Oculus ends Gear VR support for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7

The last place you should put a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 right now is anywhere near your face, which is probably why Oculus has disabled support for the phone on the Gear VR. The company is reported to have pushed out an update to Note 7 users that prevents the volatile handset from pairing with the headset – which makes sense, given the circumstances.

Trying to use the Note 7 with the Gear VR is now met with the following message in place of the loading screen: "Customer safety is Oculus' top priority. Oculus is removing support for all Note 7 devices on the Oculus platform. Until further notice, Note 7 devices will not be compatible with the Gear VR. For more information regarding the Note 7, please contact Samsung directly."

Samsung has offcially ceased production of the Galaxy Note 7 and advised users to stop using their devices immediately following reports of replacement handsets catching fire. Oculus ending support for the headset, which was first reported by Reddit users and later verified by Android Central, comes just before the smartphone maker decided to pull the plug on the Note 7 entirely. Given that Samsung has repeatedly failed to address the problem properly, it's good to see Oculus stepping up to the plate.

The software update only affects the Note 7, meaning you can still use the Gear VR with the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, S6, S6 Edge and Note 5. If you do own a Samsung Galaxy Note 7, you should stop using right now and return it for a refund.

Since publishing this article, Samsung has announced that it has discontinued the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.