The beta feature is still half-baked
Summary
- Repair mode is a safety feature allowing technicians access to device functions without erasing user data.
- OnePlus includes Repair mode on the OnePlus 12 running Android 15 Beta 2, but the setup process is inconvenient, requiring users to reconfigure the device.
- It’s unclear if OnePlus’ Repair mode is a customized implementation or Google’s DSU, but there is hope for improvement before a stable release.
Last week was a busy one for Google, wrapping up its annual developer conference and releasing the Android 15 Beta 2 build a day later because it had so much Gemini AI stuff to discuss. However, the company made a critical announcement alongside the new software release, giving a long list of phone brands access to the Android 15 beta, and OnePlus was on that list alongside Nothing. The new software just revealed the interesting inclusion of a new Repair mode on the OnePlus 12.
Android 15: Leaks, timeline, and everything new in Beta 2
Here’s what we know about Android 15 now that the next beta has landed
Repair mode is a safety feature designed to give service technicians full access to all the critical device functions and testing utilities without compromising the privacy of user data or erasing it outright. As one of the core pillars of Android’s strength, Samsung was among the first to add Maintenance mode with OneUI 5 based on Android 13, while Google’s Pixel phones followed with a similar Repair mode in Android 14 QPR 1. With Android 15 available to more OEMs in beta, Android Authority found OnePlus dabbling with its Oxygen OS implementation on its latest flagship.
Repair mode still needs some work
The option to enable repair mode is quite easy to access on the OnePlus 12, under Settings → System & Updates → Repair mode. While the feature’s intended purpose appears to resemble that of Google and Samsung, OnePlus goes about it in a rather odd way, prompting you to set up the device all over again like a new one after Repair mode is activated. In this process, you select your language and region, and add a Google account, among other things.
However, it’s easy to see how this wastes your valuable time, or the technicians’, which would otherwise be spent diagnosing and repairing the device. It’s still not clear if OnePlus is using a customized new implementation of Repair mode, or Android’s Dynamic System Updates (DSU). In either case, signs of this feature in beta give us hope for a polished implementation making it to the stable Android 15 release, at least on the flagship devices.
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