It is now possible to swap out the OnePlus Dolby Atmos presets in favor of a more robust experience from the Razer Phone. The process, as described by XDA Developers, is fairly straightforward, requiring an unlocked bootloader and a relatively simple ABD command. But it’s also not a process to be undertaken by less tech-savvy users.
That’s because there’s a real possibility that users could end up without any Atmos management features entirely.
What advantages does swapping Dolby Atmos tools bring to OnePlus devices?
Weighing the risks against rewards, the benefits of swapping out the firmware feature center on one key aspect of OnePlus devices. Those have supported Dolby Atmos since the OnePlus 7 series, but only come with three presets to work with.
That’s a significantly limited number of options for a device that’s supposed to compete with flagships. And it doesn’t leave a lot of room for users to really customize their audio experience and get the best from the speakers or headphones. But OnePlus hasn’t really improved the feature, despite multiple updates to its latest handsets.
Razer devices, conversely, offer up a full Dolby Atmos-related equalizer. That comes complete with presets, custom frequency adjustments, and a bass booster. As a result, users are able to fine-tune their listening experience. So the tuning will better match not only their preferences but also how their ears take in audio.
Here’s how to make that work
Of course, since the method for improving the Dolby Atmos experience centers around firmware-embedded features, it’s not something that just any user should do. It’s relatively simple.
But it’s also just about as technical as any other firmware modification. Users need to start, for instance, by completely uninstalling third-party apps to do with managing Dolby Atmos from the OnePlus device in question. Then they’ll need to uninstall the pre-installed tool provided by OnePlus.
To do that, users need to first access their bootloader by installing and setting up the Android Debug Bridge (ADB). That’s a process unto itself, first requiring users to access developer settings on their smartphone. Those can be found by navigating to settings, finding the “About Phone” section, and then tapping repeatedly on the Android build number.
Then users need to back out to find the Developer Options menu and turn on ABD debugging.
From there, ADB tools will need to be installed on a computer. Those can be found with a relatively quick Google search and the setup there is relatively straightforward.
Once that’s out of the way, the rest of the process is fairly simple. Users need to turn on debugging and open up the feature on the computer with the phone connected. Entering “adb shell pm uninstall –user 0 com.oneplus.sound.tuner” into the command line will uninstall the preset Atmos management tool from the OnePlus device.
Finally, installing the Dolby Atmos Equalizer from the Razer Phone firmware will replace the tools. Those will work at the system level just like the stock tool on OnePlus devices. Integration, according to the source, is seamless.
The presets can be restored by typing “adb shell cmd package install-existing com.oneplus.sound.tuner” into the command line.