Moto G Power common issues and how to solve them

We are already accustomed to yearly iterations of Motorola Moto G are fan favorites in the budget segment. Motorola Moto G Power is another version of battery-oriented handsets that we are seeing for a couple of years now and it’s hard to overlook the benefits that a 5000 mAh battery brings to the table.

Now, Motorola likes to run stock Android on their devices, adding an extra layer of quality over some heavily customized and bloatware-ridden OEMs. Nonetheless, it has a variety of small but significant issues. We made sure to look them up and list them below. Along with applicable solutions to help you out.

Note: All the issues mentioned in this article are individually reported cases, which doesn’t mean any of the problems will occur on other devices. If you’re looking to buy this phone, DO NOT consider these problems.

Table of contents:

1. Bad GPS quality
2. Mobile data and call reception issues
3. Wi-Fi and Hotspot issues
4. No in-call sound
5. Camera issues on the Moto G Power
6. Moto G Power constantly refreshes apps
7. Bluetooth issues on the Moto G Power
8. Apps are not updating
9. SMS messages are not coming through
10. Slow performance and system lags
11. Common troubleshooting steps for the Moto G Power

1. Bad GPS quality

Based on various reports from multiple support forums and online communities, the GPS seems to be the worst thing about this phone. The signal is lost after some time of use, making the usage of apps like Google Maps or Waze for navigation quite cumbersome. It appears this is resolved by adding Galileo satellites to the list.

In case you are having any issues with GPS readings, you can test GPS with a third-party app just to be sure. If the issue persists, consider giving these steps a try:

• Enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning.
• Check Location permissions for third-party apps.
• Reset your device to factory settings.

2. Mobile data and call reception issues

Mobile Data issues can render a device completely unusable, based on your usage and preferences. Some users reported that the LTE/4G is incredibly slow and unreliable. And, for some reason, especially when the device is charging.

To add insult to injury, the device reception is far from flawless. Users experienced in-call problems caused by bad reception, even in urban areas.

Now, this isn’t as widespread a problem as some others, but some users are having a hard time resolving it. If you are among those users, consider resetting your APN and, if that fails, make sure to reset the Network Settings.

Alternatively, you can try disabling Bluetooth for the time being, as there might be an interference. If none of that works, look for more solutions in our article that’s dedicated to resolving data issues on Android.

3. Wi-Fi and Hotspot issues

Similar to the aforementioned issues with mobile reception and mobile data, some Moto G Power users have had a hard time with Wi-Fi. It seems that the network speeds are subpar for some, while others experience frequent disconnections.

Additionally, the Hotspot doesn’t work for some, which is probably related to the mobile data issues mentioned above. In both cases, we can suggest resetting your network settings and temporarily disabling Bluetooth. If that doesn’t help, consider resetting your device to factory settings.

4. No in-call sound

Sound issues on the Moto G series are not as common but some users have had a hard time while conversing on the phone. Some reported stutters while others can’t hear the other side at all while being heard without problems.

To some extent, this can be related to network coverage issues but chances are that there’s a hardware issue or a conflict between Bluetooth and cellular antenna.

Try rebooting your device and, if that fails, reset the APN settings. If the issue persists, we suggest taking your device to the retailer or carrier support and asking for a replacement.

5. Camera issues on the Moto G Power

The camera quality is probably the biggest difference between super-expensive flagship devices and budget devices like Moto G Power. It seems that this handset has quite a capable camera setup but the software side can be rather underwhelming.

Users report slow shutter speeds, loading, camera app crashes, etc. We can suggest navigating to Settings > Apps > Camera and clearing cache and data from the app. Additionally, ensure that you are running the latest firmware.

6. Moto G Power constantly refreshes apps

There seems to be an issue, at least for some users, which completely made the Moto G Power unusable. Namely, it seems that apps are constantly refreshing and not being kept in RAM, which is hardly a software issue. Especially if we consider that affected users reset the device to factory values.

We recommend taking your device for replacement or repairs as this is probably a RAM issue at hand.

