Develop

Test your app on your device

Updated: Aug 24, 2026

What you need

RequirementNotes
Developer account
A Meta Developer Account in a developer team
Device
A Meta VR device
Cable
USB-C, data-capable. A charge-only cable does not work.
Mobile app
The Meta Horizon app, on iOS or Android
IDE
Android Studio with the Meta Horizon plugin

Step 1: Enable developer mode

Developer mode lets your device run apps that did not come from the Meta Horizon Store. You turn it on from the mobile app, not the device.
  1. On your mobile device, open the Meta Horizon app.
    For instructions on installing the Meta Horizon mobile app, see Install the Meta Horizon mobile app on your phone⁠.
  2. Sign in with your Meta developer account credentials through the app.
  3. Pair your device with the app.
  4. Put on your device and follow the instructions on the device to finish the setup.
For detailed instructions for a specific Quest device, refer to the Getting started⁠ setup guides.
Before enabling developer mode, ensure the following prerequisites are met:
  • You are a registered Meta developer with a verified Meta account. To check your account status, see Verification⁠ in the Developer Dashboard.
  • You are at least 18 years old.
  • Your device does not have any device-level restrictions that prevent enabling developer mode.
Follow these steps to enable developer mode:
  1. On your mobile device, open the Meta Horizon app.
  2. In the app, tap the headset icon in the toolbar.
    Meta Horizon toolbar
  3. Your paired headset should appear at the top of the screen. Tap the headset item, which displays the model and status of your paired headset.
    Paired headset item
  4. Tap Headset Settings beneath the image of your headset.
    Headset settings
  5. Tap Developer Mode.
    Developer mode list item
  6. Toggle Developer Mode to the on position.
    Toggle Developer Mode to the on position
  7. Use a USB-C data cable to connect the device to your computer.
    Note: To set up without a computer, check the setup documentation for your specific device on Meta Quest Help Center⁠.
  8. Put on your device.
  9. On your device, open the Quick Control menu item.
  10. Select Open Settings, displayed as a gear icon. Then, open the Developer tab and toggle MTP Notification on.
  11. When asked to allow USB debugging, select Always allow from this computer.
    Allow USB Debugging prompt

Step 2: Run your app

  1. Connect the device to your computer with the USB-C cable.
  2. In the Android Studio toolbar, select your device.
  3. Click Run.
    Android Studio toolbar with the connected device selected and Run button highlighted.

Step 3: Find your app on the device

Apps you install yourself do not appear in the main app grid.
  1. Open Library.
  2. Select the Unknown Sources tab.
  3. Select your app.

Next steps

Troubleshooting

The Unknown Sources tab is missing

The tab appears only after you install at least one app this way. If Step 2 succeeded, reopen Library.

The mobile app asks you to join a developer team

You need to be in a team before you can enable developer mode. A team links your Meta account to a verified developer organization.
If you already belong to one, confirm you are signed in with that Meta account and that the account is verified. See Verification⁠ in the Developer Dashboard.

Your device appears and disappears from adb devices

Two copies of adb are restarting each other’s daemon. Confirm the first result is in your Android SDK:
which -a adb
On Windows, run where.exe adb instead. If the first result is not your SDK copy, prepend the SDK’s platform-tools directory to your PATH:
export PATH="$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools:$PATH"
In PowerShell:
$env:PATH = "$env:ANDROID_HOME\platform-tools;$env:PATH"

You want to install a prebuilt APK

Install it with ADB⁠ instead of Android Studio:
adb install [path to apk]
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