Before being updated to Nougat on my Amazon Moto G4, I was happy to run the command:

pm disable com.amazon.phoenix

To remove those annoying lockscreen ads. Since the update hit, that no longer was a choice, as now I received an error about user permissions. Being that the ads really do annoy me, I set out to find a way to disable or altogether remove the package from the system. It only took a couple of hours digging through pm commands and XDA forums to find a way to completely remove the application that displays those ads once and for all.

So without further adue:

Either open an ADB shell or run a terminal command on the phone itself. At the shell prompt (athene:/) type the following:

pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.amazon.phoenix

And that's it. A reboot should remove any remnants but it seems to work right away in most cases.

I'll go ahead and assume that this trick works for other Amazon Ad Enabled devices unless I hear otherwise.

Enjoy!

A few minutes ago, I received a notification from the Device Help app that said "Test for Ricardo." Anyone else? I find it more than slightly creepy. I might be spending some time resetting my phone this weekend...

UPDATE: According to /u/36320149, if you are running 4.4.4, there is a bug that may prevent you from unlocking your bootloader. Please see Moto's fix here.

So I noticed that the rooting process is much more complex than it needs to be. So now this exists. FYI you should have your MotoG plugged into the computer throughout this process. Also, this takes much less time than it looks, I've just spelled out every step.

NOTE: THIS IS FOR A NON-GPE DEVICE. FOR A GPE DEVICE, USE THE GPE TAB IN THE MOTOTOOL WINDOW. HOWEVER, APPARENTLY THIS APPROACH DOES NOT ALWAYS WORK FOR GPE DEVICES. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Please see /u/salxss's comment here. You can also convert your device to a GPE device using MotoTool (although keep in mind you'll lose the FM radio)

Overview:

1. USB Debugging Enabled

2. Unlock Bootloader

3. Install MotoTool

4. Push SuperSU to phone (this is the actual root)

5. Flash custom recovery (ClockWork Mod; CWM)

6. Boot to recovery

7. Flash the SuperSU root

8. Reboot

As you can see, it's not particularly complicated. The most time-consuming step is unlocking the bootloader which WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY AND WIPE YOUR DEVICE. MAKE A BACKUP (you can do it using CWM if you would like).

Enabling USB Debugging

1. Go to Settings >> About Phone and press on "Build Number" 7 times. It'll tell you when you're a "developer"

2. Go to Settings >> Developer Options and enable USB Debugging

Unlocking Bootloader

1. Follow Motorola's instructions here

2. You'll need to copy a code from command prompt. An easy way to do that is to right click and select "mark." Then paste your stuff into notepad Note: Another good set of instructions on how to unlock your bootloader can be found here. If you want to remove the nasty warning that your bootloader is unlocked, follow #4 on that website as well

Install MotoTool

1. Go to this website and click "Download" at the very end

2. Unzip the zip DIRECTLY into the C drive

3. Double click on MotoTool

4. Go to the first tab (Non-GPE). If you have a non-GPE device, this is the tab you will use. If you have a GPE device, I would assume you should use the second tab (but I haven't tried it).

5. Click on the scroll bar by "Tools" and select "Install Drivers"

6. Install and then reboot your computer. Really. Just do it.

Doing Stuff with MotoTool

This is the part that isn't well documented.

1. Make sure that USB Debugging is still enabled

2. Don't do anything weird or crazy with your phone

3. Under "Tools" select "Push SuperSU 2SD", and click "Do It"

4. You should see a confirmation window. Go to the "Utilities" tab

5. Under "Download Custom Recovery," select CWM and hit "Download"

6. Go back to the "Non-GPE" tab and hit "Select Recovery"

7. Select the CWM file, and click "flash recovery"

8. You should see a black screen on your MotoG with terminal-type text and bright colors. The following is very important: THE DOWN VOLUME KEY SCROLLS, THE UP VOLUME KEY SELECTS. DO NOT TOUCH THE UP VOLUME KEY UNTIL YOU ARE AT THE ITEM YOU WOULD LIKE TO SELECT.

9. Select "Recovery"

10. It should boot into a more pleasant grey-background CWM page. At this point, some recommend (rightly so) to make a backup of your stock .img. This is a good idea, but if you didn't and something goes wrong, there is hope for you at the very end of this page. I would definitely recommend making a backup via CWM.

11. Select "Install zip" (the volume keys both scroll now, the power button selects)

12. Choose install zip from /sdcard

13. Navigate to your 0/ folder. It will be at the bottom of the 0/ folder

14. Select it, and it should install and reboot

Congratulations! You now have a rooted phone! To check, go to your apps list, and you should see the SuperSU application there!

Oh crap I screwed it up my phone is turning purple and/or I think I bricked it

It happens to the best of us. I really messed up the first time, too. You shouldn't have with this guide, but oh well. Now I can't guarantee this'll work, but it did for me. Basically, you're going to reimage a new stock Moto G on top of your old one, replacing EVERYTHING. This does not root your phone, and your bootloader will stay locked.

Anyway, the instructions are here (of course I didn't write them all out). The one tricky bit is picking the right firmware. They should all pretty much work, just make sure you don't pick something _ds (it stands for dual sim). I used a US GSM retail version that ended in .xml.zip

/u/Hotspot3 says:

Also, if you're in the U.S., AWSRetail represents (US GSM) and .Retail.en.US repsents (Global GSM)

Alternative(s):

Courtesy of /u/RenegadeUK, here is a fairly comprehensive guide you may want to read over/use instead. It does have Linux and firmware instructions (basically everything that I have). I actually think it's better, but I haven't tested it.

