Moto G Phone Guide

Dual SIM

Moto G8 Plus vs Moto G8 Play: Differences and common features

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Moto G8 Plus vs Moto G8 Play: Differences and common featuresMotorola announced and released Moto G8 Plus, and Moto G8 Play in October 2019, without Moto G8, which will be very likely announced in February 2020. But what are the differences of  Moto G8 Plus vs Moto G8 Play?

Apparently, Moto G is the most valuable brand asset of Motorola now: Moto X is dead; Moto Z is dying, Moto C has gone, and Moto E is struggling.

Will Moto G save Motorola?

Motorola (Lenovo) cannot wait until 2020. So, they released “part” of Moto G8 for this holiday season. Remember, Moto G7 was just released earlier this year.

Of course, many potential buyers are wondering about the differences between Moto G8 Plus and Moto G8 Play.

This Moto G guide first explains the common features of Moto G8 Plus and Moto G8 Play, then discusses the top 10 differences of Moto G8 Plus vs Moto G8 Play.

The official user manual for Moto G8 Plus and Moto G8 Play is now available here.

Update: Motorola now has a total of 9 Moto G models for the 8th Gen of Moto G. A comparison of all these nine Moto G phones is detailed in this post. You may check this guide on the meaning of Moto G model names.

Moto G8 Plus vs Moto G8 Play: the common features

Moto G8 Plus and G8 Play share similar dimensions with significantly different specifications.

As both bear the Moto G8 name, there are surely some common features.

Android Pie

Just like many other Android phones released this year, both Moto G Plus and Moto G8  Play come with Android Pie (Android 9.0).

Very likely, both phones will get the Android 10 update. But based on the recent track record of Motorola’s Android update, you will have to wait at least one year for the Android Pie.

4000mAh battery

The battery capacity in Moto G8 Play and G8 Plus is 4000mAh.  It should be able to last one full day for most users. All the latest Moto G phones (e.g., Moto G 2024) have a 5000mAh battery.

The massive battery can also be used as a power bank to charge other devices because both phones use a USB-C port.

micro SD card support

Similar to previous generations of Moto G, Moto G8 Play and Moto G8 Plus support micro SD card.

So, you can insert a micro SD card to … Read the rest

How to install Moto G5 SIM card?

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Many Moto G5 owners failed to install SIM card in Moto G5 due to vague illustration in Moto G5 user manual.

This Moto G guide shows you how to install Moto G5 SIM card(s) and micro SD card correctly.

What’s the difference in SIM card slot for Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus?

One of the major differences between Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus is the removable battery in Moto G5.  Of course, Moto G5’s back cover is also removable.

This results in different design of the SIM card slots in Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus.

As explained in Moto G5 Plus SIM card guide, Moto G5 Plus features a removable SIM card/SD card tray.

But in Moto G5, the SIM card slot and micro SD card slot are under the back cover. There is no removable SIM card tray in Moto G5.

This means you must remove the back cover to install Moto G5 SIM card (and micro SD card as well).

For SIM card size for Moto G5, as explained in this post, Moto G5 and Moto G5 plus both use nano SIM card.

How to install Moto G5 SIM card?

Moto G5 has two versions: single SIM version and dual SIM version depending on your region.

The dual SIM version of Moto G5 (and G5 plus) is dual standby only. If you need to keep both SIM cards available at all times without missing any calls, please read How to make two SIM cards always available in dual SIM dual standby Android phones?

Unlike other dual SIM Android phones, Moto G5 has a dedicated micro SD card slot in both single SIM and dual SIM versions. This means you can use two SIM cards and a micro SD card concurrently in dual SIM version of Moto G5.

To install Moto G5 SIM card, you may follow these steps.

Step 1: Power off Moto G5

You must power off Moto G5 before installing SIM card.

You can hold the power button for 2-4 seconds and then follow the on-screen power option to power off Moto G5.

Step 2: Remove Moto G5 back cover

After Moto G5 is powered off, you can now remove the Moto G5 back cover.

As shown below, you can gradually peel off the back cover starting from the small gap (groove) in the bottom of the phone.

