OnePlus 6 Said to Face Battery Drain Issues With OxygenOS 5.1.8, OnePlus 3, 3T Also Said to Face Similar Issues

Chinese phone maker OnePlus, early last week, released its latest software update in the form of Oxygen OS 5.1.8 for its current flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 6. However, it seems, some users of the smartphone are experiencing major battery drain issues with several users taking to OnePlus forums to report up to a 50 percent decrease in battery performance compared to the last update. Select users have also claimed similar downgrade on their OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T units, with the Oxygen OS 5.0.3 update, first released in May this year.

In a thread started by user Aays on the OnePlus forum, the original uploader has alleged battery issues on the OnePlus 6, followed by dozens of replies claiming the same. Not just OnePlus forum threads, OnePlus 6 users have started talking about battery drain being an issue on OxygenOS 5.1.8 on Twitter as well.

As per numerous user comments, the display of the smartphone is seen to be primary source of the battery drain with the update. One user reports that screen-on-time (SoT) of around 12 hours on the OxygenOS 5.1.6 has gone down to about 5-6 hours with 5.1.8. In some cases, the display is sucking as much as 44 percent of battery power. Turning off Ambient Display resolves the issue substantially for certain users, while others claim mobile data is the major reason of poor battery performance. One comment on the thread claims a fix is coming in OxygenOS 5.2.0, however it is yet to be officially confirmed.

OxygenOS 5.1.8 was released last week with patches for the bootloader vulnerability, optimisation for call quality, and other system stability bug fixes. Prior to this update, version 5.1.6 had also been reported to have several performance issues and bugs. Certain threads have also pointed towards similar issues on the latest version available for OnePlus 3/ 3T units, i.e, OxygenOS 5.0.3. Users claim battery drains within 3-4 hours of charging the handset. However, some users report no noticeable difference after the updates on any of the three OnePlus handsets.

Considering the level of battery drain on the latest build, it is recommended not to update your OnePlus 6 to OxygenOS 5.1.8, if you haven't yet done that, and instead wait for the next version. We have reached out to OnePlus for an official comment and will update this space accordingly.

Do note that there are often significant battery issues after a major update, depending upon whether you have opted for a fresh install or not. Additionally, as we've seen in the past, OnePlus phones may take about a week or so to stabilise battery performance after the installation of a update, though usually only after a major update.