You might not know how to use the Samsung Gear VR with a PC since there are no instructions that tell you that you can do so.
Furthermore, the Samsung Gear VR is not advertised as a VR headset that can be connected to a PC.
However, there do exist some ways that you can utilize to make it connect to your PC as we’ll see in this post today.
Quick Summary
This post explains:
- The equipment needed to use the Samsung Gear VR on a PC
- How to use the Samsung Gear VR on a PC
- Some frequently asked questions (FAQs)
So without further ado, let’s get into it.
Equipment Needed to Use the Samsung Gear VR on a PC
Here are all of the things that you’ll need in order to effectively use the Samsung Gear VR headset with your PC.
It’s nothing special, but you must ensure you have everything before getting started so that you don’t run into any issues during setup.
The equipment you’ll need includes:
- The Samsung Gear VR Headset
- A compatible Samsung smartphone
- At least 4 GBs of RAM (PC)
- Nvidia GTX 600 series or higher as a GPU (PC)
- Intel i5-4590 or higher (PC)
- A wifi network
- Bigscreen installed on your PC
- Stream Theater and Sideload VR apps installed on your smartphone
Once you’ve ensured you have everything, you can begin setting things up so that you can use the Samsung Gear VR headset with your PC.
How to Use a Samsung Gear VR Headset on a PC?
As you may already know, the Samsung Gear VR Headset is a mobile-based VR headset. This essentially means that the headset is designed to be paired with compatible smartphones that are used to project images inside it.
Hence, all of the processing that happens is done using the help of the smartphone. The VR headset itself is simply the output device that allows you to see the projected images in virtual reality.
When we connect the Samsung Gear VR Headset, the headset still remains as the output device. However, the processing is not done by the smartphone but rather, it’s done by your PC.
More accurately, in this case, both your smartphone as well as the VR headset are the output devices. The smartphone displays the VR images and the Samsung Gear VR Headset presents them in a way that makes the illusion that you’re in a virtual space.
Here’s how you can use your Samsung Gear VR Headset to run VR apps through your PC:
Step 1: Since Stream Theater is not an officially licensed program, you’ll first have to adjust your smartphone’s settings so that it accepts apps from unknown sources.
To do this, go to your Settings. From here, go to the Personal tab.
In the Personal tab, go to Lock monitor and safety.
Scroll down until you see Unknown sources; tap it so that it turns green. Your phone will now be able to accept apps from unknown sources.
Step 2: If you have Geforce Experience, it’s a good idea to configure it beforehand since it can streamline the experience.
To do this, launch Geforce Experience.
Then, go to its Settings by clicking on the Gear icon.
Go to Shield, then scroll until you find Gamestream and turn it on.
This will allow Stream Theater to pick up any Game-stream compatible matches that are present on your computer.
Step 3: Next, download and install both Stream Theater as well as Sideload VR on your compatible smartphone that you will use with the Samsung Gear VR Headset.
Remember that you won’t find these programs on the Play Store, but rather, you’ll have to download an external APK through your browser.
Once the .apk files are downloaded, you can just run them to install the programs on your smartphone. You’ll run into no issues installing them since you already granted permission for apps to be installed through unknown sources in step 1.
Step 4: Next, you must find out what the public IP address of your PC is. You need this address to connect your smartphone to your PC.
Important note: It also should be noted that throughout this entire thing, all three of your devices (the Samsung Gear VR Headset, your smartphone and your PC) should be connected to the same wifi network.
To find out the public IP address of your PC, you can simply Google it. Go to Google and type “What’s my ip” and Google will look it up and provide you with the answer.
Note down your public IP address somewhere, as you’ll need it in the next steps.
Step 5: Turn on the Stream Theater program on your phone and insert it into your Samsung Gear VR Headset. This assumes that you have an external controller that allows you to control your phone while it’s inside the VR headset.
Step 6: In the Stream Theater app, select “Insert PC manually”.
Step 7: Type your PC’s public IP address that you noted down in step 4 and click Enter.
Step 8: Choose your desktop computer.
Step 9: You’ll see a code on your smartphone, and you’ll see a little prompt on your PC that’s asking for that particular code.
Go ahead and enter the code into your PC.
Step 10: Click on Connect.
Step 11: You should now see a list of games that can be streamed to the Samsung Gear VR Headset through your PC.
Select Bigscreen from the list of available games.
Step 12: Once you run Bigscreen, you’ll see your computer desktop inside the Samsung Gear VR Headset.
Now, you can run whatever VR video or game that you’d like on your PC, and the output will be shown on your smartphone.
The smartphone inside the Samsung Gear VR Headset will, thus, provide you with a streamlined virtual reality experience.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What Happens if You Wear a Headset for Too Long?
If you wear a headset for too long, this can result in issues such as eye strain and motion sickness.
The severity of these symptoms will increase if you refuse to take a break from wearing the VR headset.
Can I Use the Samsung Gear VR Headset with Other Smartphones?
Yes, while you can use the Samsung Gear VR Headset with other smartphones, it usually has limited compatibility with them.
Thus, it doesn’t work to its fullest potential.
Does the Samsung Gear VR Require Charging?
No. It is powered by a connected smartphone’s battery.
Can I Use the Samsung Gear VR Without a Controller?
Yes, but the functionality will be very limited since you won’t be able to control anything while it’s inside.
You can use it to watch VR videos, for example, but you can’t really use it for VR games.
Can I Use the Samsung Gear VR Without a Smartphone?
No, you cannot use the Samsung Gear VR without a smartphone since that is the source of power and processing.
Conclusion
You may have to jump through a few hoops but you can definitely utilize your PC to run VR apps on the Samsung Gear VR Headset.
If you run into any issues, there are tons of forums from dedicated users that provide solutions to all of them.
How do you use your Samsung Gear VR Headset? Let us know in the comments section below.