Hi r/HoloLens,

I’m on the developer relations team at SPECS. A lot of you have spent years building spatial apps on HoloLens, and with HL2 support ending in 2027, some of you are probably looking at what to build on next. If SPECS is on your list, here’s a low-risk way to try it properly.

We’re running our first SPECS hackathon in Brussels on 10–11 December, right after UnitedXR Europe.

What it is

• 100 developers in teams of up to 5. Every team gets a pair of SPECS to build with for both days
• SPECS engineers in the room the whole time
• $100K in prizes
• Theme: Ceci n’est pas une Lens. Bend reality. Spatial anchoring, hand interaction, and making digital things behave convincingly in a real room are exactly the skills that do well here.

How your experience carries over
Things like spatial UX, interaction design for your hands, and anchoring content to real surfaces translate directly. The tooling is different: SPECS uses Lens Studio, not Unity or MRTK. That’s the main thing to learn, and getting you through it is what the mentors are there for.

Being upfront

• It’s application-based. Applications close 20 November, and decisions go out by 25 November
• You cover your own travel and lodging. Meals are on us
• Each team shares one device

Apply

Happy to answer questions in the comments, including how SPECS compares to HoloLens for the kinds of things you’ve built.

I have a holo lens 2 I can't access any longer because even after reflashing the image it is stuck on autopilot configuration, the hl2 is kind of moved out of it's contoso tenant but has still some autopilot flag set. Microsoft said to enlist it back in the tenant and deactivate some autopilot enrollment, thing is, I have no access to said tenant. No one here is using this tenant anymore, what dumb system is that? Is my hl2 done for good? Any hack around that stupid auto configuration? Is there no possibility to remove that stupid flag which makes the hl2 stuck?

I have managed to finally use AI to code an app for HL2 but microsoft and the devil pushed me to updat it fo 24H1 acquire what is apparently a very expensive Qualcomm development board disguised as a HoloLens 2.

Current situation:

Going blind, stupid but more confident 😂 from reading so many stuff about HL2 and Qualcomm.

HoloLens 2 will not boot normally.

Battery is charged (>80%).

Hard reset / recovery button combinations tried approximately 847 times.

It happily enters Qualcomm HS-USB QDLoader 9008 / EDL mode.

Tested on both modern Windows 11 and an ancient Windows 10 21H2 machines.

Same result on both.

Bloody fingers and small HL2 buttons.

Qualcomm EDL driver installs correctly.

Microsoft tells me to bin it. At least I have a piece of history.

Advanced Recovery Companion does not recognize it as a recoverable HoloLens. No is/version recognized.

I cannot get the middle LED to remain steadily lit, which Microsoft documents as the proper manual flashing/recovery state. It briefly stays lit after 3 seconds when the vol+ kept pressed and then power button kept pressed while inserting the USB into PC. No windows sounds whatsoever.

ARC's Manual Package Selection remains greyed out/not clickable while is brghightness kept pressed + power mode.

I already have the official latest HoloLens 2 FFU.

So the challenge is:

How do I get from Qualcomm 9008/EDL into the proper HoloLens 2 recovery state where ARC will accept and flash the FFU?

I'm specifically looking for someone who has actually recovered an HL2 from this state, knows the Microsoft/Qualcomm recovery chain, or has access to the missing piece of this puzzle.

I'm not particularly interested in randomly throwing generic Qualcomm Firehose programmers at it and converting my expensive headset into a permanent desk ornament. 😅

Alternative solution

If recovery is genuinely impossible without Microsoft's internal tooling:

Does anyone in Europe have a functional HoloLens 2 they would sell for around €500?

Cosmetic condition isn't terribly important. I mainly want a working unit.

Benelux welkoe but i know my neighbours and " look how much i paid for it" so shipping within Europe is fine.

At this stage either:

A) somebody helps me resurrect this thing,

or

B) I buy its healthier brother. DM me.

Any HoloLens technicians, former Microsoft people, enterprise admins, repair shops, or fellow victims are very welcome. 😁

I managed to get a Hololens 2 for cheap but the previous owner left their account linked to the device and forgot their password.

Is there a way to factory reset the device and set it up fresh?

I recently got a hololens 1 for only 64 bucks and it all work perfectly but when i try to sideload apps they just load forever and WSappBAK doesnt work for me i have tried it on 2 different devices so how do I get the certificates for the apps

Looking for bulk buyer (min 25 qty). $4,000 USD each (or best offer). Original price was $4,950.

These are new, wrapped and still in sealed boxes. Currently located in New York City. Contact me via DM.

Intended buyers are either wholesalers with Fortune 500 customers who need new units for existing workflows and cannot find them because they are discontinued.

Hi everyone, I am a final year Master's student at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. For my dissertation, I am studying whether Mixed Reality (MR) is perceived to improve the efficiency and quality of project management processes and workflows across the PMBOK performance domains.

I am looking for professionals who currently work, or have previously worked, in a project management or project related role where MR is used in processes and workflows. By MR, I mean technology that blends the physical and digital worlds, such as the Microsoft HoloLens and similar headsets, where users interact with 3D holograms in a real environment.

