I tried a refurbished Oculus Quest 2 VR headset — and it's as good as new
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The Oculus Quest 2 is a phenomenal product, one of my all-time favorite tech gadgets. Pop one on your head and you can climb virtual mountains, square off against a virtual Darth Vader, strap on virtual boxing gloves (trust me, it's a workout) and so much more.
With a starting price of $299, though, it's not exactly cheap. Fortunately, there's a way to get a decent discount: buy refurbished. For a limited time, and while supplies last, eBay has the certified-refurbished Oculus Quest 2 VR headset (128GB) for $249. That's the current, 2nd-gen model, too, so you can rest assured you're getting the latest and greatest and not "last year's model."
If you think you'll need more storage, the Oculus Quest 2 (256GB) is available for $349, also a $50 savings. (For what it's worth, though: 128GB can hold a lot of content.)
Now, I know what you're thinking: "Ew! A VR headset that someone has already worn? No thank you!" That's a fair concern, which is why I wanted to check out one of these for myself. The seller — an authorized Oculus dealer — makes this promise: "All certified refurbished Oculus Quest products are inspected, cleaned and tested to work and look like new. May contain minor cosmetic imperfections."
Sounds good on paper, but what's the reality? The unit I received did indeed look and work exactly like new — and that included the packaging. There were no cosmetic imperfections, either; it really did seem like a brand-new Quest 2. Thankfully, it appears others were just as lucky: The seller has a 99.4% "positive" rating, the product itself a 4.8-star average.
So what's the catch? Must be the warranty, right? Actually, you get a full two years of coverage, same as you would when buying a new unit. (Note, however, that this warranty is provided by Allstate, not Oculus proper.) That's a pretty big deal; a lot of refurbished tech hardware gets just 90 days.
Indeed, to my thinking, there's no catch at all. I can't think of a single reason to choose a new Quest 2 instead of a refurbished one — not when there's $50 to be saved. Put that money toward some games or apps. My top picks:
If you do decide to try Fit XR (or any other fitness app), I highly recommend adding a silicone face cover, which is much easier to wipe clean after a sweaty workout. Here's one for just $13; it comes with a lens cover as well to keep dust off when you're not using the headset.
One final note: The Oculus Quest 2 is a Facebook product, and Facebook is now Meta, meaning this is technically the Meta Quest 2. But because it's a refurb, it's branded with the old name.
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