Using Open Brush in a school with Oculus headsets managed with ArborXR
Hi Everyone, I am a high school teacher, I have a new class set of Oculus Quest 2 headsets. The only way I got my district to agree to allow me to get them was having them all signed in to a generic Oculus account I control, and managing them using ArborXR. The big problem is that I have 35 headsets and if I download Open Brush onto the headsets, since we're all signed into the same Oculus account, one person can use it at a time, and anyone else who tries to open it gets a message basically saying only one person can use it at a time.
The rep from ArborXR told me if I could get an APK of the app and sideload it through their system, I could bypass that issue. It installs on the devices as a managed app since I have the apk and that allows multiple users to use it at the same time, even though every headset is logged into the same Oculus account.
This has worked with other apps, however, when I uploaded the Open Brush beta apk, into ArborXR, I got a message saying something that made me think it wasn't going to work. It said something about needing have signed keys or something like that. I'm going to test tomorrow in my classroom, but I wonder if anyone else has any experience doing it this way. Are the keys what check to see if another user in that account is already using the app?
I CANNOT have the headsets logged into different accounts. It has to be logged into the same account. We are creating 3d worlds and I want them to add assets made in Open Brush if possible. I begged my district to let me write a grant to get 35 headsets, but they've been nearly useless bc they are all logged into the same Oculus account, until I started getting actual apk's instead of installing from the Oculus store. I hope this will work.
Any other possible solutions?
33 Replies
The simultaneous limit is a relatively new Oculus / Meta requirement, and unfortunately not something we can address. I don't know anything about ArborXR, but if the APK will help you, you can download the official 2.0 APK at https://github.com/icosa-gallery/open-brush/releases/tag/2.0.0, specifically from https://github.com/icosa-gallery/open-brush/releases/download/2.0.0/OpenBrush_Quest_2.0.0.apk
Thanks for replying so quickly, I really appreciate it. I'll test it tomorrow and see what happens. I do have a version of the apk from the website, but it looks like the one on GIthub is newer.
My district refuses to provision me 35 email addresses so I can create a unique Oculus account on each one, so I have to login to one account. It works with say the Zoe app, for VR creation, so hopefully it will work with OpenBrush.
ArborXR is just a management console so you can send apps, see what everyone is doing, and restrict access to things, among other things.
There are also github releases for 2.0.8, 2.0.7, etc., as well as 2.0.0 which is the official version that you get from Oculus if you don't select the beta channel. (in practice, there are no significant differences at this point, so I figured I'd give you the exact same version as Oculus users get by default).
Hey folks. So... The easiest work around for this to keep the headsets off the wifi. When the headsets are offline, they won't try validate with the Meta servers so you should be able to use all 35 simultaneously.
Also, if you get the most recent stable .apk from github and upload to arbor, you shouldn't have any issues because that's what i've done
Thanks so much, I can't wait to try it. Keeping them offline works for OpenBrush , but not for Zoe which they need an account for
Is OpenBrush_Quest_2.0.8.apk the latest stable release? I'm still getting the multiple users message
I forget now though, do I uninstall the app that I originally installed from the Oculus store because ArborXR will send the apk to each device? Maybe that's why I'm still getting that message
I uninstalled the app that I downloaded from the Oculus store, then I saw the apk I put in ArborXR started installing, and OpenBrush opened, but I still get the multiple users message, I wonder which version I need
Going to try the 2.0 release and see if that works
This might be a question for ArborXR -- I'm not clear on how their use of a managed app mitigates Oculus's absurd "one user at a time" requirement (which, as a free app, we couldn't care less about!)
Hey @bertaroo when you say recent stable release from Github, are you referring to this release? https://github.com/icosa-gallery/open-brush/releases/tag/2.0.0 I have deleted the Oculus store downloaded version and pushed out this release to my headsets with ArborXR and I'm still getting the multiple users message. I restarted the headsets and it's still the same. Is there a cache somewhere that I need to clear, is it possible it's holding on to some old preference somehow that is preventing it to work as expected?
GitHub
Release 2.0.0 · icosa-gallery/open-brush
What's Changed
Handle merge commits / versioning more gracefully by @mikeage in #162
Add workflow to generate the unity license file for the embedded license (non formal PRs) by @mikeage in #2...
Yep this is the one!
Keeping it off the WiFi is the only sure fire way I know for stopping those issues but I'll do some research on this too.
For OpenBrush, I can keep it off wifi, but I also want to use Zoe app which allows for VR experience creation, and accounts are needed, so no wifi won't work. I'm testing ArborXR and the selling point for me has been their promise that if you can get an apk from an app publisher, that somehow can bypass the one user at a time constraint, but it seems like that is not true at all, doesn't work for either Zoe or OpenBrush and they are both free apps and I have an apk for each of them. Thanks for the info
Do you have contacts at Arbor or need an intro? The whole team has been super supportive in the past when I've needed help
They might have some ideas too
ArborXR has replied and said, well if that api call is baked into the app there is nothing you can do, but I wonder, how else would it be done? I guess if OpenBrush is open source, could it be forked and have that removed?
