I've been running a rooted OP6 for 3.5 years or more. Currently on stock OOS 11 with some root specific extras. It still behaves OK, but I'm thinking of getting something newer because of occasional issues that may be age related. OP is selling the OP9 for $499 today in the US. For those of you who are familiar with the device, do you think it's worth buying at that price this deep into its existence?
Question Is it worth buying the OP9 for $499 US?
- Thread starter maigre
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For 499$? Hell no!
I bought almost new one for 399$ and still pissed. Camera is horrible even with Gcam. Chipset gets hot while playing videos sometimes let alone gaming.
Also depend what you are looking for. OP 9rt has everything OP9 has and have better camera and thermal. I'd say go for 9rt than base OP9 if it's available in the price range.
I bought almost new one for 399$ and still pissed. Camera is horrible even with Gcam. Chipset gets hot while playing videos sometimes let alone gaming.
Also depend what you are looking for. OP 9rt has everything OP9 has and have better camera and thermal. I'd say go for 9rt than base OP9 if it's available in the price range.
Thanks. I didn't buy it before the sale ended. I figured I'd have other opportunities with some decent phone or another. Seems like a few years ago, more people were happy with their new phones. Now, it seems like a lot of people have problems with the more recent models.
The phone is fine (cameras aren't the best but everything else is great). The software is the problem. If you want it so you can flash a custom ROM on it, it's great. If you want to just use it stock, it's harder to recommend.
That said, I would take a 9 over a Pixel 6 (in fact my initial purchase decision was between these two since the sale on the OP9 at the time was the same price as the 6) or pretty much anything else because of the community support. The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are only just now starting to get decent custom ROMs, Tensor is a mediocre SoC with a weak modem, the display is better on the OnePlus, and the OnePlus has way better battery.
When it comes to devices where I live in the US, the only options for those of us who want root and custom ROMs while maintaining full compatibility with all carriers are OnePlus and Pixel. It's too bad Samsung locks their devices down so much.
That said, I would take a 9 over a Pixel 6 (in fact my initial purchase decision was between these two since the sale on the OP9 at the time was the same price as the 6) or pretty much anything else because of the community support. The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are only just now starting to get decent custom ROMs, Tensor is a mediocre SoC with a weak modem, the display is better on the OnePlus, and the OnePlus has way better battery.
When it comes to devices where I live in the US, the only options for those of us who want root and custom ROMs while maintaining full compatibility with all carriers are OnePlus and Pixel. It's too bad Samsung locks their devices down so much.
I'd have thought the Pixel 6 would have been my best bet until I started reading the myriad complaints about it from users. The glowing commercial site reviews tout the features, but don't mention that those features don't always work as would be expected. The same seems to be the case for the current generation of Samsung phones.
What's the issue with OOS on the OP9? I'm probably running something similar on my OP6, though via root, I've eliminated a lot of the bloat. I'd intended to flash custom ROMs, but I never have on this phone as I've had it set up to my liking most of the time. I'm running Android 11. Maybe that's the issue? 12 has more problems?
What's the issue with OOS on the OP9? I'm probably running something similar on my OP6, though via root, I've eliminated a lot of the bloat. I'd intended to flash custom ROMs, but I never have on this phone as I've had it set up to my liking most of the time. I'm running Android 11. Maybe that's the issue? 12 has more problems?
People don't like the Oppo-ification that has happened. ColorOS and OxygenOS are on the same codebase now and they're extremely similar. It doesn't help that OnePlus is lagging on updates a lot too. They just started dropping the C.60 update which comes with OOS 12.1 today and ColorOS has been on C.62 since April.
Honestly I got tired of waiting for 12.1 and switched my global LE2115 to ColorOS yesterday and I like it. The bloat is there but it's only an issue if you actually run it. And honestly it cracks me up seeing the Chinese in the universal search lol. *shrug*
One thing I really appreciate about this device is that the MSM Tool is available. This is the low level firmware flash that is meant for manufacturers to use to rapidly restore devices back to working order. Since we have it, it's fairly easy to recover from common bricking scenarios, and I don't know that I would want to go back to a device that doesn't have it (like the Pixel). OnePlus also seems to have excellent warranty service, they don't even void the warranty if you brick the thing, unlike Google who claims they can't even re-flash the firmware and you have to pay for a new motherboard if you brick it.
There are some annoying issues with notifications (which strangely seem to naturally resolve themselves as you use the device) and aggressive battery management in A12 that you have to learn how to work around. It's not perfect but I like OOS12 and COS12 more than I like Pixel-clone ROMs or OneUI.
