How to Fix “Oculus Assistant Service keeps Stopping” Error?

Oculus Assistant service may stop mainly due to issues with its settings and device settings. The operating system issues might range from outdated firmware to corrupt one.

The problem occurs out of the blue when launching/quitting an app or performing a particular task, like using the Oculus browser’s virtual Keyboard or the Voice Commands app. Sometimes, an OS or app update triggers the assistant service problem.

There may be many reasons for which Oculus Assistant service may keep stopping, but the following can be considered the main ones:

1. Disable and Enable Wi-Fi of the Oculus Headset

If an app like Voice Commands is facing issues adequately using the Wi-Fi connection, it can break OS services like the Assistant service. In this case, disabling and enabling the headset’s Wi-Fi after launching the app may resolve the issue.

1. Head to the Apps Library of the Oculus headset and launch the problematic app (like the Oculus browser or Voice Commands app).
2. Now open Quick Settings of the headset and click on Wi-Fi.

   

3. Then, near the top of the panel shown, disable Wi-Fi by toggling its switch off and waiting for a minute.

   

4. Now enable Wi-Fi from the Quick Settings menu and check if the Oculus Assistant stopping problem is solved.

2. Restart Oculus and Log Out/In the Companion App

A temporary glitch in Oculus software or its communications with the companion app might cause the service to stop. Restarting Oculus and logging out/in of the companion app may resolve the issue.

1. Locate and press the Power button of your Oculus headset.

   

2. Now select Power off and wait till the process completes.

   

3. Then launch the Oculus’s companion app on your phone, and near the bottom right, tap on Setting.

   

4. Now scroll down to the bottom and tap on the Log Out button.

   

5. Then confirm to Log Out of the app and log into the Oculus companion app afterward.

   

6. Now power on the Oculus headset and check if its assistant service issue is resolved.

3. Update the Voice Commands App on the Oculus Device

Suppose the Voice Commands app of your Oculus device is missing the latest OEM patches. In that case, it may become incompatible with other OS modules (like the virtual Keyboard) and crash with the Oculus Assistant service. Updating the Voice Commands app on the Oculus device may solve the problem.

1. Launch Settings of your Oculus device and head to Apps.
2. Now, head to the Updates tab in the Library and check if a Voice Commands App update is available.
3. If so, click on Update, and restart your Oculus headset once updated.

   

4. Upon restart, check if the Oculus Assistant service issue is resolved.
5. If the Update fails to install, head to Library in the Oculus Settings and open Oculus Apps.
6. Now locate the Voice Commands app and expand its menu by clicking on three dots.
7. Then select Details and in the resulting menu, click on Update.
8. Once updated, restart your Oculus device and then check if the Oculus Assistant Service problem is solved.

4. Update the OS of the Oculus Device to the Latest Build

If your Oculus device is missing the latest updates, it may become incompatible with other modules and cause constant stopping of the assistant service. Here, updating the OS of the Oculus device to the latest build may resolve the issue.

1. Launch Settings of your Oculus device and head to the About tab in the left pane. 

   

2. Now, in the right pane, click on Download or Install Update and wait till the process completes. If no update is shown or the option is greyed out, the Oculus headset is already updated to its latest OS build. 

   

3. Once done, restart your device and check if the Oculus Assistant service is working fine upon restart.

5. Enable All the Keyboard Features of the Oculus Device

If essential keyboard features are disabled on the Oculus device, that can also crash the Oculus Assistant service if the assistant is required to perform a keyboard-related job. Here, enabling all the keyboard features of the Oculus device may clear the error.

1. Launch Settings of your Oculus device and select System.

   

2. Now head to Keyboard and enable every option for it.

   

3. Then restart your Oculus headset and check if it is working correctly.
4. If that does not work, check if using the keyboard dictation resolves the issue.

6. Reset Experimental Features of the Oculus Device to the Defaults

Oculus has some very cool experimental features, but they are experimental, so either they enhance your device’s capability or may break its operation.

