OnePlus 12 gets ‘Repair mode’ feature with Android 15 beta

A number of flagship Android phones across brands have started getting their first taste of Android 15 thanks to early beta builds. One of these is the OnePlus 12, the latest beta of which brings a very important new feature from the security perspective.

‘Repair mode’ is a handy new feature that will allow users to hide their data when they send their devices to the service centre for repairs. The feature protects your data from unauthorised access, whether it is at an official service centre or at a third-party repair shop that you may not (and should not) trust.

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The feature is not new to some other Android phones. The Google Pixel series also has a Repair mode of its own, while Samsung’s phones come with their own ‘Maintenance mode’, which offers the same features.

How to enable Repair mode on the OnePlus 12

To enable the feature, OnePlus 12 users will first need to be on the latest Android 15 beta build. We do advise against using beta builds on your daily driver devices, though, due to a high risk of bugs and the occasional data loss when moving back to stable builds. If you’re on stable updates, you will still get the feature when Samsung officially makes Android 15 available for your phone.

That said if you are on the beta build, you can enable Repair mode by heading into Settings > System & updates > Repair mode. Find the blue button on the bottom of the screen that says ‘Enter Repair mode’ and you’re good to go.

What changes after turning on ‘Repair mode’

While your phone is in Repair mode, personal information that you may want to keep private is automatically hidden from anyone who has your device, including trained technicians. This includes photos, videos, contacts, SMS messages and chats from third-party apps like WhatsApp.

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However, key functionality like access to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, or phone calling is still available. This is because these are crucial aspects of diagnosing any faults with your device and fixing them.

That is OnePlus’ ‘Repair mode’ explained in a nutshell. If you don’t have a OnePlus 12, your device should still get the feature when OnePlus releases Android 15 via OxygenOS 15 officially for your phone. We also hope more Android phone makers pick up on this feature, and help turn data theft during repairs into a thing of the past.