Unlocked OnePlus 8 Phones Won’t Work Well at Verizon for a Bit (Updated: Certified)

• UPDATE 4/30: Verizon and OnePlus have no time for that initial “June” timeline. Both the unlocked OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro are now certified. To get activated, it should be as simple as logging into your account, then My Verizon>My Device>Activate or Switch Device>Activate On an Existing Line, and then follow the instructions that pop-up. If that doesn’t work, giving support a call should help.

We know that both the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro should technically work on Verizon’s network without much effort. We know that because the specs sheets for them show that all of Verizon’s LTE bands are supported. We also know that the OnePlus 8 5G on Verizon will see expanded support up through 5G mmW. Unfortunately, for non-Verizon versions of the phones, proper support may not arrive for the next month.

Some folks noticed at the end of last week that OnePlus had switched the carrier support on their site to showing that Verizon was “N/A” when it had previously showed that LTE was at least a-go. That caused some concern, as we were all ready for both of OnePlus’ new phones to fire right up on Verizon’s network this week just as the phones launch.

Over the weekend, I took a look and confirmed that the bands and Verizon support had been pulled. I also looked through Verizon’s phone certification portal and noticed that none of the new OnePlus 8 phones are listed yet. In other words, the 8 and 8 Pro haven’t been certified, which likely means Verizon hasn’t added the phones to their databases for activation purposes.

Something similar to this happened when the OnePlus 6T launched and then again with the OnePlus 7 Pro. In both of those situations, Verizon and OnePlus figured it all out pretty quickly.

This time around, OnePlus is saying that the OnePlus 8 5G, which is Verizon’s version, will be certified and ready to go for launch this week. The unlocked models of the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro might not see full certification until June, though. That could lead to a semi-broken (like with SMS) experience for those using those models on Big Red for several weeks.

Here’s the statement on the situation that OnePlus sent to Android Police:

“Our OnePlus 8 series open market phones in North America will not be compatible with Verizon until June at the latest. The OnePlus 8 purchased through Verizon will be certified immediately.”

So there you have it. Certification is coming, but you’ll have to be patient.