Enable Read Text on Images (Select to Speak)
If Select to Speak stays silent when you point your camera at a sign or open a photo full of text, the Read text on images option is likely switched off. This experimental function reads printed text aloud from pictures and the live camera viewfinder, but only when it is turned on separately inside the accessibility settings. On many OxygenOS builds the toggle sits in a sub-menu and gets overlooked during setup.
Delete an Alarm
If your OnePlus still lists alarms from a finished shift, an old routine, or a trip that is long over, the Clock app gets cluttered fast. That makes it harder to spot the alarm you actually need for tomorrow and raises the chance of tapping the wrong one by accident. Removing the outdated entries is the only way to get a clean, reliable list again.
Block Ads in Chrome Browser
Ads and banners popping up mid-scroll on your OnePlus browser usually mean the built-in ad filter is switched off or set too loose. Chrome ships with a basic blocker for intrusive ad formats, but it only works once the right toggle is active. Without it, pages load slower and get cluttered with pop-ups.
Enable Autospace After Punctuation on Gboard
If you rely on quick typing in WhatsApp or Mail, missing spaces after commas and periods slow you down on every message. Gboard on your OnePlus can insert that space automatically, but the option sits deep inside the text correction settings and is easy to miss. Because it is still an experimental setting, it does not always behave the same way across keyboard updates.
Add a Second Account
After the first setup, your OnePlus phone only keeps the Google Account you signed in with during activation. If you use a second Gmail address, a work Exchange account, or an Outlook inbox, none of that syncs until you register it separately. Apps like Facebook or WhatsApp handle their own login and never show up in this list.
Enable or Disable Auto-Punctuate for Double-Tap Spacebar
If double-tapping the spacebar drops in a period you did not want, or nothing happens at all when you try it, Gboard's automatic punctuation behavior is set differently than you expect. This shortcut is meant to speed up typing by turning two quick space taps into a period plus a space, but it can also mess with fast typists who just want two spaces. The setting lives inside the keyboard's own text correction options, not in the general system menu, which is why many OnePlus users never find it.
Change Home Screen Grid Layout
When app icons crowd together or leave awkward gaps on your OnePlus home screen, the fixed grid size is usually the reason. OxygenOS starts with one default layout that does not always match how many apps you keep on screen or how large you want the icons. Switching to a different column and row count fixes both cramped screens and oversized icons in a few taps.
Change SIM PIN
Every new SIM card arrives with a default four-digit PIN chosen by your carrier, not by you. That random number is easy to forget, and entering it wrong three times locks the SIM card until you dig out the PUK code from your provider. Swapping it for a PIN you can actually remember keeps the SIM protected without that risk.
Manually Check for System Updates
If you dismissed or missed the update notification on your OnePlus phone, you might be running outdated software without realizing it. The automatic prompt only appears once, so a cleared notification means no second reminder. You can still confirm right now whether a new OxygenOS version is waiting to be installed.
Remove App Shortcut from Home Screen
When your OnePlus home screen fills up with shortcuts you barely use, finding the apps you actually need takes longer every time. Deleting the wrong icon by accident or confusing 'Remove' with 'Uninstall' is a common worry, since both options can appear in the same long-press menu. Knowing which action just clears the shortcut and which one deletes the app entirely saves you from losing data you did not mean to remove.
Enable or Disable Google Location History
OnePlus phones automatically log your location and send it to Google to power personalized maps, recommendations and search results. If you want to check whether this feature is running in the background or shut it off completely, the setting sits inside your Google Account rather than a OnePlus-specific menu. Many users only discover it after noticing Google Maps knows exactly where they have been.
Restrict Notifications in Do Not Disturb Mode
When Do Not Disturb is active on your OnePlus phone, some notifications still light up the screen or buzz next to you. That happens because Restrict notifications defaults to letting partial alerts through instead of blocking them fully. You can set exactly how much a notification is allowed to interrupt you while the mode runs.
Move Contacts to Another Storage Location
If contacts on your OnePlus phone are split between internal storage and a Google Account, they stop syncing consistently across your devices. This matters most before a phone swap or when you want a shared contact list to update everywhere at once. Moving a contact keeps every stored detail intact while changing which account manages it.
Add App to Do Not Disturb Exceptions
If notifications from a specific app stay silent even though Do Not Disturb is active on your OnePlus, the app is missing from the exception list. This mostly affects messaging or call apps where you still want alerts to break through. The fix sits inside the notification settings of that single app, not in the general Do Not Disturb menu.
Set Camera Aspect Ratio
If your photos come out square when you wanted a wide landscape shot, or a portrait leaves odd black bars, the camera aspect ratio on your OnePlus is probably set wrong for what you are shooting. The Camera app offers different formats depending on your phone screen ratio, and the wrong pick crops out parts of the scene or adds unwanted space around your subject. Switching between 4:3, Full and 1:1 changes exactly how much of the frame actually gets saved.
Enable or Disable Airplane Mode
Flight crews and many transit systems require you to fully disconnect your phone from every network before departure. Switching off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and mobile data one by one takes too long and it is easy to forget one of them. Airplane mode on your OnePlus handles all three connections with a single switch.
Turn Camera Flash On, Off or Auto
If your OnePlus keeps firing the flash in a bright room or refuses to light up in the dark, the flash mode inside the Camera app is set wrong. The rear flash can run permanently on, stay off, or switch itself on only when the sensor detects low light. Getting the mode right saves battery and stops shots from turning out too dark or overexposed.
Rearrange Camera Modes
If your OnePlus camera swipe bar is cluttered with modes you never use, finding Portrait or Night mode quickly gets annoying. The order and selection of visible camera modes is not fixed and can be customized through the Custom modes settings. Modes you rarely need can be hidden, while your favorites move closer to the main shutter view.
Enable or Disable Emoji Suggestions
If Gboard keeps popping up an emoji next to a word while you type on your OnePlus, the emoji suggestion feature is active. Some people find this handy, others just want a clean suggestion bar without extra icons. The setting sits inside the keyboard text correction options, not the main keyboard layout menu.
Set Snooze Length
If the default snooze on your OnePlus alarm feels too short or drags on too long every morning, the timing isn't fixed the way it is on many other phones. The Clock app lets you set your own snooze duration, anywhere between 1 and 30 minutes, instead of sticking with a preset interval.
Set Mobile Data Warning Limit
If your OnePlus phone never tells you when you are close to your mobile data cap, the data warning notification is probably switched off or set too high. Without an early alert, you only notice the overage once your carrier already throttles or bills extra data. A properly set warning threshold gives you time to cut back before the actual limit is reached.
Enable or Disable Nearby Share
When Nearby Share does not show up during file transfers, or a nearby OnePlus phone stays invisible to friends, the setting is often switched off or blocked by disabled Bluetooth and location. Since Nearby Share can also spin up a temporary Wi-Fi hotspot, restrictive data or connectivity settings can silently stop transfers as well.
Auto-download MMS: Enable or Disable
MMS attachments like photos or videos download automatically as soon as a message arrives, even on a limited data plan. On a OnePlus phone with two SIM cards, this setting exists separately for each SIM and can quietly burn through mobile data while roaming. Turning it off gives you back control over when attachments actually load.
Zoom In and Out in the Camera App
If pinch-to-zoom feels shaky or you miss the shot while adjusting framing, the OnePlus camera app has a steadier way to control zoom. Swiping instead of pinching keeps the image stable and lets you fine-tune the zoom level right before you tap the shutter.