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Common Moto G5 Plus problems and the solutions to fix them

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Moto G5 Plus problems
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The Moto G5 Plus might not blow you away with its outward design, but it more than makes up for that with its cheap price, fast performance, and the Android OS. That’s why it made our best budget phones and best phones for kids lists. That said, the phone has been around since March, and in the months since release, owners have run into their share of Moto G5 Plus problems.

If you’re going to upgrade to the Moto G5 Plus soon, you’d do well to scroll down and read up on the issues — both with the software and hardware — that people have had since its release, and the solutions available that will make being a G5 Plus owner easier. Once you’re done with that, be sure to learn what your phone can really do with our Moto G5 tips and tricks, and take your first steps to becoming a G5 Plus know-it-all.

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Bug: Gestures and motion controls not working

A handful of people on the XDA Developers forums have reportedly been having problems getting their phones to respond to their gestures and motions, such as twisting twice to launch the camera or chopping twice to turn on the flashlight. Some have noticed that their phone’s failure to react correctly is inconsistent, making it difficult to point to the cause of the problem.

Potential solutions:

  • Restart the phone and try using gestures and motions again.
  • XDA Developers forums user MartinPowa said they managed to temporarily fix the problem by initiating a call. After ending the call (receiving doesn’t need to answer), gestures work as intended, albeit for a short time.
  • Back up anything precious and perform a factory reset by going to Settings > Backup & reset > Back up my data > Factory data reset > Reset phone > Erase everything.
  • Reach out to Motorola Support, as it may be a hardware issue you’re unable to handle on your own. You may be able to get repairs or a replacement device.

Problem: Auto-brightness doesn’t correctly adjust brightness

People on this XDA Developers forum thread have taken to discussing their issues with the brightness on their Moto G5 Plus. Specifically, the Adaptive Brightness setting does not adjust the brightness of the display automatically, nor does it do so in a way that suits the user’s current location and lighting situation.

Workaround:

  • A couple of users decided to forgo using Adaptive Brightness and have instead manually adjusted the brightness to their liking at Settings > Display > Brightness level.

Potential solutions:

  • One user found success after going to Settings > Display > Brightness level and turning off Adaptive Brightness. Afterwards, they maxed out the brightness slider, then re-enabled Adaptive Brightness.
  • Some others users suggest keeping Adaptive Brightness on, but adjusting the brightness slider to be at 75 percent of maximum brightness.

Annoyance: Internal noises

Still on the XDA Developers forums, a number of Moto G5 Plus owners have noticed clicking sounds coming from the inside of their phones when they gently shake it. This has prompted many to wonder what the noise could be, and if it’s anything to be concerned about.

Potential solutions:

  • Users in the thread linked above have suggested that the noises could be caused by the SIM tray, SD card, or the Camera lens. If you believe it to be the SIM tray or SD card, remove both (found on top of the phone) and gently shake the phone again. If it’s neither of those, it may be either of the camera lenses. It should be noted that not everyone considers this a huge deal, or a very noticeable sound.
  • If you believe this to be a hardware issue that could affect your phone’s performance, reach out to Motorola Support to get repairs or a replacement phone.

Problem: SD Card Corruption

There are multiple threads on the Lenovo forums and the XDA Developers forums that are full of people who have had their SD cards corrupted during their time with the Moto G5 Plus. The corruption, or the message stating the card is corrupted, typically occurs after the phone has been turned off and on with the SD card still inside. Files have sometimes been deleted, and in most cases, the cards are actually fine when accessed via a PC. Unfortunately, there’s no specific brand or SD card size that is most commonly affected. If you decide to buy a new card, check out our guide on how to choose the best Micro SD cards for your smartphone.

Workaround:

  • Since the problem seems to occur after the phone is turned off, never turning the phone off may be the best way to avert the issue until a definitive fix comes along, such as a software update. This means keeping an eye on your battery life to make sure it doesn’t turn off after hitting 0 percent, and cutting down on how often you need to restart your phone.
  • Alternatively, you can remove the SD card prior to turning the phone off and reinsert it after the phone has been powered on.

