OnePlus 5 Videos Recorded In Landscape Play Audio In Wrong Channels

The OnePlus 5 is in trouble again since users are reporting an issue with the device’s stereo speakers. Some OnePlus 5 users are claiming that videos recorded in landscape are playing audio in the wrong channel.

This newfound issue with the OnePlus 5 was first outed by a user on Reddit who also shared video evidence. The video, which was recorded with the OnePlus 5, shows that sounds that occur on the right side are instead played on the left speaker, while sounds on the left are playing on the right speaker.

The user claims that this problem only occurs when recording video with the OnePlus 5 in landscape (horizontal) orientation, with the headphone jack pointing right, Android Authority has learned. If a user records in landscape orientation with the headphone jack pointing right, the problem doesn’t occur.

As for the reason why this is happening, it seems like this is a software problem. The OnePlus 5 is unable to invert the audio that it records with its stereo microphones. The OnePlus 5 has one mic on the top edge and another at the bottom edge.

Since this appears to be a software issue, OnePlus should be able to fix this with a software update. The patch should enable the OnePlus 5 to automatically flip the audio, so that it plays in the correct channels.

It might take OnePlus a few days or weeks to deliver a fix for this, so some have recommended temporary solutions to this audio issue. First, users should just stick to recording videos in other orientations. They can simply record videos in landscape mode, but they should make sure that the headphone jack is pointing left.

For those who have video editing software on their computers, they can simply assign the correct audio channels where the sound will play. For everyone else, they’ll just have to wait for OnePlus to provide a fix.

Fortunately, the OnePlus 5 only comes with a mono speaker, so this problem shouldn’t be a big deal if users just watch their recorded videos on the device itself. However, the problem is noticeable when watching the videos with headphones or on other devices that have stereo speakers.

This audio problem with the OnePlus 5 is just the latest issue that’s hitting the newly released flagship handset. Last week, the phone was reported to have a “jelly scrolling” issue where content on the display would wiggle while users are scrolling on the OnePlus 5.

OnePlus released a statement stating that it was “natural” behavior for the device’s AMOLED display, and that “there’s no variance in screens between devices.” The folks over at XDA Developers confirmed last Friday that the issue is occurring because the OnePlus 5 has its display panels mounted upside-down.

The site says that this is an engineering decision made by OnePlus and can’t be considered a defect or a quality assurance mistake. The jelly scrolling effect is indeed a natural consequence of how the OnePlus 5 is built.