Don't forget your Vision Pro passcode: reset is a hassle

Buyers of Apple’s new Pro Vision headset, beware: if you want to keep showing the gadget off in the streets and on social media, you’d better not lose your passcode. Recovering it is a challenge, to say the least.

A passcode is typically a series of digits you have to enter after turning on a device. However, unlike on other Apple devices, if you mistype the combination several times in a row or simply forget it, you will not be allowed to set it up again after a waiting period.

Not only will the $3,499 Vision Pro be disabled – an absent-minded or scatterbrained user will need to send the device back to Apple to be reset or bring it to a closest Apple store. Either way, all content on the device will be erased at that point by customer support.

Apple’s other products can be reset without needing to send the gadget back, but for Vision Pro, this seems to be impossible for now, and the company will most probably have to release a software update. Some customers are already upset, though.

“I received the same guidance from Apple Support, directing me to go into the store and either have them unlock it (if they can, I was told by the rep) or replace it,” one user commented on Apple’s community forum.

The same user explained he was told by the Apple support member that “internally they expressed significant concern” regarding the return-to-store procedure: “Luckily, I live close to an Apple Store, many others are not so fortunate.”

What’s more, even seemingly entering the correct passcode can lock your device. One customer said he set the same passcode that she previously set to all her other Apple devices but the Vision Pro did not recognize the combination anyway.

“I called Apple Support and they told me I need to drive back down to the Apple Store to have the passcode reset. I’m so annoyed,” said the user.

As Bloomberg notes, the Vision Pro mostly uses Optic ID for authentication using the wearer’s eyes. Optic ID differs from Face ID and Touch ID by using iris recognition technology, which captures and analyzes the unique patterns of the user's iris for authentication.

However, entering a passcode is usually required after a reboot. Besides, Apple has been fielding questions from users actually struggling to set up Optic ID on their Vision Pro devices.

One additional issue is that the Vision Pro doesn’t have a USB-C port that allows owners to plug it into a Macbook for troubleshooting.

There is a special strap for developers to be able to attach the headset to a computer – that’s how Apple Store employees are resetting it – but the accessory costs about $300 and isn’t meant for consumers.

The long-anticipated headset went on sale on February 2nd at a price starting at $3,499, more than three times as much as the priciest headset in Meta's line of mixed and virtual reality devices. During pre-sales, Apple is estimated to have sold between 160,000 and 180,000 units.

A couple of days after the launch, the Vision Pro took the internet by storm, with users posting how they were using the headset.