Some users are claiming excessive sweat is killing their Meta Quest 3 headsets, which makes me worried about the one I've literally just bought

Meta Quest 3 headset on my head.
(Image credit: Future)

If you use your Meta Quest 3 to exercise excessively, you might want to get some accessories to let all that moisture out, as some users are reporting damage due to sweat.

As originally reported by Mixed, a VR and MR news website, plenty of users of the best VR headset are reporting breaking their Meta Quest 3 by doing heavy exercise in the likes of Supernatural, and Les Mills CR Bodycombat.

This report links out to forum threads on Meta's website and a Reddit post asking about the Quest 3's sweat resistance during exercises. The comments are then filled with disgruntled users who have seemingly broken their headsets with nothing but sweat.

One user says: "I was playing Les Mills Bodycombat other day with quest 3, total punishment workout. Near end of it I was sweating like a pig and left lens started flickering. Turned off headset immediately, but after hour it died completely."

Both good and bad signs for long-term use with Meta Quest 3 headsets, one forum user reports getting four headset replacements in four months.

We don't yet know how widespread this problem is, and we haven't seen it with our Meta Quest 3 yet but it seems noticeable enough for many users to report similar issues. We also don't fully know what is happening on a technical level here.

Perhaps the sweat is soaking through the fabric of the front headset and pooling through to the electronics. Of course, with such a popular headset, some amount of breakage is expected so we can't say for certain that sweat is the culprit here—just a decent theory.

I've just bought myself a Meta Quest 3 in the Cyber Monday sales and part of how I get so much use out of my VR headsets up until now is ticking off the exercise ring on my watch in some active games.

Virtual reality

(Image credit: Valve)

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Something like this shouldn't put you entirely off exercising in VR, especially when you consider the MR capabilities of the headset, but you might want to be cautious going forward.

I know, as well as buying a good head strap for it, one of the first things I'll pick up for my Quest 3 when it arrives this Friday is a sweat-catching faceplate.

Some forum users are recommending taking off the front interface and using the halo strap to essentially hold the VR in front of their face and another recommends wiping it thoroughly after every use and never storing it face down.

Though the precaution may slow down your exercise sessions, it seems worth the extra effort to avoid your shiny new headset breaking on you. I know it'll be worth it when mine arrives.

James Bentley
Hardware writer

James is a more recent PC gaming convert, often admiring graphics cards, cases, and motherboards from afar. It was not until 2019, after just finishing a degree in law and media, that they decided to throw out the last few years of education, build their PC, and start writing about gaming instead. In that time, he has covered the latest doodads, contraptions, and gismos, and loved every second of it. Hey, it’s better than writing case briefs.

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