Prescription lens inserts: Info & Questions

[Smartuser]

What I really don't appreciate is how all kinds of information are released piecemeal after preorders went live.

It's apparently possible to use soft contacts. I didn't see a single word about this beforehand.
Same thing about the fact that Zeiss has a site where you can enter your parameters and check if they can make the inserts for you.

My prescription was denied because the doctor's name isn't clearly readable (there's a signature, but no printed name) and they apparently couldn't read the license number, which is legible to me.

All of this was known beforehand.

 

[SkoshOfSean]

Yeah, not making the prescription requirements clear ahead of time was a big mistake. Especially with respect to readers and bifocals. It still makes no sense to me that you would want a bifocal prescription for the Vision Pro, but that is what they ask for and with no explanation. Further more, many people have different bifocals readers for different tasks and they don't mention that at all in the checkout process and you have to dig to get information about that and then the information is conflicting.

 

[Smartuser]

I just had mine rejected because Zeiss said there was no doctor’s signature. When I looked at the prescription I do see a signature. I reloaded the prescription with an arrow pointing to the signature, and also submitted an issue report on the Zeiss website. No customer support phone number I can find, just email with 2 business day response time.

I bought Zinni Optical lens for my Quest 3 with the same prescription with no problems. Zenni has email, chat and phone support. So far not impressed with Zeiss. Thankfully my vision is adequate enough to use the Quest without inserts so can probably use the Vision Pro without in worst case. The lenses help but are not absolutely necessary for me.

Hope Zeiss gets their stuff together, or more responsive vendors eventually start providing VP lenses.

Zeiss, more like Scheiss .

They couldn't read the doctor's name (don't blame them, there's only a signature and the license number (which is actually easy to read)).

I will cut Apple some slack in that they want to be extra sure people have valid prescriptions so they don't get sued for quadrillions when it turns out that user Masimo Spotify, who experienced some slight discomfort after using the AVP for 72 hours in a row, didn't submit a perfect prescription. I just ordered glasses from Oakley, and they took all my information on the honor system without ever requiring the actual prescription, but who's gonna sue Oakley?

The one thing that puts me at some ease with Zeiss is that they're unlikely to be supply constrained, so after some back and forth, I'll probably have my inserts. Could also just go for the readers since my vision isn't that bad.

 

[Smartuser]

So now I've got the eye doctor to send me a PDF of my prescription with great contrast and her name added to her signature. Now of course Apple informed me that Zeiss has had an "encryption issue" and that I needed to upload it again. I've done that. Let's see what happens next. May have to convert it to a PDF.

Zeiss happens.

 

[KPOM]

I had to reload my prescription with a signature. Zeiss verified it a few hours later.

 

[KPOM]

Has anyone received shipment info for their Zeiss inserts? Someone on Reddit posted that he received an update saying his Zeiss prescription inserts won't arrive until Feb 8th. That sucks that you might receive your Vision Pro on the 2nd but have to wait several more days until the Zeiss inserts arrive before actually being able to put it on and use it. I'm still waiting for Zeiss to verify my prescription, so I haven't received a shipment estimate.

My inserts are still scheduled to arrive on the 2nd. I had to resubmit my prescription with a signature, and just got the verification message about an hour ago.

 

[Foss]

I have progressive glasses, and the prescription just got verified by ZEISS. No ETA yet.

 

[Smartuser]

No "encryption issue" after the second upload. Hope it'll work.

 

[echo44]

So I have reading glasses (prescription) almost never use them except for very close reading, I mostly wear glasses prescribed for me to look at computer monitors which are just basically a weaker reading glass but prescribed as I work in mission critical work on my computer monitors aprox 2-3 feet from my eyes. I also have a prescription for distance but almost never wear them as my eyes are pretty good for distance. I submitted my reading glass prescription and it got rejected and they asked for my distance prescription. Called Apple support and they really couldn't answer which prescription would actually be the one I needed. Also talked to a Zeiss representative and they did not know. Eventually received a call from executive support from Apple and they were not sure. They had me reorder my reader prescription as well as my computer prescription as they did not have an answer. So now I have 3 inserts ordered only one approved so far (distance) .I will just return the two that are wrong. This should really be clarified from Apple as many people I know have 3 prescriptions similar to me. If they actually listed a distance at which the optimal focal plane is it would be very helpful!!

 

[Scarpad]

Apple cancelled my lenses order due to ZEISS not being able to fill my prescription as it’s out of their range, said I can check with my doctor, I have bought lenses that have worked great with the metaquest 2,3 and psvr2 . Wtf. Gonna check if the same company will be making any

 

[Payton34]

My prescription was verified and confirmed a February 2nd delivery date.

