How to Enable Kiosk Mode on Your VR Headset

Learn how to enable Kiosk Mode on your VR devices, including: HTC VIVE Focus 3, Pico Neo 2, Pico Neo 3, Oculus Quest, and Oculus Quest 2.
How to put VR headset in Kiosk Mode

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Looking for a way to put your VR headset into Kiosk Mode?

In this article we’ll talk about how to set your device in Kiosk Mode for popular VR headsets used in education and enterprise, including the following: HTC VIVE Focus 3, Pico Neo 2, Pico Neo 3, Oculus Quest, and Oculus Quest 2.

What is Kiosk Mode?

In VR Kiosk Mode end-users will only have access to a single, specified application on the VR device.

Kiosk Mode is ideal & beneficial in many use cases, including training, development, and education. A healthcare company might use a VR headset in Kiosk Mode to offer a specific therapy. For example, Karuna Labs uses Kiosk Mode to offer a specific therapy for patients dealing with chronic pain.

Kiosk Mode could also be used to demo a product. For example, French automotive manufacturer Renault used VR to demonstrate to business class passengers what it’s like to ride in one of their new cars.

A Human Resources department might use VR headsets in Kiosk Mode to train customer support staff on a soft skill, such as conflict resolution. For example, employees at Hilton have used Oculus headsets to learn greater empathy––which key for hospitality training.

Kiosk Mode gives you total control of what the end-user can access in-headset, including settings, applications, and other content (such as a video playlist). Kiosk Mode also provides a more streamlined, intuitive in-headset experience for the end-user.

Most VR & AR headset manufacturers provide a way to put devices in Kiosk Mode. However, it’s not always very simple or intuitive to make this shift. In many cases, shifting into VR Kiosk Mode requires individual, manual, and technical adjustments.

Kiosk Mode vs. Custom Launcher

Do you need to provide users the ability to select between more than one application in a secure launcher environment? Then you need a Custom Launcher!

ArborXR comes with a Custom Launcher that displays a grid of selected apps in a simple interface. The end-user can pick and launch only approved apps inside the headset. The Custom Launcher still offers the security and control of Kiosk Mode while giving the end-user the ability to launch into the application of their choice.

Enterprise Kiosk Mode VR Content Launcher

HTC VIVE Focus 3 Kiosk Mode

How to put the HTC VIVE Focus 3 in Kiosk Mode

The HTC VIVE Focus 3 requires switching to Kiosk Mode in VR (in the headset).

STEP 1: From the main VIVE overlay menu, select “Settings.”

STEP 2: Select “Kiosk Mode.”

STEP 3: Select “Assign Content.”

STEP 4: From the list, select the app you would like to use in Kiosk Mode.

STEP 5: Click “Save.”

STEP 6: Click “Enter Kiosk Mode.”

Note: If there was no content previously selected, you will be prompted to “Select Content” upon saving.

While the setup itself is simple, HTC VIVE Focus 3 does not offer an efficient way to set up devices on a large scale. Every single end-user has to put on their headset and navigate menus to switch it into Kiosk Mode. That makes it less than ideal for companies who may be deploying hundreds, if not thousands, of VR devices.

ArborXR’s native Kiosk Mode is compatible with HTC VIVE Focus devices and allows admin users to enable VR Kiosk Mode on a fleet of devices. There’s no need to individually set up devices. Instead, admin users can remotely configure the specific app and settings they want end-users to have access to.

Pico Neo 2 Kiosk Mode

How to put the Pico Neo 2 in Kiosk Mode

The Pico Neo 2 allows you to go into Kiosk Mode within business settings.

Before you start, the Pico Neo 2 must be in “Developer Mode” in order to enable Kiosk Mode. Learn how to put the Pico Neo 2 in Developer Mode here.

STEP 1: Navigate to Pico’s settings then select “Developer”

STEP 2: Scroll down then select “System.”

STEP 3: Select “User Configuration.”

STEP 4: Scroll down then select “Business Settings.”

STEP 5: Tab over to “Home Screen Settings.”

STEP 6: Choose the specific application you’d like to use for Kiosk Mode.

The device is now in kiosk mode!

The process is simple enough, but does require an individual user with administrative permissions to manually change this setting on each headset.

ArborXR’s native Kiosk Mode is compatible with Pico Neo devices and allows admin users to enable VR Kiosk Mode on a fleet of devices. There’s no need to individually set up devices. Instead, admin users can remotely configure the specific apps and settings they want end-users to have access to.

