Nord Quest VR Review (How I Got Scammed by Nord Quest VR)
From the start, I had a bad feeling about this Facebook ad, and here’s what happened after I clicked.
The purpose of marketing is to create want, and Facebook is where most people spend their time looking at other people’s lives and wishing their life was better. It also has ads, to help us buy our way out of our sadness.
Keep reading for a free link to the (really) best VR headset upgrades. Spoiler alert: Its not Nord Quest VR!
If you’re too impatient to read my review and just want my recommendation for the best VR headset accessories, click this link. You’ll thank me later.
Want an even better deal? Get $35 Meta credit when you use my link to buy a headset!
I’ll confess. One night, I had a few drinks and was in a great mood when I started cruising around Facebook that night. I had previously been intrigued by the ads for Nord Quest VR’s headset enhancements, but it was (probably) the alcohol that made their ads that night intoxicating to get me to finally purchase everything.
Yes, I bought everything. Almost.
I bought the Comfort Strap, the Charging Dock, and the Ear Muff upgrade. Every one of these upgrades at a “discount” to the full retail price. Of course, the headset is always on sale for $79 (they never sell it for the $150 faux retail price). Likewise, the $39 charging dock never actually sells for $99, either.
The Quest 2 Comfort Strap with battery pack was (I thought) the solution to all of my virtual reality problems. With the new enhanced strap, I’d be able to play longer (my battery was always running out and they promised to double my playing time). As a feature of that heavy battery on the back, it acted as a counter-weight for the heavy display on the front, which was a brilliant piece of marketing. Best of all, it looked padded and more comfortable than that flimsy fabric strap that came with my Quest, right?
It was also meant to be quicker and easier to precisely adjust to my head, which was awesome because my wife and I were sharing my headset playing Supernatural VR every night. You can read my review here.
The Ear Muff upgrade was portrayed as the way to make your sound totally immersive, sound more amazing, with “3D stereo sound” and the Charging Dock was a pretty place to park the headset where it would also charge itself.
I finished my beverage as I clicked through the check out and boom — I was done. Even though I ordered all of these upgrades that night, it would be awhile before I’d get to try it out, because that’s when the problems started.
It took three weeks for my order to arrive (Jan 28 to Feb 16). Despite the look and feel of the ads, it shipped from China via YunExpress.
As soon as the box was in my hands I immediately went to try on the headset. I attached it to my headset and put it on, only to discover there was a part missing. Without that small 1-inch square piece of rubberized plastic, the comfort strap would slide right off the arm of the headset. It was impossible to keep it attached to my face without it.
The fact was, what I had purchased was not a product from Nord Quest VR at all. It was a cheaply made generic-boxed product that was entirely devoid of their brand name. What Nord Quest VR had done was harnessed great marketing to sell a product that probably cost $5 to make. At least, that’s what it looked like from the plain cardboard box and the manual filled with broken English instructions. There are probably dozens of companies around the world selling this same VR headset upgrade.
Barely able to keep my headset on my head, I tested the Ear Muffs, which were completely worthless, to put it nicely. Not only did they not deliver any sort of upgrade, they actually muffled the sound and made it worse. There was no “technology” in the sound upgrade at all, just padded pieces of plastic that reflected the sound a little differently to trick you into buying something that had no real value.
My massive disappointment was only compounded when I contacted their support team to get the problem resolved. When I complained and described the problem, they asked for proof. So I sent them the videos they asked for.
I also complained about the Ear Muff upgrade. They asked for “proof” of the problem with them, but since I was unable to show them how they reflected sound waves invisible to the eye, they refused to refund them! (Needless to say, it seemed their “money back guarantee” was just marketing fluff, too).
Dejected, I told them to just send a fix for the headset and I would throw the Ear Muffs in the trash, where they belonged.
Finally, after emailing back and forth for weeks, being ignored, having to send email after email, fighting with them for weeks through serious language barriers and more broken English, and (finally) threatening multiple times to charge back on my credit card — Nord Quest VR finally agreed to resolve my problem.
To my shock, they told me they would not send me the little piece of rubberized plastic I needed to fix the headset strap. Instead, their solution was to send me an entirely new Nord Quest VR comfort strap for my Oculus 2.
This proved two things. First, that this company was better at drop shipping low quality product than providing customer support. Second, that these products were so cheap to manufacture that it made more sense to send out a totally new unit than to send me a piece of plastic worth less than $1.
In the meantime, while I waited for my replacement unit to arrive, I continued to use my headset with the charging dock. Despite its cheap appearance, it was easy to use and the best part was it being wireless!
Ah, the joy of being able to charge wirelessly by simply setting the headset in the dock and waiting for it to charge was great. Except, it wasn’t.
The wireless charging took ages when you didn’t use the charging cube that originally came with the Oculus (Meta) Quest. Using the charging dock meant it would have to sit all day (or all night) to charge.
And then the charging dock stopped charging.
This time, my flurry of emails got a quicker result. The problem was simple — the pin on the cheap wireless plug for the headset had snapped off. Without that tiny pin, the headset would not charge. They shipped out replacements and I continued to use the charging dock despite its weaknesses.
So what about the comfort strap?
When it finally arrived over a month later (February 22 to March 27) I was so excited to finally try it. From the moment I put it on my head I adjusted and played with it to try to make it fit right. That first day my Supernatural VR routine was less enjoyable than it was with the original strap.
But, I didn’t give up. I was fully dedicated to trying to enjoy my Nord Quest VR comfort strap. I had been through months of hell, and I wanted it to be well worth it. I wanted to love it.
So, I kept trying. For a month.
But every single day I used it, I hated it more, and more. It never felt comfortable, the fit was either too loose (causing it to slide off my face) or too tight (causing pain in my face). I was impossible to use while working out, and I eventually gave up, defeated.
I packed everything up, and took it downstairs and never used any of it again. I was finally able to sell everything at a loss, ironically — on Facebook Marketplace. The circle of life continues.
Okay, it is clear that Nord Quest VR is marketing trash that is far from advertised.
So, what should you buy instead? Click this link to visit my friends at Kiwi.
Their designs are simpler, better, and the quality of product is higher. Here are a few reviews of their products:
Most surprising, their retail prices are not just comparable, they are the same (or lower) than the Nord Quest VR “sale” prices, for a better quality product.
See you in the metaverse!
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