You … Read the rest

Moto G5 Plus SIM card guide

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The correct SIM card size for Moto G5 Plus is nono-SIM.  This guide explains to you how to use the Moto G5 SIM card tray, how to insert or remove SIM card for Moto G5 Plus.

Please note, the SIM card slots in Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus are totally different. This guide is for Moto G5 Plus SIM card. For Moto G5 SIM card, please check this guide.

If you want to learn other features of Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus, you may check the official user manual of Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus.

Why you need a SIM card for Moto G5 Plus?

SIM card is not a requirement for Moto G5 Plus and most Android phones.

But without a SIM card, you will not be able to make calls, send text messages or use mobile data.  You probably then will not call it a phone.

Actually, if you do not need mobile services, you can get a decent tablet with bigger screen at an even cheaper price.

If you want to use Moto G5 Plus as a phone, you should get a SIM card from your phone company.

Moto G5 Plus SIM card size

There are different sizes of SIM card.

Over the years, there are 4 different sizes of SIM card for mobile phones:

  1. Full-size SIM card. Full-size SIM is often referred as 1FF (1st form factor). It is “giant” in size: 85.60 mm × 53.98 mm × 0.76 mm. It was phased out already. There are no Android phones using it.
  2. Mini-SIM (2FF) cars. Mini-SIM usually is referred to as “big” or “normal”  or “standard” SIM card in some countries. It measures in 25.mm x 15 mm x 0.76 mm. Mini-SIM card was just phased out in last 2 or 3 years. You can still find some old phones use this “normal” SIM card.
  3. Micro-SIM (3FF). Micro SIM is the most popular size of SIM card for smartphones. Most middle range and budget smartphones are using micro SIM card. In some regions, micro-SIM is referred as “small” SIM card.
  4. Nano-SIM (4FF). Nano-SIM is the smallest SIM card available for smartphone today. Most flagship smartphones requires nano-SIM. More and more middle-range phones also started to adopt this size SIM card.

Moto G5 Plus uses nano SIM card only. 

Prior to Moto G5 Plus,  all … Read the rest

How to use dual SIM cards on Moto G?

how-to-use-moto-g-dual-sim-card-customizationUpdate: if you want to make both SIM cards available at all times in dual SIM version of Moto G (all Moto G generations) so that you will not miss any calls (even when you are talking over one SIM card) , you may follow this guide to set up call forwarding and call waiting.

In some regions, Moto G supports dual SIM cards. In other words, you can use up to two SIM cards simultaneously.

But Moto G dual SIM (and Moto E, Moto X and Moto Z) phones are dual standby, NOT dual active. Please refer to this dual SIM Android phone guide on differences between dual standby and dual active in dual SIM phones.

For correct SIM card size for Moto G (Moto E and Moto X as well) and how to insert SIM card  into Moto G, please check this guide.

How to access Moto G dual SIM settings?

All the settings related to Moto G dual SIM cards can be accessed through Settings— Dual SIM settings.

You can choose icon colors for each SIM card, choose the SIM card used for mobile data.

Please note, only one SIM card can be used for 3G. The other one can only be on 2G.

If you are using one SIM card, you can ignore all setting here.  The settings here are only relevant to owners who are using two SIM cards on the Moto G.

How to get rid of the Moto G SIM card selection when making a call?

how-to-use-moto-g-dual-sim-card-sim-selectionBy default, when you dial a number, you will be asked for the SIM card to be used for that call. This is useful if you want to use different SIM cards for different numbers, and you need switch them frequently.

However, this can be annoying when you mainly use only one of the SIM cards for outgoing calls.

It is easy to designate one of the SIM card for all of your outgoing calls. You can go to Settings–Dual  SIM settings– Call settings, tap Making calls. Then you have 3 options:

  1. use SIM card 1
  2. use SIM card 2
  3. let you select each time (this is the default setting).

How to use Moto G  automatic SIM selection?

how-to-use-moto-g-dual-sim-card-automatic_sim-selectionMoto G also has a nice feature in dual SIM cards models for those who have to switch between SIM cards for outgoing … Read the rest