Oculus casting is a feature that lets you share your VR experience on an external screen so others can watch what you see in the headset. As XR Today explains, “Meta Quest casting allows you to share whatever you see in your VR headset with your computer, mobile device, or (certain) television sets.” In other words, you can mirror your Oculus Quest (now Meta Quest) gameplay to a TV in your living room, to your smartphone, or even stream it to a computer via the official casting website oculus.com/casting. This is incredibly useful for making VR more social – friends and family can see the action in real time, or you can record and stream gameplay for others to enjoy. In this guide, we’ll introduce what Oculus casting is, why it’s useful, and provide a step-by-step walkthrough on how to cast your Quest to various devices. We’ll also cover troubleshooting tips for common casting issues and best practices to ensure a smooth, high-quality casting experience.
Oculus casting refers to the ability of Oculus/Meta Quest headsets (such as Quest 2, Quest 3, etc.) to wirelessly stream the view from your headset to another device like a phone, PC, or TV. This means that when you’re immersed in VR, others can see a 2D view of what you’re seeing, in real time, on a separate screen. Casting is useful for a variety of reasons:
In short, casting turns VR into a shared experience, bridging the gap between the person in the headset and everyone else in the room.
How does Oculus casting work? Oculus Quest headsets have built-in support to send the headset’s view over your Wi-Fi network to other devices. The most common ways to cast are:
All of these methods use your local Wi-Fi network to stream the video (and audio) from the headset to the target device. Oculus casting is supported on Oculus Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3, and other Meta Quest headsets. (If you have an older Oculus Rift or Rift S which connects to a PC, casting isn’t applicable in the same way, since those already display on your PC monitor.)
Why is casting done through oculus.com/casting? This is the official Oculus (Meta) casting page for computers. When you go to this site on your PC’s browser, it allows your Quest headset to find and stream to the browser window. It’s a convenient way to cast to any PC or laptop without needing additional apps. We’ll cover exactly how to use this in the PC casting section.
Before we dive into the step-by-step instructions, there are a few prerequisites to keep in mind to ensure casting works properly:
With these basics covered, let’s move on to the actual casting process for each type of device.
One of the most popular ways to cast is sending your Oculus Quest view to a TV screen. This is great for group settings – everyone in the room can watch the VR action on the big screen. To do this, your TV needs to support Chromecast (the Google Cast protocol). Many smart TVs have Chromecast built-in, and of course devices like the Chromecast dongle or Chromecast with Google TV can be attached to any TV to add that capability. You’ll need your Quest headset and either a TV with Chromecast built-in, or a TV with a Chromecast device connected, and ensure both the TV (or casting device) and the Quest are on the same Wi-Fi network.
There are two primary ways to initiate casting to a TV: from the headset directly or using the Meta Quest mobile app as a controller. The easier method is directly from the headset using the system’s casting menu. Below are the steps to cast from your Quest headset to a TV:
Casting from the Oculus Headset to a TV (using built-in Chromecast):
Note: If your TV does not appear in the list of casting targets, ensure that the TV or Chromecast dongle is on the same Wi-Fi and not in guest mode. If it still doesn’t show up, you can try casting via the smartphone method (see next section) as an alternative. Also, not all smart TVs are fully compatible with direct casting from Quest. Meta has noted that while many modern TVs work, they don’t guarantee support for every model. If you run into issues, consider using an official Chromecast device or use the phone/PC casting methods below as a workaround.
Tip: Meta actually recommends using a phone or computer for casting rather than directly to Chromecast in some cases, because the Quest isn’t fully integrated with Chromecast and you may encounter streaming issues on certain TVs. So, if you find casting to your TV is choppy or disconnects often, try casting to the Meta Quest app on your phone or to a PC – these tend to be more stable. (We’ll cover those next.)
