7 Cool Things You Can Do with OnePlus Pad and OnePlus Phone Together

When OnePlus released its first tablet, the OnePlus Pad, many early adopters were disappointed that the tablet did not come with a Cellular Data Sharing feature. This was supposed to let the OnePlus Pad easily share the mobile data connection of a OnePlus phone without having to create a hotspot. OnePlus has now rolled out the feature through the OxygenOS 13.1 update for OnePlus Pad.

The update allows the tablet to connect with a number of OnePlus phones going all the way back to the OnePlus 8 (the Nord series is not supported). All that is needed is for both the tablet and phones to be running OxygenOS 13.1 and signed out into the same OnePlus account. Once done, just follow these steps:

1. Turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both the phone and tablet, but do not let either device connect to any Wi-Fi network.
2. On both devices, go to Multi-Screen Connect.
3. Once there, pretty much switch on every option and the options within them: Auto Connect, Screen Mirroring, Content Sync, App Relay, and Communication Sharing.

Your OnePlus Pad and OnePlus should now be connected to each other. And with these Never Settling buddies in sync, here are seven things you need to be aware of to get the most of this connection:

Get the easiest connectivity ever

This has got to be one of the most neat features we have seen on the OnePlus Pad since its update. If you want to connect your OnePlus Pad to the Internet, just bring your OnePlus phone close to it. It will instantly pick up its data connection – and will even show it on the notification bar on the top—no need to set up a Wi-Fi hotspot or mess with passwords or anything. Just make sure the two devices are within 10 meters of each other and with no walls in between.

Also, the OnePlus Pad will not pick up the data connection of the OnePlus phone if the tablet is already connected to a Wi-Fi network, so make sure the tablet is not connected to any other network before you do this. If the devices do not connect, go to Connections & Sharing and choose the option to connect to a device – your OnePlus phone will show up, and all you have to do is to give the device permissions the go-ahead to connect!

Snap-on OnePlus, edit on the Pad

Imagine taking a picture or video on your phone and then editing it on the larger display of your OnePlus Pad. Well, you can do that after the OxygenOS 13.1 update. If you take a picture on your OnePlus phone, it will automatically get transferred to your OnePlus Pad. We would have actually liked it to pop up on the Pad the moment we took it, but as of now, you get a notification on the tablet, and once you have given permission, the snap or video will appear on the OnePlus Pad. This works with screenshots too.

Take calls and messages on your OnePlus Pad

This is one of the most handy additions to the OxygenOS 13.1 update. Now, if you get a call on your OnePlus phone, you can simply take it from the OnePlus Pad. You do not need to switch devices. You can also receive and read any text messages that come on your phone right on your OnePlus Pad and can also use the much more spacious keyboard on the OnePlus Pad to send text messages from your connected phone.

Work on apps across both devices

Got a mail with an attachment that you want to open, view and perhaps even edit in Google Docs? Or maybe you have seen a tweet that you want to respond to in some detail? Well, you can open the document in Google Docs or Tweet on your OnePlus phone, and the moment you do so, you will see it appear on the toolbar of the OnePlus Pad with a tiny icon (that looks like a phone in front of a tablet) on its base. Just tap on this icon, and the document or Tweet will open up on the larger display of your OnePlus Pad. Type and edit away to your heart’s content.

Just keep in mind that all apps do not work in this mode – Google Docs and Twitter do, but many other apps do not, such as the Photos app, which would have been really handy – imagine opening the photo gallery on the OnePlus 11 and then viewing it on the OnePlus Pad!

Cut on phone, paste of Pad (and vice versa)

All right, this is your chance to get back at the Apple crowd that cuts or copies content from one device and pastes it on another. You can do exactly the same between a OnePlus Phone and a connected OnePlus Pad. So go ahead and copy and paste a URL from your phone to your OnePlus or even copy content from a site to your OnePlus Pad for further reference. You will see a tiny box pop up on your OnePlus Pad the moment you copy any content on your OnePlus phone. Just give the command for paste on the tablet, and viola! You can do it the other way around if you wish as well – copy on the Pad and paste on the phone!

Check those megabytes of data usage

With great data sharing comes great expense. This is why while it is all very well to connect your OnePlus Pad to your OnePlus phone, it is wise to keep an eye on the amount of data being guzzled in the process. Fortunately, this is as simple as swiping down the notifications area and checking the Network services on the OnePlus Pad, which will show you the amount of data that you have used up. If you want to stop mobile data sharing (hey, that stuff’s expensive), just follow these steps:

1. Open Settings on your OnePlus Pad and go to Connection & Sharing.
2. Choose Multi-Screen Connect, and then opt for Communication Sharing.
3. Once there, just turn off Mobile Data sharing.

This will allow the Pad and phone to work in sync but without mobile data being used.

Disconnect: Sometimes it is important to be One(minus) too!

Giving people space is a must for healthy relationships. So while keeping your OnePlus Phone and OnePlus Pad connected is a super cool feature, there are times when you need to keep these buddies apart. Perhaps because you want to hand over the tablet or phone to someone else, or maybe just want to use the local Wi-Fi. In such cases, just follow these steps to make these two OnePlus devices disconnect or head from OnePlus to one minus mode (pun intended):

1. On any of the devices, open Settings and go to Connection & Sharing.
2. Choose Multi-Screen Connect.
3. On the next screen, you will now see the device your phone or tablet is connected to.
4. Tap on the device name and choose Disconnect. And just like that, the two devices will be disconnected.