Can’t Reach Oculus Rift Runtime Service? Here’s How to Fix the Error

Update: 3/8/18, 10:00 a.m.: Oculus has provided instructions to fix the issue, which can be found here.

Affected users should go to https://www.oculus.com/rift-patch/ and download "OculusPatchMarch2018.exe." Allow it to run, including temporarily disabling antivirus if necessary (be sure to re-enable it afterwards) and then click "Repair" and restart the program. Everything should run as normal.

Oculus co-founder Nate Mitchell tweeted that users affected will get a $15 credit to the Oculus store.

The original story about the outage is below.

Right now, seemingly every Oculus Rift in the world isn't working. Complaints are popping up on Reddit, the Oculus VR forums and other social media, and Oculus claims its working on a fix.

Credit: Tom's Hardware

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The issue reads "Can't Reach Oculus Runtime Service. Your Oculus software may be updating. Please wait a minute and try again. If the issue continues, contact Oculus Support."

Credit: apexmaster/Oculus Forums

(Image credit: apexmaster/Oculus Forums)

Users digging in their files have found that a system certificate has expired. A temporary fix users have found is to move their system clock a few days back to when the certificate worked and then uninstall and reinstall Oculus software.

When reached for comment, Oculus directed us to a statement on its forums.

"We are aware of and actively investigating an issue impacting ability to access Rift software," it reads. "Our teams apologize for any inconvenience this may be causing you and appreciate your patience while we work on a resolution. We'll share more updates here as we have them. Thanks."

Oculus later confirmed that the issue has to do with the expiration of a security certificate, and is advising users to wait until it provides an official fix.

On Twitter, Oculus co-founder Nate Mitchell wrote that the company is resolving the issue.

Andrew E. Freedman

Andrew E. Freedman is an editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming as well as keeping up with the latest news. He holds a M.S. in Journalism (Digital Media) from Columbia University. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Kotaku, PCMag, Complex, Tom's Guide and Laptop Mag among others.

Latest in VR & AR
Samsung's Project Moohan with Android XR at Galaxy Unpacked 2025
New Samsung XR headset report tips mass production for April — but I'm worried about the price
Samsung's Project Moohan with Android XR at Galaxy Unpacked 2025
Samsung’s new XR headset just tipped for a big advantage over the Apple Vision Pro
Samsung's Project Moohan with Android XR at Galaxy Unpacked 2025
Samsung’s bringing its Project Moohan headset to MWC 2025 — what we know
Project Cambria VR headset teaser
Valve VR headset just tipped to launch by end of this year — and this could be the price
Apple Vision Pro on table
Apple Vision Pro is getting a big Apple Intelligence upgrade with visionOS 2.4 — here's all the new features
Apple Vision Pro
Apple Vision Pro major upgrade tipped with visionOS 2.4 — here's all the new features
Latest in News
Nintendo Switch 2 promo image
Nintendo Switch 2 just tipped for three major upgrades — here's what we know
A still from "John Wick" spinoff "Ballerina" featuring Ana de Armas in a club
'John Wick' spinoff 'Ballerina' just got a new trailer — and I can't wait for it to hit theaters
Great Celebrity Bake Off 2025
How to watch ‘The Great Celebrity Bake Off' 2025 online – episode 1 streaming now
MacBook Pro 2023
New Mac attack is tricking users into thinking their computer is locked — how to stay safe
huawei pura x
This might be the most unique foldable phone design — and it's not from Samsung
Large group of protesters in Turkey following Instanbul mayor's arrest
Turkey sees huge VPN usage spike amid reports of social media crackdown