 

[Scarpad]

I have a pair of magnetic lenses for the psvr2 I’m wondering if I could adapt them. Either way I’ll keep my order worse comes to worse I’ll eBay it

 

[Smartuser]

So I have reading glasses (prescription) almost never use them except for very close reading, I mostly wear glasses prescribed for me to look at computer monitors which are just basically a weaker reading glass but prescribed as I work in mission critical work on my computer monitors aprox 2-3 feet from my eyes. I also have a prescription for distance but almost never wear them as my eyes are pretty good for distance. I submitted my reading glass prescription and it got rejected and they asked for my distance prescription. Called Apple support and they really couldn't answer which prescription would actually be the one I needed. Also talked to a Zeiss representative and they did not know. Eventually received a call from executive support from Apple and they were not sure. They had me reorder my reader prescription as well as my computer prescription as they did not have an answer. So now I have 3 inserts ordered only one approved so far (distance) .I will just return the two that are wrong. This should really be clarified from Apple as many people I know have 3 prescriptions similar to me. If they actually listed a distance at which the optimal focal plane is it would be very helpful!!

I'm the biggest Apple guy in the world, but when it comes to these kinds of ordering situations, I get the impression that second-rate people hire third-rate people or at least that the culture of information and debugging the experience is lacking.

I've had numerous situations where their support completely sh*t a brick for something that was just a little out of the ordinary, or alternatively they just made something up. Two examples:

1. They were absolutely unable to reproduce a situation I had when using two Ultrafine 5K displays (yes, I know -- this was way before the Studio Display was released) with a MBP a few years ago because none of their labs had two of them. Ultimately, they gave me a newer MBP model, so that was great.

2. I have a 2020 nanotexture iMac. The website says to put the iMac face down on some kind of soft towel or similar when adding memory, but you're only supposed to touch the nanotexture glass with the cleaning cloth. Tried support to find out what to do, they were clueless and supposedly consulted some engineers that had zero information on this. (Ended up using some soft fabric cover, nanotexture is still fine to this day.)

 

[ronm99]

So I have reading glasses (prescription) almost never use them except for very close reading, I mostly wear glasses prescribed for me to look at computer monitors which are just basically a weaker reading glass but prescribed as I work in mission critical work on my computer monitors aprox 2-3 feet from my eyes. I also have a prescription for distance but almost never wear them as my eyes are pretty good for distance. I submitted my reading glass prescription and it got rejected and they asked for my distance prescription. Called Apple support and they really couldn't answer which prescription would actually be the one I needed. Also talked to a Zeiss representative and they did not know. Eventually received a call from executive support from Apple and they were not sure. They had me reorder my reader prescription as well as my computer prescription as they did not have an answer. So now I have 3 inserts ordered only one approved so far (distance) .I will just return the two that are wrong. This should really be clarified from Apple as many people I know have 3 prescriptions similar to me. If they actually listed a distance at which the optimal focal plane is it would be very helpful!!

Someone previously in this thread said “a little bird told me it is 2m.” I have no idea if this is true or not, but it is consistent with other VR headsets.

 

[ronm99]

Yeah, not making the prescription requirements clear ahead of time was a big mistake. Especially with respect to readers and bifocals. It still makes no sense to me that you would want a bifocal prescription for the Vision Pro, but that is what they ask for and with no explanation. Further more, many people have different bifocals readers for different tasks and they don't mention that at all in the checkout process and you have to dig to get information about that and then the information is conflicting.

The bifocal / progressive lens questions also make no sense to me. I am pretty sure that VR headsets have a fixed focal length, so the inserts should not be progressive / bifocal. The only thing that I can think of is that Apple didn’t want customers trying to figure out what strength of lens to use for a particular distance, and they are trying to figure this out from the prescription.

 

[quicksnap]

Mine was bumped because of no DOB on the prescription. I've never gotten a vision rx with a DOB on it that I can recall. Seems like a silly thing. Especially since they have the name to compare and you are asked if you are 40 or older in the steps when ordering the AVP. Hoping they get back to me quickly or I might just put it on, resubmit and see if that works

 

[Iskee]

Recapping my experience here. For context, I'm active duty military so my most recent prescription was written by a military optometrist at a military optometry clinic.

I ordered a vision pro with Zeiss inserts about 12 hours ago. A little while ago I was notified that Zeiss was unable to verify my prescription. So, I go check out what issues Zeiss found with the prescription:

1) No DOB
2) Prescriber is not an optometrist or opthamologist
3) Prescription is expired

No DOB - fair. Nowhere was it stated during the ordering process that this would be required and it's not listed on my prescription.

Prescriber is not an optometrist - the prescription shows my prescriber's name, license number, and NPI number along with his signature. Using the NPI Registry I was able to pull up all his details, including the fact that he is a licensed Optometrist in the state of Florida. WTF?

Prescription is expired - the prescription clearly states that my exam was performed Jan 9th 2023 and is valid for 2 years. WTF?

I called Apple support to explain the issues. They connected me to Zeiss phone support who was not remotely helpful. All they were able to do, after I explained why their "issues" with my prescription were bogus, was refer my complaint to a supervisor who would get back to me "within 72 hours."

