Facebook won't ban players who use more than one headset, apologizes for confusion

What you need to know

• Oculus Support says that users who use their Facebook account on more than one Oculus device are violating Facebook Terms of Service (ToS).
• Violating the Facebook ToS can result in your Facebook account getting banned, making it impossible to use your Oculus devices.
• Many users have been facing Facebook account bans since the Oculus account merger began in early October.

Update, October 25, 2020 (3:15 pm ET): The Oculus Support Twitter account issued a correction related to this topic on Sunday, October 25. Oculus explains that the Oculus Support shared incorrect information regarding banning accounts and clarified that using the same Facebook account on two or more Oculus headsets simultaneously will not get your account banned and that it is not against the Facebook Terms of Service. We've also created a full post outlining the clarification. The original article follows.

In a shocking move, Facebook's Oculus Support team has confirmed that users with multiple Oculus headsets may not use the same Facebook account on each headset at the same time. This means that folks with an Oculus Rift and an Oculus Quest headset, or even multiple Oculus Quest headsets (or any combination thereof) would not be able to use their legitimate Facebook-linked Oculus account on two or more headsets simultaneously. Doing so, according to an Oculus Support representative, violates Facebook's ToS, which could result in a Facebook account ban.

While a Facebook account ban sounds bad enough in and of itself, it's particularly problematic for Oculus Quest 2 users, who are unable to use their headsets without a valid active Facebook account. At this juncture, it seems that Facebook is suggesting one of two options for users: have someone else in your household login to the other Oculus device with their Facebook account, or only use one headset at a time.

Given that some users have set up "guest accounts" in the past (myself included), not being able to use the alternate account on a secondary Oculus device makes it impossible to play local multiplayer content. Many gamers are now expressing their frustration at being punished for their patronage to Oculus and left with little to no option to continue using their devices as they would like going forward.

Facebook is working on a multi-user solution (opens in new tab) for Oculus Quest devices, which would allow more than one Facebook account to be logged in to an Oculus Quest at a time. Until then, however, there is no way to use multiple accounts on a single Oculus device and, of course, no way to use a single account on multiple Oculus devices.

We've been in contact with Facebook representatives regarding erroneous account bans and have been assured that Oculus Support has a human available 24/7 to provide users with account support. While that's been panning out just fine for some users, other users are still left with banned accounts after several days, resulting in an Oculus Quest 2 that has often been referred to as a "paperweight". We will update this story with additional info as it develops.

Update: October 25, 3:15pm ET — Oculus won't ban Facebook accounts used on multiple Quest headsets

Oculus Support issued a correction over the weekend regarding the use of one Facebook account across multiple Oculus headsets. An Oculus Support representative incorrectly stated that using a Facebook account simultaneously on two or more Oculus headsets was against the Facebook Terms of Service and would result in a ban. This is not the case, however, as the Oculus Support Twitter account has clarified that doing so is not against the Facebook Terms of Service.

The initial news, which has since been shown to be incorrect, came as quite a surprise and led to frustration among Oculus headset users. With the Oculus Quest 2 being the first Oculus headset to require a Facebook account, many were concerned that using the same Facebook account on two headsets would result in a ban. Thankfully, this is not the case.