🎮 The 2026 Guide to Quest Piracy - Standalone Edition

When you activate a brand new headset, you can get ~$30 in Meta credit by using a referral link before logging in.

Referrals are region based so these are sorted by region so you know who to use.

Please support the VRP community by using one of these:

⚠️ Note: If the credit doesn't show up, you can factory reset and try again (within 7 days of purchase). Do NOT contact Meta — they've disabled our referrals over this before.

Nope. Nobody has ever been banned for pirating games on Quest. You can:

• Use your main Meta account
• Stay connected to Wi-Fi
• Mix pirated and purchased titles

It's safe, as long as you follow the guide and avoid trials/Quest+ on your pirated games.

You can, but it complicates everything. Rookies Sideloader works best with a single account. The more users you add, the more problems you'll face.

Keep it simple: one account per headset.

• ✅ Demos are 100% safe to use
• ❌ Free Trials mark your account, blocking future piracy of that title
• ⚠️ Quest+ now sometimes behaves like trials and can block piracy

Once you use a trial or Quest+ version of a game, pirating it will usually trigger a warning and the game won't launch. Options:

• 🛠️ Rename game with Phunk or APKognito
• 🔄 Factory reset headset and use fresh Meta account
• ➕ Add a clean secondary account

Yes, a few. Some use online DRM or anti-piracy tech that Rookies Sideloader can't bypass (yet). Others are removed by request of small devs.

Check the list: Uncrackable Games

Some pirated games work online, but not all. Piracy is mostly single-player. If online play is a must, buy the game.

Check live list: Quest Multiplayer Support

Rookies Sideloader is safe and here is why its flagged by antivirus software:

• Rookies Sideloader is open source so you can confirm this yourself
• There is a pinned post made by one of the devs of Rookies Sideloader with all the info needed to determine on your own whether Rookies Sideloader is safe or not
• All the changes made to the code of Rookies Sideloader is documented on the github repository

1. Create folder: C:\RSL
2. Exclude C:\RSL in Windows Defender (or your 3rd party antivirus). As long as you use Windows Defender you can run the powershell script named AddDefenderExceptions.ps1 in the Rookies Sideloader folder or manually exclude the folder. Manually Exclude Folders with Windows Defender You do not need to use the tool, just follow the first 7 steps. If you don't use Windows Defender the process will be different or even impossible. Google it if you run into issues.
3. Enable Developer Mode
4. Install Quest USB drivers
5. Download Rookies Sideloader from VRP
6. Move ZIP to C:\RSL and extract with 7-Zip
7. Plug in headset (use USB 3.0 cable)
8. Allow USB debugging on headset
9. Run AndroidSideloader.exe

Use ApprenticeVR — a cross-platform, open-source sideloader. Works on Mac/Linux and allows uploads.

• Reddit Info
• GitHub Download

Double-click title → Rookies Sideloader downloads, extracts, installs APK+OBB → Shows "Success"

Method 1: The Hard Way

Go to Library > Unknown Sources. Game names may be weird (e.g., "Manta" = Batman).

Method 2: The Easy Way

Use a launcher app (top 2 games in Rookies Sideloader list). Pin to taskbar.

• Use one account only
• Avoid trials/Quest+ for pirated games
• Don't contact Meta about anything piracy related
• Help update the Wiki if you test multiplayer

Enjoy your newly loaded headset. Happy pirating! 🏴‍☠️