Motorola Moto Z2 Force Tips and Tricks

Locking your phone is a great security feature, but when you’re at home it’s normally not necessary.

A featured called Trusted Places enables you to bypass the lock screen when you’re at specific geographic places.

To set it up go to Settings – Lock screen and security – Smart lock – Trusted places.

You can also set up the bypass to work when your phone is connected to specific Bluetooth devices such as Smartwatches or Audio devices.

You can also override this (i.e. lock your screen when it is at the location). To override, just press and hold the padlock icon on the lockscreen.

This may not work on all phones, models or networks. Also, if you choose to trust your location, then you will need to turn your GPS on when at home.

To show the Browser History, open your Android stock browser (the default browser).

Then press the Menu button in the top right.

Then select History.

To clear history, go to the Menu button again, then Settings – Advanced – Privacy – Clear browsing data.

Depending on how your phone is set up, sometimes you will see lag when swiping between home screens or when generally using your phone. There are a number of things you can try to fix this, as follows:

First, try restarting your phone. This will fix many problems.

If that doesn’t work, then remove any Widgets that pull data to the phone, such as Twitter, Weather widgets etc.

If you have Live wallpapers turned on, then try turning them off long pressing on a blank area of the home screens and changing to a different Wallpaper.

Sometimes the problem can be with the phone or operators skin or launcher, so try going to the Play Store and downloading a third party launcher such as Nova launcher or Go LauncherEx. Note: you will need to re-create your home screen shortcuts, but they are both great launchers.

Another tip is to always press the Back key instead of the Home key when leaving Apps. The Back key will often close the App properly, while the Home key can leave it running in the background.

Lastly, there is a great app called DU Speed Booster which can help close Apps that are running in the background and optimise your phone’s memory.

The Play store contains thousands of great Apps, but sometimes you’ll want to restrict access, particularly if you have kids and are concerned about what they can access.

First, open the Android Play Store App. Then press the Hamburger / Settings icon and then scroll down to Settings.

Then select Parental controls and turn these on.

Create a PIN code and then confirm the PIN and press OK.

Then you’ll see a number of categories including Apps & games, Films, TV, Mags and Music.

You can select each of these individually and then choose an age rating that is appropriate for users of your devices.

This tip is relatively obvious, but some users overlook it.

Once you go into your Apps screen you should see a row of dots. This indicates which of the 5 App screens you are on. Rather than flick between each screen, you can simply press one of the dots and you will jump to that home screen.

Or alternatively, slide your finger across the dots to move between screens. This won’t work on all devices however.

If you want to remove an entire text message thread, go into Messages and look for the thread. Then long press on it and select Delete thread

If you want to conserve battery life, you can turn off the WiFi while the phone is asleep.

Pull down the notifications screen.

Then long press on the WiFi icon.

Then press the Menu, More or Advanced button and select Keep WiFi on during sleep.

If you tend to run out of battery power quickly, then you can turn on Power saving mode.

Pull down the notification screen by swiping your finger from the top of the phone.

Then select Power Saving. You may need to scroll left to right along the available icons.

To change the settings, then pull down the notification screen again, press the Settings / Gear icon at the top.

Then under Device Maintenance – select Battery.

Then select a mode and select Customise if necessary.

If you have used up all of your Quick Launch spaces, then there is a trick to provide you more.

First, press and drag an App from the home screen and move it over the top of an App in the Quick Launch area. Then release your finger.

This will create a folder containing the original App plus the new one.

This is a great way to have access to regularly used Apps.

To see which firmware version of Android you are using, use the pull-down menu by dragging your finger from the top of the phone.

Select Settings and under System, choose About Device or About Phone.

This should list your Device name and model Number.

Select Software info to show more information such as your Android Version, Kernel Version, Build Number and other technical information.