[OnePlus 8T Accessories] stmims1124:
What's going on 8T friends? I was hoping you guys might have some input and/or recommendations for a *GOOD* headphone dongle...one that has been tested to work without issue, specifically with this phone - the OnePlus 8T.

I want to start by apologizing for the super long-winded post!!! I also want to preface this by saying there is a possibility my issue may not lie w/ my current adapter, but possibly w/ my car's (old) aftermarket head unit...though I think it's unlikely given its never had an issue w/ any other phone or dongle.

*EDIT: I suppose it's also possible that there's some firmware issue & perhaps an update might resolve it, but I'm at the mercy of T-Mobile US & their *SLOW* update schedule. International phones have had like 4 updates in a month, & we've only had the day one update (still no AOD!).

I know it should be something super simple and there's likely many, *MANY* similar threads in other devices' forums, along w/ OnePlus Community & Reddit as well. But *please*, just hear me out. I feel like a dumb**s for even having to post this. There's crazy inconsistency w/ what's supposed to be a f***ing universal standard...this s**t is far from working universally!

I've had experience with 3 separate models of adapter w/ my previous phone, the OnePlus *7 Pro* (on Android 10). With the 7 Pro, I found that the Essential Phone's dongle worked flawlessly in every scenario I need it for. It's less expensive than the official Oneplus branded one, & generally just of better quality, w/ a thicker braided cable. I also had the official a OnePlus dongle which also worked perfectly w/ my old 7 Pro, but I lost the damn thing...plus, it's just too expensive, & OnePlus doesn't even have it in stock?!?! I also used the Apple dongle - surprisingly cheaper than OnePlus' dongle, but the volume level was permanently way too low, w/ no way to resolve that (I tried for nearly a month). The Apple one has long since been returned.

I am currently still using the Essential dongle as it's the only one I haven't yet lost or returned, but I'm running into a strange issue on both my phone & my girl's 8T as well (both are T-Mobile branded 8Ts, the "8T+5G", which is the exact same hardware the rest of the world gets, just w/ different firmware). The Essential dongle is flawless w/ the 7 Pro, & also flawless when just plugging it in to regular headphones - but when hooking it up to an aux cable & plugging it into our car's old, aftermarket head unit to play music or videos, there is a completely random/intermittent issue where whatever app is playing audio will pause itself, & then more often than not it'll also start making this crazy, strange, squealing distortion sound...but no longer any actual audio. This occurs regardless of what app we're using to play music or videos (YouTube Music, regular YouTube, Spotify, etc.). It seems to be totally random, sometimes working fine for a bit, but then going completely haywire...and once it's starts happening, it just won't quit. Sometimes switching to another app will start it, sometimes an incoming text message will start it, & sometimes it'll do it all by itself. This happens w/ USB OTG enabled or disabled, & I've tested it w/ 3 separate aux cables.

I'm at a loss, & I just wanted to get someone else's input before buying like 5 random ones of Amazon or eBay. We're at the point where we're just listening to old CDs because we can't stream anything current, & we're too broke to replace a head unit just to find that's not even the issue. *THIS IS ABSOLUTELY MADDENING*.

I would just buy the OnePlus dongle again, but they can't be bothered to keep it in inventory...at least for customers in the US. Any thoughts at all on what the issue could be would be infinitely appreciated, asking w/ dongle recommendations as well of course.

*THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO ME RAMBLE!!!*