Agree with what some of the other posters have said: it was bad form by Apple/Zeiss not to be more transparent up-front about prescription requirements. Finding out after the fact that Zeiss doesn't know how to verify an optometry license, can't read a prescription, or that you don't meet their arbitrary requirements for a valid prescription is a truly frustrating experience. Give them your feedback so they can improve the process for others.

 

[KPOM]

The bifocal / progressive lens questions also make no sense to me. I am pretty sure that VR headsets have a fixed focal length, so the inserts should not be progressive / bifocal. The only thing that I can think of is that Apple didn’t want customers trying to figure out what strength of lens to use for a particular distance, and they are trying to figure this out from the prescription.

Having bit the bullet and finally started using progressive lenses after about 5 years of resisting I think it’s because after a few weeks using them your eyes adapt to the different degrees of magnification. Plus perhaps it makes reading text easier using the bottom half of the lenses. Better for Apple to include a progressive lens than just a distance lens and people complaining they can’t read text on a $3500 device.

 

[iStorm]

I have a pair of magnetic lenses for the psvr2 I’m wondering if I could adapt them. Either way I’ll keep my order worse comes to worse I’ll eBay it

I wouldn't bother eBaying it. There are nearly 1,000 listings now, but only 7 completed/sold listings at the time of this writing. 7! People aren't that desperate for one, especially when shipping times didn't slip by much.

 

[KPOM]

Recapping my experience here. For context, I'm active duty military so my most recent prescription was written by a military optometrist at a military optometry clinic.

I ordered a vision pro with Zeiss inserts about 12 hours ago. A little while ago I was notified that Zeiss was unable to verify my prescription. So, I go check out what issues Zeiss found with the prescription:

1) No DOB
2) Prescriber is not an optometrist or opthamologist
3) Prescription is expired

No DOB - fair. Nowhere was it stated during the ordering process that this would be required and it's not listed on my prescription.

Prescriber is not an optometrist - the prescription shows my prescriber's name, license number, and NPI number along with his signature. Using the NPI Registry I was able to pull up all his details, including the fact that he is a licensed Optometrist in the state of Florida. WTF?

Prescription is expired - the prescription clearly states that my exam was performed Jan 9th 2023 and is valid for 2 years. WTF?

I called Apple support to explain the issues. They connected me to Zeiss phone support who was not remotely helpful. All they were able to do, after I explained why their "issues" with my prescription were bogus, was refer my complaint to a supervisor who would get back to me "within 72 hours."

Agree with what some of the other posters have said: it was bad form by Apple/Zeiss not to be more transparent up-front about prescription requirements. Finding out after the fact that Zeiss doesn't know how to verify an optometry license, can't read a prescription, or that you don't meet their arbitrary requirements for a valid prescription is a truly frustrating experience. Give them your feedback so they can improve the process for others.

That’s unfortunate. My initial upload was rejected because the PDF my optometrist sent me wasn’t signed. But then I remembered where I filed my signed prescription last year, scanned it, uploaded it, and ZEISS verified it this afternoon. My inserts are still on schedule for a 2/2/24 delivery.

Apple could have been more transparent. They also could have let us submit our prescriptions ahead of time similar to how they allow us to enter our carrier info the day before the iPhone launch date.

 

[KPOM]

I wouldn't bother eBaying it. There are nearly 1,000 listings now, but only 7 completed/sold listings at the time of this writing. 7! People aren't that desperate for one, especially when shipping times didn't slip by much.

8 now.

At $3,499 list this isn’t going to be a big seller and I think even Apple knows it. We early adopters are the guinea pigs. Once Apple gets a version of this down to $1599 it’s a different story.

 

[Smartuser]

My eyedoctor-updated version of the same prescription went through, and delivery of the inserts will be 2/2.

The saving grace with the inserts is that they're probably not supply constrained, and that they can be customized pretty quickly. That way, not every snag makes the whole thing come later. They could probably send them even quicker, but are probably obligated not to.

 

[KPOM]

My eyedoctor-updated version of the same prescription went through, and delivery of the inserts will be 2/2.

The saving grace with the inserts is that they're probably not supply constrained, and that they can be customized pretty quickly. That way, not every snag makes the whole thing come later. They could probably send them even quicker, but are probably obligated not to.

Yes. They are not supply constrained. They are just lenses. ZEISS is used to making different shapes and sizes. Go to any optician and you can see why.

 

[Scarpad]

I wouldn't bother eBaying it. There are nearly 1,000 listings now, but only 7 completed/sold listings at the time of this writing. 7! People aren't that desperate for one, especially when shipping times didn't slip by much.

i'll return it probably still hoping someone else will make lenses for it

 

[Scarpad]

do you all think any of the numerous perscription lenses companies on the web will produce lenses for the thing?