If you own a OnePlus smartphone, and live outside of the USA, you will probably have to wait for up to a week or so for the latest over-the-air (OTA) update for your phone to reach you.
If you’re impatient and prefer a faster approach that’s also safe, you can make use of a handy app in the Google Play Store. This way you get those updates instantly, without waiting for your region to see it. And the best part? The app doesn’t require root or any technical knowledge.
Pre-requisite
The only pre-requisite here is making sure you have at least 80% battery when installing an OTA update. This is especially true if it’s a major update like the upcoming Hydrogen OS 11.
Navigate to the Google Play Store and install Oxygen Updater.
Once you have the app installed, press the three dots at the top-right and choose Settings.
The only two options you need to adjust here are in the Device settings and the type of update you want to receive.
If you’re unsure what device you’re using, head over to your phones Settings app and navigate all the way to the bottom of the menu to About phone.
The Device name should be right on top, but if you have altered it like I have, put your Model in Google and it will tell you which variant of the OnePlus Phone you currently own. I found that a Wikipedia entry for your phone is the best source if available. e.g. HD1903 for the OnePlus 7T (Europe).
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
You can also use IMEI info to find out the model of your phone. You can find out the IMEI by checking the box of your phone, or by typing *#06# on your dialer app.
Head back into Oxygen Updater, open the Settings page, and navigate to Device. Choose your device from the list that corresponds to the above steps.
The next step is choosing the Update Method. It’s recommended you choose Incremental Update, but if you are a more advanced user and have an unlocked bootloader, you can choose Full Update.
Now when an update is released, you will open up the Oxygen Updater app. The app will download the update for your phone on your phone and save it to the local storage.
Once Oxygen Updater has finished the download, you can navigate to your phone’s Settings app, Go into System at the bottom, and choose System updates.
System updates will detect the local file and prompt you to download and install the update.
The best way to know if your device has an update is to follow OnePlus on their social media accounts.