OnePlus erases data from phones running Open Beta

[Pieterv24]

Summary

OnePlus seems to have made a mistake while rolling out their latest update. This mistake has caused some phones running the Open Beta version of their operating system (Oxygen OS) to automatically install an update to the stable branch of their OS, triggering a full wipe of the system. This has caused users to lose tall the data they hadn't backed up. 

 

Oneplus has since halted the rollout of their latest OTA due to "investigating user reports"  and have confirmed this to be a bug. 

 

Quotes

Quote

It seems like you were one of the users that was affected by the unintentional rollout of 11.0.1.1 to Open Beta 3 users. Regrettably, there isn't a way of recovering your data if you didn't have a prior backup.

 

My thoughts

As one of the affected users I believe OnePlus has a major screw up on their hands. Automatically installing an update is already bad enough. But also letting an error slip that causes the phone to perform a full wipe is something that should never be possible without the users express signoff. 

 

Sources

 https://forums.oneplus.com/threads/oxygen-os-update-erased-my-phone.1340786/

https://forums.oneplus.com/threads/oxygenos-11-0-1-1-for-the-oneplus-8-and-oneplus-8-pro.1340016/

https://forums.oneplus.com/threads/oxygenos-11-0-1-1-for-the-oneplus-8-and-oneplus-8-pro.1340016/

[DrMacintosh]

Ouch. Though people should not be running betas on their main devices. Does OnePlus or Android have a nightly backup option? If so this shouldn't affect people too much. They can just restore if this wiped their data. 

[TetraSky]

If you run beta software, expect issues like these...

 

But honestly, I still don't understand why the OS and your personal files (images/videos) are not separated on Android.

Wipe the OS(and other apps installed), but keep the files in your personal stuff safe... It shouldn't be that hard to code. Even more so with beta firmwares where things can get buggy and require a format.

Even on Windows, MS figured it out (somewhat, still buggy, is not a perfect wipe and driver issues may persist) with their reset feature that basically keeps your User folder intact.

[dizmo]

Haha, oh well. Anyone doing an open beta should expect the possibility of that happening. Can't say I feel any sympathy.

Lessons:

1. Don't do open betas on a phone that's your main
2. Backup
3. Backup again.

[LAwLz]

Those pictures and videos you had? Don't settle for those. Capture new ones. 

All your contacts gone? You weren't gonna settle with your current circle of friends were you? Find new contacts! 

#NeverSettle

[Pieterv24]

11 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Haha, oh well. Anyone doing an open beta should expect the possibility of that happening. Can't say I feel any sympathy.

Lessons:

1. Don't do open betas on a phone that's your main
2. Backup
3. Backup again.

Whilst I agree that by running an open beta you accept some risk in form of bugs/buggy behavior, crashes, data loss/corruption. 

 

It is the way in which this instance happened that I believe OnePlus fucked up. Mainly due to the Update causing the issue being installed automatically instead and giving the user only an option to restart after which the device is wiped. 

While usually the user has to install the update theirselves. 

 

Another reason I don't think this applies here is because the actual software/update that was installed that caused the issue was actually the stable branch, thus not the open beta, hence it should have never had this behavior build in in the first place. 

 

I might be lucky enough to have my important data backed up. But this is still a big mistake IMO

[Pieterv24]

7 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

Those pictures and videos you had? Don't settle for those. Capture new ones. 

All your contacts gone? You weren't gonna settle with your current circle of friends were you? Find new contacts! 

#NeverSettle

Settling is such a weak mindset, you accept what has happened. 

Inperfection of a craft.... Yada yada yada 

[dizmo]

1 minute ago, Pieterv24 said:

Whilst I agree that by running an open beta you accept some risk in form of bugs/buggy behavior, crashes, data loss/corruption. 

 

It is the way in which this instance happened that I believe OnePlus fucked up. Mainly due to the Update causing the issue being installed automatically instead and giving the user only an option to restart after which the device is wiped. 

While usually the user has to install the update theirselves. 

 

Another reason I don't think this applies here is because the actual software/update that was installed that caused the issue was actually the stable branch, thus not the open beta, hence it should have never had this behavior build in in the first place. 

 

I might be lucky enough to have my important data backed up. But this is still a big mistake IMO

Either way, you're using beta software. That's simply another possible outcome you should have expected. Beta is beta, meaning it's not final, has issues, and isn't fit for a full, stable public release.

 

Like I said. No sympathies.

[Zodiark1593]

52 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

If you run beta software, expect issues like these...