Potential solutions:

  • Make sure your card is formatted to work as Internal storage by going to Settings > Storage > SD Card > Options (three vertical dots in top-right corner) > Storage Settings > Format as internal >  Erase & format. To format the card to work as Portable storage, follow the same steps, but choose Format as portable instead. Make sure you back up anything that’s on it before you format!

Issue: Phone won’t stay connected to Wi-Fi

Reddit and Lenovo’s own forums both have threads containing a number of G5 Plus owners who can’t seem to maintain a Wi-Fi connection. This is one of the most frustrating Moto G5 Plus problems you can encounter. The problem is the same for everyone: While using their phone, they suddenly and unexpectedly lose their connection to their network. Sometimes the connection returns, but only for a brief time before disconnecting again. Other devices connected to Wi-Fi, as well as the router itself, all work just fine.

Potential solutions:

  • The easiest thing to try first is to go to Settings > Wi-Fi, then tap the Wi-Fi slider off and on.
  • Reset your network settings by going to Settings > Back up and Reset > Reset network settings > Reset.
  • Some people have suggested turning off Wi-Fi Scanning. You can do this at Settings > Scroll down to Location > Options (three vertical dots icon) > Scanning > Turn off Wi-fi Scanning.
  • On both threads, a few people fixed their Wi-Fi issue by accessing their router settings and changing the channel option from Auto to 10.
  • A future update for the G5 Plus may deal with this particular problem.

Glitch: Error message when trying to launch Camera app

Moto G5 Plus users have a 12 MP rear camera and a 5 MP front camera at their disposal, but many others users can’t enjoy the same features, as they’ve been unable to even launch the app. When attempting to do so, they are sometimes met with the message, “Camera error. Please restart camera.”

Potential solutions:

  • As explained by the given error message, simply close the camera and try launching it again. The problem itself is not consistent and sometimes the error never reappears.
  • A Motorola support member on the Lenovo thread linked above recommended going to Settings > Apps > Camera > Storage > Clear Data, then trying the app again.
  • Start the phone in Safe Mode and try the camera again. If the camera works just fine, it’s likely that a third-party app is the source of the problem, and may need to be deleted or have its app permissions changed (Settings > App > the app you wish to change > Permissions). To enter Safe Mode, press and hold the Power button until the Power off option appears > press and hold Power off until the Reboot to Safe Mode window appears > tap OK.
  • Perform a factory reset and try the camera again.
  • Reach out to Motorola support to get repairs or a replacement phone.

Problem: Poor voice call quality

There are quite a few threads on the Lenovo and XDA Developer forums that are more than enough to prove that many Moto G5 Plus owners are unhappy with the audio quality of their voice calls. For some, audio cuts in and out, while others have said the audio is garbled or people sound “digitized.” Some think the problem lies with Verizon, as the name of the first linked thread suggests, but not everyone affected has named Verizon as their carrier.

Related

Official solution:

  • On page 33 of this thread, Motorola Admin MattForumsMngr said a patch is in the works for this particular issue. As of June 26, the patch has not been released.

Potential solutions:

  • Restart the phone and try the call again.
  • Disabling Enhanced 4G LTE Mode has been mentioned multiple times as the way to improve or fix the poor audio. This can be done at Settings > More (Under Wireless & Networks) > Cellular Networks.
  • Disable HD Voice at Settings > Advanced Calling. Tap the Advanced Calling switch/toggle in the top-right corner to turn it on, then tap HD Voice to disable this feature. It’s disabled when there is no check mark. It has also been suggested that Verizon customers need to disable HD Voice through the Verizon site in addition to doing it within the phone’s settings.

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Kyree Leary
Kyree Leary
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kyree is an Atlanta-based freelance writer who spends a lot of his time writing about video games and all kinds of tech…
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