How to immediately get OxygenOS updates for the OnePlus 6/5T/5/3T/3

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One of the most annoying parts of over-the-air (OTA) updates is waiting for the update to be delivered on your device. This varies wildly from device to device, and many factors take part while checking if you’re eligible: your carrier, your OEM, your current Android version, and your actual geographical location/IP, just to name a few. It’s particularly annoying when your OEM doesn’t officially support your country. If you want to skip the wait and immediately get OxygenOS updates on your OnePlus 6, OnePlus 5T, OnePlus 5, OnePlus 3T, or OnePlus 3, then you can use the free Oxygen Updater app to do so.

Skipping the line with Oxygen Updater

I live in Caracas, Venezuela, and I currently use a OnePlus 5T as my daily driver. OnePlus doesn’t officially sell their phones in Venezuela—I had to import mine from the U.S. store and have it shipped to me via a third-party, so OxygenOS updates are sometimes delayed by quite a bit here. I often download update packages with my browser, either from the official OnePlus download section or XDA threads, in order to update my device and then proceed to install it with either TWRP or the Oxygen Recovery.

It’s even worse for other devices made by other manufacturers. Just to cite an example, update rollouts for LG can often take months to roll out from one country to the other. This is pretty common practice in the Android ecosystem. It’s pretty rare to find a phone that actually receives timely security patches, without counting the Google Pixel phones. OnePlus used to be pretty slow when keeping their phones up to date, but they have picked up the pace recently, especially when it comes to security patches. But actual OTA rollouts still take a while to reach everyone. There’s a good reason for that, though, and it’s to ensure that bugs are caught early before the update reaches everyone.

If you don’t want to wait for an update, you can use a VPN to connect to OnePlus’ usual test markets: Germany or Canada. This is exactly what the Oxygen Updater app does for you. Oxygen Updater is a pretty nifty tool that, despite what the name would tell you, is not made by OnePlus or anyone closely related to the company. It’s instead an unofficial tool which focuses on OnePlus devices like the OnePlus 6, OnePlus 5T, OnePlus 5, OnePlus 3T, and OnePlus 3. The concept is pretty simple: you select your device and the app checks whether an update is available.

Oxygen Updater grabs update packages for all currently supported OnePlus devices, including the OnePlus 6, the OnePlus 5/OnePlus 5T, and the OnePlus 3/OnePlus 3T, in both OxygenOS stable and Open Beta channels. It also gives you the option to download partial OTA packages (if you’re unrooted) and full firmware ZIPs, both of which you can install through your recovery of choice. Furthermore, it skips over OnePlus’ OTA rollouts: if an update exists for your device, you’ll be able to download said update right away, even if the Update section in your phone says your device is up to date.

How to get OxygenOS updates on the OnePlus 6/5T/5/3T/3

For all intents and purposes, it’s just as feature rich as the OxygenOS update manager. Maybe even better. It’s pretty simple to use, actually:

Download Oxygen Updater from the Google Play Store using the button below. Start the app. It’ll start on the setup screen, where the app will be configured for your device. Note that the app may check for root access and ask for root permissions. If applicable, then grant it, since it will simply default the update method to “full update” instead of partial update otherwise. Follow through the setup until you get to the main screen. If it says your device is up to date, then congrats! If it says an update is available, download it and the update will begin downloading in the background. After it’s finished, just tap on the notification. The app will follow through the normal update cycle: it’ll reboot, boot into recovery mode, install, then reboot again.

I found it to be a pretty reliable tool during my own testing. I bumped my OnePlus 5T from Open Beta 8 straight to Open Beta 10 in a breeze. As we said before, it’s also compatible with all devices currently supported by OnePlus, so it’s definitely something worth checking out if you’re a OnePlus user. You can download and give Oxygen Updater a shot yourself for free from Google Play.