OnePlus 8, 8 Pro & OnePlus Nord 5G support on O2 UK may arrive with Android 11 (OxygenOS 11) update

At present, OnePlus has some of the best Android smartphones to offer. This is because the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro stack up well against flagships from OEMs such as Samsung. Further, with the release of the OnePlus Nord, the company is trying to take a bit out of the mid-range market.

As a matter of fact, OnePlus started out in the mid-range market and has since then bumped up the pricing for its flagships. Although, it does bring additional features to give justice to the increased price.

All three phones released this year by the company have high refresh rate AMOLED displays and come with 5G support. However, since 5G is relatively new, the devices don’t support it on all networks right out of the box.

Take for example the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. Both devices come with the Snapdragon 865 SoC paired with the Snapdragon X55 5G modem. However, users on the O2 network in the UK are still not able to take advantage of 5G connectivity on the devices.

Further, even the newly released OnePlus Nord does not support 5G on the O2 network as reported by users on the company’s community forums. However, in the same thread, users claim that 5G is working on other carriers such as Vodafone and Three in the country.

To shed some more light on the matter, an O2 Social Team member made a statement regarding the current situation surrounding OnePlus devices and 5G support on the O2 network. Here’s the entire statement/comment that was posted on the O2 community forums:

Here’s what I can confirm:

The OnePlus 8 devices work on the same 5G band that the O2 5G network operates on – so the device is technically capable.
O2 have not tested this device on our network and currently have no plans to. This is common for devices we do not range in our portfolio, and isn’t specific to OnePlus devices.
We’re unable to give specific reasons as to why OnePlus have not enabled O2’s 5G on their device, but this was not an O2 decision.
There’s no reason why 2G, 3G or 4G won’t work on the new OnePlus device, though I must stress that O2 have not tested this device on our network so we cannot confirm whether these work correctly or not. We would perhaps suggest referring to OnePlus’ return policy if you purchase the device and it doesn’t perform on the O2 network as expected.
What I cannot confirm:

If or when the OnePlus 8 will support O2 5G – this is down to OnePlus and not O2
When OnePlus will release a software update that enables O2 5G to work on the device – any such update would come directly from OnePlus themselves and isn’t something we have any influence over (Source)

If this information is accurate, it appears that OnePlus is solely responsible for enabling O2 5G support on the OnePlus 8, 8 Pro, and Nord. And it turns out that the company may have indeed enabled 5G support on the O2 network in the UK.

According to a comment posted on the OnePlus community forums, 5G is enabled in the Android 11 developer preview beta 2 for the OnePlus 8/8 Pro. If that’s the case, it’s highly likely that OnePlus will enable 5G support on the O2 network on all eligible devices with the Android 11 update.

Even though the OnePlus Nord is not yet part of the Android 11 beta testing, it is in line to receive the update. So it appears that OnePlus 8/8 Pro and OnePlus Nord users will simply have to wait for the stable Android 11 update to arrive.

Of course, this is by no means an official confirmation by OnePlus. The conclusion that Android 11 (OxygenOS 11) will enable 5G on the O2 network on OnePlus devices is simply based on user reports and the statement made by the O2 Social Team member.

Nonetheless, you can take a look at our OnePlus Android 11 update tracker to know when it arrives on your device. Further, here’s a list of devices from the company that might bag Android 11.

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