Your OnePlus smartphone or tablet offers an incredibly fast and powerful gaming experience. But you can take it to the next level and unlock the full gaming potential of your device with some simple tweaks and optimization techniques.
This comprehensive guide provides over 20 actionable tips for customizing your OnePlus display, managing battery life, leveraging gaming modes, adjusting resources, boosting connectivity, upgrading accessories, and fine-tuning game settings.
Follow these expert steps to gain a real competitive edge and enjoy buttery smooth gameplay, vivid graphics, ultra responsive controls, rapid loading times, and an overall exceptional gaming experience on your OnePlus.
Customize Display Settings
Optimizing your OnePlus display unlocks faster refresh rates for super fluid motion in games and delivers images in their highest fidelity.
Set Refresh Rate to Maximum
- Navigate to Settings > Display > Screen refresh rate
- Set the slider to the highest refresh your OnePlus supports – 90Hz, 120Hz, or 144Hz on newer models
- This transitions the screen refresh from the default 60Hz to the higher rate which results in incredibly smooth motion for a major competitive gaming advantage
- Movement in the game will appear extremely fluid and natural, with none of the jerkiness that results from the 60Hz refresh rate
- Response times also quicken since the screen refreshes up to 144 times per second versus just 60, so you see the results of your controls that much faster
Enable High Brightness Mode
- In Display settings, find High brightness mode and enable this
- Your OnePlus phone has a built-in High brightness mode that sets the screen brightness higher than the maximum manual brightness
- This boosts visibility in outdoor or well-lit gameplay situations where glare could normally wash out the display
- You’ll be able to see gameplay action more clearly in challenging bright lighting conditions
Switch to Vivid Display Profile
- Go to Display > Color profile
- Choose the Vivid profile
- This will increase color saturation and contrast to boost the vividness of graphics
- Games will look much more vibrant and colorful, with enriched tones that make details stand out
- Graphics appear punchier which is great for colorful games and helps distinguish onscreen elements faster
Turn Off Auto-Brightness
- Go to Display and disable Auto-brightness
- This feature uses the light sensor to automatically adjust screen brightness based on ambient light
- But automatic adjustments can cause unwanted dimming or brightening as you move locations or lighting changes
- Disable Auto-brightness and instead set brightness manually on a per game basis for maximum visibility
- For brightly lit rooms turn the slider nearly maxed, for dark rooms reduce around 30% to avoid eye strain
Optimize Battery Usage
Proper battery management ensures your OnePlus has enough sustained power for long gaming sessions without shutdowns or performance hits.
Force Stop Background Apps
- Before launching a game, open Recent Apps and force stop any apps running in the background
- You can also restart your OnePlus which completely clears apps from memory at boot
- This prevents extra processes from consuming resources and drains battery better directed to the game
- Try to only have the game running for maximum battery efficiency
Enable Battery Saver
- Go to Battery > Battery Saver and enable this mode
- Also set it to automatically activate at around 20% battery life to be safe
- Battery Saver adjusts device performance and activity to extend battery life when it’s running low
- It disables background processes, visual effects, and reduces CPU speeds to conserve power
- This allows you to keep gaming even when battery drops critically low
Turn Off Unneeded Connectivity
- When gaming, disable any wireless connections not critical to gameplay
- Turn off Bluetooth, WiFi, Location services if the game doesn’t require an internet connection
- Multiplayer games need WiFi or mobile data, but single player games can have these disabled to reduce battery drain
- You can quickly toggle connections in the notification drawer for fast on/off switching
Fully Charge Before Gaming
- Always start a intensive gaming session with your OnePlus fully charged
- Gaming uses significant processing power that drains batteries much quicker than normal use
- Low charge levels will severely degrade gaming performance as hardware throttles back to conserve power
- Charge to 100% beforehand and take breaks to plug in and recharge during long sessions
Use Specialized Gaming Modes
OnePlus offers powerful gaming modes that optimize your device for peak gaming performance using AI learning.
