Quest 3 Battery Drain When Off? (5 Quick & Easy Solutions)

quest 3 battery drain when off

If your Quest 3 battery drain when off, it is quite normal, as long as it’s just a few percentages (5–7%).

The overnight drainage should be pretty much unnoticeable if we’re speaking about turning off the Quest for 24 hours or less.

However, if your Quest 3 battery is dead every time after being off, maybe there is something that is actively draining the charge.

This guide will help you discover why…

Quest 3 Battery Drain When Off – Quick & Easy Fix

Note: If you haven’t used your Quest 3 for weeks/months, it’s normal for the battery to be dead when you try to turn it on.

1. Power OFF Instead of Sleep

power off instead of sleep

The most important factor to preserve the battery of your Quest 3 while not using the headset, is to completely turn off the device, rather than putting it to sleep.

When the Meta Quest 3 headset is “sleeping”, it’s in the so-called “Standby Mode”, which keeps a lot of consumer features like Wi-Fi, ongoing and activated.

Hence, leaving your VR headset to sleep overnight will consume 10–15% or maybe more battery (based on the remaining cycles).

So, here’s a quick breakdown of how this works:

  • To put Quest 3 to sleep: Single-tap the Power button or simply remove the headset from the fit and leave it on standby (it will go to sleep automatically).
  • To fully turn off Quest 3: Press and hold the Power button until the power menu appears, and select “Power Off”, which will turn off the device entirely.

When the headset is completely off, the battery will also drain out but extremely slowly. It should not degrade with more than 2-3% overnight. 

If you see a significant drop, perhaps your headset is updating while off!

2. Disable the Automatic Updates

disable the automatic updates

Yes, that’s correct.

The Quest 3 headset will automatically turn on, even when off, to download and install pending updates when the automatic updates are enabled.

This is one of the main reasons why the device’s battery is draining out, especially if there are multiple app updates.

Here’s how to disable the automatic updates on Quest 3:

  • Press the Meta button on the right controller.
  • In the Universal menu go to Quick Settings.
  • Then, navigate to Settings and then General.
  • Choose Software Update to reveal the option.

Finally, select the toggle next to “Automatically power headset to update”. 

This will prevent your Meta Quest 3 from turning on automatically to execute pending updates, which means that if you want to update apps you need to do it manually.

Quick Tip: Another quick way to stop your Quest 3 from turning on automatically for updates is to create a PIN for unlocking, which disables the function.

3. Update the Meta Quest Headset

update the meta quest headset

It’s not excluded that your Meta Quest 3 is losing battery percentage while off or during sleep, because of a software-related problem.

So, before you continue, we recommend checking for any updates by navigating into Quick Settings → Settings → General → Software Update.

If your Quest 3 is up-to-date, continue reading…

4. Unplug Any USB-C Accessories

It’s crucial to unplug any accessories like external batteries, cooling add-ons, head straps, and other devices from the USB-C port of the headset.

Some of them may be withdrawing the headset’s power passively, even while off.

So, the best thing to do tonight is to disconnect whatever you have plugged into the USB-C port and check the battery of your headset in the morning.

5. Optimize the Charging & Storing

optimize the charging & storing

There are many factors that can affect the charging process and longevity of the Meta Quest 3 battery.

The most important aspect is the charging process, which includes the power adapter and the electrical outlet.

  • We recommend replacing both the cable/adapter and the wall outlet.

Another factor to consider is where you store your Meta Quest 3.

So, extreme temperatures like very hot and very cold can impact the performance and cause the Quest 3 battery to drain when off.

So, try to implement as many of our recommendations as possible and then check the battery!

Quest 3 Controller Battery Drain When Off – Quick Ways to Fix!

If your Meta Quest 3 controller, left or right, is losing battery when your headset is off, there are a few things you can try. 

#1 Verify No Buttons Are Pressed 

verify no buttons are pressed

When you are packing up your Quest 3 for traveling or simply leaving your controller overnight, ensure no buttons are held continuously.

If something, for example, the strap is pressuring any of the buttons on the Quest 3 controller, even when the device is off, the battery will be draining.

#2 Fully Power OFF your Headset

Sometimes, when you don’t fully power off the Meta Quest 3, micro-vibrations (especially while you’re traveling) can wake up your headset and engage the controllers.

This may lead to dead controller batteries upon attempting to use them later.

#3 Slightly Lift Up or Eject Battery

lightly lift up or eject battery

Apparently, the issue with the battery draining on Quest 3 controllers is so common that some users developed their own strategies to avoid it. 

For instance, a useful technique is to slightly lift up the batteries within the problematic controller to avoid contacting the polarity springs within.

This will guarantee that the batteries will not lose any of their charge, regardless of what happens with the headset, whether it’s turned on or not.

Quest 3 Controller Battery Draining Fast – What to Do?

If your Quest 3 controller/s battery is draining fast, chances are the battery is degraded.

Well, batteries are consumable electronics, which means that their performance degrades over time.

quest 3 controller battery draining fast

So, the best solution against fast-draining Quest 3 batteries is to simply replace them with new ones.

You will need 1 x or 2 x AA batteries, respectively for one or the two Quest 3 controllers.

With a new battery, the problem should be gone in an instant!