Bluetooth® connectivity is enabling smartphones to communicate beyond cellular coverage

Imagine you are hiking across rugged mountain ridges, exploring a tropical island through dense jungle, or trekking across a remote desert with friends. Suddenly, your phone displays “No Service”. That familiar anxiety creeps in. As your group spreads out, the limited range and bulkiness of walkie-talkies make you wish for a more lightweight, flexible way to communicate in real time.

In fact, Bluetooth® technology has already made major strides in overcoming these limitations. With advances in Bluetooth enabled chipsets, communication ranges now extend up to ten kilometers. That means even in areas with no network coverage, hikers with Bluetooth equipped smartphones can stay in touch with each other — and even connect with people up to ten kilometers away. This dramatically reduces the risk of losing contact in remote environments. As smartphone manufacturers increasingly adopt this technology, off-network communication is set to become a standard feature.

OPPO has recently embraced Bluetooth long-range capabilities. In the last two years, OPPO debuted one new solution with a Bluetooth powered BeaconLink feature and another that demonstrated an impressive 10.4 kilometers Bluetooth communication range in field tests, highlighting OPPO’s commitment to innovation and its deepening investment in Bluetooth capabilities.

Lori Lee, senior director of APAC and China at the Bluetooth (SIG) Special Interest Group, recently spoke with Liu Xin, senior technical planning manager at OPPO’s chip product technology division, about OPPO’s work on Bluetooth long-range connectivity and its real-world applications.

Q&A with Liu Xin from OPPO

What Bluetooth features has OPPO launched, and in what areas are they used?

Since the launch of Bluetooth® Core 5.0 in 2016, featuring LE Coded PHY S=8 and features like narrowband (125 Kbps) and Forward Error Correction (FEC), Bluetooth technology has significantly expanded its communication range without increasing power consumption. As the standard has evolved, chipmakers have continued to optimize design, improving both transmission efficiency and reception sensitivity.

Building on these developments, OPPO launched  BeaconLink in 2024. The feature allows device discovery, connection, and communication without cellular coverage, making it ideal for environments like mountains, islands, and deserts. In 2025, through a partnership with MediaTek, OPPO extended  BeaconLink’s range to ten kilometers. Field tests with the OPPO Find X8s confirmed real-time Bluetooth communication over ten kilometers in open conditions, offering a dependable solution for outdoor and remote-area communication.

 BeaconLink eliminates communication barriers by leveraging Bluetooth technology to enable device discovery, connection, and real-time communication between users in areas without cellular network coverage. This feature utilizes both Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth LE long-range connectivity to support Bluetooth based calling — offering a lightweight communication alternative for extreme environments and expanding Bluetooth’s applications into outdoor emergencies and adventure scenarios.

 Additionally, OPPO Find My solutions use Adv/Scan based on Bluetooth® LE, and Bluetooth® Channel Sounding to enable precise multi-device positioning and cross-device discovery. This works across OPPO’s smart devices ecosystem — including Bluetooth headphones, digital car keys, smartphones, and smartwatches — streamlining device management with pinpoint accuracy.

How did OPPO achieve its breakthrough with Bluetooth long-range connectivity?

OPPO worked closely with MediaTek to integrate technologies such as Bluetooth LE Coded PHY S=8, IBF (Implicit Beamforming), and MRC (Maximum Ratio Combining). In addition, OPPO fine-tuned its RF antenna designs and upper-layer voice compression algorithms, leading to a major breakthrough in Bluetooth long-distance performance.

Which Bluetooth trends do you think had the greatest impact over the past year?

In 2024, the Bluetooth SIG introduced  Bluetooth Channel Sounding — a major leap in Bluetooth based location accuracy and security. With this technology, applications like digital keys, item tracking, and access control are now more precise and secure. For example, high-precision Bluetooth digital keys using Bluetooth Channel Sounding can achieve positioning accuracy within 50 centimeters, outperforming older versions of Bluetooth technology.

This presents a huge opportunity for smartphone manufacturers and automakers to deliver low-cost, secure, high-accuracy solutions using standard Bluetooth protocols. For OPPO, it opens new avenues to enhance the user experience and unlock future applications as the Bluetooth SIG continues to deliver features aligned with real-world end-user needs.

What Bluetooth innovations will OPPO prioritize through the rest of 2025?

For 2025, OPPO is focused on strengthening the interconnectivity within its smartphone + smartwatch + earbuds ecosystem. By continuing to build on Bluetooth standards, OPPO aims to improve cross-device connectivity and introduce even more scenario-driven innovations for end users.