Thursday, April 25, 2024

Make charging your Oculus Quest easy with these magnetic chargers

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Gamers who play their Oculus Quest daily undoubtedly hate getting interrupted by a dying battery and should absolutely invest in one of the best Oculus Quest magnetic chargers. These VR headsets may provide a completely untethered experience, but as noted in our Oculus Quest 2 review, it has meager battery life. Meaning, after two to three hours, you’ll have to sit carefully next to the power adapter to keep playing. With a USB-C magnetic charger or adapter, though, you’ll have peace of mind knowing your headset won’t get yanked to the ground if you accidentally pull on the cable. To work with a Quest or Quest 2, though, it must support fast data transfer speeds as well as quick charging, making the compatible picks below your best starting point. That’s why our top pick is the Knaive USB-C magnetic adapter. It checks all the boxes.

Best overall: Cafele USB-C Magnetic Cable and Tips

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These cables and tips come in a matching two-pack or three-pack in your choice of colors. The small USB Type-C tip will plug into your Oculus Quest 2 headset, and the 6.6-feet cables will magnetically connect to the tip. These cables even have an LED light at the end showing the connection status. These braided cables are extra strong and will last a long time, thanks to their durable construction. Just make sure you Velcro it to your headset since it’s not a 90-degree cable connector and could otherwise get snagged on a flailing controller.

In addition to charging via the Qualcomm QuickCharge 2.0 and 3.0 standards — which will help keep your Quest 2 charging while playing when paired with the best battery packs for Quest 2 — these cables support data transfer. That means you’ll never have to remove the magnetic tip just to plug a standard USB cable in to hook your Quest 2 up to a PC (or other device).

Pros:

  • Supports quick charging
  • Supports data transfer up to 480MB/s
  • Strong braided construction
  • Long enough to use with a battery pack

Cons:

  • Straight connector (not 90 degrees)

Best overall

Cafele USB-C Magnetic Cable and Tips

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  • From $15 at Amazon

Power and data

This magnetic cable and tip set supports data and quick charging. It even has a handy little LED light.

Best for controllers: BeswinVR Magnetic Charge Kit

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This one-of-a-kind magnetic controller charging kit comes with a special pair of AA batteries that fit inside the Oculus Quest 2 controllers and are held in by a specially designed door that keeps the magnetic charging tip exposed. That tip magnetically connects to the included cables, which can plug into any charger of your choice with a standard USB Type-A port. That makes recharging your controllers — however infrequent that may be — so much easier since you’ll never have to remove the battery door again.

The optional BeswinVR silicone grips will up the price slightly, but they’re specially designed to keep that magnetic charging tip exposed, meaning you’ll never have to remove the grips just to charge the controller. That’s good since normal grips won’t fit the controller with the extra charging pin sticking out.

Pros:

  • Included rechargeable batteries
  • Easy magnetic charging tips
  • Optional silicone grips with hand straps

Cons:

  • No tip for charging the headset
  • Expensive

Best for controllers

BeswinVR Magnetic Charge Kit

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  • $52 at Amazon

Effortless charging

Never remove the battery door or batteries again, thanks to this special set of rechargeable AA batteries and magnetic cables.

Best for battery packs: NetDot Gen10 Micro-USB and USB-C Cable

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Many Oculus Quest 2 users want to extend their playing time with external battery packs. These can be mounted to the back of your headset so you can continue to play while you charge, but also help counterbalance the front-heavy headset. This magnetic cable is only a foot long, so it won’t have a lot of excess wiring in the way while it’s plugged in. It supports charging up to 9V/2A and will easily detach if bumped while playing.

If you use a battery pack, you can move around freely while still charging your device. You’ll still have a wire plugged into your headset, but mounting a battery pack to your headset means you can freely walk around. It’s more convenient and portable than plugging your headset directly into a wall outlet, which tethers you to the wall. This cable is only a foot long, which means it can plug into the side of your headset and attach to a battery pack mounted on the back of your device.

