Your OnePlus phone can become a walkie-talkie with this cool feature

If you’re of a certain age, you might remember tweeting to your friends on your Boost Mobile phone. Those now-iconic “Where Are You” ads made a Boost Mobile phone seem cool, and while the network that ran the feature is long dead, the idea is not. If you own a OnePlus or Oppo smartphone running OxygenOS 15, you can essentially turn it into a walkie-talkie.

Using Bluetooth, BeaconLink lets you call and message people nearby, up to 200 meters away, without WiFi or cell service. While not as powerful as the older Boost Mobile platform that used network towers to provide its walkie-talkie functionality, BeaconLink can still be incredibly useful, including in places where walkie-talkies might be illegal.

Designed primarily for emergencies, you can take advantage of BeaconLink if you become separated from your group while hiking, camping, or on an adventure. Use it in busy areas such as concerts and major events, where cell service is often limited or has network issues due to high traffic. Just be aware that the feature has limitations and may not work for everyone.

BeaconLink only works on Oppo and OnePlus phones that support OxygenOS 15. This also means that it can only be used to call other OnePlus and Oppo phones running OxygenOS 15 with the feature enabled. So if you get lost at Coachella, you can’t just call your friend who owns that fancy new iPhone duo.

This really limits the usefulness of the feature, and many OnePlus users don’t even know they have access to it. But if you want to equip your family with matching smartphones and their security is at the top of your list, BeaconLink might be a good reason to buy a OnePlus phone.

To enable BeaconLink, simply tap the Mobile Network option in Settings, then select BeaconLink. From here you can enable or disable BeaconLink. You can also define who can call or send messages, keeping it only for members of your group or opening it to other users around you as well using BeaconLink. It might not be as good as a traditional walkie-talkie, but it could prove very useful in a pinch.