If your OnePlus 12 has suddenly gone silent when it should be buzzing, it's a surprisingly common hiccup. The good news is that it's almost always a software or settings issue you can fix yourself in a few minutes.
Restart Your Phone
Before you dive into settings, give your phone a quick reboot. Press and hold the Power button for about 10 to 15 seconds until you feel a vibration and see the OnePlus logo appear. This simple step clears out any temporary glitches that might be stopping the vibration motor from responding.
Check Your Sound Profile
On OxygenOS, your sound profile controls everything. Swipe down from the top of your screen twice to open the full Quick Settings panel. Look for the sound mode tile, it might say "Ring," "Vibrate," or "Silent."
Make sure it's set to either "Ring" or "Vibrate." If it's on "Silent," your phone won't vibrate at all, even if all other settings are correct. Tap the tile to cycle through the modes until you get the one you want.
Verify Vibration is Enabled
Open your Settings and go to Sounds & vibration. The first thing to check is the "Vibrate on ring" toggle. If it's off, turn it on. If it's already on, try turning it off and back on again.
Right below that, you'll find "Vibrate on silent." This controls whether the phone vibrates when the sound profile is set to vibrate mode. I'd make sure both of these are enabled to cover all your bases.
Adjust the Vibration Strength
Sometimes the vibration isn't broken, it's just too faint to feel, especially if the phone is in a pocket or bag. In the same Sounds & vibration menu, tap on "Vibration intensity."
You'll see separate sliders for "Ringtone vibration," "Notification vibration," and "Touch feedback vibration." Slide each one to the right to increase the strength. Test it as you go to find a level that works for you.
Inspect App-Specific Notifications
If your phone vibrates for some alerts but not others, the problem is likely with a specific app's settings. Go to Settings > Apps > [App Name] > Notifications.
For example, if WhatsApp messages aren't vibrating, find WhatsApp in your app list. Inside its notification settings, make sure notifications are turned on for the relevant category (like "Messages"). Then, tap into that category and ensure the "Vibrate" option is checked.
Update Your Software
A bug in an older version of OxygenOS could be the culprit. Software updates frequently include fixes for these kinds of minor hardware communication issues. Go to Settings > About device > OxygenOS version and tap on the icon at the top to check for updates.
If an update is available, download and install it. Your phone will restart, and it's worth testing the vibration immediately after it boots back up.
Test in Safe Mode
This step helps you figure out if a third-party app you installed is causing a conflict. To boot into Safe Mode, press and hold the Power button until the power menu appears. Then, long-press the "Power off" option on your screen.
You'll get a prompt to reboot to Safe Mode. Tap "OK." Once the phone restarts, you'll see "Safe Mode" in the bottom corner. Try to trigger a vibration now. If it works perfectly in Safe Mode, you know a downloaded app is the problem.
To exit Safe Mode, just restart your phone normally. You'll then need to uninstall recently downloaded apps one by one to find the offender.
Check Accessibility Settings
Some accessibility features can alter or disable vibration. It's worth a quick look. Head to Settings > Additional settings > Accessibility.
Scroll through and look for any features like "Turn off all vibrations" or "Vibration & haptic strength." Make sure nothing here is configured to limit or remove vibration feedback from your device.
Reset App Preferences
This is a useful middle-ground step that resets all your notification and app permission settings without deleting any personal data. Go to Settings > Apps > See all apps.
Tap the three-dot menu in the top right and select "Reset app preferences." Confirm the action. This will revert all notification settings, default apps, and background data restrictions to their factory defaults, which can clear up any misconfigured rules stopping vibrations.
Perform a Factory Reset
If you've tried everything else and the vibration motor is completely unresponsive, a factory reset is the final software step. This will erase all data on your phone, so you must back up everything important first.
Once backed up, go to Settings > Additional settings > Backup & reset > Erase all data (factory reset). Follow the prompts to reset the phone. After it completes setup, test the vibration immediately before restoring your apps. If it still doesn't work after a clean factory reset, the issue is likely physical.
