Oppo A78 5G (2023)

I purchased the OPPO A78 5G from Officeworks primarily for its dual SIM option, features, and price range. However, from the start, I experienced the following issues: 1. People would often receive an automated message saying, "Your call could not be connected; please check the number and try again." This happened with both of my SIM cards. 2. I… Read more

would not receive SMS messages, particularly when trying to get confirmation codes for two-factor authentication. The only way to receive them was to restart the phone. 3. The phone wouldn't dial out, staying stuck on the dialer screen with no sound. Restarting the phone was the only way to make calls. After many troubleshooting attempts, including: a. Contacting my network provider and resetting network and Bluetooth settings b. Replacing the SIM cards c. Additional troubleshooting with OPPO tech support

I accidentally discovered that turning off Wi-Fi caused both SIMs to work properly. I reported this to OPPO support, and they advised me to return the phone for warranty repair. This would have meant going through the hassle of sourcing two replacement phones, cloning data from the OPPO A78 5G, and restoring apps and passwords. After waiting four weeks with no response from Officeworks, I called the store and was informed that the phone was irreparable, but they provided a full refund.

This was my second disappointing experience with the OPPO brand, the first being the OPPO A74 5G (you can read my previous review about random restarts with the A74 5G). I would recommend staying away from this brand, even if they offer their phones for free.

Not my best Oppo experience – I've had this phone for a few months and a few glitches which never occur when I'm trying to get it checked. The worst is that very occasionally (maybe 6 times in total) the screen won't activate when a call is coming in, meaning I can't answer it, which had quite significant consequences in one case. Also have had issues with the sound and processing speed. Show details

Great looking budget phone – I recently purchased this phone to replace one which had a failing battery and which proved to be too expensive to repair. I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this sub $400 mobile phone. Whilst it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of more expensive phones, it is a stylish, well thought out phone with an excellent battery… Read more

(5000mAh), a fast charger (included with the phone), great looks and is a solid performer. It has a great camera setup (50MP main, 2MP portrait and 8MP front) which takes very presentable photos, even in relatively low light conditions. It comes with 4GB RAM, 128 GB storage and a dual SIM, plenty for most users. Transferring apps and data from my old phone was very simple and problem free and accomplished in just over an hour. I chose the glowing blue color (also comes in a dull and boring black) which is a very pretty pale blue with an embedded rainbow holograph which looks superb. Certainly beats boring black! It also has a panda glass screen so should be reasonably robust. Whilst it is not the fastest mobile, it certainly has plenty of speed to suit my day-to-day needs. It provides both finger print and facial recognition, both of which are very responsive, with the fingerprint scanner on the on/off button so it can be used one-handed, and the option to register up to 5 fingerprints. It is relatively light-weight (which certainly suits me) and is also quite slim with a 6.56" display. It has all the usual features of phones in this price range, and offers a good viewing experience if you use your phone to watch videos. It also has 2 stereo speakers and surprisingly good sound quality. Whilst I did notice the occasional lag when opening apps, it was nothing too concerning and if you open specific apps on a regular basis, the lag seems to disappear over time. I also found that using the double tap to put the phone to sleep only seemed to work on the lower half of the screen, rather than any blank part, due to the transparent overlay surrounding some functions such as the google search bar and the weather/time widget on the home screen. If you want be able to double tap on specific parts of the screen to put the phone to sleep you can remove widgets/task bars or move them to another part of the screen. It has a Raise to Wake feature which some people might find useful but is very annoying if you turn your phone off and then want to move it (but it can be turned off). The phone comes with very little bloatware (unlike some other brands) and I found the bluetooth connection was excellent. I was able to pair to a soundbar, DAB radio, smart watch and our car infotainment system very quickly without any of the hassles I have been experiencing of late with my previous phone. Clearly they have selected the right bluetooth Codec for this phone. The service from the Oppo Service Centre has been great. I had a few minor problems and a couple of emails to the Service Centre resolved both of them in less than 24 hours. It would have been good however to have a copy of the manual on the phone or supplied in the box rather than just the quick guide (a whole 2 pages of information!) My only disappointment was that the phone is not supplied with a silicone case, so if you want to protect the phone casing, you will need to buy a case. But given its price and the fact that a number of stores are offering this phone at a discount, a few extra dollars for a case is not a big deal. Charging the phone from 10% to full with the supplied fast charger took just over an hour - very impressive. This phone is well worth considering if you are after a phone below $400 with an excellent camera, a stunning design and great service from the manufacturer.