OnePlus 6 problems and how to fix them (Updated)

OnePlus knocked it out of the park once again with its latest flagship offering. The OnePlus 6 has everything the company is known for, with premium specifications, design, and software, all available at a price severely undercutting the competition. However, like any current generation smartphone, the phone has some issues — it’s been plagued with bugs and glitches since launch. Here are some of the common OnePlus 6 problems, and some potential solutions.

• OnePlus 6 vs Apple iPhone X
• 5 reasons you should buy the OnePlus 6
• Problems with the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus and how to fix them

Auto brightness not working as expected

Some people have found the adaptive brightness doesn’t work as well as expected. It remains too dark to for comfortable viewing. Some users have also found the screen appears to flicker as the brightness adjusts to the highest level in broad daylight. The auto brightness issue is seen with quite a few devices and is now one of the common OnePlus 6 problems as well.

The good news is, OnePlus announced on Friday, August 3 it would optimize adaptive brightness in an upcoming OTA (which it says will be released “very soon”). We don’t know in what capacity the setting will be improved, but we presume it will bring an end to the display flickering. Until then…

Potential solution:

• The best option is to disable auto brightness and manually set the display brightness using the slider in the notification drop down or the Settings menu.
• You can also download and use the Lux Auto Brightness app available on the Google Play Store, which is an excellent tool to control the auto brightness feature.

Notifications don’t show up

A few users have found notifications don’t show up or are automatically removed after a while.

Potential solutions:

• This issue seems related to just a few apps in particular. If you notice the issue don’t forget to check the app permissions and notification settings. Go to Settings > Apps and find the app with the problem. Tap on the Notifications and Permissions sections and make sure that the right settings are enabled.
• Some users have found this problem is caused by the OnePlus 6’s aggressive battery optimizations. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery optimization and tap on the three vertical dots at the top right corner. Open Advanced Optimization and disable it. This fixes the notifications issue and doesn’t seem to affect battery life much.

Samsung Pay doesn’t work on the Gear S3 when connected to the phone

To use Samsung Pay on the Gear S3, the required plugin needs to be installed on your phone via the Gear app. Unfortunately, users have found the plugin fails to install on their OnePlus 6.

Potential solutions:

• Users have found the latest Samsung Pay plugin is what is causing the problem. Reverting to an older version seems to work. You can find the older versions of the plug-in at APKMirror. Hopefully, Samsung will fix the problem in its next update.

Call and mobile data connectivity issues

One of the most common OnePlus 6 problems concerns call and mobile data connectivity issues. There is no solution or workaround available, save for performing a soft reset. At least some of these problems will be addressed by OnePlus in the next software update:

• Call drops – Many users are dropping calls when using the OnePlus 6. This doesn’t seem to be limited to a particular region or network carrier either — it’s happening across the globe. Wiping the cache partition might help. You can find the instructions on how to do so below.
• Missed calls – Users are getting missed call or voicemail alert notifications but the phone doesn’t ring before that. The phone isn’t set to silent or do not disturb mode.
• No data connectivity – Users are seeing a full signal on the phone, but the data connection doesn’t seem to work. Toggling the data on and off or switching to Airplane mode and disabling it seems to do the trick, but this issue comes back often. Many users find this problem occurs numerous times a day.
• Calls continue after hanging up – This one is a doozy. Some users have found they can still hear the person at the other end of the line after hanging up. The only way to fully end the call is to restart the device. This is one of the biggest OnePlus 6 problems for users that have come across it and should be addressed by OnePlus immediately.
• Cannot be heard during calls – Users have reported that the person at the other end of the line isn’t able to hear, or are unable to hear the other person. The only option is to hang up and call the person again. This bug has been acknowledged by OnePlus and will hopefully be fixed soon.

Connectivity issues

Connectivity issues are quite common in new devices, and the OnePlus 6 no exception. Below are the general steps you can follow when facing problems with connecting to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth devices. Wi-Fi issues seem to be particularly prevalent with this device.

Potential solutions:

Wi-Fi Issues

• Turn off your router and phone, and wait for a while before turning them back on.
• Go to the Wi-Fi settings on the device and forget the preferred network. Enter the details again from scratch.
• Check the level of activity on your current channel with the Wi-Fi Analyzer application. If necessary, simply switch to a different channel.
• Disable Power Saving Mode through Settings. 
• Find the MAC address for the phone by going to Settings > About Phone and ensure it is recognized by your router.

Bluetooth Issues

• Make sure no power saving mode is enabled.
• Tur your device’s Bluetooth off and back on again.
• If the problem continues, clear the cache for Bluetooth by going to the Bluetooth Settings.
• Restart the phone after clearing the data and cache.
• If the Bluetooth device saves multiple profiles, you might have reached the limit for the number of profiles it can save. Delete old and unused profiles, and try setting up the connection once again from scratch.

Problems officially confirmed to be fixed in upcoming updates

Apart from the auto brightness flickering and call issues, there are a few more problems OnePlus is hoping to fix with the next official update. This update should arrive in the next couple of weeks.

• Display more notification icons in the status bar, when reducing the display size setting has created more space before the notch. The three overflow status bar dots will also be fixed.
• Increased notification and ringtone sound volume.
• Rear camera autofocus improvements. This is another one of the major OnePlus 6 problems that have been reported.
• Restore status bar battery percentage option. Many users have complained about the battery percentage number not being available.
• The Scheduled Do Not Disturb feature will be added in the next update.

Problems where the only option is to wait for a software update

While OnePlus will address quite a few bugs in the next update, there remain more OnePlus 6 problems that need fixing.

• Double tap to wake issue – Some users have found the double tap to wake feature doesn’t work as expected, requiring multiple taps before the device responds. This seems to occur particularly if the phone has been idle for a while. This problem could be related to the aggressive battery optimizations and Doze feature.
• Selfie portrait mode – OnePlus has confirmed a portrait mode with the front-facing camera is in the works, to be available in a future update.
• Display/UI overlap – There have been multiple reports of UI overlap, where parts of the display are cut out, making key areas of apps inaccessible.
• Other camera issues – While the autofocus issue will be addressed in the next update, there are a few other camera problems as well. Some users have found the Panorama mode doesn’t work very well and that the scene is extremely dark when trying to capture slow motion video.

Guides – Hard reset and wipe cache partition

Hard Reset (with the phone on) 

• Open the Settings menu.
• Scroll down and find Backup & Reset.
• Tap on “Factory data reset.”
• Select “Reset phone.”
• Tap on the box that says “Erase everything.”
• The device should automatically reboot.

Hard reset (with the phone off) 

• Turn your phone off by pressing down the power key for five seconds.
• Press and hold the volume key and power button simultaneously until the device vibrates and opens the Recovery menu.
• Choose your preferred language.
• Using the volume keys to navigate, go to Wipe > data cache > Erase everything > Confirm.
• Reboot the device after this is done.

Wipe cache partition

• Turn your phone off by pressing down the power key for five seconds.
• Press and hold the volume key and the power button simultaneously until the device vibrates and opens the Recovery menu.
• Choose your preferred language.
• Using the volume keys to navigate, go to Wipe > Wipe cache > Yes to start the process
• Reboot the device after this is done.

OnePlus is admittedly off to a rocky start with its latest flagship smartphone. Users are running into quite a few OnePlus 6 problems and bugs. However, OnePlus does a great job listening to community feedback and addressing issues as quickly as possible.

If you have come across any other concerns, you can submit them to OnePlus here and a fix for your problem will hopefully be available soon.