5 Troublesome Moto G4 Problems, and What to Do About Them

At the budget end of the Android market, the Moto G4 and the Moto G4 Plus reign supreme. These are great Android smartphones with big displays, good cameras, and decent battery life. We think the G4 Plus is worth the extra $50, but neither of these smartphones is flawless. We've been trawling through user forums and comment sections gathering some common Moto G4 problems and trying to find solutions, or at least workarounds.

 

The two phones have almost identical innards, so it's no surprise that the Moto G4 Plus is suffering from many of the same issues. This troubleshooting guide covers both phones. 

#1 Problem: Overheating

We noticed some serious heat during extended gaming sessions on the Moto G4 and there are also a lot of reports online about the Moto G4 Plus overheating while people are using the camera to record video. All phones are going to heat up from time to time –particularly when playing graphic-intensive games, recording video, or charging — but if your Moto G4 gets uncomfortably hot at other times, or the performance starts to suffer, then you may need to do something about it.

 Workarounds:

1. Take regular breaks to let your phone cool down.
2. People using Moto G4 cases should try removing them and see if that helps.
3. Don't use your Moto G4 while it's plugged it in and charging.
4. Don't use the Turbo charger. Charge with a regular charger, or through your laptop or PC.
5. Keep your Moto G4 out of direct sunlight or really hot environments.

Potential solutions:

1. Take a look in Settings > Storage & USB and tap on Cached data, then tap OK to delete it. Restart your phone by pressing and holding the Power key for 10 to 20 seconds.
2. It's worth ruling out a third-party app as the cause. Press the Power key, then tap and hold Power off and tap OK when Reboot to safe mode appears. The Moto G4 will reboot and you should see Safe Mode in the bottom-left corner. If the overheating issue is gone, then a third-party app is probably the culprit. You can simply restart the phone to get out of safe mode. Try uninstalling apps that you've installed one by one and test to see if it makes a difference in performance.
3. You could try a factory reset. Make sure that all your precious files are backed up first, then go to Settings > Backup & reset and make sure Automatic restore is off. Afterward, tap Factory data reset and Reset phone. Test the phone before you enter your Google account to avoid automatically downloading all the same apps.
4. If you've tried all of the above and you still have an issue, then it's time to contact your retailer, carrier, or Lenovo and ask for a replacement.

#2 Glitch: Ghost touches when charging

Quite a few people have reported an issue with ghost touches when they try to use their Moto G4 or G4 Plus while it is plugged in and charging. The notification shade might come down by itself, or they find that they can't answer calls. Some people are also reporting severe lag on the touches that do work.

Workaround:

1. Don't use your Moto G4 while it's charging. It will charge faster and you'll avoid potential overheating issues.
2. Try using a different cable and charger. Some people report that this alleviated the problem, though it didn't work for others.

Potential Solutions: 

Find out where your nearest service center is and contact it, then send your phone in for repairs.

 #3 Issue: Crashing in some apps or games

A few Moto G4 and G4 Plus owners have reported regular crashes associated with specific apps or games. If you find that you get a high volume of crashes when playing a specific game or when trying to open it, there are a few things you can try.

Potential solutions:

1. Turn your phone off. Press and hold the Power and Volume down buttons until the Moto G4 starts up. Use Volume down to highlight Recovery mode and press Power to select it. You should see the Android mascot on screen. Hold down the Power button and tap Volume up once, then release the Power button. Use the volume buttons to highlight wipe cache partition and press the Power button to select it. When done, use the Power button to select Reboot system now.
2. It's also possible that this problem is being caused by your MicroSD card. If you formatted your card as internal storage, then that could be the culprit. You should have triggered a warning if your card is too slow, but there's always a chance that something has gone wrong after the initial formatting. You can find out more at the Motorola site.

#4 Annoyance: Yellow tint no display

There have been some complaints about a yellowish tint on the Moto G4 and G4 Plus display. Some people feel it's too warm, or more specifically, that whites appear slightly yellow.

Workaround: 

You could try using an app like Screen Adjuster Free to see if you can alter the color to your satisfaction.

Potential solutions:

1. Take a look in Settings > Display > Color mode and change your settings.
2. Consider contacting your retailer, carrier, or Lenovo and asking about a replacement handset.

#5 Problem: Headphones not working properly

A few people have been having trouble getting their headphones to work properly when plugged into the Moto G4. In most cases, the problem is that sound only comes through on one side, so you only get sound in the left ear.

Potential solutions:

1. Make sure that your headphones are properly plugged in. Try blowing gently into the port to make sure nothing is stuck in it.
2. Try a simple restart by holding down the Power button for 10 seconds or so, or until the Moto G4 goes off and comes back to life.
3. Make sure that you test your headphones with another device and test different headphones with your Moto G4. Quite a few people report that some headphones work and others simply don't.
4. A third-party app could be causing your problem. Press the Power key, then tap and hold on Power off and tap OK when Reboot to safe mode appears. The Moto G4 will reboot and you should see Safe Mode in the bottom-left corner. If your headphones work properly, then a third-party app is probably to blame for your problem. You can simply restart the phone to get out of safe mode. Try uninstalling apps one by one, starting with anything that has an obvious audio component. Restart your phone after each uninstall and test to see if the problem is resolved.