Honestly I got tired of waiting for 12.1 and switched my global LE2115 to ColorOS yesterday and I like it. The bloat is there but it's only an issue if you actually run it. And honestly it cracks me up seeing the Chinese in the universal search lol. *shrug*
One thing I really appreciate about this device is that the MSM Tool is available. This is the low level firmware flash that is meant for manufacturers to use to rapidly restore devices back to working order. Since we have it, it's fairly easy to recover from common bricking scenarios, and I don't know that I would want to go back to a device that doesn't have it (like the Pixel). OnePlus also seems to have excellent warranty service, they don't even void the warranty if you brick the thing, unlike Google who claims they can't even re-flash the firmware and you have to pay for a new motherboard if you brick it.
There are some annoying issues with notifications (which strangely seem to naturally resolve themselves as you use the device) and aggressive battery management in A12 that you have to learn how to work around. It's not perfect but I like OOS12 and COS12 more than I like Pixel-clone ROMs or OneUI.
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I wouldn't. Truth be told, if I still had my 6, I'd still be using it. Unfortunately, I left it on top of my car getting gas once, and drove off. Never found it or its pieces. 
I ended up with the 7 Pro. It was OK, but I hated the curved screen.
I sent the 8T back as OP screwed early adopters with a water bottle while a few hours later offering a pop up box that was a much better deal for the same price.
Now I have the 9. I'm not crazy about it. It's ok, but I regret paying full price for it. It'd be a hard sale at $499 for me.
Maybe an 8T would be a decent option if you could get a good price on it.
I ended up with the 7 Pro. It was OK, but I hated the curved screen.
I sent the 8T back as OP screwed early adopters with a water bottle while a few hours later offering a pop up box that was a much better deal for the same price.
Now I have the 9. I'm not crazy about it. It's ok, but I regret paying full price for it. It'd be a hard sale at $499 for me.
Maybe an 8T would be a decent option if you could get a good price on it.
You can get the dual sim version on Amazon it's Chinese version but when I updated it to Android 12 from le2110 it turn into le2115 which is covered by at&t, so far so good, used to have the Pixel 6, I liked it until I got bored with it, I am not a gamer but all this phones depends on who is using it, I don't have any problem with OOS 12, it's stable for me, but I like the customization of the CUSTOM ROMS..
I've seen complaints about that. I haven't seen it with my OP6 because they stopped updating the OS before they merged the codebases.
Good point. I've never had to use the MSM tool on my OP6, though I've come close a couple of times. The TWRP discrepancies between OOS versions has played havoc with me here and there. But I was always able to solve it before having to use MSM. Certainly its availability is comforting and valuable.
What is it that you find disappointing?
I'm not a gamer, either. I'd possibly use a custom ROM depending on things. I use other than the stock launcher, anyway, so at least if I don't like the look of OOS 12, I'd sidestep that much of it.
Why would you pick the 8T over the 9? The only real advantage I see is 12GB vs 8GB (hasn't been an issue for me and I'm a heavy user). The disadvantages: hugely inferior 5G modem (that's external instead of integrated into the SoC like the 888 so even worse battery consumption), slower SoC, slower storage (much slower on random writes), closer to the end of the official software support period, etc...I wouldn't. Truth be told, if I still had my 6, I'd still be using it. Unfortunately, I left it on top of my car getting gas once, and drove off. Never found it or its pieces.
I ended up with the 7 Pro. It was OK, but I hated the curved screen.
I sent the 8T back as OP screwed early adopters with a water bottle while a few hours later offering a pop up box that was a much better deal for the same price.
Now I have the 9. I'm not crazy about it. It's ok, but I regret paying full price for it. It'd be a hard sale at $499 for me.
Maybe an 8T would be a decent option if you could get a good price on it.
For $499 you can do a lot worse than the OnePlus 9 but also can't really do better.
Honestly this is my first OnePlus and I *prefer* ColorOS to OOS. The depth of customization is insane and it doesn't seem to be as buggy (but that could be due to the fact that C.62 is simply newer and that OOS will get there when C.62 finally releases for it in a month or so too, it's hard to say).
I had to use the MSM Tool... Multiple times... If I had to complain about one thing with this device, it's extremely easy to soft brick it. I have been into rooting and customizing my Android phones since 2009 and of the entire list of phones in my signature, I've only ever gotten the OnePlus 9 to the point of no return. When trying to flash to the B slot, sometimes everything that can possibly go wrong does and you end up with an unbootable system. The A/B system was the worst thing Google ever did to those of us who like to customize our devices. That said, the MSM Tool gets you back up and running with no fuss when you do need it, provided that you have a good USB cable and the technique to get the device into EDL. The lack of working TWRP has led to the need to flash a new recovery with every custom ROM and that's even more chances for something to go wrong.
I don't get 5G on AT&T and I can't say I was terribly impressed with it on T-Mo either. Certainly not enough that it wowed me over LTE.
