OnePlus 9 Pro could have a big overheating problem — what you need to know

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OnePlus 9 Pro reportedly keeps overheating, but a fix is coming

OnePlus 9 Pro review
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The otherwise excellent OnePlus 9 Pro has an unfortunate habit of getting too hot to use, according to multiple reports from users.

OnePlus' latest flagship seems to be getting regular overheating warnings, as detailed in a long thread on the OnePlus Forum support pages. The variety of reports indicate there's a definite problem, but also hopefully points the way to a forthcoming solution.

Several users on the OnePlus Forum thread mention this problem appears most consistently when using the camera app. The exact mode, whether video or photo, doesn't seem to matter, with a warning message popping up after less than five minutes of trying to use the phone's Hasselblad-tuned cameras. Others report getting warnings when carrying out activities including charging the phone and watching video, and say that the notifications persist overnight, even after the phone hasn't been used for hours.

It's unclear as to whether there is actually consistent overheating going on within the 9 Pro's Snapdragon 888 chipset, or if there's a fault in the software or internal temperature sensors. Some users report that their phones don't feel warm to the touch after getting the warnings, while others are claiming that they do.

To add further confusion, other forum posters have said that the phone gets hotter in different circumstances, such as charging, without producing warnings. These inconsistent causes hopefully indicate that the problem has an easy software fix, rather than it being a hardware-level issue.

This appears to be exactly what OnePlus thinks, too. Speaking to Android Police, OnePlus said it was aware of the problem and was working on multiple software updates to fix it, which will launch "over the next few weeks."

When TG tested both of our OnePlus 9 Pro handsets for a review, neither one produced this warning. The 9 Pro is currently our top pick of the best Android phones, but if this widely reported problem doesn't get a quick fix, we may have to reconsider this ranking.

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Richard Priday
Richard Priday
Assistant Phones Editor

Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.