It’s official — OxygenOS 12 for OnePlus 9 is a disaster

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The new, half-baked update is littered with bugs

OnePlus 9 Pro review
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The OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro are two of the best Android phones this year, thanks to their combination of powerful hardware and excellent software. OnePlus recently released the long-awaited OxygenOS 12 update, bringing Android 12 to its users. 

But all is definitely not well here, with many users vocally noting several problems. Bugs, inconsistencies, broken or missing features all spell a really bad update for the OnePlus 9. And considering that OxygenOS 12 has been in beta for a little while now, this half-baked update is nigh inexcusable — especially since Oppo and OnePlus share software development resources.

If users are to be believed, and we're willing to bet they are, OxygenOS 12 is far from stable. We haven't installed the latest version on our review units, but we did play with the OxygenOS 12 beta on the OnePlus 9. It was a laggy, buggy experience that we hoped would be addressed in the final release, but it seems that wasn't the case.

For example, some people have reported that they're having trouble making and receiving calls, or that some animations are simply missing, or that Wi-Fi is noticeably slower and so on. There are even missing customization features, which surprises us given OxygenOS' history of being one of the most customizable Android skins.

You can no longer change each individual app icon, customize the status bar icons, disable the Google Feed, access the Advanced Reboot menu, or access the call recording app. Granted, you can address some of these by using one of the best Android launchers, but the default OxygenOS launcher is actually pretty good.

OnePlus has released bad updates before, but this one seems especially egregious given that it's for the company's latest flagship phones. OxygenOS 12 promises several new features like an enhanced Shelf, Work Life Balance 2.0, reworked icons, and adjustable dark mode, and many others. We were actually quite excited to install the update on our units, even with it basically being Oppo's ColorOS with a color palette swap.

It remains unclear at this point if OnePlus will pull the update and encourage users to downgrade back to OxygenOS 11. It might also release a hotfix to address some of the more pressing issues, like the calling problem. For now, if you haven't updated yet, we strongly encourage you to wait until OnePlus addresses these issues.

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Jordan Palmer
Jordan Palmer
Phones Editor

Jordan is the Phones Editor for Tom's Guide, covering all things phone-related. He's written about phones for over six years and plans to continue for a long while to come. He loves nothing more than relaxing in his home with a book, game, or his latest personal writing project. Jordan likes finding new things to dive into, from books and games to new mechanical keyboard switches and fun keycap sets. Outside of work, you can find him poring over open-source software and his studies.