If you were using a Meta Quest 2 around March 2nd, 2023 for training or any other non-consumer use case in your research institution, healthcare organization, enterprise, or alike, you likely experienced lagging, glitching, and crashing. This issue affected a large number of Quest 2 devices around the world. The good news is that we were able to flag this issue with Meta, who confirmed that they were able to reproduce the bug and informed us that their next firmware version (v50) would fix the issue. Better yet, our customers were able to get expedited access to this update. See our release note for more information on this issue.
But who are you supposed to reach out to when something goes wrong with the firmware in your Meta, Pico, or Vive headsets? Large device manufacturers can be hard to get in contact with, so we (ManageXR) are often playing the middleman between our customers and the hardware companies.
ManageXR is an enterprise-grade device management platform (MDM) designed for VR and AR devices. As more enterprises use XR to train employees, doctors use XR to treat patients, and schools use XR to teach students, organizations face significant hurdles expanding their operations from early-stage pilots to organization-wide solutions. ManageXR is the core infrastructure that enables organizations to scale their XR deployments. Using ManageXR, admins can remotely control every aspect of their XR device fleet, and get the support they need when issues arise.
This is what a good VR MDM can do for you when there is a firmware issue:
- Initial testing and reproducing the issue. When bug reports come to us, the first thing we do is work to reproduce the issue and find the cause. In the Meta Quest 2 example above, after initial testing it became clear that this problem was happening at the device operating system level and that we’d need support from the Meta team to find a solution.
- Direct line to manufacturers. Through our relationships with hardware manufacturers like Meta, Pico, and HTC, we are able to report issues and get quick responses. This direct line to the teams behind the hardware is essential when you’re dealing with critical and emerging issues – support forums just won’t cut it.
- Expedited access to fixes. Oftentimes when an issue is affecting our customers, we’re able to work with hardware manufacturers to expedite fixes into next firmware versions. Further, we also work with the hardware manufacturers to deploy early access fixes directly to ManageXR customers.
- Speed. The ManageXR support team moves fast. We understand that when you are experiencing an issue, it’s not just with one device, but potentially hundreds of devices. When things aren’t working, you need a technical team moving quickly to find and fix those issues. If we can’t fix the issue directly, we alert device manufacturers and relay that information to our customers.
If you’re looking to start or scale your VR project, sign up for a free trial or book a demo today!