To set up Nanome on a class set of Quest headsets, push the app to every headset from a device manager (or install it from the Meta Horizon Store or the APK on Nanome's setup page), give each student a Nanome account, and assign seats by email at home.nanome.ai. A seat attaches to a student's account, so any headset in the set works for any student, who signs in with a short device code confirmed from a phone or laptop.
Nanome runs on Quest 3 and 3S, and the steps below assume those. Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets run Nanome Classic (v1.24) instead, according to Nanome's hardware guide.
Order matters here. A Quest enrolls in device management only during its first-time setup, so headsets come first, then accounts and seats, then a test lesson.
Choosing a device manager
A mobile device management (MDM) service enrolls headsets into an organization, pushes Wi-Fi and apps to them, and keeps every headset on the version IT has approved. Nanome's setup guide points to one once headsets are shared, since a single Quest is quicker to set up by hand. It compares 3 services:
| Meta Horizon managed services (HMS) | ArborXR | ManageXR | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free since February 20, 2026 | From $7 per headset per month, billed annually, or $4 on the education Classroom plan; 30-day trial | From $7 per headset per month, billed annually, or $5.60 at education rates; 30-day trial |
| Headsets | Quest 2, 3, 3S and Pro | Quest, Galaxy XR, PICO, HTC VIVE, Magic Leap 2 | Quest, Galaxy XR, PICO, HTC VIVE |
| Classroom features | Shared Mode with a fresh session per user, Wi-Fi profiles, app push, remote wipe | Launcher or single-app kiosk locked with an admin PIN; release channels that hold a group on one Nanome version | Single-app kiosk on Essential; release channels and remote screen streaming on Premium |
| How Nanome arrives | Apps & Content > Discover Apps in Device Manager | Nanome APK uploaded to the Content Library | Meta store app list imported as a CSV, or an uploaded APK |
ArborXR and ManageXR both enroll Quests through a free HMS organization, so HMS is step one whichever column wins. The education rates come from the ArborXR and ManageXR pricing pages, and the background on Meta's change is in Meta Horizon Managed Services goes free.
Enrollment needs Wi-Fi with no browser sign-in page, and a Quest already signed in to a personal Meta account needs a factory reset first. During setup, each headset shows an 8-digit code under Connect to your organization, entered at work.meta.com/device. Meta's Horizon Device Setup app does the same over USB, straight into Shared Mode (setup guide).
Without an MDM, Nanome installs one headset at a time from the Meta Horizon Store or as an APK from downloads.nanome.ai.
Headsets that arrive ready
VR Expert, Nanome's hardware partner with offices in the US and Europe, enrolls each headset in the school's MDM, configures it and loads Nanome before it ships, according to Nanome's setup page. Its US order form lists Nanome kits for Quest 3 and Galaxy XR, and installation plus a year of support can be added per headset.
Retail works too. Meta stopped selling business editions in February 2026, so schools buy standard headsets and enroll them in HMS. Choosing the headset itself is covered in which VR headsets work with Nanome.
Two accounts per student, and dropping one
A Quest normally asks for a Meta account during setup, and Nanome wants a Nanome account before it opens a workspace. HMS removes the first: Shared Mode runs headsets without personal Meta accounts, with a fresh session for each user.
The Nanome account stays. Each student signs in with their own, even on a shared headset, created at app.nanome.ai with a 14-day Full license trial. Is Nanome free covers the trial's timing. Nanome's privacy policy states that its products are meant for people aged 18 and up, so accounts for younger students are worth settling with the Nanome team before a class signs up. Nanome's network and security requirements has the policy details.
The device code keeps passwords out of the headset. The headset's Code tab shows a short code, and the student signs in at app.nanome.ai on a phone or laptop, picks Login via Device Code, and enters it. Each code signs in one account, and Log Out sits at the bottom of the Settings tab for the handover to the next student (setup guide).
Setting up the organization and assigning seats
Students work in app.nanome.ai, and admins manage licenses and organization membership at home.nanome.ai. For a class or lab, Nanome's help FAQ recommends a license-administrator account, the instructor's own or one the department maintains, that owns every license without needing one assigned to itself. The school buys the licenses from that account, or puts its email on the quote request. One license lands on the admin account automatically and can be reassigned to a student.
Students without accounts can get new numbered ones, such as student-1 and student-2, according to the same FAQ. A role-based address such as a department mailbox keeps the seats from depending on one person's inbox.
The licenses guide sets out the assignment in 4 steps:
- Opening Licenses. The admin logs in at home.nanome.ai and picks Licenses in the left sidebar.
