In general, the point of wearing a VR headset like the Gear VR is to leave the real world behind for a while. However, there is a way to quickly see what’s going on around you, even if you’re wearing Gear VR. Pass-through mode lets you see your surroundings from the camera on your phone — basically through a grainy square.
It’s not something you need to use often, but you can definitely use it. If you want to use it, that’s what becomes more of an issue.
What is pass-through mode?
Passthrough mode on the Gear VR allows you to keep wearing the headset while watching the world around you. Like. You can see what the Gear VR camera sees. This means your gaze is on the left, which is initially very disorienting and a little grainier than how you’re used to seeing the world. While this Gear VR feature isn’t used particularly often, it does exist. Since you can launch Passthrough mode from the utilities menu, it’s an easy way to check your surroundings if you hear anything fishy.
Using a pass-through camera is also an easy way to check the room you’re playing in without having to remove your headset. For those who like to be especially accommodating, the pass-through mode is a great option to not completely interrupt the dive by reacting to stimuli in the physical world.
How to access Passthrough mode?
To switch to pass-through mode, you only need to do a few things. Open Oculus home and then press and hold the back button. A menu will open where you want to select Utilities. Select Passthrough camera, this will be the last option at the bottom of the screen. TA-dah! You will now use the Passthrough mode. When you’re done, focus on the middle of the screen where it says «turn off camera» and press to return to the VR menu.
Step by step instructions
- Open Oculus home on your Gear VR
- Hold back button, until the menu opens
- Go to Utilities . This is the last icon on the right.
- Switch to passage chamber this will be the icon at the bottom screen
- When you’re done, focus on the middle of the screen where it says «turn off the camera», and click . This will return you to the menu.
What can I do in Passthrough mode?
To be honest, there isn’t much you can do with the Passthrough camera. You can look around and check your surroundings, but that’s about it for now. While you can use the see-through mode to walk around the room and look around, we really don’t recommend it. This is because you don’t see things from the right perspective and it’s easy to lose your balance and fall. Trust us on this, we have fallen more than once.
There are several apps and games that use the Passthrough mode to provide a unique experience. These include apps that can turn your surroundings into a kaleidoscopic mandala or let you take photos with filters attached. There aren’t many apps that use the Passthrough feature, but there are a few that can be found.
- Filter
- VR Kaleidoscope Camera
- Cyborg
