WARNING! Read before considering a Moto G

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Solaris81

Senior Member
Dec 3, 2008
95
17
I've had a pretty bad experience with my Moto G, so thought I'd leave a friendly warning for anyone on the fence about this phone, or even for those who already own one. I ordered one of these from Tesco about a month ago for £129. After 2 weeks of taking perfectly good care of it as I do with all my devices, I had the unfortunate situation occur of it falling, less than 2 feet I might add, from my bed onto the wooden floor. My first thoughts were, damn I should be more careful, but was incredibly shocked to find when picking it up that the screen was completely smashed.

Having owned many smart phones over the years, they have all at one time or another taken a fall far greater than this, yet this is the first time I've ever had a screen smash on me. Still in shock at how it could break so easily I did some research online, got some contact information for Motorola, who replied giving me a number for the repair center. I phoned them and was given a quote of £59. Feeling annoyed at the price, I still decided to send it off, thinking that despite how easily it had broken, it had still fallen and Motorola had only my word that it was less than 2 feet.

A few days later I received the quote through the post, for £71, with a £15 charge if I decided I didn't want to go through with it and wanted the phone back, otherwise they destroy it. This almost felt like holding my phone ransom. Still, none of this is what I'm here to warn you about, the biggest problem I had with this situation, and the reason I'll never purchase a Motorola phone again, is the responses I got when contacting Motorola again. Being unhappy about being charged more than I was originally quoted on the phone plus a ransom fee if i wanted the phone back un-repaired, I e-mail Motorola again to complain, firstly about the cost, secondly about the structural weakness of the phone, that something was clearly wrong for it to smash so easily.

They responded with a very frank reply saying the Moto G is not shock or knock proof and was never advertised as being so, they also claimed the repair price is standard and correct, but didn't bother explaining why I was lied to on the phone. I then replied explaining that I knew full well it wasn't advertised as shock/knock/bullet proof, but that there are basic levels of durability that you expect when buying something, they are not advertised because they are common sense and taken for granted, and the Moto G didn't come close to meeting them, whether I had a dodgy unit or it's the whole range. They replied saying the Moto G is a "budget device", and that it's "not capable of withstanding any knocks whatsoever".

I made it very clear in my messages about how easily the screen shattered, and they are saying they are ok with that, it's expected, and basically saying you get what you pay for, so be warned, you might think you're getting a bargain, as I did, but as Motorola were keen to point out, if you pay a budget price for a phone, expect it to fall apart at the slightest knock.
 

Solaris81

Senior Member
Dec 3, 2008
95
17
Your mileage may vary I have dropped my lady moto g a few times so has she our only issue with the phone is our network and at times the radios itself.

KitKat slo"g" slide

My problem isn't necessarily that the phone broke, although obviously that is a problem, the issue is with Motorola itself, fully understanding how easily the screen cracked, treating the situation though it's expected to break, and then using the price to justify how incredibly fragile the build quality was.

I have no problem posting their e-mails here if anyone want to see them in full to see how frank they are about the lack of quality of the Moto G because it's "budget" I was a little shocked by them, so told them if this really is their attitude the public deserves to know, and they welcomed me to share "my opinion" with people, so I'm sure they'd welcome we posting their responses here if anyone is interested.
 

Durteedee

Senior Member
Nov 6, 2013
321
48
detroit
plus.google.com
My problem isn't necessarily that the phone broke, although obviously that is a problem, the issue is with Motorola itself, fully understanding how easily the screen cracked, treating the situation though it's expected to break, and then using the price to justify how incredibly fragile the build quality was.

I have no problem posting their e-mails here if anyone want to see them in full to see how frank they are about the lack of quality of the Moto G because it's "budget" I was a little shocked by them, so told them if this really is their attitude the public deserves to know, and they welcomed me to share "my opinion" with people, so I'm sure they'd welcome we posting their responses here if anyone is interested.

Again mileage may vary depending on what it may be, something their fault covered by warranty something your fault its just that. I get they lied to you that was wrong to do followed by not telling you why they lied it could be you got someone new or someone covering their rear ends

KitKat slo"g" slide
 
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kenypowa

Senior Member
May 18, 2010
209
74
1) Sometimes it is not the height, but the angle of you dropped the phone. I also had a Nexus One shattering its screen from a minor fall, but my other HTC, LG and Motorola phones survive drops that are much taller. Also Moto G has the latest Gorilla Glass 3; I honestly doubt if it had been any other phone it would fare any better. And if you have a shatter iphone screen, it cost a lot more than 70 quid to fix it.