Enable Fnatic Mode
- In Settings go to Utilities > Fnatic mode
- Enable Fnatic mode and customize options offered like notifications and performance boosts
- This dedicated gaming mode blocks notifications during gameplay for uninterrupted focus
- It also utilizes AI to analyze game habits and adapt system resources accordingly to reduce latency and lag
- Fnatic mode clears background apps and activities to dedicate maximum power to the foreground game
Turn On Gaming Mode
- Go to Settings > Utilities > Gaming mode
- Flip the switch to On to enable Gaming mode
- You can customize options like blocking calls and notifications while enabled
- Gaming mode allocates more device resources like RAM and CPU to the game vs. background processes
- This provides performance gains in terms of faster loading, smoother gameplay, and quicker input response
Manage Resources via Developer Options
Leverage the advanced Developer options on your OnePlus to manually control how device resources like CPU and RAM are allocated to gaming.
Limit Background Processes
- Go to Settings > System > Developer options
- Enable ‘Limit background process activities’
- Tap on the limit and set this to 2 background processes maximum
- This stops other apps and services from consuming excessive resources during gaming
- Allowing only 1-2 background processes means the foreground game has more RAM and CPU cycles
Disable Animations
- In Developer options find the following Animation settings:
- Window animation scale
- Transition animation scale
- Animator duration scale
- Set each of these animation options to .5x or even Off to fully disable all animations
- Animations and transitions use processing power that can be directed to gaming performance instead
- Eliminating animations removes this resource drag for faster loading and gameplay
Force GPU Rendering
- In Developer options enable the setting ‘Force GPU rendering’
- This forces the GPU to handle rendering tasks instead of the CPU
- Games rely heavily on graphics power so using the GPU for this work takes load off the CPU
- The CPU is freed to handle critical input/output and logic allowing smoother, lag-reduced gaming
Fine-Tune In-Game Graphics Settings
Adjusting graphics and performance settings within each game lets you balance visuals against smoothness to optimize for your OnePlus’ capabilities.
Lower Graphics Quality
- In the game’s settings or options menu, reduce Graphics quality from Default or High down to Medium or Low
- Lower quality means less advanced rendering, lighting, textures, etc which requires less GPU resources
- The benefit is increased game performance and smoother gameplay at higher sustained FPS
- You can incrementally raise quality if performance permits, but start low for ideal speed
Cap Your Frame Rate
- Most games provide options to set a max frame rate, usually 30 FPS, 60 FPS, etc
- Set this to 60 FPS or even 30 FPS to significantly reduce the rendering workload
- Lower FPS caps ensure smoother gameplay and prevent frame drops even in heavy action
- Use the lowest cap that provides an enjoyable experience to optimize battery life and thermals
Engage Performance/Speed Modes
- Many games offer performance modes that optimize for faster loading, higher FPS, lower graphics
- Enable these modes in settings to get smoother performance and shorter load times
- For example, Fortnite’s Low Power mode caps FPS and reduces graphics for better mobile play
- Performance modes automatically balance resources for fast fluid gaming on your OnePlus
Disable Anti-Aliasing
- Anti-aliasing smooths jagged edges in games but uses substantial graphics processing power
- Disabling AA can reclaim significant GPU resources with limited visual impact
- Boost FPS, loading speeds, and thermal levels by disabling unnecessary AA in graphics options
Boost Network Connectivity
Fast reliable connectivity is critical for online multiplayer gaming. Reduce lag and latency issues with these network tips:
Connect to a 5Ghz WiFi Network
- On your OnePlus, view available WiFi networks and connect to a 5Ghz network (instead of more crowded 2.4Ghz)
- 5Ghz has much greater bandwidth, less interference, and supports faster speeds
- This provides a more stable connection for gaming and reduces latency-induced lag
- If no 5Ghz network available, consider purchasing a dual-band router for your home
Use Ethernet Wired Connection
- For the most lag-free internet gaming, connect your OnePlus directly to your router via Ethernet cable
- Wired connections have extremely high speeds and near zero latency versus WiFi
- Run Ethernet to your normal gaming spot for a performance advantage online
- This is ideal for competitive multiplayer titles like Fortnite or PUBG Mobile
Disable WiFi Battery Optimization
- Go to WiFi settings > Advanced > Keep WiFi on during sleep
- Set this to Always to prevent battery optimization from disabling WiFi when the screen sleeps
- Allowing WiFi to sleep intermittently will cause connection drops and lag spikes
- Always keeping WiFi active avoids this issue during gaming sessions
Close Extra Browser Tabs & Apps
- If you have multiple browsers, streaming video, music, etc. running while gaming, close them
- These share your connection bandwidth with the game, raising latency
- Pause any downloads or streaming video to dedicate maximum bandwidth to low-lag gaming
Check Internet Speeds
- Run an internet speed test on your OnePlus during peak gaming hours
- If speeds are far below your rated internet plan, contact your ISP about optimizing connectivity
- Low bandwidth can hamper online gameplay and cause frequent lag and stuttering
- Ask ISP to test your connection levels and troubleshoot inconsistent speeds
Upgrade Key Accessories
Certain accessories can really enhance core aspects of the gaming experience on your OnePlus.
