Imagine buying a new $US3,500 Apple Vision Pro headset only to discover that, drat, you forgot the password. This very relatable scenario — who hasn’t forgotten a password in their life? — became reality for some Vision Pro users in recent days. Apple’s response: Uh, sorry, you can’t fix it at home.
Over on Apple’s official community forums, a number of Vision Pro owners reported being locked out of their shiny new headsets after entering the incorrect password — not the Apple ID, but rather the password to open devices — too many times. When they contacted Apple Support, owners said employees told them the only recourse available was to take the product back to the store andhave them reset it on-site or mail it in. The password problem was first reported by Bloomberg.
Once at the Apple Store, device owners stated that employees fixed the problem by attaching a Developer Strap — a $US300 additional accessory that provides a USB-C connection between the Vision Pro and a Mac — to the headset and went on to erase and reset it. The Vision Pro is currently the only Apple product that can’t be reset by the user at home.
The fact that the Developer Strap is needed is already problematic, as the accessory is only available to people who are part of Apple’s Developer Program and not ordinary members of the public.
New Vision Pro users were understandably annoyed that after paying so much money for Apple’s headset, they would have to take it back to the store only days after buying it. The Vision Pro officially went on sale in the U.S. last Friday.
Apple staff was also apparently unprepared to deal with the problem. As one user explains on Apple’s community forums:
“I called Apple Support again on the slim chance they’ve found a solution to this problem. The agent told me that they’ve gotten a bunch of calls today about this passcode bug and he’s had to deal with a lot of angry customers after telling them their only recourse is to return to the store. He said Apple Support was really caught off guard by this and apologized for not being better prepared.”
Gizmodo reached out to Apple about the problem on Tuesday morning but did not immediately hear back.