2) Welcome to real life kid. If I drive a car with problems into a repair shop, I will be charged even without any fixes being performed. It is called labour, shipping and handling, and whatever. Motorola is not under any obligation to mail your phone back for free. Motorola employees who opened your package, logged the item, performed a visual inspection are not volunteers.

3) You are absolutely right to be ticked off when you were quoted £59 and then £71. I would be. You absolutely have the right not to buy any future products. It is called poor customer services on their part.

These are separate issues. But for its price, Moto G has no comparison in terms of build quality.
 

eastdata

Senior Member
Apr 17, 2011
108
38
I would be ticked off, but most servicing costs by the half hour. The design has to take into account some misuse, but it's a grey area and hard to dispute whether the industrial designers made a poor design judgement or your actions were outside the specifications it was designed for. You could always take it to a consumer ombudsman.

Would a screen protector have help in this situation (envisages dropping phone)?
 

hypertx

Member
Oct 22, 2011
39
6
Abu Dhabi
I saw in youtube drop test for MOTO G and yes it broke, the screen was shattered. This happens to every phone, high end phone's screen can be broken as well when you drop it, we need to be careful and protect our phone.
 
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nocial

Member
Dec 31, 2013
8
0
Moto G feels like a sturdy, well built devce. I haven't dropped mine yet. I guess it is the angle at which you dropped the phone which caused the screen to crack or the phone itself was faulty. I still feel it is better built compared to other plasticky samsung phones.
 

weckart

Member
Jul 13, 2010
14
6
£59 is the ex-VAT price. 20% VAT takes it up to £71. A standard sneaky trick usually carried out by garages on the unsuspecting and totally illegal. Get in contact with trading standards.

In future, whenever getting a quote online or on the phone, check that VAT is included and always take down the name of the person you have been talking with.
 
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AGAWhitty

Guest
In future, whenever getting a quote online or on the phone, check that VAT is included and always take down the name of the person you have been talking with.

I second that, I've lost count of the amount of times I've been happy with customer service to find they told me wrong advice and I couldn't prove who I had spoken to, first thing I do now, write their name + time of call ect.

Also, with my old iPhone 4S I dropped it over 20 times mostly over 3 or 4 foot and only scuffed slightly in the edges, then I dropped it from roughly 2 foot and it completely shattered to bits.

It really is about the angle you drop it at BUT... I took it into the apple shop and they swapped out no questions asked to my surprise, I may have been a lucky one but I was sold on apples customer service then (pity they make such terrible restrictions on there phones, Android FTW).

So yeah, bad on customer service for Motorola, have you searched weather you could fix it your self for cheaper? Screens are usually cheap online and cheap torx set. Failing that, unfortunately recycle online and buy a new one + case?

Sent from my Moto G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
 

903tex

Senior Member
Mar 22, 2010
1,422
344
Tyler, Texas
Moto G Stylus 5G
I've thrown my phone, drop it, and purposely to see how it will do and not one scratch on screen and little scratches on the side. Guess I just gotten lucky

Sent from my Moto G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
 

quizmaniac

Senior Member
Jan 11, 2014
62
16
Think you must have been unlucky and it has fallen at just the wrong angle,havant dropped mine but their are a few youtube vids around where it has survived a reasonable fall.
build quality seems decent for a budget unit.

one of the problems of buying a cheap phone is the cost of repair, its usually not worth doing as its almost the price of just replacing with a new phone.


If your unhappy by the product and the way your issue was dealt with then your quite right to keep away from moto products in the future..
 

eksasol

Senior Member
Nov 22, 2009
3,142
856
I've thrown my phone, drop it, and purposely to see how it will do and not one scratch on screen and little scratches on the side. Guess I just gotten lucky

Sent from my Moto G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Wow, you must have lots of spare money.
 
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jman1234

Senior Member
Aug 21, 2013
232
31
The only problem I've come across so far is that the play store hardly ever works. :/
 

Radiobuzz

Senior Member
Dec 4, 2011
55
18
Falls from greater heights are better because the phone has more time to rotate and land, hopefully, horizontally. Dropping it from a short distance to the ground increases the chance of it falling diagonally.
 

wolfen69

Senior Member
Feb 25, 2012
1,215
429
Woodstock, GA USA
I had the unfortunate situation occur of it falling, less than 2 feet I might add, from my bed onto the wooden floor. My first thoughts were, damn I should be more careful, but was incredibly shocked to find when picking it up that the screen was completely smashed.

See pics below

61Wf--XQvWL.jpg


trident-aegis-case-for-moto-g-blue-p43947-300.jpg
 

nocial

Member
Dec 31, 2013
8
0
Ottorbox provides good protection but adds too much bulk to the phone. I have an amzer tpu case on my moto g.