If you (or another app on the device) have changed any configurations of these experimental features, that could also cause the problem. In this scenario, resetting the experimental features to their defaults may clear the issue.

1. Launch Settings of your Oculus device and open Experimental.

   

2. Now click on Reset All to Defaults and select Restart to complete the process.

   

3. Once done, check if the Oculus device is clear of the assistant service issue.

7. Disable Auto Correction of the Oculus’s Virtual Keyboard

Your Oculus Assistant might stop working if the auto-correct feature of its Keyboard is glitched out and crashes in operation. Disabling the Auto Correction of the Oculus’s virtual Keyboard may solve the problem.

1. Launch Settings of the Oculus device and open System.
2. Now, head to the Keyboard tab in the left pane of the options, and then disable Auto-Correction in the right pane by toggling its switch to off.

   

3. Then restart your Oculus device and check if the Oculus assistant stopping issue has been resolved upon restart.

8. Disable and Enable Microphone Access for the Voice Commands App

If the Voice Commands app’s microphone access permission glitches, it can crash the Oculus Assistant service. Here, disabling and enabling microphone access for the Voice Commands app may clear the problem.

1. Launch Settings of your Oculus device and head to the Applications.

   

2. Now, in the right pane, select Permissions and open Microphone. 

   

3. Then locate the Voice Command app, and afterward, disable the Microphone permission of the app.
4. Repeat the task that created the issue, like using the Keyboard in the Oculus browser, and check if the problem is resolved. Afterward, you may enable back the microphone permission for the Voice Commands app.

9. Disable Developer Mode of the Oculus Device

The developer mode in the Oculus device unlocks many features not usually available in the normal version but is known to cause random glitches. In this context, disabling the developer mode of your Oculus Quest headset will solve the issue. 

1. Launch your Meta Quest app and head to its Settings.
2. Now select the connected Oculus device and if required, connect to it.
3. Then, under the device list, tap on More Settings and head to the Developer tab.
4. Now, toggle the Developer Mode switch off and restart your Oculus device in the right pane.

   

5. Upon restart, check if the Oculus device is working fine.

10. Reinstall the Oculus App on Your Phone

If the Oculus app’s installation of your phone has gone corrupt, it can lead to the oculus assistant issue under discussion. This is because the Oculus app will not be able to communicate properly with the other modules.

Here, reinstalling the Oculus app may clear the Oculus Assistant problem. For illustration, we will discuss the process of reinstalling the Android version of the Oculus app.

1. Shut down the Oculus device and then launch Settings on your Android phone.

   

2. Now select Apps and open Meta Quest.

   

3. Then tap on Uninstall, and afterward, confirm to uninstall the Meta app.

   

4. Once done, restart your phone and reinstall the Meta app upon restart.
5. Now launch the Meta app and connect it with your Oculus device.
6. Then check if the Oculus Assistant issue is resolved.

11. Enable Hey Facebook and App Sharing of the Oculus Headset

If your Oculus device is failing to access the modules essential for the operation of its assistant service, then the voice assistant service may keep on stopping. In this case, enabling the Hey Facebook and App Sharing features may resolve the issue.

1. Uninstall the Oculus companion app from the connected phone (discussed earlier) and restart your phone.
2. Now reinstall the Oculus app and again restart your phone.
3. Then, on your Oculus headset, launch Settings and head to Experimental.
4. Now enable Hey Facebook by toggling its switch to On, and afterward, hit the back button.

   

5. Then head to Accounts and enable App Sharing (even if you have no plan to share it).

   

6. Now reboot your headset and check if the Oculus Assistant service issue is cleared upon restart.

12. Clear Browsing Data of the Oculus Browser

If any of the items of your Oculus browser’s browsing data are corrupt, that can cause unexpected behavior, especially when using a browser, like typing an address using the Keyboard. In this context, clearing the browsing data of the Oculus browser may solve the problem.

1. Launch the Oculus browser and click on the three horizontal ellipses.
2. Now select Clear Browsing Data and select the time range of Beginning of Time.

