So SideQuest just launched a mobile app for your phone.
This means you can sideload any VR game that’s on their platform very easily without the
need for a bulky PC.
SideQuest - You know that popular app that has a ton of free games not available on the
official Quest store?
Games like the Doom 3 Quest port, Pokemon VR, and many others.
So this mobile app is pretty exciting as now everyone can sideload these games.
It is a lot easier and you can even do it while on the road if you want to 😉
Hey everyone!
Cas here, and I have been waiting for this for so long so in this video, I’ll show
you exactly how to do it.
By the way, before you could sideload with the app Bugjaeger as well, which I covered
too.
However, that doesn’t work with SideQuest since you cannot download the APK files from
SideQuest so you would still miss out on many many games.
And now, you don’t have to.
So let’s get started but first, if you like to see more VR tech tips like this one, subscribe
if you haven’t yet.
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So this is actually really easy to do.
Easier than the previous method with Bugjaeger even.
I think the SideQuest team did a good job here.
But let me first tell you what you’re going to need:
First thing you need is an Android phone.
It doesn’t work on iOS unfortunately.
Then you need your Quest 1 or your Quest 2.
And then you also need a USB cable that can go in your phone but also in your Quest.
I’m using the USB-C to USB-C cable that was in the box with my Quest 2.
So you still need to activate developer mode on your Quest first.
If you haven’t done that yet, then you can continue watching.
If you have, then you can skip to Step 2 with the timestamps below.
But now, let’s start this guide.
Step 1.
Enable Developer Mode On Your Quest Of course, this also works on Quest 1.
It’s the same exact steps.
And since we’re doing something that doesn’t need a PC, we’re going to do all this on
my phone.
1.
So to make things easier, you can use the same phone you used to install the Oculus
app.
So on your phone, open up your browser and go to https://developer.oculus.com/manage/organizations/create/
2.
If you’re not signed in yet, sign in with the same Oculus or Facebook account you use
with your Quest.
3.
You should then be redirected back to the page we tried to open before.
If it didn’t, just open the link again.
All the links are below in the description by the way.
Then create an organization here; this can be any name you want.
Now, you may get the question to fill out your credit card or phone number to verify
your Oculus developer account.
This is extra security added by Oculus, so you gotta do it, unfortunately, if you want
to sideload.
But you won’t be asked about this if you already filled it out.
This could be the case have bought a game before for example.
4.
Once done, make sure to read and agree to the developer agreement.
5.
Now if you open this sidebar at the bottom left.
You should be able to see your organization in this drop-down menu.
6.
This means you are now ready to enable developer mode on your Quest.
Now open the Oculus app, which is the app you used to setup your Quest.
7.
Then go to Settings at the bottom right and click on the Oculus headset that you’re
using.
8.
And once you see that it’s connected.
You should be able to see the ‘More settings’ show up.
If it doesn’t, just click on this arrow right here.
Then click on ‘More settings’ and click on ‘Developer mode’.
And then you can use this toggle right here to enable developer mode.
If it turns blue, you’re ready to go to the next step.
Step 2.
Download the SideQuest App
1.
You can now download the SideQuest app via the Google PlayStore.
Remember, this only works on Android since it uses adb functions.
2.
So go to the PlayStore, then search for SideQuest, make sure to pick the right one with this
logo.
Then click on install.
3.
Once installed, open it.
And you might get a pop-up.
Just click ‘Allow’ here.
Step 3.
Connect A USB Cable
1.
Get your USB cable, connect it to your phone on one side.
2.
Then get your Quest out and make sure that it is turned on, and then put the other side
of the cable inside your Quest.
Like this.
I’ve got another cable here because I got the elite battery strap (so ignore that).
3.
Ok, both are connected now.
Now on your phone you might get the pop up ‘Allow SideQuest Installer to access Quest
2?’.
You can mark the checkbox ‘Always open SideQuest installer when Quest 2 is connected’ here.
Then click ok.
The same goes for the next pop-up.
You may get the message first to choose an app for the USB devices.
Then just make sure to select SideQuest installer; and then you can also click ‘Always’ so
your phone remembers your choice and you don’t get these pop-ups each time.
Allow everything, and click on ‘Always allow’ if you don’t want these messages to pop
up again.
4.
