Our OnePlus 3T tips and tricks guide shows you how to customise Oxygen OS and discover the best hidden features, to get the most out of your new OnePlus 3T phone. This is everything you need to know to get started with the OnePlus 3T.
If you’ve just bought the shiny new OnePlus 3T, or even if you’re thinking of investing in this great-value phone, then this tips and tricks and best features round-up is for you. In this how-to guide we’ll discuss some of the best features of the OnePlus 3T and Oxygen OS, including some hidden tools you might not know about. Here’s what you need to do to get started with the phone and personalise it to your personal tastes.
Check out our OnePlus 3 and 3T hub for more on the excellent OnePlus 3T flagship phone.
OnePlus 3T tips, tricks and hidden features: How to customise and remove the Shelf
For the OnePlus 3T, OnePlus has beefed up Google’s Android OS with its own custom user interface (or ‘launcher‘ to give it the proper term), known as Oxygen OS. This basically changes up the look of vanilla Android and adds in some funky new features.
One of the best features of Oxygen is the Shelf, which can be called up by flicking your finger right across the home screen. The Shelf takes up a full desktop page and gives you quick access to your favourite contacts and apps, as well as any essential info that you like.
You can customise the OnePlus 3T Shelf in a few different ways. For instance, you can long-press on one of the widgets and then drag it up or down the Shelf when it ‘pops’ free, to re-order. You can also resize each widget, or remove it entirely. Want to add a new widget? Hit the plus symbol at the bottom right corner and you can stick in something else that you’ll find helpful.
Don’t like the Shelf? Not a problem. If you want to disable it, just press your finger on the recent apps button (to the right of the home button, beneath the screen) until a menu pops up. Next, tap ‘customise’ and then swipe left. There’s a switch in this menu to disable the Shelf.
OnePlus 3T tips, tricks and hidden features: How to check and manage your data allowance
In the OnePlus 3T’s Shelf, you’ll see the Manage Center feature. In here you can not only check on your storage and battery life situations, but also check how much data you’ve used and see if you’re reaching your monthly limit.
To set this up, just tap the data section inside the widget. This takes you to the Data Usage menu within the OnePlus 3T’s settings. You can tap Monthly Data Usage to see exactly what’s been eating up your data, but to set up the allowance and limit feature, tap into Billing Cycle. Give Data Limit and Billing Cycle a poke and enter your data allowance (note that this is recorded in MB, so if you have 2GB of data each month, enter 2000). You can also change the date on which your allowance is refreshed.
Now, the Manage Center widget will tell you exactly how much data you still have remaining.
OnePlus 3T tips, tricks and hidden features: How to remove or edit the Google Search bar
We love Google with all of our cold, blackened hearts, but that Google Search bar on the OnePlus 3T’s desktops really is like a big pile of dog mess sat on a freshly mowed lawn. It sticks out for all the wrong reasons and we reckon you’re best off taking it around the back of the barn with a shotgun.
Thankfully you can easily make the Google Search bar transparent or remove it entirely by long-pressing the recent apps button (or on any free space on your desktops) and then tapping ‘Customise’ in the menu that pops up. From here you can set the Search bar to be see-through or get rid of it (and don’t forget to hit ‘save’ at the top after).
OnePlus 3T tips, tricks and hidden features: Easier one-handed operation
The OnePlus 3T isn’t exactly easy to handle with one mitt, thanks to its mighty 5.5-inch design. Thankfully Oxygen OS adds a handy gesture, which allows you to drag down the notifications bar by swiping your finger down the screen from any point rather than the very top of the display.
This feature is active by default but can be deactivated if you so wish. Just long-press the recent apps button or any free desktop space and hit ‘customise’ in the menu which appears. Flick your finger left to reach the second menu screen and tap the ‘Quick Notifications’ switch to turn it off.
OnePlus 3T tips, tricks and hidden features: How to customise the OnePlus 3T’s buttons
Head to the OnePlus 3T’s settings menu and tap the ‘Buttons’ menu and you can customise the phone’s hard buttons beneath the screen.
By default, the button to the left of the OnePlus 3T’s home button (and fingerprint sensor) is ‘back’, while the one to the right is ‘recent apps’. However, you can swap these around in the Buttons menu if desired. You can also activate or deactivate the backlighting for those buttons.
And if you really want to change things up, you can even edit the functionality of the three hard buttons. Each one can be programmed to open a specific app when double-tapped, as well as a different app when long-pressed, from that same menu.
OnePlus 3T tips, tricks and hidden features: What is Dash Charge?
Dash Charge is the super-nippy OnePlus 3T charging tech which can power up the phone’s battery in just over an hour, or give you an impressive 60 percent charge from just half an hour at the mains. That’s significantly faster than Quick Charge 3.0. Check out our full Dash Charge review for more info.
OnePlus 3T tips, tricks and hidden features: How to switch on Do Not Disturb (vibration only) and edit priority notifications
If you’re about to head into a meeting or something else where silence is required, you’ll want to switch on Do Not Disturb or vibration mode, so no pesky notifications pester you. To do this, all you need to do is flick the switch on the left edge of the OnePlus 3T, which is known as the Priority Slider.
When the switch is at the top position, you’ll have blissful silence. When the switch is at the bottom position, you’ll get all notifications and your phone will ring and make other noise. And in the middle position, Do Not Disturb, you’ll only receive priority notifications.
You can edit each of these settings to say exactly which apps and notifications can disturb you, by tapping the cog icon which pops up when changing between each setting. Alternatively, just head to the OnePlus 3T’s settings and then tap on the Alert Slider menu.
OnePlus 3T tips, tricks and hidden features: Gesture control
The OnePlus 3T can also recognise various pre-set gestures, for quickly loading apps and activating features. Head to the phone’s settings menu and tap Gestures and you can see what’s available and turn these on and off.
For instance, you can draw an ‘O’ on the phone’s lock screen to load up the camera, or ‘V’ to turn on the LED flash (handy if you’re struggling to find your way to the toilets at night). You can also flip your phone over to mute an incoming call, or double-tap the screen to wake the OnePlus 3T up.
OnePlus 3T tips, tricks and hidden features: How to quick launch the camera
To open the OnePlus 3T’s camera in just a second or two, simply double-tap the power button at any time. This immediately loads up the camera app, ready to take a snap.
OnePlus 3T tips, tricks and hidden features: How to shoot RAW images on the OnePlus 3T’s camera
Pro photographers who want a high-res image that they can quickly and easily edit on the fly can shoot RAW images on the OnePlus 3T.
To turn on RAW image capture in the OnePlus 3T’s camera, you need to tap the modes icon in the left corner of the app. As well as the list of camera modes, you’ll notice a cog icon appear in the top corner of the screen. Tap this and you can turn on RAW photo capture, as well as toggle the save location and shutter sound.
OnePlus 3T tips, tricks and hidden features: Video
You can see these tips and tricks in action in the video below.
You can grab the OnePlus 3T exclusively on contract from O2, from £31 per month.
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