Facebook has temporarily halted the sales of Oculus Quest 2 over complaints that the foam cover is causing a variety of skin complaints.
“As more people got into VR with Quest 2, we started receiving reports that a very small percentage of Quest 2 customers experienced some skin irritation after using the removable foam facial interface,” the company explains.
“While the rate of reports is small and the majority of reported cases are minor, we’re committed to ensuring our products are safe and comfortable for everyone who uses them.”
To combat this, the company is replacing the foam parts with a new silicon cover, globally, which means the company is “taking the extra step of temporarily pausing sales of Quest 2 globally while we work to include the new silicone covers in all Quest 2 packages.”
Starting from August 24, all headsets will come with this new one, while current users can request a free replacement from Facebook.
“We took the skin irritation reports very seriously as soon as we learned about them and, beginning in December, we promptly conducted a thorough investigation including receiving advice from leading dermatologists and toxicologists,” Facebook explains.
“These experts have advised that skin irritation can occur in some segments of the population from many household items—even things like tomatoes or shampoo—and that the rates we’ve seen are in line with expectations.
“Our investigation determined that our manufacturing process is safe, meaning no unexpected nor hazardous contaminants were found in the Quest 2 foam interface or manufacturing process.”
