If you own a recent Samsung Galaxy handset (S6, S6 Edge, S7, or S7 Edge) then you should uninstall the Oculus apps at your earliest convenience. Why? Because they're likely to be draining your battery, and possibly causing your phone to overheat.

Oculus updated its apps yesterday (September 29). Unfortunately this update led to some Samsung Galaxy owners' handsets to burn through their batteries. Oculus powers Gear VR, Samsung's virtual reality headset, which is why this is affecting Samsung phones in particular.

One owner started a Reddit thread detailing his experience, with his phone losing 70 percent of its charge in just three hours. There's also a thread on the Oculus forums detailing similar issues. With a staff member present in the thread, Oculus is at least aware of the issue.

Uninstall the Apps for a Quick Fix

The best advice currently being offered is to, "uninstall Oculus Home first, and then Oculus Rooms (in that order) and then re-dock your phone. After you do that, it should download the latest working update." However, some users are reporting this method isn't working for them.

Our suggestion is to uninstall all of the Oculus apps for the time being just to be sure. Once Oculus issues an official update, you can then reinstall the apps without worrying about the consequences. Unfortunately, this means giving up on Gear VR for the weekend, but surely that's preferable to juggling your phone like a hot brick.

Samsung is having a truly torrid time of it at the moment. The Galaxy Note 7 was recalled thanks to exploding batteries. And then Samsung washing machines started tearing themselves apart. However, Samsung isn't to blame for this particular issue, with Oculus being solely responsible. If that's any consolation.

Do you own a Samsung phone? Has your battery suddenly started draining more quickly as a result of this Oculus update? Has uninstalling the Oculus apps fixed the issue? Please recount your experiences in the comments below.

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