Moto G5 plus

Moto G5 vs Moto G5 plus: the major differences between Moto G5 and Moto G5 plus

When Moto G5 (Moto G 2017) was announced. There were 2 products announced: Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus.

This makes some potential Moto G buyers confused: Moto G5 or Moto G5 Plus?

In fact Lenovo-owned-Motorola does not need to announce two Moto G models. They already have a comprehensive Moto line: Moto E, Moto G, Moto M, Moto Z and Moto X. In some regions, there is a Moto C as well.

But the trend is Lenovo and many other Android vendors still throw spaghetti on the wall to figure out what people want.

This guide will compare two phones, Moto G5 vs Moto G5 plus, to help you understand the differences between them.

Moto G5 vs Moto G5 plus: Moto G5 Plus is slightly larger and heavier

Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus share similar aluminum material. There are no difference in build quality, which is excellent among phones in this price range.

Although Moto G5 Plus is larger (5.2″ vs 5″) and heavier (155g vs 145g), the difference is only marginal.

The screens are also almost identical except the size.

Moto G5 vs Moto G5 plus: Moto G5 Plus performs better

When we talk about performance, Moto G5 Plus is a clear winner due to the faster and newer CPU used in Moto G5 Plus.

Moto G5 is equipped with the 28nm 1.4GHz Snapdragon 430; while Moto G5 plus comes with a 14nm 2G Hz Snapdragon 625.

The GPU in Moto G5 Plus is Adreno 506 (with Snapdragon 625), which is 2.6x faster than Adreno 505 (with Snapdragon 430) in Moto G5.

When you play some heavy games, you will feel the performance difference immediately.

But for daily tasks, you probably will not feel much difference.

Moto G5 vs Moto G5 plus: Moto G5 Plus has a better main camera

The 5MP front-facing camera in Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus is identical.

But the main camera (rear-facing) in these two phones is different.

In the paper, Moto G5 has a 13MP main camera. Moto G5 Plus has a 12MP camera.

You should not be fooled by the number of pixels. The main camera in Moto G5 Plus is far better actually.

The 12MP camera in Moto G5 Plus has a larger aperture of f/1.7 (vs f/2.0 in Moto G5). This means Moto G5 plus can take better pictures in low light … Read the rest

Official Moto G5 User Manual and Moto G5 Plus User Manual

This page offers official Moto G5 user manual and Moto G5 Plus user manual in different languages. You can download a copy or read online.

These user guides are for both Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus (Moto G 5th Gen, Moto G Plus 5th Gen).

You can find official user manual of older Moto G devices:

for Moto G4 user manual (Moto G 2016, including Moto G4, Moto G4 Play and Moto G4 Plus) in this page;
for Moto G3 user manual (Moto G 2015) in this page;
for Moto G 2nd Gen ( Moto G 2014) in this page; and
for Moto G 1st Gen (Moto G 2013) in this page.

Please use the correct user manual for your Moto G devices.

How to use official Moto G5 user manual and Moto G5 Plus user manual?

All Moto G5 user manuals and Moto G5 Plus user manuals are in PDF format. This means you can open them directly in Chrome browser if you read them online.

If you download the manuals to your PC or your Moto G5 (or Moto G5 Plus), you need a PDF reader app to open them.

You can get the official PDF reader for your PC or for Android devices.

To download the official user manual for Moto G5 user manual and Moto G5 Plus

on PC, right click the link, then click Save as to download the user manual of Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus.
on Android devices (e.g., Moto G5 or Moto G5 Plus), tap and hold the link, then tap Download link to download the user manual.

After you download the files, you can read them with any PDF reader app.

You can also print them from your PC if you want. You can also use wireless printing to print them from Moto G5 or Moto G5 Plus.

Download official Moto G5 user manual and Moto G5 Plus user manual in different languages

We will update the list once a new language of Moto G5 user manual and Moto G5 Plus user manual is available.

So, if you cannot find the language you want, you may check it back later.