Sent from my XT1033 using Tapatalk
 

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  • 18
    1) Sometimes it is not the height, but the angle of you dropped the phone. I also had a Nexus One shattering its screen from a minor fall, but my other HTC, LG and Motorola phones survive drops that are much taller. Also Moto G has the latest Gorilla Glass 3; I honestly doubt if it had been any other phone it would fare any better. And if you have a shatter iphone screen, it cost a lot more than 70 quid to fix it.

    2) Welcome to real life kid. If I drive a car with problems into a repair shop, I will be charged even without any fixes being performed. It is called labour, shipping and handling, and whatever. Motorola is not under any obligation to mail your phone back for free. Motorola employees who opened your package, logged the item, performed a visual inspection are not volunteers.

    3) You are absolutely right to be ticked off when you were quoted £59 and then £71. I would be. You absolutely have the right not to buy any future products. It is called poor customer services on their part.

    These are separate issues. But for its price, Moto G has no comparison in terms of build quality.
    5
    I've had a pretty bad experience with my Moto G, so thought I'd leave a friendly warning for anyone on the fence about this phone, or even for those who already own one. I ordered one of these from Tesco about a month ago for £129. After 2 weeks of taking perfectly good care of it as I do with all my devices, I had the unfortunate situation occur of it falling, less than 2 feet I might add, from my bed onto the wooden floor. My first thoughts were, damn I should be more careful, but was incredibly shocked to find when picking it up that the screen was completely smashed.

    Having owned many smart phones over the years, they have all at one time or another taken a fall far greater than this, yet this is the first time I've ever had a screen smash on me. Still in shock at how it could break so easily I did some research online, got some contact information for Motorola, who replied giving me a number for the repair center. I phoned them and was given a quote of £59. Feeling annoyed at the price, I still decided to send it off, thinking that despite how easily it had broken, it had still fallen and Motorola had only my word that it was less than 2 feet.

    A few days later I received the quote through the post, for £71, with a £15 charge if I decided I didn't want to go through with it and wanted the phone back, otherwise they destroy it. This almost felt like holding my phone ransom. Still, none of this is what I'm here to warn you about, the biggest problem I had with this situation, and the reason I'll never purchase a Motorola phone again, is the responses I got when contacting Motorola again. Being unhappy about being charged more than I was originally quoted on the phone plus a ransom fee if i wanted the phone back un-repaired, I e-mail Motorola again to complain, firstly about the cost, secondly about the structural weakness of the phone, that something was clearly wrong for it to smash so easily.

    They responded with a very frank reply saying the Moto G is not shock or knock proof and was never advertised as being so, they also claimed the repair price is standard and correct, but didn't bother explaining why I was lied to on the phone. I then replied explaining that I knew full well it wasn't advertised as shock/knock/bullet proof, but that there are basic levels of durability that you expect when buying something, they are not advertised because they are common sense and taken for granted, and the Moto G didn't come close to meeting them, whether I had a dodgy unit or it's the whole range. They replied saying the Moto G is a "budget device", and that it's "not capable of withstanding any knocks whatsoever".

    I made it very clear in my messages about how easily the screen shattered, and they are saying they are ok with that, it's expected, and basically saying you get what you pay for, so be warned, you might think you're getting a bargain, as I did, but as Motorola were keen to point out, if you pay a budget price for a phone, expect it to fall apart at the slightest knock.
    2
    Hahaha.. I have dropped my device from my houses roof height while I'm trying to paint the roof.. Nothing happens and still working.. I'm also used so many cellphones including high end and low end.. And I never find a device's warranty that covering physical crashes. As smartphone technician I've repaired apple 5s last week.. The owner was covered by Apple warranty and special extended warranty.. But composing said that they can't do anything with physical crashes.. So , its not a problem... as technician I am very happy with its build quality and performance..

    Sent from my XT1033 using xda app-developers app
    2
    Your mileage may vary I have dropped my lady moto g a few times so has she our only issue with the phone is our network and at times the radios itself.

    KitKat slo"g" slide

    My problem isn't necessarily that the phone broke, although obviously that is a problem, the issue is with Motorola itself, fully understanding how easily the screen cracked, treating the situation though it's expected to break, and then using the price to justify how incredibly fragile the build quality was.

    I have no problem posting their e-mails here if anyone want to see them in full to see how frank they are about the lack of quality of the Moto G because it's "budget" I was a little shocked by them, so told them if this really is their attitude the public deserves to know, and they welcomed me to share "my opinion" with people, so I'm sure they'd welcome we posting their responses here if anyone is interested.
    2
    Wow, you must have lots of spare money.

    No just that the phone to me is built solid. Not saying if I drop it again it won't shatter the screen. But I've been lucky....

    Sent from my XT1034 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app