OnePlus smartphones not approved for sale in Australia – Warning
Several tech journalists are salivating that the OnePlus 11 5G Qualcomm SD8 Gen 2 smartphone is on sale in Australia. It is not official and not approved for use here.
OnePlus is a brand from the OPPO/BBK stable and known for its leading-edge technology. The gear is well-made and has approval for specific models in the US and Europe.
From what we can see OnePlus 5G models do not have approval for US-based AT&T Verizon networks and do not support VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling. Ditto for the UK – only older OnePlus models appeal to have approval.
All smartphones sold in Australia must have an RCM C-tick approval (under Settings>About Device>Regulatory). There is a OnePlus Community thread bemoaning this here. You cannot legally use the 100W SUPERVOOC here. it has the wrong pins and no approval meaning no insurance cover if your house burns down).
All smartphones sold in Australia must have Australian firmware to work reliably with Australian 3/4/5G networks. OnePlus does not. This can lead to the inability to connect to some networks, not using some bands, incorrect billing, problematic tower handoff, and no VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling.
Emails to its support address regarding Australian approval have no response. If we get one, we will update this article.
OnePlus has not applied for Australian approval
A lookalike Website sells it here, and all support is via email to its China base. All goods come from China, and the one-year warranty is not Australian Consumer Law compliant. BTW OnePlus has a 2-year global warranty!
It can undercut Australian-approved brands and models as it is only sold online. The website belongs to TMOBILITY PTY LTD, which is NOT REGISTERED for GST. We understand that TMOBILTY Hong Kong owns this company. it also has registered companies and websites in Singapore and other countries. We doubt that it has official OnePlus status.
Privacy
While we trust OPPO as its Privacy Policy is compliant with Australian Privacy Provisions. OnePlus only complies with China’s laws. Your data is stored there and accessible on demand by the Chinese Communist Party and Government. Different policies apply to the EU for GDPR (data must be stored there) and the US (ditto) but not in Australia.
This is most telling.
Different countries or regions offer different levels of data protection. This means that your personal data could be stored in a country that offers a level of protection that may … be less protective of your personal data than the country or region in which you are located.
- Personal Data We Automatically Collect About Your Use of Our Services
- Device Information – device name, device model, region and language settings, device identification number (IMEI number), device hardware information and status, IP address, MAC address, operating system version and the settings
- Log information – personal data, such as phone number, email address, Google account or Facebook account
- Location Information – GPS signal of the device or information about Wi-Fi access points and base stations near you, or the device location ID and network service provider ID when you access some location-based services (for example when you use the weather app). We will ask you if you want to enable location-based services for each of the various location-based apps
- Camera – we collect operational data (such as how many times you use the app and the number of photos taken), information about the photos taken (such as the photosensitivity and number of faces captured.
- Browser information – language settings, IP address, device type, IMEI, websites visited and how you interact with content provided through the Service.
- Personal Data We Obtain From Third Parties: We may obtain personal data about you from public or commercial sources, including your activity on social networks you use, and may combine it with other information received from you or relevant to you.
While it generally uses the data for its own purposes, it also uses it to
- Ensure the functionality and safety of our Services, verify your identity, conduct internal auditing and prevent and investigate fraud, cybersecurity threats or other improper use.
- Shared with OnePlus’s Affiliates.
- Share some personal data with our partners to deliver a better service and improve your user experience. For example, when you use the security centre app, third-party service providers are scan for viruses and free up storage space on your phone, and we engage third-party service providers to provide you with enhanced customer service.
- We may also disclose your personal data to third parties as required by [Chinese] law or if we reasonably believe that such action is necessary (a) to comply with a subpoena or other legal proceedings, legal actions or government agency requests; (b) when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to comply with the law and the reasonable requests of law enforcement; (c) to protect and exercise our legal claims, rights and property; (d) to protect your rights, property or personal safety or that of others; (e) to investigate fraud and (f) to protect the security or integrity of our Services.
Just to put your mind at ease, OPPO Australia is an Australian company with local offices, warehouses, and support and complies fully with Australian Privacy Provisions and Australian Consumer Law.
When and if OnePlus can prove it does the same, we will be happy to review their devices.
Our advice – if you are going to spend that much, buy an OPPO equivalent with Australian approval.
Further reading
