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The availability of consumer-grade virtual reality (VR) devices allows user studies to be conducted remotely, that is in users’ homes. In this way, diverse populations can be reached and studies using virtual reality can be conducted in settings characterized by high ecologic validity. In this study (N=21) we investigate challenges participants face as they are required to set up and calibrate a virtual reality system in their home without assistance from experimenters. This allowed us to identify key reasons why participants struggle with this task. Our findings suggest that providing illustrative instructions and additional assistance on request can notably increase the success rate of setting up a VR environment for participating in a remote study. Interestingly, we also find that it is harder to recruit participants who do not have prior VR experience to participate in remote VR studies. We derive suggestions on how to support …