Motorola has a lot of good devices in the best-selling mid-range segment. The latest iteration of their G series is G8, with 4 different versions. Besides G8, G8 Play, and G8 Plus, the battery-oriented G8 Power is expected. Now, the Moto G8 Plus takes the sweet spot with the above-average battery, sturdy build, triple camera setup, and contemporary mid-range chipset. Today, we’ll be talking about common Moto G8 Plus issues and how to solve them.
There are no many issues reported at this time, which is expected for the Moto G series. However, in order to help out those in need, we made sure to list all common issues and provide applicable solutions.
Note: All the issues mentioned in this article are individually reported cases, which doesn’t mean any of the problems will occur on other devices. If you’re looking to buy this phone, DO NOT consider these problems.
Table of contents:
- Can’t format SD card as internal storage
- Low volume on headphones
- High volume on speakers
- Notification dots don’t work
- Battery draining fast
- Random shutdowns
- Bluetooth issues (when Wi-Fi is on)
- Picture-in-picture mode not working
- Ghost touch issues
- Bad call quality
- Contactless payments not working
- Common troubleshooting steps for the Moto G8 Plus
1. Can’t format SD card as internal storage
Although many OEMs deem external storage unnecessary these days, having an SD card slot is more than useful. Usually, users have a choice between formatting the SD card as standard external storage or as the internal storage. The latter allows for moving some third-party apps.
However, in comparison, to older iterations of Moto G series, the Moto G8 Plus doesn’t support SD card formatting as internal storage. We are not sure about exact reasons but that’s what Motorola decided.
2. Low volume on headphones
Motorola devices are overall great phones, especially the G series that are widely acclaimed in their price range. However, in our experience, while digging for reports about issues, we noticed that overall audio output is not the greatest.
The Moto G8 Plus seems to have two interesting problems, although this might fall to a software bug. Namely, the first problem is quite a low volume even on 100% on headphones. It seems that the audio output on the 3.5mm headphone jack is not the greatest in this segment.
Make sure to try with various headphones and, if the issue persists, reboot your device and give it another go. Finally, report the issue to developers and hope they address it in one of the upcoming patches.
3. High volume on speakers
A complete contrast to the previous headphone bug is the high volume of speakers even in the lowest settings. Everything points towards bad optimization of the maximum and minimum volume on this device.
Just like with the previous problem, there’s only so much you can do. You can try rebooting your device. Eventually, Motorola should address the problem and presenting your feedback should help.
4. Notification dots don’t work
Google introduced Notification dots on Android 8 Oreo and, since then, they are available on all Android 9 and Android 10 devices. Including the Motorola Moto G8 Plus. This feature allows for small notification dots to appear on Home Screen icons.
However, a few Moto G8 Plus users on Android 9 are unable to make Notifications dots work. Even when they are enabled within Settings. We recommend navigating to Settings > Apps and ensuring that each app has all notifications enabled. Of course, including Notification dots or notification badges.
If that doesn’t work, reboot your device. An alternative workaround is to install a third-party launcher and grant it the system access to Notifications. Many of them allow configuring notification dots (badges) in the same manner the system launcher does.
5. Battery draining fast
The 4000 mAh battery should be enough to take you through the day. Especially since the chipset on the Moto G8 Plus is more power-efficient than on its predecessors. Nonetheless, the initial longevity was cut short with sudden battery drainage that many users run into.
Besides lower SoT, users report battery depleting fast even when the device is idle and the screen is off. In case you are experiencing issues like this, especially after a monthly update, we have a few ways to help you out.
Here’s how to increase battery life on the Moto G8 Plus:
- Disable background apps. You can use a third-party app to do so.
- Make sure your signal is stable. We encourage all our readers to check available bands before purchasing devices. Bad network coverage leads to constant signal-hunting which leads to battery depletion.
- Disable Auto-brightness and set preferred brightness manually.
- Disable Location services and Bluetooth when you are not actively using them.
- Reset your device to factory settings.
- Check out our tips for preserving battery life on Android.
6. Random shutdowns
This one of the big Moto G8 Plus issues. It looks like a whole batch of Moto G8 Plus devices has a kernel flaw that causes multiple daily shutdowns. It seemingly occurs when the battery falls under 80%. Now, you can immediately ask for the replacement as many users already did since this affects only a limited number of devices. We recommend that approach.
On the other hand, if you want to try and fix it yourself before Motorola addresses it with updates, make sure to follow these steps:
- Update the OS.
- Boot into Safe mode and check for improvements.
- Enable Data saver.
- Disable Battery optimization.
- Reset the Moto G8 Plus to factory settings.