Get a Quality Gaming Controller
- A solid external controller provides greater precision and more responsive input than touch controls
- Models like the Razer Kishi are designed specifically for Android phones with low latency connections
- Controls are much more ergonomic allowing you play longer without fatigue
- This is especially useful in competitive multiplayer games where accuracy and reaction times are key
Invest In a Gaming Headset
- A gaming headset adds immersion with positional audio cues to hear enemies and action
- Noise cancellation ensures you can clearly hear game sounds without ambient distractions
- A built-in mic allows coordinating with teammates using in-game voice chat
- Low latency wired headsets avoid audio lag for perfect timing and localization
Use a Phone Stand
- Playing games for long periods can drain battery faster than it charges
- A phone stand allows passively charging while gaming in landscape orientation
- This prevents battery drain from interrupting long raid or campaign play sessions
- Models with cooling fans or wireless charging can actively cool and charge simultaneously
Install a High-Speed SD Card
- Pick up a UHS-I or UHS-3 Class 10+ microSD card with read speeds >90MB/s
- Set your OnePlus to install games to SD card instead of onboard storage
- Faster SD cards load levels quicker and reduce in-game lag from storage bottlenecks
- High capacity cards also let you install more games before needing to delete
Try External Cooling Fans
- Clipping on portable cooling fans helps regulate your OnePlus temperature during long intense gaming
- This prevents CPU/GPU thermal throttling which degrades performance when components overheat
- Constant directed airflow keeps surface temps lower for higher sustained speeds and frame rates
Key Gaming Tips
Some additional tips that can improve your overall OnePlus gaming experience:
- Force stop all apps before launching games to maximize RAM and CPU for the game.
- Enable ‘Do Not Disturb’ to mute calls and notifications that could interrupt gameplay.
- Switch OnePlus to airplane mode for uninterrupted offline gaming.
- Adjust brightness to balance visibility and battery life. Lower brightness extends play time.
- Restart your OnePlus before long gaming sessions to clear memory and cache buildup.
- Position your device near a WiFi router or cell tower for the strongest wireless signal.
- Keep your OnePlus updated with the latest OS and security patches for optimal performance.
- Report in-game bugs immediately to developers so fixes can be issued promptly.
- Take short breaks every 30-60 minutes to rest eyes, stretch hands, and relieve strain.
Conclusion
Optimizing your OnePlus device for mobile gaming provides a tremendous competitive advantage and unlocks the full gaming potential of your smartphone or tablet.
Follow the comprehensive optimization tips provided in this guide to get the absolute best gaming experience on your OnePlus.
Customizing display settings, leveraging gaming modes, managing resources, upgrading accessories, and fine-tuning connectivity will result in buttery smooth gameplay, vivid graphics, ultra responsive controls, and hours of entertainment.
With these optimizations, you can fully dominate single player adventures or competitive multiplayer titles, outshine opponents, and maximize enjoyment of mobile gaming on your powerful OnePlus.