Pros:

  • All USB ports are USB 3.0
  • Supports up to 5Gbps speeds
  • Cable allows device to fit various setups
  • Wire is just long enough

Cons:

  • Only supports data up to 480Mbps
  • Limited to specific angles
  • Can detach easily

Best for battery packs

NetDot Gen10 Micro-USB and USB-C Cable

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  • $14 at Amazon

Out of the way

This cable is short enough that there won’t be wires in the way if you wear your Oculus Quest while charging it.

Best circular design: Kyerivs Magnetic USB Charging Cable

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This braided cable features a circular design that gives you more flexibility because it can charge at any angle. It also supports fast charging up to 5V/2.4A and has an LED indicator to let you know that it’s charging your device. At 3.3 feet, this cable is the right length to use with a battery pack that you keep in your pocket or attached to your waist.

If you attach this cable to your headset and use it with a battery pack on your waist or in your pocket, you’ll be less constricted. The 360-degree design of this cable means that the cable doesn’t have to point directly up, down, back, or forward. Instead, it can comfortably slide into the perfect angle for you.

Pros:

  • Charge your device at any angle with circular design
  • Supports fast charging
  • Long enough to work with a battery pack on your hip

Cons:

  • Too long to use with a battery pack without leaving extra wiring

Best circular design

Kyerivs Magnetic USB Charging Cable

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  • $9 at Amazon

Supporting all angles

This magnetic cable has a circular head that supports 360 degrees of movement. It also supports fast charging.

Best for docking: Anker Charging Dock for Oculus Quest 2

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The Anker Charging Dock for Oculus Quest 2 certainly fits the bill of a magnetic charger since both controllers and the Oculus Quest 2 headset dock to charge magnetically. Still, it’s also quite a bit different from other options on this list. First off, it’s considerably pricier than a simple cable, but that’s because it’s a far more sophisticated piece of electronics featuring overcharge, overcurrent, and overload protection for your headset and controllers while charging.

Since it can sense when your controller and headset batteries are full, it can help prolong battery life by shutting off charging when the batteries are full. The magnetic connector fits perfectly in your Quest 2’s USB Type-C port for easy magnetic docking. The dock includes special rechargeable batteries for each controller, complete with a new battery door with POGO pins on it, enabling simple drop-and-go charging. You can’t use this solution while playing, but it brings the ease of magnetic charging to the safety of a dock.

Pros:

  • Easy dock-and-go charging
  • Replaces controller batteries with rechargeable ones
  • Overcharge, overcurrent, and overload protection

Cons:

  • Not meant to be used while playing
  • Expensive

Best for docking

Anker Charging Dock for Oculus Quest 2

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  • $99 at Amazon

Get it all charged

Anker’s Charging Dock keeps headsets and controllers charged and safe, with easy magnetic docking to ensure everything’s in place.

Bottom line

Armed with one of the best Oculus Quest magnetic chargers, Quest and Quest 2 power users can worry less about keeping their headset fully charged at all times. Pairing a medium-sized magnetic cable, like the Cafele USB-C Magnetic Cable and Tips, with a battery pack means you can take advantage of standing or room-scale VR experiences without worrying about yanking the cord out — potentially damaging the USB port on your Quest 2.

BeswinVR’s magnetic charge kit for the Quest 2’s Oculus Touch controllers is another amazing — if not a bit expensive — addition that’ll keep you from ever having to remove the battery door or batteries. Just connect the magnetic cables to the special tip on the included rechargeable batteries when they’re not in use! If you just want an easy dock-and-go experience, the Anker Charging Dock for Quest 2 makes it simple to dock your headset and controllers after each play session to ensure you have a full battery every time you begin playing.

A magnetic charging cable can be a game-changer for long Quest gaming sessions, and it can keep your Quest 2 safer thanks to the quick magnetic release if it were to get tugged. Be sure to check out some of our other favorite Quest 2 accessories for more ways to make your Quest 2 experience even better as well!

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

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Sean Endicott is an app enthusiast even though he’s used Windows Phone for years. He’s on an eternal quest to convert every element of his home into something he can control from his phone.

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Nick Sutrich Nick started with DOS and NES and uses those fond memories of floppy disks and cartridges to fuel his opinions on modern tech. Whether it’s VR, smart home gadgets, or something else that beeps and boops, he’s been writing about it since 2011. Find him on Twitter at @Gwanatu.

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