OnePlus Bricked Your Phone When Downgrading – Here’s Why

February 9, 2026 Rachel Kim – Technology Editor Technology

Here’s a summary of the⁢ Android⁤ Authority‍ article:

OnePlus temporarily blocked downgrades to older software versions (from 16.0.2.50x) due to security concerns. ⁤ This caused⁢ issues⁤ for users⁢ trying to downgrade ⁤or ⁤install ‌custom ROMs, possibly bricking their devices.

OnePlus has stated that they will ‌restore​ the‍ ability to downgrade in their ⁢next regular​ software update. In the meantime, users who need to downgrade can ‍contact OnePlus ⁢support directly.

The move was related to ‌the introduction of ⁢Anti-Rollback Protection (ARB), a hardware-level security ⁢feature. OnePlus framed the ​temporary block as ‌a ​measure to strengthen device security.