Motorola Moto G4 Tips and Tricks

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
Phone: Motorola Moto G4
Factory OS: Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)

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Then view tips for the most recent OS version(s): Android 9 (Pie) & Android 8 (Oreo)
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Warning: This will remove ALL data on the phone (but not the MicroSD card).

To perform a hard reset, or factory reset, then there are a number of methods to try:

1) Go to Settings – Personal – Backup and reset – Factory data reset – Reset device. It may ask for a password. Then select Erase everything.

If the phone is totally unresponsive, even after a reboot, then try the following methods.

2) While the phone is turned off, press and hold the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons together. Then, while holding these, press and release the Power button (keep holding the volume buttons). The phone should turn on and a menu will appear. Press the Volume down button to navigate to the Recovery option. Press the Volume Up to select (if that doesn’t work, use the Power button to select). A yellow triangle and an Android logo will appear. Press the Volume Down and Volume Up button together and a recovery menu should appear. Use the Volume buttons to move to the Wipe data/Factory reset option and then press Power to select. Again, use the Volume Down key to choose Yes and press the Power button again to select.

3) While the phone is turned off, press and hold the Volume Down button. Then, while holding, press and release the Power button. A menu should appear. Use the Volume down key to go to Clear Storage. Use the Power button to select the option. Then when asked to confirm, press Volume Up for Yes.

4) While the phone is off, press and hold down Volume Up + Home + Power buttons at the same time. Then release the buttons when you see the Logo. Use the Volume Down button to go down and the Home or Power key to select. Choose the Wipe data/Factory reset option. Then Select Yes to delete all user data. Then choose to reboot the phone.

5) A final method is to enter the code into your phone’s dialler: *2767*3855# This method will not give you an option to reverse the process, so be careful! This method will only work if you can boot into your phone.

Voicemail is one of this crucial phone features, which isn’t always obvious to find.

To set up your voicemail, then first open your Dialler App.

Then press the More or Menu button and choose Call settings.

Then scroll down to Voicemail settings. From here you will find various options including the number to dial to retrieve your mails. You might need to check with your carrier for the correct number.

Depending on your carrier you may have to enter the series of steps required to go through the voicemail menu, for example: *86,,yourpassword# (a comma inserts a pause).

If you have forgotten your custom unlock pattern or PIN, then don’t panic.

After 5 unsuccessful tries a button should appear saying Forgot pattern or PIN. Press this and you will be asked to enter your Gmail username/password.

The phone will then ask for a new unlock pattern or PIN.

If it isn’t accepting your Google ID or password, then try the following options:

1) First, go to the following URL: https://accounts.google.com/IssuedAuthSubTokens

Then when you see your device, select Revoke Access.

Then at the bottom of the page, you should see Generate New Application-Specific Password.

Enter a name and click on Generate Password.

A 16-digit pass code should be generated.

Enter this new password in your Android device, along with the correct Google ID.

2) If that doesn’t work, then go to: https://accounts.google.com/signin/recovery

Choose one of the recovery options. Then enter the email you used when you set up your device.

Follow the options depending on your situation and you should be guided through an option to get back into your phone.

If none of the above works, then you may have to hard reset / factory reset your device.

Before you do this, it’s recommended that you plug it in to a computer and copy across any files (particularly your photos in the DCIM folder). However it may not be possible to do this on some devices as it will be locked.

Normally you can simply insert a SIM card and you will be able to browse the internet using 3G. Sometimes, this must be setup manually however.

Before you start, you will need to ask your carrier or Telco for your APN settings.

Once you have those, go to Settings – Mobile networks – Access Point Names.

From here press Add or the Plus sign at the top right and select New APN.

Then fill in the details your carrier gave you. Then press the menu button and press Save.

Android has a feature allowing you to update Applications automatically. This is turned off by default, but you can turn it on.

Open the Play Store App and press the Hamburger / Menu icon in the top left of the App, on the search bar.

Then select Settings and Auto-update apps.

From here you can chose to do this over WiFi only or using your Data connection.

While in the Camera App, there are two ways to zoom in or out.

First, you can use Volume Up and Down keys.

Secondly, you can pinch your fingers on the screen to zoom in and out.

From the Contact list or the Messaging list, swipe from Left to Right to call a Contact.

This might not work on all models.

There are a couple of ways to bring up one of your contacts.

First, while in your Contacts App, simply start typing in the search bar at the top of the screen.

Or else a quicker method is to use the Google Search widget (installed by long pressing on a vacant part of your home screen and installing the widget) and start typing the name of the contact you want to dial. This will quickly filter the correct contact.

To soft reset your phone press and hold the Power/Lock button for around 8 to 10 seconds. The phone will restart automatically.

If that doesn’t work, then remove the battery (if it has one). Wait 30 seconds and put the battery back in. Then press the Power/Lock button to turn the phone on.

Android manages your applications so if the phone is running low on memory, it will close the oldest running App.

If you do need to manually close an application go to Settings – Applications – Application manager. Then swipe the screen from right to left until you are on the Running screen.

Then choose the application you want to stop and select Force Stop.