   

3. Then select all the categories and click on the Clear Data button.

   

4. Once done, restart your Oculus device and check if its Assistant service is working fine.

   

5. If that did not work, check if using another browser (like Firefox) does not cause the Oculus Assistant issue.

13. Disable Voice Commands of the Oculus Device

If the voice command modules are glitched out and causing the failure of other OS modules (like the virtual Keyboard), then that could crash the Oculus Assistant service. Here, disabling the voice commands of your Oculus device may solve the problem.

1. Launch Settings of your Oculus device and select System.
2. Now open Voice Commands and disable all the options shown, like In-App Voice Commands.

   

3. Then restart your Oculus device and check if the Oculus Assistant stopping problem is cleared upon restart.

   

14. Clear the App Data of the Oculus Assistant App

Sometimes the application data of Oculus Assistant gets corrupt due to insufficient updates or simply because a module didn’t work as expected. Due to this corruption, the platform might crash. In this case, clearing the app data of the Oculus Assistant app may solve the problem. You can do this by using SideQuest or by ADB.

Use SideQuest

1. Launch SideQuest and connect to your Oculus headset.

   

2. Now steer to the installed apps section and enable Show All.
3. Then locate the following:

   com.oculus.assistant

4. Now click on the gear icon and hit the Clear App Data option.
5. Then check if the Oculus Assistant service error is cleared.

Use ADB

1. Download, install, and launch ADB (Android Device Bridge).

   

2. Now connect to the Oculus headset and execute the following command in ADB:

   adb shell pm clear com.oculus.assistant

3. Then disconnect the headset from the ADB, and afterward, check if the issue is resolved.

15. Reinstall the VR Chat App

If the VR Chat app’s installation is corrupt, it may fail to release the Keyboard or other related modules in time and leave other apps to search for the required module, thus crashing the Oculus Assistant service. In this case, reinstalling the VR Chat app may clear the issue.

1. Launch the Settings of your Oculus headset and open Apps Library.

   

2. Now hover over VRChat and click on the three dots in front of it.
3. Then select Uninstall and, afterward, confirm to uninstall VRChat.
4. Once uninstalled, restart your Oculus device and check if it is clear of the stopping issue. You may reinstall VRChat and check if the problem is not regenerated.
5. If the issue persists after uninstalling VRChat, you may uninstall all apps one by one until you find the culprit causing the problem. Otherwise, you may reset your headset (discussed later).

16. Reset the Oculus Device to the Factory Defaults

If none of the above worked for you, then the problem could be a result of the corrupt OS of the Oculus headset, and resetting the Oculus device to the factory defaults may solve the problem.

Before proceeding, ensure the device is fully charged and back up your data/progress, as all the apps/accounts and the data will be removed from the headset. You may use the Cloud Backup feature of the device as well. The purchased content through your account will be available in the cloud, not on the headset.

Reset Through the Meta Quest App

1. Launch the Meta Quest app on your phone and head to Devices.

   

2. Then select Settings and scroll down till the end.
3. Now open More Settings and select Advanced Settings.

   

4. Then tap on Factory Reset, and afterward, confirm to factory reset your Oculus device.
5. Once done, set up the device as per your liking but do not install any apps yet, and hopefully, the Oculus device will be clear of the Oculus Assistant service keeps stopping the issue. Then you may install the apps (non- AppLab apps) one by one to check if any apps were causing the problem.

Reset Through the Headset

1. Power off your headset and simultaneously press the following buttons:

   Power
   
   Volume (-)

2. Wait until the boot screen loads and highlight the Factory Reset option using the volume up or down buttons.

   

3. Then confirm to reset your Oculus device by pressing the power button, and afterward, use the volumes button to highlight Yes.

   

4. Now press the Power button to initiate the reset process and wait until the process completes.
5. Once completed, set up the Oculus device as per your requirements but without installing any other apps. Hopefully, the headset will work fine without any issues, and then you may install the required apps one by one to check if an app is causing the problem.

If none of the above worked, you may contact Oculus support to resolve the issue or get a replacement headset (under warranty) if the headset is faulty.