Ok, before it works, you will also need to allow USB debugging and access twice inside
your Quest.
So I’m going to put it on.
Getting my controller here.
Ok ‘Allow USB debugging’ I click allow.
Here, you can also use the checkbox ‘Always allow’ so you don’t get these pop-ups
again.
And then again, you have to click allow.
Allow access to data, also allow.
5.
And then, in the App again, the SideQuest logo should turn green.
This means the Quest is connected, and you’re ready to get sideloading.
Step 4.
Sideloading An App Via USB or Wireless?
1.
Now you can already sideload apps just by clicking on an app and tapping ‘Install
to headset.’
However, there are pros and cons here.
Using the cable is easy, but it does drain your phone’s battery pretty fast.
And it’s not faster in any way than doing it wirelessly.
So I highly recommend doing this wireless method that I’ll explain in the next step.
Step 5.
Sideloading Wirelessly!
1.
So to connect to your phone wirelessly, make sure your cable is still connected to your
Quest and also your phone.
Then in the SideQuest app, make sure the icon is still green.
Then click on the wireless icon at the left.
2.
Here you can click on ‘enable WiFi’.
3.
You might get a couple of pop-ups again.
Just click allow and okay, you know the drill 😉.
4.
Now, unplug your cable.
Don’t worry if this icon turns red now, WiFi should be enabled anyways.
5.
To connect wirelessly now, you just go back to the ‘WiFi’ menu and over here, type
in your headset’s local IP address.
This is mine and then just click on connect.
6.
Keep in mind that this IP address is not your public IP address but your local one.
And if it doesn’t show up here in the app, then you can also find this address in your
Quest under the ‘WiFi’ icon, and then click on the network you’re connected to.
Scroll down to advanced, and you should be able to see your local IP address there.
Usually, a local IP address starts with 192 but it could be something else as well.
7.
So once you’ve clicked on connect, then icon down here should now be green, even without
a cable.
Now, you can sideload apps wirelessly, and you can keep your phone charged if you need
it.
That’s it; you can now sideload anything that’s on SideQuest even without a PC.
And I think it’s pretty awesome because it makes it so much easier, plus no one is
left out anymore.
Now to find your sideloaded game on your Quest, put on your headset.
Go to ‘Apps’, then from the drop-down menu at the top right, select ‘Unknown Sources’.
That’s where you can find all your sideloaded stuff.
Even for games in App Lab it’s easier with this app because you can find all App Lab
links through SideQuest, and then you can install it from there.
It will launch the Oculus app actually, if you have that installed on the same device.
It’s nice!
You can also easily enable the graphics settings in the app by clicking the three dots at the
bottom right, then going to ‘Tools & options.’
If you have your Quest connected, you can try all these commands and have fun with them.
Remember, this does cause performance issues, so if that happens, just restart your Oculus
Quest headset, and the settings should all go back to default.
. So before we move to the outro, I wanted to
give you some tips and tricks in case you have some trouble.
At the time of making this video, the developer has told me that sideloading via USB or WiFi
is still pretty slow, but they are looking into speeding things up, so just be a little
patient for now until then.
If ‘enable WiFi’ didn’t work, sometimes you need to keep your Quest screen on when
you tap that button.
So you can put your finger on the sensor, so it stays on while you try the steps again.
If it still doesn’t work on your phone, it could be that your phone does not support
USB On-The-Go.
You can check your phone specs for this, most newer phones should have support.
If your phone does not support USB OTG then you can only enable WiFi via the PC or use
the USB cable to sideload.
If connecting to WiFi doesn’t work, double check whether you have allowed all pop-ups
in your Quest headset.
And make sure you have selected ‘Always’ allow.
Turn OFF dev mode on your phone If it still doesn’t work, try disabling
developer mode on your phone if you have that on.
If you tried the previous Bugjaeger method, for example, then you probably have it on
still.
With SideQuest, you don’t need this on.
In fact, it could mess things up.
So to turn it off on your phone.
Go to your phone’s “Settings” > scroll down to “Developer Options.”
If you see it there, you can turn it off with the toggle.
If it’s not there, then it’s off already, so you’re good to go.
Those are some of my last tips.
Let me know if it works for you and what you think about the SideQuest app on mobile?
Are you going to use it now?
Let me know in the comments below!
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As always, VR on!