Meta Quest 3 Setup (Top 10 Things to Do After Unboxing!)

If you are just unboxing your new VR headset, you definitely need to know what are the best things to do right off the bat regarding the Meta Quest 3 setup.

We will go over mandatory adjustments that every user must be aware of, as well as show you the best tips and tricks to get your VR experience to the next level.

If your Meta Quest 3 is up and running, you’re ready to start!

Meta Quest 3 Setup–The Top 10 Things to Do After Unboxing!

Note: We recommend following the steps chronologically!

1. Set Up Interpupillary Distance (IPD)

The very first thing to do, before ever wearing the Quest 3 headset, is to set up the interpupillary distance (IPD).

Well, using the VR headset without adjusting the spacing of the lens as per your unique face structure, is the fastest way to get dizziness and headaches.

To measure your IPD, you’ll need a ruler with millimeter marks!

• Stand in front of a mirror and close your left eye.
• Match the zero point with the center of your pupil.
• Note: Try not to move too much during the switch.
• Then, open your left eye and close your right eye.
• Well, note the exact distance between your pupils.

For most people, the distance between the pupils is somewhere from 65 to 70 millimeters, but this varies per person.

How to Adjust Quest 3 IPD?

When you have the exact number (plus/minus 1–2 mm), equip the headset and rotate the IPD wheel located on the bottom side, left from your nose.

Then, the IPD configuration dialog should appear on the screen, allowing you to adjust the spacing between the lenses as per your face.

Quick Tip: We recommend everyone using the headset to measure their IPD and adjust it accordingly, to have the best VR experience.

2. Connect Meta Quest 3 to the Wi-Fi

Now that you can equip your VR headset without worrying about getting a headache, it’s time to move on and learn how to setup Meta Quest 3 by connecting it to the Wi-Fi. 

There are two options to connect Meta Quest 3 to the Wi-Fi–from the headset or through the Meta Horizon application. So, go ahead and proceed with any of the methods:

How to Connect Quest 3 with the App?

1. Open the Meta Horizon app on your mobile.
2. Tap the hamburger menu and go to Settings.
3. Select the Quest 3 headset that you’re using.
4. Choose Headset Settings and then “Wi-Fi”.
5. Select Wi-Fi and insert the correct password.

How to Connect Quest 3 without App?

1. On your headset go to the “Universal Menu”.
2. Then go to “Quick Settings”, then “Settings”.
3. Select Wi-Fi, and choose a wireless network.
4. Insert the password and select “Connect”.

Your VR headset is now connected to the internet and you’re ready to continue with the setup!

3. Set Up your Meta Quest 3 Play Area

The play area or “PLAYSPACE” is the zone or spot in your room where you’ll be optimizing your headset to recognize and employ boundaries while playing.

The Quest 3 headset allows you to map your room/furniture, providing a mixed virtual reality, enabling you to move around freely.

The Meta Quest 3 headset carries you through the playspace setup automatically during the initial initialization, hence you’re probably already over with it.

However, you can enhance the VR headset’s play area by adding your furniture like coffee tables, sofas, baskets, and more…

So, once the mapping is done, follow these steps for ultimate optimization:

1. Equip the Quest 3 headset and press the Meta button.
2. Click the clock on the left side and go to Quick Settings.
3. Then, go over to “Settings” and select “Physical Space”.
4. Choose “Select Space Setup” and tap the Setup button.
5. Follow the steps to add any furniture near the play area.

You can add couches, tables, walls, baskets, chairs, desks, TV stands, and more!

Important: Play Area Lighting!

To avoid potential tracking issues from your controllers, we recommend ensuring that your play area is well-lit.

The best thing you can do is use artificial lighting such as the main light in the room, since sunlight can often cause some of your furniture to reflect, causing tracking issues.

4. Enable the Voice Commands

If you live in the United States, you can use the Meta Quest 3 voice assistant to quickly access menus and adjust settings.

• Unfortunately, the voice assistant is only supported for the U.S. as of 2025, but we expect the feature to become usable worldwide in the next few years and updates.

To enable the voice assistant on Meta Quest 3, follow the steps below:

1. Press the Meta button to open the “Universal Menu”.
2. Select the clock on the left to access Quick Settings.
3. Choose “Voice Commands” and then “Start Setup”.

When you complete the setup, you only need to say “Hey Meta” to activate your voice assistant.

Well, if you prefer pressing a button instead, go back to the Voice Commands menu and choose “Enable Shortcut”.

The shortcut is double-pressing the Meta button. 

Useful Voice Assistant Commands?

You should try narrating the following commands:

• “Go home”
• “What’s the battery?”
• “Increase the volume to 4”
• “Who’s online”
• “Start recording”
• “Stop recording”
• “Start sharing”
• “Stop sharing”

Note: You can even play games, entirely using your voice!

5. Turn on & Test Hand Tracking

The hand tracking is an amazing Meta Quest 3 feature allowing you to interact with the virtual world without using your controllers.

It’s suitable for when you’re just hanging out, watching a movie, or simply want to perform an easy task effortlessly.

While hand tracking may not be perfectly reliable for competitive games, we would love to show you how to enable it and how it works.

