OxygenOS is OnePlus’ Android 11-based UI, and it’s also been a favourite for many users over the years due to its relatively stock-like experience. The OnePlus 8T was announced with Android 11 out of the box, but OnePlus also assured users that the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro would be receiving the update as well.
In the meantime, the OxygenOS Open Beta 3 has been released for the OnePlus 8 series! However, there has been a serious mix-up going on with the latest beta release for OxygenOS 11. Users on OnePlus’ forums have complained of an issue where the update completely wipes the data on their OnePlus 8 smartphones.
The issue is down to the fact that certain users were receiving the stable update (version 11.0.1.1), instead of the beta update. This results in a full data wipe on the phone—and it’s an irreversible process, as far as we can tell.
So, if you’ve received the wrong update, don’t install it, or restart your phone. Perform a full backup with the OnePlus Switch app, and transfer your files to a computer just in case. In addition, OnePlus has also prepared a “solution”: an APK that prevents your smartphone from deleting all data when you restart it.
These are OnePlus’ instructions:
1. Install this apk. You need to install it after the update was installed but before you restart.
2. After the apk is installed, run the application, click “KEEP DATA”.
3. You should now be able to restart the phone without losing your data.
This should allow you to restart your phone without losing your data, although OnePlus maintains that you should back up your essential files before going through with it.
Unfortunately, if your data has already been wiped, you’re out of luck. It’s pretty mind-boggling that something like this could happen to a global brand such as OnePlus—who usually pride themselves on the strength of their community—and this might also turn off users from participating in their open betas in the future.
In any case, the OxygenOS Open Beta 3 will bring a couple of incremental upgrades to the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. This includes optimised UI elements, as well as the updated Android Security Patch, and some other minor improvements.
To find out more, click here for the full thread on OnePlus’ forums.