- Starting the list. Assign Users opens the seats for editing.
- Adding a student. The student's email goes in, and the check mark sends them a confirmation email.
- Saving. Done finalizes the changes, and the cross beside a name unassigns that seat.
A student in a headset needs a Collab or Full seat, while the Free Web Seat stays in the browser with view-only collaboration (setup guide). Seat counts for a class have their own worked examples.
Why an invite stays pending
A seat is assigned to an account email and activates once that user confirms the email Nanome sends. Since the seat follows the address, the address is the first thing to check:
- No account yet. The student hasn't created a Nanome account under that email. Registering at app.nanome.ai with the same address, then confirming, clears it.
- A different address. The account uses a personal email and the seat went to the school one, or the reverse. Reassigning the seat to the account's real address fixes it.
- An unopened email. The confirmation message is still waiting, sometimes in a spam or quarantine folder.
Seats across terms and staff changes
Academic seats on the pricing page are priced per year: a Full seat is $250 on the Classroom / Personal plan and $150 on the Department plan, which starts at 50 licenses. A seat lasts its full year and can pass from one class to the next within it. Academic quotes come from the Nanome team at support@nanome.ai (setup guide).
Between classes, admins assign and reassign licenses at home.nanome.ai. The cross takes last term's students off, and Assign Users adds the new class. A student who switches email addresses needs the same move, since the seat stays with the old address.
Staff changes go easier with shared admin access. Meta's side of the setup guide recommends at least 2 HMS System admins on shared role-based addresses, and a department-maintained license-administrator account follows the same idea. When an admin has already left, support@nanome.ai is the contact.
Single sign-on is configured by an admin at home.nanome.ai, after which SSO users reach a headset through the device code. The IT details, from Wi-Fi to the firewall allowlist, sit in the setup guide's network step.
When a student is locked out
Forgotten passwords are reset at home.nanome.ai.
Two-factor authentication lives under Account Settings > Security, where setup asks each user to download recovery codes and Disable 2FA sits in the same section (2FA guide). A student who has lost both the authenticator and the recovery codes can write to support@nanome.ai.
To close an account, Nanome's privacy policy directs deletion requests to support@nanome.ai, and the help FAQ says the deletion is done by hand and takes 2 to 3 weeks.
Instructor training
The pricing page lists syllabus and course implementation assistance with Academic Department plans, which start at 50 licenses, along with headsets managed either by Nanome's support staff or by a deployment partner. What a specific order includes is confirmed by the Nanome team at support@nanome.ai.
A training session goes furthest when the groundwork is done: headsets charged, Nanome installed, and every student signed in with a confirmed seat. Sign-in problems found on the day come out of teaching time.
The lesson itself is laid out in the session guide: building the workspace in the web app, setting it to Viewer before the code goes out, and splitting a large class across several workspaces. Nanome's permission roles fit a classroom, with the instructor as Owner, students as Viewers, and one student promoted to Editor for a hands-on turn. Loading the first structures is covered in how to visualize proteins in VR.
The week-before checklist
| Check | Ready when |
|---|---|
| Headsets enrolled | Every Quest shows in the MDM, in Shared Mode, on the school Wi-Fi |
| Network | Direct internet with no sign-in page, and outbound TCP 443 to *.nanome.ai and *.nanome.com allowed (see the IT checklist) |
| Nanome installed | The same version on every headset, pushed from the MDM |
| Student accounts | One Nanome account per student, under the email their seat goes to |
| Seats | Assigned at home.nanome.ai and confirmed by each student |
| Sign-in | Device code tested on a headset, and Log Out between students |
| Lesson | Workspace built in the web app, global permission at Viewer, code ready |
| Test session | Several headsets in one workspace on the school network |
If a phone hotspot works and the school network doesn't, the setup guide reads that as the network blocking something, which leaves a week to sort it out with IT.
FAQ
Do students need their own Meta accounts?
Not on headsets in HMS Shared Mode, which runs without personal Meta accounts and starts a fresh session for each user. Each student still signs in to Nanome with their own account.
Why is a student's seat still pending?
The seat waits for the student to confirm the email Nanome sends, and it has to match the email on their Nanome account. A missing account or a different address is the usual cause.
Can last term's seats go to the next class?
Yes. Admins assign and reassign licenses at home.nanome.ai: the cross removes a name, and Assign Users adds the new students.
Does an academic order include instructor training?
Academic Department plans list syllabus and course implementation assistance on the pricing page. The Nanome team confirms what a given order includes at support@nanome.ai.