Xbox One S vs. Xbox One: Specs comparison

Xbox One S is the smaller version of Xbox One. According to Microsoft official, Xbox One S will be avaialble in 25 different countries on August 2. These 25 countries include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK and the US.

Before the Xbox One S hits the market, it is better for you to figure out the differences between Xbox One S and Xbox One. Here is the right place for you to visit in order to learn the differences between these two console devices.

Xbox One S FAQ:

1.  Q: What is the release date of Xbox One S? A: Confirmed by Microsoft, it is August 2, 2016.
2.  Q: Does it support 4K? A: Yes, it does, for video and Blu-ray, but not for games.
3.  Q: Is it more powerful? A: Yes, a slight boost to processing power over the Xbox One to accommodate HDR gaming.
4.  Q: Is a controller included? A: Yes, contrary to early reports, one is included in the price.

Xbox One S Price: $399/£349 for 2TB launch edition, 500GB and 1TB models also incoming

There are three different capacities. Prices start at $299 for the 500GB version, moving up to $349 for the 1TB and $399 for a massive 2TB. When it comes to UK and European pricing, here's what you need to know. The 2TB launch edition Xbox One S will cost £349/399 Euros, while the 1TB will be £299/349 Euros and the 500GB £249/299 Euros. That's pretty sweet for a 4K Blu-ray player let alone one that also plays games.

Xbox One S is 40% smaller, has built-in power supply

The Xbox One S is 40% smaller than the original – it's a huge reduction. Given how big the original Xbox One is – at 333mm x 276mm x 78mm, it dominates the comparatively slight PS4 – it's an important change that could entice potential buyers.

What's doubly impressive, however, is the power supply is now built-in. The bulky power brick on the Xbox One was a serious pain and was another con against it given the PS4 has it built-in. Therefore a smaller size yet with power supply built-in will definitely be a hot sale.

4K Ultra HD, 4K Blu-ray and High Dynamic Range support

This is huge. Not only does the Xbox One S support 4K video playback from streaming services like Netflix and Amazon, it also has a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray built-in.
This is especially good news for AV fans and the announced $299/£249 starting price makes it good value compared to dedicated Ultra HD players currently on the market, which at this time cost anywhere from £400 to £650.
In fact, if you have a 4K TV, we'd argue it's a must-have to enjoy the full potential of your TV.

While the original Xbox One is technically capable of supporting 4K gaming and video, it comes with an HDMI 1.4a port, which means it can only output 4K at 30Hz, which is useless for games and problematic for some video. The Xbox One S adds support for HDMI 2.0a, so it now supports proper 4K 60Hz output.

HDMI 2.0a, with its capacity for a deeper colour space, also allows for High Dynamic Range (HDR).

In short, you can expect more natural colours, deeper blacks, and brighter whites from an HDR image, providing you have a compatible TV. It could be great for games and video, so this is another major plus point.
There's been some talk that old Xbox Ones could be upgraded to the new HDMI standard through a firmware update, but we've heard nothing since E3 so it seems a distant hope now.
 

Plus, it can upscale games to 4K

When the Xbox One S was first announced, Microsoft neglected to mention that the new console is also capable of upscaling games to 4K.
The upscaling capabilities were revealed by Jeff Henshaw, Group Program Manager at Xbox at an E3 session (via TechRadar).

Henshaw said: "It's not native 4K, but the Xbox One S can upscale games from 1080p to 4K."
It means the Xbox One S will be able to offer a taste of gaming at a higher resolution than its predecessor, although it won't quite be as good as native 4K.

It can be stored upright

Yes, that's right, you can store the Xbox One S upright. That's great news, though the stand is an optional extra, unless you buy the 2TB model, which comes with the stand bundled. As it only costs $20, however, it's not a huge imposition.

There's no dedicated Kinect port

Not a huge surprise here. The Xbox One S removes the dedicated port for Kinect. Given its increasing irrelevance this isn't a huge loss, though owners who want to use one can do say via a USB adapter. We assume the adapter will be sold separately, too.

But there is an IR blaster

In the place of a dedicated Kinect port, the Xbox One S comes with an integrated IR (infrared) blaster. That means you can configure your Xbox One S to turn on other devices, like your TV, audio/video receiver, and cable or satellite receiver.
The idea is that you can reduce the number of remotes you need to control your stuff. Pretty neat.

Xbox One S vs Xbox One: Should you upgrade?

There's no doubt the new Xbox One S is a better all around console than its predecessor. Not only does it slim down what was an unbelievably bulky case on the original console, and by 40% no less, the Xbox One S comes with a load of features that make it a desirable device regardless of comparisons with the previous model.
Firstly, you get a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player built in. Currently, those things will cost you upwards of £400 on their own. Secondly, you can stream 4K at the proper 60 Hz in HDR from apps such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video. Plus, there's even a slight performance boost. The console benefits from extra processing power which will be used to run games in HDR.
All told, Microsoft may just have done enough here to warrant an upgrade from the original console. While the Xbox One will run all the games you can play on the S model, the extra features and reduced form factor make the new version a tempting offer.