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How to adjust the Oculus Rift for a perfect fit

Out of the box, the Oculus Rift won't fit quite right. Here's how to adjust it so it fits comfortably.

Sarah Mitroff Managing Editor
Sarah Mitroff is a Managing Editor for CNET, overseeing our health, fitness and wellness section. Throughout her career, she's written about mobile tech, consumer tech, business and startups for Wired, MacWorld, PCWorld, and VentureBeat.
Expertise Tech, Health, Lifestyle
Sarah Mitroff
2 min read
Watch this: Get your VR headset to fit just right

Right out of the box, the Oculus Rift probably won't fit perfectly. But this one-size-fits-most headset just needs a few tweaks to get the best fit. Here's everything you need to know about adjusting the headset to your head and eyes.

Fit the outside first

  1. Loosen the straps on the sides of the headset and top to the loosest settings.
  2. Put on the Oculus Rift starting by slipping the back strap around the back of your head and then sliding the front down over your eyes.
  3. Hold the front of the headset with one hand and adjust the side straps a little at a time with the other until the front fits snug against your face, but isn't too tight.
  4. Adjust the top strap so it's snug against the top of your head. Tighten it until the top strap and back strap are supporting most of the weight, so that the front display isn't digging into your cheeks or around your eyes.

You want the Oculus Rift to be just tight enough against your face without smashing into your cheeks or around your eyes -- it shouldn't fit as tightly as ski goggles. If you move or gently shake your head, the headset shouldn't move too much -- a tiny bit is fine. The headset will fit correctly when your feel the weight more on the top and back of your head and less on your face.

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Adjust the side and top straps to the loosest settings on the Oculus Rift (left) before you get started.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Calibrate the display

Now you'll need to make sure the picture you see in the headset is as clear as possible. To do that, you'll need to adjust the space between the lenses.

  1. From the Oculus Home menu, press the Oculus button on the remote to go to the Universal Menu. Look on the right side for the Change Lens Spacing setting and press the large circle (select) button on the Oculus remote to select it.
  2. When you see the see a green cross, adjust the side straps as needed until the horizontal lines of the cross look crisp and clear.
  3. Find the small slider on the bottom right of the front of headset.
  4. Using your thumb, press in and slide it left or right until the vertical lines of the green cross are crisp. This adjusts the spacing of the lenses so they fit your eyes. When the cross looks as crisp as possible, press the select button on the remote to finish.

Finishing touches

The last step is to put the earphones where you want them. They swing back and forth, slide up and down and rotate to fit your ears. They also pop outward to give you some space to put the headset on.

And voila, you're done. The headset will now fit perfectly every time you put it on. Just pull on the back strap, slide it over your head and slide the front down over your eyes.