7. Bluetooth issues (when Wi-Fi is on)
Bluetooth issues on the Moto G8 Plus, based on reports, mostly occur when both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are enabled at the same time. But that’s not a rule of a thumb. Some users are experiencing frequent disconnecting from paired devices without any obvious reason.
Although, since Wi-Fi also has issues accessing access points when the Bluetooth is enabled so there’s that. For the time being, we can only suggest to keep your device up to date and temporarily stick to one or another (Wi-Fi or Bluetooth) if possible.
Alternatively, you can try these steps to resolve the issue with Bluetooth/Wi-Fi interference on the Moto G8 Plus:
- Remove pairing and establish it again. Navigate to Settings >Bluetooth and delete all paired devices. Pair the handset with the device again and try again.
- Reset Network Settings. Open Settings > System > Reset Network Settings.
- Disable Automatic pairing. Pair individually with a device when you want to use it.
- Boot into a safe mode and try connecting via Bluetooth.
- Update the system.
- Reset your phone to factory settings.
8. Picture-in-picture mode not working
The PiP mode is one of those handy multitasking features that made the media-consuming experience at least slightly better. However, if you want to use Picture-in-Picture with YouTube, you’ll need a premium subscription first.
The majority of other apps should work without any problems. With that in mind, we run into reports stating that PiP is not working on the Moto G8 Plus.
Now, if you have YouTube Premium or Picture-in-Picture doesn’t work on other apps, make sure to follow these steps in order to fix it:
- Open Settings. In the Setting Search bar, type Picture and open Picture-in-Picture permissions. Once there, make sure to grant permission to all apps you want to use with PiP.
- Clear cache and data from the affected apps.
- Give Draw over other apps permission to the affected apps.
- Reinstall the app that doesn’t work in the PiP mode.
9. Ghost touch issues
Ghost touch is something no one wants to experience. It’s hard to determine whether the system UI or an app is laggy or the display has a hardware-related issue.
The first thing you can do is boot your device in the Safe mode and check if the problem occurs. If there’s no ghost touch in Safe Mode, we suggest clearing cache and data from the affected apps.
On the other hand, if the ghost touch is persistent, make sure to remove the screen protector if you have it on. You can also try resetting the device to factory settings, although we can’t say with certainty that this procedure will help address the ghost touch issues on the Moto G8 Plus.
10. Bad call quality
This is another serious problem as Moto G8 Plus users reported that the call quality is not all that great. Namely, it seems that the other side can’t hear them all that well, even though they can hear the caller clearly. Now, the first thing to do is to ensure that you have a good network coverage or stable Wi-Fi (for VoIP calls) connection.
There’s not much you can do other than resetting APN settings, removing protective casing if it covers the mic or, eventually, resetting your device to factory settings.
11. Contactless payments not working
NFC payments (Google Pay) are of big importance in the lives of so many Android users around the world. And what’s worse than waiting in line to pay for the purchased goods and the device just won’t connect to a point-of-sale device.
If this happens, the first thing we recommend is removing the protective case, disabling Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Mobile Data (LTE). If that doesn’t help, double-check your credentials in the Google Pay app. Alternatively, reinstall the app and look for improvements.
12. Common troubleshooting steps for the Moto G8 Plus
Enter Developer Options
- Open Settings.
- Select System.
- Open About phone.
- Tap on Build number 7 times. You should get the message informing you that you are now a developer.
- Get back to the main menu of Settings and, at the bottom, you should see Developer options,
Boot into Safe Mode
- Press and hold the Power button to bring out the Power menu.
- Tap and hold on the Power off icon until you are prompted to enter Safe mode.
- Tap OK.
- To get out of Safe mode, just reboot your device again.
Reset Network settings
- Open Settings.
- Choose the Network & Internet.
- Tap on the 3-dot menu and choose Network settings reset.
- Choose to reset your Network settings.
- Confirm when prompted.
Reset the device to factory settings
Note: If you’re not entirely sure what you’re doing, check our article about resetting an Android phone to factory settings.
- First, navigate to Settings > System > Backup and back up all your settings and app data. Besides that, make sure to connect your device to a PC and back up all your media. You can also use Google Photos to backup all your photos from the device. You’ll need your Google Account password later.
- Once you are certain that everything can be safely deleted, in Settings > System > Advanced, choose Reset options.
- Select Erase all data (factory reset).
- Confirm the selection. Your device will reboot and after some time, you’ll start from scratch.
With that said, we can call it a wrap. Thank you for reading and we hope this was a helpful read. If you have additional Moto G8 Plus issues that are not on the list, make sure to tell us in the comments section below. We might be able to provide you with some insight on how to solve them.
Poor Call Quality Problem: Related to WiFi Calling?
