Meta · Horizon OS · headset settings
Meta Quest Settings: the ten Horizon OS entries behind the universal menu
The Quest's settings open from the universal menu as a floating panel: ten entries down the left, the selected page on the right, pointed at with a controller or a hand. This page walks those entries as they stand in Horizon OS v81, explains what the three releases here change, and links every entry to a screen you can open.
- Newest release here
- Meta Quest v81
- Versions you can open
- 3
- Top-level sections
- 10
- Rows in the tree
- 114
How Meta Quest organises its Settings
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth lead, with the network list and the paired controllers. Device is the long page: power and auto-sleep timers, the controllers and their vibration, storage with a breakdown by apps and media, Passthrough and Auto Wake. Display sets the refresh rate, 72, 90 or 120 Hz, auto brightness and Eye Comfort. Sound has spatial audio and the voice-command switches.
Boundary is the page specific to a headset: boundary sensitivity, passthrough at the edge, Set Up Boundary and Space Sense for objects entering the play area. Movement Tracking holds Hand Tracking and its frequency, Body Tracking, Eye Tracking and Natural Facial Expressions on the models that have the sensors. Apps manages permissions, default apps and Unknown Sources for sideloading. Accounts covers the Meta account, payment, privacy and data. System closes the list with Software Update, language, date and time, Accessibility and Factory Reset.
What changes between versions
Three releases are here, v72, v74 and v81, named by Meta's monthly build number. v72, from late 2024, and v74, from early 2025, share the ten entries. v81, from late 2025, brought the redesigned Horizon Central and the Mixed Reality Link pairing; the settings list itself did not change. The Software Update page under System reports the build you chose. Meta's 2026 builds will be added when a version number can be confirmed against the release notes.
Three settings worth knowing the path to
- Settings > Boundary > Space Sense
Shows people and objects that enter the play area as outlines in the headset. It is off by default and it is the switch that stops you hitting a pet.
- Settings > Apps > Unknown Sources
Where sideloaded apps appear once developer mode is enabled from the phone app. Every SideQuest guide ends on this row.
- Settings > Device > Passthrough
The camera view of the room, and the double-tap gesture that toggles it. On Quest 3 the colour passthrough is set here, not under Display.
Questions people ask about Meta Quest settings
Where is the refresh rate on Meta Quest?
Settings > Display > Refresh Rate, with 72, 90 and 120 Hz. Games choose their own rate; the setting here applies to the home environment and apps that follow the system value.
How do I enable sideloading on the Quest?
Developer mode is switched on in the Meta Horizon phone app for the headset; after that Settings > Apps > Unknown Sources lists what has been installed outside the store.
Is this the real Horizon OS?
It is a simulation of the Quest settings panel with the entries and wording of each release. The account, storage and network shown are sample values and no apps run.