even when the Go is turned off. There is no difference an external battery is exactly the same amps and voltage as the supplied power supply. Should not be a problem. 

Ronin2306
Explorer
In my opinion if Oculus do not categorically state the reason why the device should not be used while charging, and someone has an accident, they will still be liable. People will always take more notice of such warnings if a reason is given