Ordinary mobile call quality on weak mobile signals is worse on my Moto G8+ when “WiFi Calling” is enabled in the phone’s settings, even when there is no WiFi signal for miles: I can hear the other party clearly, but they cannot hear me at all.
There’s a suggestion that “4G Calling (VoiceOver 4G)” conflicts with “WiFi Calling” but my Moto G8+ does not provide a setting for disabling “4G Calling.”
Ghost touch. If there is a bit of liquid or other stuff on part of the screen, that can put things off as far as touch goes. But, a little liquid under a screen protector corner or side that is not sticking down, that will cause a lot of problems and a lot more ghost touches of things you didn’t touch, even when not touching the screen.
There tends to be also a problem with touching the side physical buttons or holding the phone tightly, affecting the buttons too.
I don’t think the phone is a good phone for reducing these. Put it that way.
A followup. If an equaliser has to be applied before compression stage. An app might be out there to do this, but most have done sort of spyware compromise.
When I say turn data off, that is cellular data, not wifi or Bluetooth.
Also, Bluetooth devices are often low quality, using low quality videos or equipment. If the Bluetooth devices and phone supports the better modes on the latest Bluetooth standard versions, that will help a lot.
There are a number of issues. I’m having call quality issues. Motorola used to have best call quality, with noise removal concentrating on the human voice.
There needs to be a selection to turn this on. They can do more advanced processing on pictures, they can do this. There is generally available processing on phones for this.
It is muffled/distorted on the other end. A little normally, but overhead fans and aircon make it go really bad, even if you can’t hear the overhead fan, it picks up the pulse. Noise that doesn’t map to the human voice based compression of phones, makes things default to low quality. A fan on se pulsing by.ight make it repeatedly drop down in quality. Even turning fans and aircon off in heat waves, is not an complete solution.
The issue is, that while a phone and the normal data path fur calls, might support higher quality call codecs, if one end had a cheap phone service provider, they might get drop back the call quality to lowest bandwidth between the two phones, through their network. Website talking about not just low quality 2400mb/s but half or quarter that (which I was aiming for in my own codec) which is too fragile to cope with noise on a phone call, it’s basically just good for recording and transmission. You will notice these calls are also one way at a time, if you talk or there is noise from your end, it blocks the other person on the other end
you land up blocking each other. But this is why you concentrate on engineering premium processed call quality, because life isn’t ideal. If the data on your phone is on, it also reduces the data available to phone calls. So turning data, off helps. Now, if you are using voice over internet Viop, over your router or phone, they also tend to drop the data rate and call quality right down, even if you pay a high price. See, If they are transferring a million calls over their network at once, it’s cheaper to do it at the 1200bps speed compared to 19,200bps both ways. The later is the minimum premium call quality you want. If you can’t hear complex music clearly and properly over a phone connection, the data rate is too low. Also, when congested with many calls in a peak period they may drop call quality. It also doesn’t matter what your equipment is transmitting at either end, the network can drop the quality down as it passes it around to the other caller, but repackage and deliver the still lowered quality call at the higher speed the other end is using, but no better quality. This s is a bit complex to understand, but I’m hoping Motorola might see this and do something. I usually send these things to the manufacturer to get them to often fix something, but I don’t know if I’ll get to it, as I’m not at my best today.
What would help at the moment, is an equaliser fur phone calls, to eliminate low frequencies (including the bottom end of speech as people with hearing loss, often have problems that can be immensely helped there, with the higher parts of a low pitch speaker still coming through, and high frequencies. This will remove a lot of background noise, as the problem areas we can deal with are below and above the human voice range. Now, if you adjust a equaliser to your voice, leaving the lower part of it reduced, if you are a low pitch speaker, you might get best call consistency.
My new Phone gives an alert sound Every 20 minutes ish. Very annoying there are no alarms set. Please help or will have to return
RE: 11. Contactless payments not workingThe G8 Plus comes in 2 variants, with the single difference that one is built without NFC (seriously, WTF).
I’m also experiencing a really weird issue where the notification sound is muted (get this!) ONLY on the Google Messages app. I’ve tried everything including factory reset, and nothing has rectified this.
I’m pretty sure it once worked. I bought the phone new, and after activating it, it downloaded several system upgrades (all in documented in Spanish!). I’m pretty sure one of these caused the problem. I’m currently at Android 9, Build: PPIS29.65-51-5, Kernel 4.14.98-perf+
I’ve have not found anyone else experiencing this issue. I would really appreciate a fix.
Phone is not going onto quick charge …. did work to begin with now takes approximately 7 hours to go from 8% to 65% . Have tried factory reset … lost all my data… using correct charger and changing sockets. Then changing to a comparable c charger which also didn’t work. Looking for a replacement phone as like the phone overall.