I've had big problems with BT on the 9 as well, especially in my Hondas. Seems to do ok in the Ford. I didn't have those problems in the same cars on either the 6 or the 7 Pro.
For what I do, I can't say I've noticed huge differences in performance. The 9 does transfer to my PC faster than the other 2, but I don't sync it that often. Performance has always been good enough for me.
The games I play I haven't noticed much difference in.
If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't pay $499 for a 9. Let alone the $750 I paid for it new.
Depends on what you value and for you use your phone.
YMMV.
That's the only thing, I don't get no 5G with At&t even setting up the APN, but I get decent speed, even compared to my Pixel 5G which is a back up.
You gotta watch out with AT&T's VoLTE whitelist... They will eventually kick the phone off since it goes by the IMEI and that doesn't change when the software does. The LE2115 is the only one that's approved for AT&T.
Yup, I know, when I'm in OOS 12 Version change to LE2115, not sure if it matters, so far haven't gotten any text from att
These are definitely fair points.
When it's working right, 5G is ridiculous on T-Mobile. I have seen over 300Mbps in the middle of the day and over 500Mbps overnight and that's with my cheap little MVNO that's deprioritized too. My point about the modem applies to LTE as well though, not just 5G. An external modem will always use more power doing the same thing than an internal modem would.
I haven't noticed any issues with BT but I don't use it a lot.
The 865 is no slouch, it's just no 888 either.
I go back and forth on whether I think the $600 I paid for this phone is worth it. I have had some definite frustrations with it (notification issues on OOS *AND* COS are maddening!) but I still feel like I would have been miserable if I took the S21 FE or Pixel 6 for the same price...
Yeah I have heard this from other people but the OnePlus subreddit is full of people complaining about getting the boot so I would say it's coming, it's just a matter of when they get around to it.
I'm not really sure, my hardware version always changes to 2115 which is approved by at&t, when I do MSM it goes back to 2110 which is Chinese version but upon updating to OOS 12 it converts to 2115 on my hardware version. But if I put on custom ROM it goes back to 2110
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1For 499$? Hell no!
I bought almost new one for 399$ and still pissed. Camera is horrible even with Gcam. Chipset gets hot while playing videos sometimes let alone gaming.
Also depend what you are looking for. OP 9rt has everything OP9 has and have better camera and thermal. I'd say go for 9rt than base OP9 if it's available in the price range.1The phone is fine (cameras aren't the best but everything else is great). The software is the problem. If you want it so you can flash a custom ROM on it, it's great. If you want to just use it stock, it's harder to recommend.
That said, I would take a 9 over a Pixel 6 (in fact my initial purchase decision was between these two since the sale on the OP9 at the time was the same price as the 6) or pretty much anything else because of the community support. The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are only just now starting to get decent custom ROMs, Tensor is a mediocre SoC with a weak modem, the display is better on the OnePlus, and the OnePlus has way better battery.
When it comes to devices where I live in the US, the only options for those of us who want root and custom ROMs while maintaining full compatibility with all carriers are OnePlus and Pixel. It's too bad Samsung locks their devices down so much.1
Honestly this is my first OnePlus and I *prefer* ColorOS to OOS. The depth of customization is insane and it doesn't seem to be as buggy (but that could be due to the fact that C.62 is simply newer and that OOS will get there when C.62 finally releases for it in a month or so too, it's hard to say).
I had to use the MSM Tool... Multiple times... If I had to complain about one thing with this device, it's extremely easy to soft brick it. I have been into rooting and customizing my Android phones since 2009 and of the entire list of phones in my signature, I've only ever gotten the OnePlus 9 to the point of no return. When trying to flash to the B slot, sometimes everything that can possibly go wrong does and you end up with an unbootable system. The A/B system was the worst thing Google ever did to those of us who like to customize our devices. That said, the MSM Tool gets you back up and running with no fuss when you do need it, provided that you have a good USB cable and the technique to get the device into EDL. The lack of working TWRP has led to the need to flash a new recovery with every custom ROM and that's even more chances for something to go wrong.1
I don't get 5G on AT&T and I can't say I was terribly impressed with it on T-Mo either. Certainly not enough that it wowed me over LTE.
I've had big problems with BT on the 9 as well, especially in my Hondas. Seems to do ok in the Ford. I didn't have those problems in the same cars on either the 6 or the 7 Pro.
For what I do, I can't say I've noticed huge differences in performance. The 9 does transfer to my PC faster than the other 2, but I don't sync it that often. Performance has always been good enough for me.
The games I play I haven't noticed much difference in.
If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't pay $499 for a 9. Let alone the $750 I paid for it new.
Depends on what you value and for you use your phone.
YMMV.1
Yeah I have heard this from other people but the OnePlus subreddit is full of people complaining about getting the boot so I would say it's coming, it's just a matter of when they get around to it.
