OnePlus 6 Users Experiencing Display Flickering With OxygenOS 5.1.8, Fix Not Issued Yet

OnePlus 6 received the OxygenOS 5.1.8 software update back in mid-June, followed by the OxygenOS 5.1.9 update earlier this month. With the former, however, some users of the flagship smartphone are reporting display flickering issues when using the phone in adaptive brightness mode. As per user reports, flickering has been observed in bright sunlight and is more prominent when viewing app or Web pages with a white background or one with vivid colours. Some of the users have reportedly started using third-party apps but are in anticipation of a quick resolution by the phone maker in future updates.

Originating all the way back to July 23, closer to the OxygenOS 5.1.8 release, is a post on OnePlus forums that has numerous comments claiming that the auto brightness feature in the OnePlus 6 doesn't change according to the environment and a third-party solution, Lux, seems to be the only way out.

Another post on the company's forum mentions that the flickering issue is prominent when seen under direct sunlight. Following that is a sizeable thread on Reddit in which users reiterate the point that the display on their OnePlus 6 units "flickers rapidly when in direct sunlight", which is not a good thing considering the OnePlus 6 aims to compete with the likes of premium flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S9 and the Huawei P20 Pro. Some of the comments even claim that this is more of a feature than a bug as OnePlus is said to be using PWM at 236Hz in order to adjust screen brightness.

Some of the users even go on to state that the issue came to light only after the OxygenOS 5.1.8 update in June, and has strangely not been recognised and fixed in version 5.1.9. Clearing cache seems to have worked for one user, however with no certainty of how long that will last.

A post on XDA Developers forums also mentions the occurrence of this 'bug', which is said to be visible only when the screen goes to 100 percent brightness with auto brightness turned on. OnePlus is yet to officially respond and notify users about an update that will resolve the issue.

This is not the only issue that users have complained about involving OxygenOS 5.1.8 update on the OnePlus 6. Late last month, users had experienced significant battery drain issues with the software update on the OnePlus 6, as well as on the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T running OxygenOS 5.0.3.