Meta paused Quest 3 Elite Strap with Battery sales as it replaces stock with a firmware issue causing incomplete charging.
Some buyers of the $130 official accessory have reported it not being recognized by the headset or not charging correctly.
Meta told Road To VR that this is due to a firmware fault with the strap itself, and since the firmware isn't user-updatable it will have to replace its inventory with units with new firmware, hence the sales pause.
If your Elite Strap with Battery exhibits the issue, you should reach out to Meta Support directly to have it replaced with a working unit.
Some retailers have delisted the device entirely, while others show it as out of stock. Meta isn't providing a timeline for when fixed units with the new firmware will become available.
Henry Stockdale
There are multiple cheaper (and fully working, as far as we're aware) third-party alternative battery head straps for Quest 3, and you can find a list in our comprehensive Quest 3 accessories guide.
UploadVR has reached out to Meta to independently confirm the issue. We also sought clarity on the timeline for availability of updated units, whether users will have the option to replace existing units irrespective of faulty behavior, and how many units may be affected. We will provide an update if we receive a response.