If you don’t have a TV available or you just want to quickly share your VR view with someone next to you, casting to your smartphone is a convenient option. Using the Meta Quest mobile app (previously called the Oculus app), you can receive the live feed from the headset right on your phone screen. From there, you could even further share or record the screen if desired. Here’s how to cast to a phone or tablet:
Requirements: Make sure you have the Meta Quest app installed on your phone (available on the Google Play Store for Android or Apple App Store for iOS). Log into the app with the same Oculus/Meta account that your Quest headset is using. Both your phone and the Quest must be on the same Wi-Fi network. It’s also a good idea to have your phone charged and do not let it go to sleep during casting, because if the phone’s screen locks or you switch to another app, the casting will stop.
Once you’re ready, follow these steps on the phone:
Troubleshooting tip (phone casting): If you cannot find your headset in the app or the phone isn’t discovering it to cast, double-check that:
Casting to a phone is very handy if no bigger screen is available. You can even use this method and then mirror your phone’s screen to a TV (such as using AirPlay for iPhones, or Smart View for Samsung, or casting your whole Android screen via Chromecast) as a workaround for TVs that don’t directly support Oculus casting. For example, with a Roku TV (which doesn’t directly support Oculus casting), you could cast to your phone and then mirror the phone to the Roku TV. Just keep in mind that going through two wireless hops (headset -> phone -> TV) might introduce more lag.
Casting your Oculus Quest to a computer is perfect for when you want to display the VR view on a laptop/desktop monitor or even record/stream the feed. Oculus provides the oculus.com/casting web page for this purpose. With it, you don’t need any extra hardware – just a supported web browser and your headset. This method is often more reliable than casting directly to some TVs, and it’s great for presentations or capturing footage.
Follow these steps to cast your Quest to a PC or Mac:
F11
in the browser to make the whole browser go fullscreen. This maximizes the view of the VR content on your monitor or external display.At this point, your VR view was successfully cast to your computer! You can even take it a step further and share that view from the computer elsewhere if needed (for example, using screen-sharing on Zoom, or recording the window using screen capture software).
Tip: If you want to display the VR feed on a TV but had trouble casting directly to the TV, you can use the PC as an intermediary. Cast to the browser first (as described above), then use Chrome’s built-in Cast feature to send the browser tab to your Chromecast-connected TV. This means the Quest streams to the PC, and then the PC streams that to the TV. It’s a bit of a roundabout method, but some users find it more stable for long sessions, since Chromecast direct casting can sometimes disconnect. Just keep in mind there will be a bit more latency with this two-step cast.
Note: Remember that the Oculus casting page works only in Chrome/Edge. If you try using Firefox or another browser, you might be scratching your head why nothing is happening – stick to the supported browsers for this to work. Also, performance can vary; casting to PC, like any casting, uses Wi-Fi bandwidth and the Quest’s processing power, so heavy-duty games might show slight stutters on the cast (even if they play fine in the headset).
Now that we’ve covered how to cast to different devices, let’s address some common problems you might encounter and how to fix them.
Casting is supposed to be straightforward, but in practice you might hit a few snags. Here are some common Oculus casting issues and their solutions:
Headset not found / Can’t see device to cast to: This usually comes down to a network or account issue. Make sure both the Quest and the target device are on the exact same Wi-Fi network (check that one isn’t on a neighbor’s or a different band). Also verify you’re logged into the same Oculus/Meta account on all devices. If casting to the phone app, ensure you’re using the primary account on the Quest (secondary user profiles cannot cast to the mobile app, though they can cast to a browser or Chromecast device). If everything looks correct, try turning Wi-Fi off and on on your headset, or rebooting your headset and device, then try again.
Cast disconnects or isn’t stable: If your casting cuts out randomly or is laggy, it’s likely a Wi-Fi strength or interference problem. Ensure a strong signal – ideally, use a 5 GHz Wi-Fi band and keep the headset relatively close to the router. If possible, minimize other streaming or heavy network usage during casting. Remember that casting is demanding; it can strain the headset and network, leading to lag or disconnects if conditions aren’t ideal. If you’re casting to a Chromecast and it keeps dropping, consider the workaround of casting to the app or PC, which Meta suggests can be more reliable. Sometimes simply restarting your Wi-Fi router can clear up the connection for smoother casting.
