[FAQ] Frequently Asked Questions for the Motorola Moto G 2015 [Initial: 28/11/15]

[HTCDreamOn]

[SIZE=+3]Frequently Asked Questions[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+2]Motorola Moto G 2015 [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]a.k.a Moto G3[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=+1]This a short list of frequently asked questions in this device forum and the answers often given as a response. It should serve as a starting point for gathering knowledge and finding solutions to many common problems. Please only post in this thread with feedback on how to improve this document. Do not post "Thank you" type responses. If you have additional questions or require more help, try to find an existing thread or create your own. Do not use this as a general help thread.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=+1]Q1: Which Moto G 2015 variant do I own?[/SIZE]

To find out which variant you own, power off your phone. Now, hold down power+vol. down at the same time. You are now in bootloader mode; look for the fourth line down beginning "Product/Variant:". The code beginning "XT" (e.g. XT1541") is your variant. Press the power button once to reboot.

The following is a list of all the regional variants. See the original source below for frequency band support:

XT1540: Single-SIM (Retail US | Canada (Telus) | Latin America (Tigo, Movistar Mexico))
XT1541: Single-SIM (Retail EU | GB | SP | FR | GER)
XT1542: Single-SIM (Retail Latin America (Movistar Columbia))
XT1543: Dual-SIM (Retail Brazil | Latin America)
XT1544: Dual-SIM with Digital TV (HDTV) (Retail Brazil | Latin America)
XT1548: Single-SIM (US - CDMA Prepaid)
XT1550: Dual-SIM (Retail Asia | India)
XT1556: Dual-SIM (Turbo Edition)

Source: Variants of Moto G (3rd Gen), @lost101​

[SIZE=+1]Q2: Where's the Notification LED? Is it hidden, and how do I enable it?[/SIZE]

As with previous Moto G versions, there is a hidden LED under the plastic earpiece in the top bezel.

You can enable it as a charging LED only using this root app. No progress seems to have been made to enable notification lights yet.​

[SIZE=+1]Q3: What sensors are in my Moto G?[/SIZE]

Main sensors inside:

• Dual Accelerometer
• Magnetic field sensor
• Orientation sensor
• Ambient light sensor
• Proximity sensor

Major sensors missing:

• Gyroscope

The main functionality missing due to the lack of gyroscope is Photosphere.​

[SIZE=+1]Q4: Can I use a 64GB+ MicroSD card?[/SIZE]

Yes, as long as it's formatted to FAT32.​

[SIZE=+1]Q5: How do I unlock my bootloader? Is this safe?[/SIZE]

Firstly, you need the Android SDK installed to use fastboot. I will not tell you how to do this here as many guides exist on XDA already.

Unlocking your bootloader voids the warranty. Other than that, the warnings Motorola gives mainly pertain to what you may do to your advice after unlocking the bootloader, for example flashing TWRP then flashing random stuff you don't understand. Unlocking the bootloader itself will not harm your device (I don't have room for a discussion of exploits here).

To actually unlock your bootloader, simply follow the Motorola guide. The process includes receiving an unlock code from Motorola, therefore do not bother following any other unofficial guides.​

[SIZE=+1]Q6: How do I install TWRP to flash fun things like ROMs?[/SIZE]

To begin flashing ROMs and kernels, etc., you need TWRP which is a custom recovery for Android. Read this and have a look at the TWRP website for more info if you are unsure at this point.

First of all you must follow Q3 above to unlock your bootloader. Once unlocked, read on...

Thanks to @squid2 you simply need to download his compiled image and flash using fastboot. Proceed to his thread here to download the latest binary build, "twrp-osprey-2.8.7-r4.img", from the "Downloads" tab, then follow his instructions for flashing the recovery.

A word of advice: I strongly recommend temporarily booting any images (be it recoveries or kernels) you are about to flash to your device. This is simply a case of using the command "fastboot boot blahblah.img" whether blahblah.img is a recovery or kernel.

There are many ways to boot into recovery. Firstly you can boot into bootloader with power+vol. down then select recovery with the volume buttons and press power to boot; The command "adb reboot recovery" on your computer if you have adb set up; By installing a terminal emulator from the market, then typing the commands "su" followed by "reboot recovery"; There are reboot apps on the market with advanced boot options also.​

[SIZE=+1]Q7: How do I root my Moto G?[/SIZE]

This is primarily for stock ROM users as I believe most custom ROMs are rooted by default.

First of all you must follow Q3 and Q4 (in that order) to unlock your bootloader and flash TWRP. Once TWRP is installed, read on...