7. Bluetooth issues on the Moto G Power

Bluetooth problems are also present for some users. The audio reproduction via Bluetooth when connected to car media is plain awful for some users.

The playback is unreliable and it seems that it doesn’t get much better when connected to other audio devices like speakers or wireless buds/headphones.

If you are among those Moto G Power owners that have Bluetooth issues, check the steps below:

• Remove pairing and establish it again. Navigate to Settings >Bluetooth and delete all paired devices. Pair the handset with the device again and try again.
• Reset Network Settings. Open Settings > System > Reset Network Settings.
• Disable Automatic pairing. Pair individually with a device when you want to use it.
• Boot into safe mode and try connecting via Bluetooth.
• Update the system.
• Reset your phone to factory settings.

8. Apps are not updating

Some users reported that certain apps (particularly Chrome for some reason) won’t update. There’s a chance that the locally-stored data might be corrupted so we recommend clearing the cache and data. Follow these steps to do so:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose Apps.
3. Navigate to the app that’s not updating.
4. Select Storage.
5. Clear cache and data. Do the same for the Google Play Store and Google Play Services (tap on the 3-dot menu and choose to Show system apps).
6. Reboot your device, open the Play Store, and look for improvements.

If that fails, make sure to uninstall updates from the app (Chrome is a system app and can’t be removed), so navigate to Settings > Apps > Chrome and uninstall updates.

9. SMS messages are not coming through

Again, we can blame the network coverage issues for this, as well. As mentioned above, we recommend resetting your APN in Settings, clearing data from the Messaging app, and rebooting your device. If that doesn’t help, make sure to check your SIM card placement.

In case the issues persist, we suggest resetting your device to factory settings as there’s hardly anything else you can do on your own. Of course, contacting your carrier is not the worst idea.

10. Slow performance and system lags

Finally, we couldn’t ignore the lags and overall underwhelming performance some Moto G Power users experienced. The Snapdragon 665 and Adreno 10 graphics are just not good enough sometimes, especially if you are invested in 3D games like PUBG or Call of Duty. Occasionally, the device might stutter even when you are scrolling through online content.

This is a budget device with the main focus on battery longevity so it’s unrealistic to expect amazing results. However, with that said, there is some way that can help you speed up the Moto G Power significantly. Follow these steps to improve performance:

• Reboot the device.
• Limit the number of apps working in the background. You can do so in the Developer options, under the Background process limit.
• Lower the Animations in Developer options.
• Boot into Safe Mode and, if the device performs better, uninstall recently installed apps.
• Reset your Moto G Power to factory settings.

11. Common troubleshooting steps for the Moto G Power

Enter Developer Options

1. Open Settings.
2. Select System.
3. Open About phone.
4. Tap on Build number 7 times. You should get a message informing you that you are now a developer.
5. Get back to the main menu of Settings and, at the bottom, you should see Developer options.

Boot into Safe Mode

1. Press and hold the Power button to bring out the Power menu.
2. Tap and hold on to the Power off icon until you are prompted to enter Safe mode.
3. Tap OK.
4. To get out of Safe mode, just reboot your device again.

Reset Network settings

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose the Network & Internet.
3. Tap on the 3-dot menu and choose Network settings reset.
4. Choose to reset your Network settings.
5. Confirm when prompted.

Reset the device to factory settings

Note: We don’t recommend doing this if you’re not entirely sure what you’re doing. If that’s the case, check out our article about factory resetting an Android phone for more info.

1. First, navigate to Settings > System > Backup and back up all your settings and app data. Besides that, make sure to connect your device to a PC and back up all your media. You can also use Google Photos to back up all your photos from the device. You’ll need your Google Account password later.
2. Once you are certain that everything can be safely deleted, in Settings > System > Advanced, choose Reset options.
3. Select Erase all data (factory reset).
4. Confirm the selection. Your device will reboot and after some time, you’ll start from scratch.

And with the instructions above, we can conclude this article. Thank you for reading and make sure to share additional issues or alternative solutions with us and other readers. You can do so in the comments section below.

Editor’s note: This article was initially published in September 2020. We made sure to revamp it for freshness and accuracy.