Pico Neo 3 Kiosk Mode

How to put the Pico Neo 3 in Kiosk Mode

Before you start, the Pico Neo 3 must be in “Developer Mode” in order to enable Kiosk Mode. Learn how to put the Pico Neo 3 in Developer Mode here.

STEP 1: Navigate to Pico’s settings then select “Developer.”

STEP 2: Select “Industry settings.”

STEP 3: Click the tab “Launcher App (Kiosk Mode).”

STEP 4: From the list, select the app you would like to use in Kiosk Mode.

STEP 5: Click “Ok” on the prompt “Are you sure you will modify the application to Launder App.”

STEP 6: Click “Restart” on the prompt “You have successfully modified and need to restart the device to take effect.”

The device is now in Kiosk Mode!

This requires manual configuration on each individual device. Again, this option isn’t time- or cost-effective for using AR and VR at scale.

ArborXR’s Kiosk Mode is compatible with Pico Neo devices and allows admin users to enter the web portal and remotely configure devices to Kiosk Mode. This saves a significant amount of time, money, and labor.

Oculus for Business Devices (Quest 1 & 2) Kiosk Mode

How to put the Oculus for Business Devices (Quest 1 & 2) in Kiosk Mode

Oculus Quest 1 & 2 consumer devices cannot be placed into Kiosk Mode without the use of a MDM (mobile device management) solution like ArborXR. Oculus for Business devices, on the other hand, can be configured to Kiosk Mode remotely via Oculus for Business’ Device Manager software.

STEP 1: Go into “Device Manager” on Oculus for Business.

STEP 2: Select the device or devices you want to put into Kiosk Mode.

STEP 3: Select “Settings.”

STEP 4: Click the pencil icon next to “Kiosk Mode.”

STEP 5: Click “On.” 

STEP 6: Select the application you want to enable.

STEP 7: Click “Save.”

STEP 8: Your devices are now set to Kiosk Mode.

While Oculus for Business does allow for remote enablement of Kiosk Mode, if you’re wanting to go beyond Kiosk Mode and display multiple apps for end-users to select from, you’re out of luck. Oculus for Business doesn’t provide a way to customize their home environment, meaning you have to use single app Kiosk Mode otherwise all apps installed on the device will be shown to end-users.

ArborXR is compatible with Oculus Quest devices and allows admin users to enable Kiosk Mode remotely. ArborXR also offers a Custom Launcher for when you want more than one app to display in-headset, while hiding other apps that are installed. You can customize the launcher as well, including the logo and 360° background image––so that your end-users can have a more branded experience.

VR Kiosk Mode with ArborXR

ArborXR Logo

With ArborXR, there are two options for enabling Kiosk Mode on your VR devices.

Option 1: Device Groups

STEP 1: Navigate to “Groups” on the side navigation menu. Then select the group in question.

STEP 2: Tab over to “Headset Experience”

STEP 3: Select “Kiosk Mode.”

STEP 4: Click “Select Kiosk App” to “whitelist” the Kiosk app.

STEP 5: After making your selection, click “Apply” to close the modal.

STEP 6: Click “Save” to save launch settings. The devices in this respective group are all now in Kiosk Mode!

Option 2: Individual Devices (Ungrouped)

STEP 1: Navigate to “Devices” in the side navigation menu. Click “All.” 

STEP 2: Click on the device in question.

STEP 3: Tab over to “Headset Experience.”

STEP 4: Select “Kiosk Mode.”

STEP 5: Click “Select Kiosk App” to “whitelist” the Kiosk app.

STEP 6: After making your selection click “Apply” to close the modal.

STEP 7: Click “Save” to save launch settings.

STEP 8: Your device is now in Kiosk Mode!

Kiosk Mode in ArborXR enables companies implementing AR & VR to:

  • Remotely configure headsets to Kiosk Mode, so that end-users only have access to what they need––on any standalone Android-based headset.
  • Configure headsets to Kiosk Mode at scale.
  • Create a branded in-headset experience for end-users.

Beyond Kiosk Mode

If admin users want to give permission for end-users to access several applications, they can also use ArborXR’s Custom Launcher. The Custom Launcher allows end-users to launch into an app of their choice, while still restricting access to non-ArborXR installed applications.

See how easy it is to set devices into Kiosk Mode and Custom Launcher here.

Interested in getting started?

Start using ArborXR free today. If you have any questions, visit our product page or email us at [email protected].

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