An increasing number of OnePlus users are reporting a strange bug on their devices that swaps the left and right audio channels while using wired earphones. While bug seems to primarily affect OnePlus 7 series devices, there are reports that go back as far as the OnePlus One. As Android Police points out, the reports don't have a common denominator and the issue is consistent across both OnePlus' official accessories and third-party earphones.
The bug was first brought to light in a post on the OnePlus Community forums all the way back in December 2014 and, since then, several users have reported facing the issue with various devices on Reddit and also on XDA Forums. While the number of reports isn't very large, it's quite possible that a vast majority of affected users haven't even realized that there's an issue if they just use wired earphones to listen to music or take calls.
Even though the bug may seem quite minor for those of you who just use your earphones to listen to music, it could lead to major issues if you use wired earphones with your device while playing games. Several games, including popular titles like PUBG Mobile and COD: Mobile, make use of spatial audio to help players figure out the location of enemies on the map. Therefore, having the audio channels reversed could make the games virtually unplayable.
As of now, there's no permanent solution for the bug, but some users have found success using media players that can swap channels, rooting their phones, or even listening to audio in mono. However, none of these are great solutions, especially for gaming. It's also worth noting that the bug doesn't seem to affect wireless earphones. Android Police has reached out to OnePlus for a comment and the company is currently investigating the issue. We'll update this post as soon as we receive any update from OnePlus.
Via: Android Police