OnePlus has announced a fix for its OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 5 smartphones to stream HD content from popular streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Google Play Movies. However, the patch is not being rolled out via an OTA update and users will need to courier their smartphones to the company, which is promising to fix the issue and return the affected handset within 5 working days. It is not known whether the update will format or reset the data on the smartphones.
OnePlus says that the the cost of mailing the device will be covered by the company. However, only for customers residing in their service regions of North America Europe, India, and China. Customers who couriers the device from any other region will have to bear the costs themselves. The company says that reason why this fix can’t be issued as an OTA update for the OnePlus 5/5T smartphones is because of a security process involved in updating the devices. The handsets need to be physically connected to an authenticated PC for flashing the update.
A Community Manager at OnePlus forums, David Y, said, “Due to the security processes involved with updating the devices, we can only deliver the update via a physical connection from an authenticated PC…We’re covering the courier costs for OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T customers who would like the update, as you will need to send your device to us to update. We have a process in place which means we’ll have your handset back to you in no more than five working days from when we receive it. We’ve worked hard to streamline this process as much as possible, and because of this we’re unable to cover the courier costs for customers outside of our service regions, which are North America, Europe, India, and China.”
This problem with the OnePlus 5/5T smartphones was reported in December last year. As it turns out, the devices have a level 3 Widevine certification which allows for streaming SD videos and in order to stream DRM-protected content in HD, it requires a level 1 certification. The Widevine certification is used by some of the most popular streaming services including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Google Play Movies. You can read more about the issue here.