Quest Techie: Wireless File Access From Your Phone, Computer
Quest Techie is a series of articles to cater to the Oculus Quest “power user” that wants to get more from their device and has a bit of technical savvy to do it. Updated on 2020–12–26.
Recently on the Oculus Quest Reddit sub r/OculusQuest a question was posed on how to get to your Oculus Quest files from your phone.
As with so many questions posed in that forum, a use case wasn’t given; no reason offered as to why they wanted access or what they were looking to achieve — but that’s okay, I had an answer for them anyway.
It Starts With SideQuest
Pretty much anything techie you want to do with the Quest will either require or greatly benefit from using SideQuest.
In combination with enabling yourself as a developer, SideQuest is a two part solution. There is a PC side “client” that interacts with your Quest once you install the “server” portion on the Quest itself.
First set up can be a bit lengthy, but subsequently it is easy to maintain and keep.
Everything you need to know is right here — including instructions on setup and installation.
Get SideQuest up and running, then come on back for the rest.
X-Plore: The Best Android Tool You’re Not Using
File management is a fact of life — no matter what platform you’re on; computer, phone or tablet … yes, even VR headset in this case.
For file management on the PC, you can’t do better than Directory Opus.
On Android — you can’t do better than X-plore — a file manager that makes all the Android top 10 lists, but yet no one seems to know about.
Aside from being a great ‘dual pane’ file manager, it has something fantastic … a Wi-Fi server that works seamlessly between instances of X-Plore but also has a great HTTP interface for accessing it with your web browser (no matter the platform).
Installing X-Plore
You’ll need the APK (installer) for X-Plore for Android. Download that here. Note: Make sure it is this version and not something newer or you may run into issues.
Installation via SideQuest is easy. Plug your Quest into your PC. Run SideQuest (make sure it is connected to the Quest), then drag the APK file over the big white SideQuest logo in the upper left.
After a moment or two (look under TASKS) X-Plore will be installed on your Quest.
On your phone, install X-Plore.
Configuring The Quest
Put on your Quest and navigate to Unknown Sources then find and run X-Plore.
Your first stop is the Configuration area. This is accessed by hitting the three-dot menu in the upper right next to “Switch Pane”.
Choose the following settings/changes:
- Show Hidden Files: Checked
- Root Access: Disabled
- Show Media Files: Checked
- Item Height: 150%
- Use Dark Theme: Checked
Once you have those in place, X-Plore is ready to go (and much nicer to look at).
Running the Server
Put on your Quest and navigate to Unknown Sources then find and run X-Plore.
Scroll down the file list until you see WiFi File Sharing. Tap WiFi Server. hit Start.
You will see your Quest IP address and a port number (probably 1111).
Your Quest is now ready to be accessed.
Running the Client (Phone)
On your Android phone, run the X-Plore app. Scroll down the file list until you see WiFi File Sharing the touch Add Device then Scan.
Your Oculus Quest should show up as a device. Tap it and you now have full access to the Quest files — use X-Plore’s file manager capabilities to perform whatever action you like.
Running the Client (Web)
Using the IP and port you saw on your Quest (e.g. 192.168.1.128:1111), open a web browser and navigate to that address.
You will be presented with a web interface that gives you complete access to your files and folders.
If you are looking for a wireless way to access the files without ADB or you’re using a non-Android phone/tablet — this is your best bet.
Well, that concludes this Quest Techie article. What else would you like to see? Your comments below, please!