Download SuperSU here and place on internal storage or microSD card. Take a look here for more info on SuperSU. Now simply boot to recovery (see Q5) and flash the zip by pressing the "Install" button and locating the SuperSU zip file. Now reboot and open the SuperSU app.​

[SIZE=+1]Q8: I need a factory image (stock rom)! Where can I find these?[/SIZE]

Look in @lost101's thread, [INDEX][Osprey] Moto G Factory Firmware Images, and refer to Q1 above to find out which one you need.​

[SIZE=+1]Q9: My Moto G is quiet, how do I boost the volume?[/SIZE]

Refer to @hp420's thread: [Mod] Native volume boost - no apps needed! mixer_paths.xml​

[SIZE=+1]Q10: Where can I find custom ROMs and kernels?[/SIZE]

Check out my own Osprey Oracle.​

*​

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This FAQ is part of a Recognized Contributor Group Initiative. Please look for a similar FAQ thread when visiting another device forum.
A special thanks to everyone who contributed to the production of this FAQ​

 

[HTCDreamOn]

reserved

 

[HTCDreamOn]

and again

 

[banerjeeayan1996]

[SIZE=+1]Q10: Where can I find custom ROMs and kernels?[/SIZE]

@banerjeeayan1996 has compiled a list of all the custom ROMs and kernels available in this thread: [Moto G(3rd gen)]Link Catalogue. It is not 100% up-to-date (e.g. it's missing CM13) but unless it is not updated for a significant time I will keep the link here. Other useful threads are linked within it also; have a browse.​

*​

Sorry for the trouble i have updated the guide now with cm13.
Please change the line about not updated.

 

[HTCDreamOn]

Sorry for the trouble i have updated the guide now with cm13.
Please change the line about not updated.

Ahh! Please don't quote the whole OP! I'll edit mine if you edit yours this thread should be easily readable.

 

[banerjeeayan1996]

Ahh! Please don't quote the whole OP! I'll edit mine if you edit yours this thread should be easily readable.

Ok sorry and thanks for updating.

 

[im_manisharma]

Motorola apps ( like in camera app slow motion video recording not working ) not work properly with cm 13 plzzz compile it for cm 13

 

[Yousvel]

Motorola apps ( like in camera app slow motion video recording not working ) not work properly with cm 13 plzzz compile it for cm 13

Remember cm13 is still in early stage.

 

[webvan]

Thanks for the thread. Is there one for "tips" possibly ? I'm wondering for instance if there's a way to use either of the two gestures to launch other apps than the Flashlight or the camera. Like turning the G3 on and off for instance, thanks!

 

[HTCDreamOn]

Thanks for the thread. Is there one for "tips" possibly ? I'm wondering for instance if there's a way to use either of the two gestures to launch other apps than the Flashlight or the camera. Like turning the G3 on and off for instance, thanks!

Not yet, all questions have to be asked in a new thread at the moment. Might make a help thread in the future but certainly no time right now, I'll speak to other RCs/ mods to check that's the way forward though or if they'd rather stick to just making new threads for every question.

This thread is not meant as a tips thread though. I may add a few if they're oft-requested however.

As for your q I'm not sure, the moto app can't but check out lmt gestures and other 3rd party gesture apps. The dual accelerometer thing is quite unique however so you may not find anything.

 

[fastleo63]

I recently purchased a XT1541 for my wife.
I always had rooted phones for apps like Greenify and AdAway. My OnePlus One has an unlocked bootloader, but is still under warranty.
So my quick and dirty question. Seems to me that there's NO way to gain root access on a Moto G3 without unlocking its bootloader (and voiding warranty). Is it true? Anyone can confirm that?
Thank to all of you and a happy new year!

 

[HTCDreamOn]

I recently purchased a XT1541 for my wife.
I always had rooted phones for apps like Greenify and AdAway. My OnePlus One has an unlocked bootloader, but is still under warranty.
So my quick and dirty question. Seems to me that there's NO way to gain root access on a Moto G3 without unlocking its bootloader (and voiding warranty). Is it true? Anyone can confirm that?
Thank to all of you and a happy new year!

This thread isn't a help thread, please post questions as a new thread in this forum. A quick Google would show you can't root without unlocking the bootloader as the kernel is too new for exploits such as towel root.

So yes, unlock the bootloader using the steps in the op.

 

[1dtms]

please delete this post. ty

 

[FireLord]

One question
I want to make custom roms for our device. Well we have cm roms and I really appreciate the work done by the devs.

I can not root my device because its my parents phone so they will not allow me.

Wanna ask anybody can test my builds?

EDIT: I think cm is good enough. Because everyone loves cyanogeod more then any other roms like omni slims etc.
Apologies for posting this.

Regards
FireLord

 

[ExaHamza]

Why CM?
We have CM already for our device!
Probably you better try MUI 7.1 or LeWa OS, something different based on Stock ROM is welcome!
And you have my help for that if you want!

 

[shahfaishal]

I want to buy Moto G 3rd generation indian phone. Please tell me is there official cm rom available for it or not.
Also, link me the xda forum for moto g 3rd gen.
thanks

 

[su35]

After flash the SuperSU (BETA-SuperSU-v2.67-20160121175247) and reboot, my phone stop on warning bootloader unlocked screen. What can I do now? Is anybody can confirm the working version of the twrp and supersu? Model: XT1540

 

[ExaHamza]

After flash the SuperSU (BETA-SuperSU-v2.67-20160121175247) and reboot, my phone stop on warning bootloader unlocked screen. What can I do now? Is anybody can confirm the working version of the twrp and supersu? Model: XT1540

Which version of TWRP!

---------- Post added at 09:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:51 PM ----------

I want to buy Moto G 3rd generation indian phone. Please tell me is there official cm rom available for it or not.
Also, link me the xda forum for moto g 3rd gen.
thanks

Yes is available! And you're in his forum!!

 

[su35]

Which version of TWRP!

Thanks for your reply. The TWRP is 3.0. It looks like the supersu will modify the system files, I flash a wrong version of supersu. Now, I just flash a stock rom.

 

[mven45]

Which model is the developer edition?