No sound on the casting output: If you can see the video on the phone/TV/PC but hear no audio, check a few things. On the phone app, make sure your phone’s volume is up (the cast should carry sound to the phone, which plays through its speakers or headphones). On PC via browser, as mentioned earlier, unmute the stream in the Oculus casting webpage – the small volume icon on the video player might be muted by default. Click it to enable sound. (If you still get no audio on PC, check your computer’s output device and volume.) Note that when casting to a TV via Chromecast, the sound should play through the TV; if not, ensure the volume isn’t muted on the TV or casting device.
TV or Chromecast not showing up as an option: Double-check that the TV/Chromecast is powered on and connected to the network. If your Quest still doesn’t list it, the TV might not be supported for direct casting. As a workaround, use the phone method: cast to the phone, then use your phone’s screen-mirroring to the TV. Alternatively, use a dedicated Chromecast dongle if the built-in casting of the TV isn’t working, since that tends to be more universally compatible.
Casting to phone stops when app is minimized: This is expected behavior – if you switch apps or lock your phone screen, the cast will stop. The solution is to keep the Meta Quest app open and active. Turn off your phone’s auto-lock or screen timeout temporarily while casting so it doesn’t shut off the display. If you need to multitask on your phone, there’s unfortunately no background casting feature, so the casting will pause.
Video quality is low or laggy: The cast quality will automatically adjust based on your network. If it’s consistently low resolution or choppy, focus on improving your Wi-Fi conditions. Make sure the headset isn’t too far from the router, and that your router isn’t overloaded. In some cases, casting while also recording or streaming can overtax the headset. Avoid recording video on the headset simultaneously during casting to improve performance (casting and recording together can cause lag or glitches). Also, ensure your Quest isn’t low on battery or thermally throttling – heat or low battery could reduce performance, so keep the headset charged and maybe even use a fan if you’re doing a long session.
Casting worked before, but now it’s not connecting at all: If things were fine and suddenly nothing works, try the classic fixes: restart your Quest headset, reboot your phone/computer, and even power cycle your router. Ensure the Quest’s software is updated to the latest version (check under Settings > System > Software Update on the headset). Software updates can resolve casting bugs. If you’ve recently changed your Wi-Fi password or network setup, you’ll need to reconnect the Quest to the new network in settings. In rare cases, a factory reset of the Quest could fix persistent casting issues, but do that only as a last resort (and backup data first).
Network restrictions (advanced): Be aware that certain networks (corporate networks, school campuses, hotels, etc.) may have security that blocks the peer-to-peer communication needed for casting. If you’re trying this in an office or dorm and it just won’t work, the network might be the issue. You may need to use a personal hotspot or a different router in such cases.
If you’ve tried all these troubleshooting tips and still can’t cast, you can reach out to Oculus (Meta) support for further help. However, in most cases, ensuring the network setup is correct and using the proper method will get your casting working.
To wrap up, here are some best practices to help you get the most out of Oculus casting. Following these tips will make your casting experience smoother and more enjoyable for everyone:
By following these best practices, you’ll ensure that your Oculus casting sessions are as smooth and enjoyable as possible, with minimal technical interruptions. A strong network, proper setup, and awareness of the system’s limits will go a long way in providing a high-quality mirroring of your VR adventures.
Casting your Oculus Quest to a TV, phone, or PC is a fantastic way to share the magic of VR with those around you. Whether you’re slashing beats in Beat Saber, exploring exotic locales in Google Earth VR, or just watching someone paint in Tilt Brush, casting lets everyone in on the fun. With the step-by-step instructions provided above, you should be able to get set up easily via oculus.com/casting for your computer or through the Meta Quest app for mobile and TVs. Remember to keep an eye on your network and device settings, and use the troubleshooting tips if you hit any snags. Now you’re ready to host your own VR game night or show off a new app to your friends – happy casting!