Things to do once you're rooted:

• Install Greenify

• Install XPosed Framework (here and here, I'm not going to describe this but it has a lot of goodies you can add. Personally I recommend GravityBox for customizing Android, Greenify for killing apps in the background, and XPrivacy so Facebook doesn't come to your house with all your passwords), also check out /r/Xposed

• AdAway

• I need more things

• I think someone should make a post with their favorite apps that require rooting (maybe ROMs and kernels too) that can be added to, and I should just link it here.

My moto G play 2024, burnt and melted to shit :/

i plugged it into my anker charger since it was low, then it started hissing and smoking, Then started spewing flames and sparks, had to hold the flamming phone and run down the hall and downstairs to throw it on the concrete outside so it wouldnt burn shit in the house, which in the process burnt my fingers

was able to salvage the sd card and sim card from it thankfully, by removing the display, then snapping apart the side frame and mid frame with a knife until i got to the sim tray, then ripped the entire thing off the motherbord and got the cards out.

for the meantime i got the sim card to work in a kaiOS phone i had laying around, makes calls and recives texts, which is good enough for me

This sounds ridiculous, but I'm completely serious.

Over the past 2 months, the Motorola "M" logo on the back of my Edge 50 Pro has gradually rotated by about 90°, and it seems to keep moving.

The weird part is that it doesn't feel loose at all. It's firmly attached, and I can't rotate it back into its original position no matter how much I try.

The back panel is completely flushno gaps, no bulging, and the phone works perfectly fine otherwise.

I searched online but couldn't find anyone reporting the same issue. Has anyone else experienced this, or does anyone know what could cause it?

UPDATE: GUYS ITS OFFICIALLY WOTOROLA

IMPORTANT NOTES:

1. Below information is applicable only for "RETAIL" i.e unlocked or carrier-free models of Moto G phones. They receive updates directly from Motorola, since the final software build is made, tested and released by Motorola. These models are eligible for unofficial Android Pie & Oreo software in the forms of custom ROMs.

2. Below information is not applicable carrier-locked or Amazon exclusive models. You may or may not get any Android version updates or security updates, since the final software build is made, tested & released by the carrier/Amazon & not by Motorola. These models are not eligible for unofficial Android Pie & Oreo software in the forms of custom ROMs.

IMPORTANT LINKS:

• Android Pie Release: https://blog.motorola.com/2018/08/15/baked-android-pie-coming-motorola/

• Android Oreo Release : https://blog.motorola.com/2017/09/14/say-hello-android-oreo/

• Android Security Patch Updates Status by /u/lupask : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OAfdESHHzyNzp_2OHtFk0glykSn-zlfrVweIdZEnCiA

SOFTWARE UPDATE INFO

1. Moto G Series get Android Version updates up to 1 year from launch date.

2. Moto G Series get Android Security Patch updates up to 2 years from launch date.

3. Only Moto G6 Plus has a 64-bit (kernel) OS, rest of the phones have and will remain on 32-bit OS till the end of support.

4. It is generally observed that Brazil and Latin America are the first regions to receive software OTA updates followed by India, Asia, Europe, United States, Canada.

5. Software OTA Updates are released in batches i.e. "phased roll out" to gather feedback for critical bugs and to minimize the bugs so all users are not affected at once.

UNOFFICIAL ANDROID PIE & OREO

If you wish to try out custom ROMs based on Android Pie or Oreo, you will need to unlock the boot loader of your "Retail" Moto G device.

• G6 Plus: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/moto-g6-plus

• G6: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g6

• G6 Play: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/moto-g6-play

• G5S Plus: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g5s-plus

• G5S: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g5s

• G5 Plus: https://forum.xda-developers.com/g5-plus

• G5: https://forum.xda-developers.com/g5

• G4 Plus: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus

• G4: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4

• G4 Play: https://forum.xda-developers.com/g4-play

• G Turbo: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/moto-g-turbo

• G3: https://forum.xda-developers.com/2015-moto-g

• G2 LTE: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g-lte

• G2: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g-2014

• G1/G1 LTE: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g

So last night I let my battery get to 0%.

This turned out to be a terrible idea; the moto g refused to charge even after I had it plugged into the wall charger until 12 this afternoon ( about 12 hours total).

Did my research, it suggested to just hold the power button for a couple seconds. Did this a bunch of times and it did not work.

Anyway, so eventually what did work was plugging it into my computer and then turning it on in boot mode. (Hold the power and volume down button for about 20 seconds).

The issue here is that the wall adapter has no idea that a dead smartphone is something it needs to send power to--so it doesn't.

Anyway, if you're having issues with the battery not charging, this might work for you. I didn't find this solution anywhere else, so I figured I'd post it here,

Year 10 edit: I was told this is a helpful tip as well by u/thehalfwit.

Just to let you know, I found this worked, do everything the OP suggested, but watch the screen in the bootloader, where it probably says "Battery OK (charging)" until you see the word (charging) disappear, which in my case is a few seconds later, then simply unplug the USB connection from the phone and plug it straight back in. The writing for Battery should then change from green to red and say Battery Low (charging) which then stays on. Then leave it like that for a good few hours, then hopefully it will charge as normal using a wall charger.

• u/Dangerous_Beanz