1. Press the Meta button to go to the “Universal Menu.”
2. From there, click the clock and go to Quick Settings.
3. Go to Settings → Devices →  Hands and Controllers.
4. Select the toggle next to “Hand Tracking” to turn it on.

You can now navigate VR without the controllers and play games that support hand tracking. 

Note: You can switch the input mode by double-tapping the controllers anytime or simply, picking them up to wake them up.

6. Switch the Home Environment

One of the best free things to do on Quest 3, is changing the home environment surroundings.

By default, the virtual reality that you’re going to see every time you put on your VR headset is going to be a passthrough view of the actual room around you.

Well, with Meta Quest 3, you don’t need to see the actual room, you switch between custom environments and scenes.

How to Use a Default Immersive Environment?

• Press the Meta button to open the Universal Menu, go to Quick Settings, and tap the Space tile.

Note: This will switch between passthrough and immersive home environments.

How to Use a Custom Immersive Environment?

• From the Quick Settings, go to Settings and choose Personalization to select any of the existing home environments you see.

Note: You may need to download some of the home environments before you can use them!

7. Enable 120 Hz for Smooth VR

If you want to optimize your virtual reality experience further, we recommend enabling the 120 Hz refresh rate.

Unlike the old model–Quest 2, the Meta Quest 3 supports a higher refresh rate, which makes every motion smooth as butter.

However, it’s almost too good to be true.

The 120 Hz refresh rate will definitely drain your VR headset battery much faster, so we recommend that you enable it, try it, and decide for yourself.

• To enable a 120 Hz refresh rate, go to Quick Settings → Settings → System → Display and click the switch next to 120 Hz Refresh Rate.

You should immediately notice the difference.

All of the action and motion around you will be a lot smoother when compared to the default 90 Hz.

Quick Tip: If your Meta Quest 3 battery is draining too fast, or your Quest 3 is getting too hot on the touch (overheating), we recommend switching back to 90 Hz.

8. Share the Headset with the Family

To personalize the virtual reality experience for every member of your family, we recommend creating a personal profile for each user. 

Well, especially if you have children, the Meta Quest 3 setup for kids is crucial and it includes restrictions for certain applications and limited access to features.

This doesn’t mean changing the Meta account every time a new user equips the VR headset. Instead, you can add multiple profiles to the same account. This allows different environments, display settings, access limitations and play area adjustments specifically tailored for the profile.

• Verify that you’re logged into your Meta account.
• Go to the Quick Settings → Settings → Accounts
• Choose “Add Account” from the top right corner.
• On your phone go to the “www.meta.com/device”.
• Insert the 8-digit code displayed on the headset.

At this point, the second user of the headset can go through the steps of configuring the profile and when ready, you’re good to go.

Quick Tip: You should also enable app sharing between the profiles from Quick Settings → Settings → Accounts → App Sharing.

8. Record & Stream the VR Action

Did you know that you can take screenshots, record videos, or even livestream your virtual reality adventures for others to enjoy watching?

With Meta Quest 3 you can not only capture your screen but also start a live broadcast to your Facebook feed whenever you want with a few clicks.

• To take a screenshot: Press and hold the Meta button on the right controller and the rigger button on the left controller for 1 second, after which you must hear a sound.
• To capture a recording:  Hold the Meta button on the right controller and the trigger button on the left controller continuously until you see the recording dot on the screen.
• To stream to Facebook: Press the Meta button and select the camera icon, where you’ll find all options as well as the feature to start streaming to your Facebook feed.

Quick Tip: To view your screenshots and recordings, you should use the Gallery in the Meta Horizon application.

9. Cast your VR on the Big Screen

If you want to visually share your VR experience with other people in the room, you can cast the screen of your Quest 3 to the big-screen TV.

• To share your experience, you need to go to the Universal Menu, tap the Camera icon and select “Cast”.

This will reveal compatible devices on the network.

The only requirement for the big-screen TV to appear in the list is for the device to be connected to the same network as your VR Quest 3.

Casting on Android or iOS:

If you want to cast your VR adventures on a phone or a tablet (Android or iOS), you want to use the Meta Horizon app.

The app should be already installed, considering that you have probably used it during the setup, but if it’s not, you can download it from the App Store or Google Play.

Here’s how to cast Quest 3 to your phone or tablet:

• Open your Meta Quest app and tap the “Cast” button.
• Once the headset connects, tap the “Cast” icon again.
• Press anywhere on the screen to bring up the menus.

Reminder: Your phone must be connected to the same network (same router) as your Quest 3 to be able to connect in the first place, therefore cast the feed.

Additional Meta Quest 3 Setup – Explore Accessibility Settings!

Now that we’ve already gone through the most important things to do for your Meta Quest 3 initialization, there are a lot of other things you should explore on your own. 

There are a lot of accessibility features, audio options, movement enhancements, and settings that you can adjust to elevate your experience.

Some of them include:

• Display settings (brightness & contrast)
• Colorblind modes and Text Size settings
• Audio balance, Mono audio, and Volume
• Live captions and hearing enhancements
• Thumbstick calibration & controller remap

Meta Quest 3 is equipped with a lot more features, settings, and possible adjustments, hence that’s just the tip of everything you can do. 

However, we leave up everything we didn’t mention in this guide for you to explore–Best of luck.