1. Official user manual of Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus in English language (Moto G 2017 official user manual in English)

This English language version of the official user manual of Moto G5 … Read the rest

Moto G5 Plus SIM card guide

by simon 22 Comments

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:

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.
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.
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.
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

What’s new in Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus?

by simon 6 Comments

As expected, Moto G5 (Moto G 2017) and Moto G5 plus were announced in Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017. You can get one as early as in March 2017.

Unlike Moto G4 (Moto G 2016), there are no Play series for Moto G5. This does make sense.

Now, for Moto G fans, it is easier to make decisions: G5 or G5 Plus. We will post a detailed comparisons of Moto G5 and G5 plus later.

In this post, I will explain to you some desired new features and improvements (compared to Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus and Moto G4 Play) in Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus.

For detailed features, please check the official user manual of Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus

Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus are smaller

Moto G5 has a 5-inch full HD display and G5 Plus has a 5.2-inch display (full HD as well).

This means G5 and G5 plus are smaller than last year’s Moto G4 and G4 Plus (both are 5.5″).

The physical dimensions of Moto G5 and G5 Plus actually are comparable to the size of Moto G4 Play.

Lenovo didn’t give any explanation or justification on the scaling back in display. If you prefer big display, you may skip Moto G5.

Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus got a metal finish with aluminum backcover

Lenovo tried hard to give you a premium feeling on Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus with full metal design.

The backcover is no longer plastic as in all previous generations of Moto G phones. Moto G5 and G5 Plus got an aluminum backcover.

It seems we will see more and more all-metal or metal-glass middle-range phones.

Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus come with near-stock Android Nougat

Motorola was applauded for offering near-stock Android with fast update.

It seems Lenovo kept this practice in Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus. Both phones have Android Nougat 7.0 pre-installed.

Furthermore, Google Assistant was also available in both phones.

Both G5 and Moto G5 Plus have fingerprint reader below the screen

Fingerprint sensor can be found in G5 and Moto G5 Plus.

And the fingerprint sensor was placed in the front of the phone below the display.

This is different from the implementation in Moto G4 Plus, which got a fingerprint sensor in the back.

Fingerprint sensor in Moto G5 and G5 Plus can replace the default

… Read the rest

How to remove Moto G back cover?

Why you must remove Moto G back cover

For Moto G (including Moto G 2nd Gen), the SIM card slot is under the back cover. So, to insert SIMcard, you must remove Moto G back cover.

In addition, the micro SD card slot in Moto G 2014 is also under the back cover. You have to remove the Moto G back cover to put in your SD card.

However, for many new Moto G or Moto E owners, it can be frustrating to find the correct way to remove Moto G back cover due to Motorola’s unique design for the back cover.

You cannot peel off the Moto G back cover.

Please follow this guide if you want to remove Moto G back cover properly. Otherwise, you may damage the back cover.

How to remove Moto G back cover? (for Moto G and Moto G2, Moto G3, Moto G4, and Moto G5)

Step 1: Power off your Moto G

It is recommended to remove Moto G back cover only when the phone is powered off.

To power off Moto G, press and hold the power button and follow the on-screen instructions.

Step 2: Turn Moto G upside down

You need to turn Moto G upside down so that the USB port is facing up. This is the most comfortable orientation to take off Moto G back cover.

Anyway, Motorola designs it in this way.

Step 3: Put your finger in the USB charging port, as shown below.

Step 4: Press your thumb of the hand in the centre of the back (Motorola logo), as shown below.

You need to use two hands to remove Moto G back cover.

You also need to press the Motorola logo hard (apply some force, not just put the thumb there) so that it is easy to pry the cover off.

Step 5: Pry the cover off.

Please remember it is not necessary to use any tools to remove Moto G back cover. Such tools may damage the cover or internal parts

If you still have problems to take off Moto G back cover, you may check this official video.

How about Moto E back cover?

Moto E back cover shares a similar design of Moto G back cover.

So, you can remove Moto E back cover with the identical method mentioned on this page.

This applies to both Moto E and Moto E … Read the rest

How to use dual SIM cards on Moto G?

Update: 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?

By 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:

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

How to use Moto G automatic SIM selection?

Moto 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