The survey takes about 5 to 10 minutes. All responses are anonymous and confidential, the data will be strictly used for academic research purposes only, and participation is voluntary. You may withdraw at any time before submitting.

Survey link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScTJjU6XVviDhP8ZQO2jmH-BroCu526zywxnd4vO6L10PAimQ/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=111987413390312348207

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below or email me at the email address provided in the survey link. Thank you very much for your time, and thanks in advance to the mods for allowing this post.

Have tried cooling fans that dissipate, but not a great way to attach. Need something reliable.

After I tried updating windows on my Hololens 2 and the update never finished. After I clicked on reboot device turned off and nothing happened. I let it sit for a while but it never turned on. Reboot doesn't doo anything. hard reboot also doesn't do anything. I tried to get it into recovery mode but that doesn't work, no LED blinking no nothing. I found on here setup to get it into EDL mode which I managed to do but when I open the ARC app I can't do anything. The app sees the headset but sites unknown OS version and unavailable version with blanked out buttons. I'm stuck on this screen and can't get past it. If anyone knows please help

EDIT:a reboot unfucked it

Im trying to factory reset my halolens one, but once the device gets put into recovery mode, i get the same "usb device not recognized" and "failed to enumerate" error even with different PCs and Cables

recently bought a hololens gen 1 for cheap, but the owner didnt remember the password, can anyone help me reset it

cam we reset it normal way using wrt or not as i think it is no longer supported

Vendo hololens 2 praticamente nuovi usati solo x test. A qualcuno interessano?

Edit: It’s working! Tried it again and seemed to work fine. Not sure why it did not initially? I like to think maybe MS has some dedicated callbacks for HL1 device registration but those servers needed to be spun up LOL!

——

I recently got a HL1 that worked like a charm out of the box. It was signed into the previous owner's account, so I did a factory reset. However, I am not able to sign in to my own account!

I tried using an app password since I have MFA enabled but no luck! Is there any way to start using the device offline? Or to somehow login now?

I also flashed the latest version of the OS i could find as well, thinking that may help 10.0.17763.737 -> 10.0.17763.6660

Any HL1 owners have similar issues? or workarounds?

Hi all.

I'm just curious about the state of the HoloLens 1 in 2026?

I'd like to know how it does loading websites, like are you able to load websites like YouTube, Gmail, MS office applications Web version, etc. Can it still load?

What's the state of apps supported with the HoloLens 1? Is it as simple as finding the app, then sideloading it to the hololens?

Can you sideload any application as long as it's UWP and X86?

Can you sideload a new browser given that it is a UWP?

Thanks community

Hi,

Was wondering if anyone holds some HL2, he doesn’t need?

Thanks

Looking for the wisdom of the crowd... it seems like the Hololens 2 was well received in the industrial sector and companies were very disappointed that it was discontinued. Many companies deployed hundreds of units internally. I found online estimations that in total MSFT sold about 350k units, half of which were sold to the industrial sector.

So why did MSFT discontinue the product? If you comment, please start with a statement whether your comment is an opinion or is it based on actual information you know about MSFT's considerations.

Thank you!

I just booted up my HL2 and the brightness button doesn't react anymore (was working 2 weeks back). Has anyone experienced this and found a software way around for this? because the settings don't show anything for "brightness"..

Where can I download Holons projects created by fans? Most apps on the Hololens 2 don’t really work properly. There aren’t any great apps on the Store.

I have used hololens 1 and 2. I have the hololens 2 for about a year and it is in like new shape. I want to sell them since I finish with my project but don’t know where to. If any one interest, should me an offer!

Hi everyone,

I have been trying to pack some apps (ie. Firefox) with MSIX packaging tool for use on the HL1. However, I have had no luck so far. On the HL1, all I get is the spinner and the app goes to sleep, when I try to launch from device portal, I get error 0x80270254. TargetDeviceFamily in manifest is set to Windows.Universal (I have also tried Windows.Holographic with same results) and MinVersion set to 17763. I have also tried WSAppBak and yielded same results. Any suggestions as to what I should try?

Have a brand new HoloLens2 still in the box and not sure what to do with it. The wrapper has been taken off the box but that’s it. Purchased for potential work project but project died. Who wants it? Willing to give it up for cheap since I know it’s no longer supported.

Otherwise, what do I do with it.

I am a PhD candidate in 3D modelling and AR-technology in otologic surgery (ear surgery). I am a medical doctor doing a MD/PhD, and since I know how to code, I have done so myself. As of now I have been programming 3D-models and added them to HoloLens 2. With Microsoft discontinuining this product I am no longer able to purchase several other units, which I will need for my further research (after my PhD). What would be the best alternative? I want several surgeons/residents wearing the glasses together and looking at the same 3D-model, so I think an AR-type of glasses would be better than VR.

As of now I have been looking into Magic Leap 2, Almer arc 2 and Vuzix M4000. I think the latter two seems to be very industrial-leaning, and I think Magic Leap 2 will be the best choice, but would love the input!