I've been in regular contact with Nathan at ArborXR, very helpful and explains things well, but he insists that if you get an apk from the publisher, and install it via managed apps on ArborXR, that bypasses the one user at a time constraint, and I just don't hear that's possible from anyone, here or elsewhere I"ve asked for support
I used a lot of .apks thru Arbor when I run exhibitions and workshops and haven't encountered the multiple user issue unless it's a multiplayer game.
I'm going to do some research and try with my headsets in the studio. See if I can replicate the issue and then find a fix that would work for you 🙏
Thx so much, I feel like I"m so close, but I might be missing one small detail, but I can't figure out what it is
Honestly, if it's something we can do, and Oculus won't object, I'm happy to do it. It's not like we want to limit the app to "purchasers" only, or any such nonsense!
But I feel like the ArborXR answer might be a bit out of date; Oculus used to be fine with this, but sometime around v39, they seem to have prevented two headsets on the same account from accessing the same app simultaneously.
Asking them directly is a bit of a tricky thing, since we know they're very into the "one account for one person" model (like Facebook, of course), and might be more interested in talking about their Business product line for this type environment. I don't think you, or us, want to get that answer officially.
If we can be of any assistance with experiments or anything, please ask! Supporting schools and demos and exhibitions and the like is something we absolutely want to do!
cc @andybak -- have you come across this at all? Any ideas?
Thanks, I'll let you know. I think you are right about the out of date thing. I took a course last summer about creating VR content using Unity and in that course they said the same thing, create one Oculus Developer account, login to all your devices with that account, everything will work fine, even in September of last year, I had my classes test the headsets and we used their First Steps apps to learn how to navigate the interface and controls, and the demo version of Beat Saber, and that all worked fine, now we get the one user at a time message, so the headsets have been useless, I've got 35 Quest 2 headsets with 256G storage, sitting in a closet, it's killing me
I... I may actually have a workaround. If you have to launch the app from "Unknown Sources" instead of the main app screen, is that a blocker?
If that's not a problem, you can try downloading this https://github.com/icosa-gallery/open-brush/suites/10809393369/artifacts/543818796 (you'll need to be logged into github), and use the APK within the ZIP file. This one will have a weird suffix on it, because it was built from the branch while it was being tested, and will be in Unknown Sources, but is functionally equivalent to Open Brush 2.0.9 (which is just Open Brush 2.0 + some build improvements + some sample sketches). I strongly suspect that Oculus won't enforce anything on an app built with a slightly different name.
But if we can fix the root cause, that's definitely best
Not a deal breaker, the way ArborXR pushes apps to the devices when you have the apk is to the unknown sources area I believe, so I'll try that tomorrow, thanks again
Ok. That's interesting -- normally, where an app winds up is a function of the package name; if it matches something in the store, it shows up in the main listing (which opens the door to some interesting impersonation possibilities!). I wonder if this is because normally, ArborXR is used with non store (or non-App Lab, same difference here) apps, or if they're doing something around resigning and repackaging apps. Interesting...
https://www.meta.com/blog/quest/gather-your-party-introducing-multi-user-and-app-sharing-on-oculus-quest/
However, you will not be able to use the same account to run the same app across multiple devices simultaneously.I don't recall seeing this written explicitly before, it seems all too clear 😕
Gather Your Party: Introducing Multi-User and App Sharing on Oculus...
The day has come! Today, we will begin rolling out (as experimental features) two long-requested additions to Oculus Quest: Multi-User accounts and App Sharing, helping you share your Quest headset while protecting your account details
oof. Yeah I was going to say, we don't even implement Oculus' platform DRM anymore as of 2.0 😅 It's gotta be theirs or Arbor's side.
Maybe we can't use our App Lab listing, but given how important schools and the like are to us, if the Unknown Sources trick works, I'm seriously considering using Itch to distribute a second APK, identical in every way to the official one, but with a different package name, so that they don't do this nonsense!
Agreed!
Actually, does arbor have their own platform? could we manage a custom named apk through there on behalf of everyone?