 

But honestly, I still don't understand why the OS and your personal files (images/videos) are not separated on Android.

Wipe the OS(and other apps installed), but keep the files in your personal stuff safe... It shouldn't be that hard to code. Even more so with beta firmwares where things can get buggy and require a format.

Even on Windows, MS figured it out (somewhat, still buggy, is not a perfect wipe and driver issues may persist) with their reset feature that basically keeps your User folder intact.

Tbh, I didn’t think this would be a problem with modern devices at all.
 

Personal files being wiped was never really a problem when I was messing with LineageOS. From what I remember, a separate partition was set up specifically for the OS, while user files went elsewhere. I could wipe the System partition, flash a new ROM, and be on my merry way. 
 

However, encryption I believe is generally employed across the board in Android space. If the encryption system is anything like Apple’s, the true key won’t be the user password, but rather contained somewhere that could be accessed. Corruption of the encryption key is pretty much equivalent to wiping the user partition, so I can conceive scenarios that could cause this to occur with an OS-level bug, or even intentionally if the update forces a new key to be generated/alters how security is implemented. 

[Mark Kaine]

10 hours ago, Pieterv24 said:

But also letting an error slip that causes the phone to perform a full wipe is something that should never be possible without the users express signoff. 

 

Isn't that an oxymoron tho? Any update can screw up, so either you have forced updates or you don't. 

 

Which is why forced updates actually should be illegal. 

 

Tho yes, if a user wants to take this risk that should be fine also, it's just, often you don't really get that choice (see Microsoft Windows 10)

 

9 hours ago, Zodiark1593 said:

encryption I believe is generally employed across the board in Android space

I'm not sure about latest version, 10(?) but on Android kitkat¹ (4) that was merely an option, and yes it indeed warned you about potentially losing all your stuff in case you decided to use this, umm, service. 

 

¹specifically mention it because that was the last version of Android that was not shit (before all the "security" nonsense) 

[patrick3027]

Is there even a point running beta software nowadays?

 

I stopped caring about which version of Android I have a long time ago: all the features I might need are already there 

 

Running Windows LTSC on my main computer has been the best decision I've made in years.

[Nayr438]

13 hours ago, TetraSky said:

If you run beta software, expect issues like these...

 

But honestly, I still don't understand why the OS and your personal files (images/videos) are not separated on Android.

Wipe the OS(and other apps installed), but keep the files in your personal stuff safe... It shouldn't be that hard to code. Even more so with beta firmwares where things can get buggy and require a format.

Even on Windows, MS figured it out (somewhat, still buggy, is not a perfect wipe and driver issues may persist) with their reset feature that basically keeps your User folder intact.

Android uses separate partitions while Microsoft just moves data around, so Android should actually be able to handle this better.

If I had to take a guess they rolled out some of the scripts for the factory image, which usually consists of formatting most of the partitions on the device. It's actually a relatively easy mistake to make, but something that could have been caught before being pushed out.

[Nayr438]

7 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

So there are people running a beta OS and expect nothing to go wrong when they allow updates to automatically install?

 

What is the purpose of running a beta? What are the terms and disclaimers you have to agree to, when using such software?

Mostly Bug reporting and Feedback.

I am not sure what OnePlus has in there disclaimer, but most actually give a warning stating that it should not be used as a daily driver and that data loss is likely. Usually recommending to backup your data frequently. It's also not uncommon for Beta builds to wipe a partition, whether it's for testing a new last minute partition format, a change in encryption, or to help ensure there wont be conflicts. There is however usually a warning on a update, but again being on a Beta build doesn't explicitly require that to be present, you take the risk regardless.

 

If people are assuming any differently, then it's probably just a failure to actually read anything or understand what beta or stability mean, which is fairly common when it shouldn't be and only seems to get worse as time goes by.

 

With that said, this only brings the question of whether this is really Tech News. Things like this are really not that uncommon and should be expected.

[Doobeedoo]

Just create new memories LULW

[Curufinwe_wins]

17 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

Ouch. Though people should not be running betas on their main devices. Does OnePlus or Android have a nightly backup option? If so this shouldn't affect people too much. They can just restore if this wiped their data. 

It does, though who knows how many are using that. Actually while on WIFI google's backup options are live backup not nightly by default. I don't know oneplus, but Samsung also has it's own configurable backup options.

 

I mean I literally had to reset an iphone this weekend because a pin somehow got setup for it and turns out the person in 5 years never once backed anything up.... **facepalm**

[justpoet]

If you run beta software without backing up, you fully deserve this.

[Kajoor]

Beta is always risk to try.