I tested this a little today. I wiped apps from a Quest 2, I pushed Zoe and Open Brush via ArborXR, I restarted it, and they appeared on the main screen that restricts which apps can be used so I know they are the apps I installed thru Arbor, then I used my admin code to exit Arbor's management area, which puts you back to the home area in a regular Oculus and I went to the apps area and both Zoe and Open Brush appear there, not in the unknown area, must be because they matched exactly an app in the store
Whereas when I have my students do a Build of their Unity VR projects, send me the apk file, with unique package names, and install those through Arbor, they end up in the unknown sources area, so maybe having a different package name than the store version might work
I appreciate your efforts but I'm about to give up on it, I've spent so much time trying to make it work but it seems like the real solution is a different email for each device, which my IT won't do, is there any service that would allow me to quickly create 35 emails so I could make Oculus accounts from them to get around this?
I'm not aware of an easy way to create a bunch of accounts.
Many email providers allow you to create "catch all" mailboxes so (anything)@some-domain.com all go to the same mailbox.
Another possible solution is the + trick. In many cases adding +something to the first part of the email address doesn't affect delivery but is treated as a different address for services that ask for one.
So for example if my Gmail address is [email protected] then [email protected] still comes to me.
I tried the + trick and thought I'd create 5 accounts to test it out, but on the 2nd account it said that email was already being used, [email protected] and [email protected] so I don't think the + trick works anymore, they associate your accounts and block you from doing it. I guess I'm going to tell students they have to create a Meta account with their school email addresses and hope I don't get fired. They are seniors so once they graduate this spring, their accounts close and they never check them again.
How about the dots? like: AreallylongUserName, A.reallylongUserName, Ar.eallylongUserName?
(gmail)
Oculus probably is on to that too, but worth checking. Gmail just ignores the dots on its end, puts everything in the same box, iirc
The other question is why is the schools IT department choosing to disable 12k worth of hardware that presumably came out of the school's budget?
We actually got 60 Quest 2 headsets as part of a grant, it was supposed to be shared by 4 teachers, but 3 quit the district before the school year started leaving me with all 60, we got the 256G models, so really $500×60= $30k, but the district didn't pay for them, although it's frustrating nonetheless
I'll try the dots today too but I think since Google seeks to consolidate emails it suspects are from the same person for advertising purposes, not sure if that exactly how it works, I don't think it'll work
I get that there are federal laws about student privacy and many apps have voice and text chats built in, there is heightened concerns, but the real issue is that I could submit OpenBrush to be vetted but that takes many months bc they are so short on staff to do it, and then it requires an MOU from the app publisher and other things that most small publishers won't want to do
Before you factory reset all of them (to change the primary account), did using the APK from a PR (from https://github.com/icosa-gallery/open-brush/suites/10809393369/artifacts/543818796, say) -- did this help?
Alright good luck. Seems a shame to waste all that hardware. I'm guessign that oculus has friends/etc sharing functions built in, so that's a high level problem.
Weird that multiplayer presumably wouldn't be usable for similar reasons. You'd think that would be an ideal functionality for classroom settings.
There's also the problem that headsets would probably have to be associated with emails, although you'd think IT could designate a block of those specifically for the purpose and just prevent them from going beyond the intranet once the school registered them. The call home feature that oculus requires to launch might be a bit trickier to work around.
This might be a worthwhile thing to try and get escalated through oculus support. With specific emphasis on the classroom nature of the thing and any relevant laws that might be a factor. I say this because I suspect schools are very much a target audience that Oculus would like to develop, since it's a proven strategy for long term adoption of a platform.
We're getting a bit offtopic, but...
While I'd love to agree with you, I would not be surprised if Oculus considered this (or a VR arcade environment) something closer to their Business offering, which has been shut down, but came with a higher price, given that the total number of purchased apps for these devices is lower, and therefore they need to make more profit off the initial headset.
It'd be nice to think of education as a public good that would be looked upon favorably by companies, but this is not always the case...
Like anything else,you have to make the case well. Although possibly better channels to pursue that.
I do remember the apple being actually given to schools, and that converted to userbase. Right now oculus is selling headsets at a loss or break even to build a users. Once someone gets comfortable with a system or product they tend to stay with it.
Personally, I think it's a pretty solid strategy. Get a kid in highschool or college familiar with your product and doing cool things with it, and they'll want their own. Right now there's 18 million college students and 15 million high school students in school right now.
That's a potential triple market share. I'd guess that a lot of educators would be interested if the app is good enough and relevant to what they're teaching. Just another place that huge potentials have been overlooked
I do remember the apple being actually given to schools, and that converted to userbase. Right now oculus is selling headsets at a loss or break even to build a users. Once someone gets comfortable with a system or product they tend to stay with it.
Personally, I think it's a pretty solid strategy. Get a kid in highschool or college familiar with your product and doing cool things with it, and they'll want their own. Right now there's 18 million college students and 15 million high school students in school right now.
That's a potential triple market share. I'd guess that a lot of educators would be interested if the app is good enough and relevant to what they're teaching. Just another place that huge potentials have been overlooked
I got slammed doing a few things but I'll test out this apk this week and see if it works