Bagged yourself the new Motorola Moto G (3rd Generation)? Want to know how to get the most from your new mobile? Here’s our tips and tricks guide to the best Moto G features.
1. Copy over your old contacts, apps, messages and more with Motorola Migrate
The worst thing about switching phones is losing all of your old setup, but Motorola’s Migrate feature means you can copy over all of your important stuff – contacts, messages, photos, videos, music and even call logs. Note that if your old phone was an iPhone, you can only copy over contacts and calendar entries rather than the whole shebang.
If your old phone is an Android but not a Motorola, download Motorola Migrate onto it from Google Play. If it was a Motorola, this app should already be installed.
Next, open Motorola Migrate on your new Moto G and follow the simple steps. Select ‘Send data TO this device’ and then Android as your old phone type, then choose exactly what you want to copy over. Finally, allow Migrate to take over your WiFi connection.
Now, open Migrate on your old phone and tap ‘start’, and then scan the QR code that’s showing on your Moto G’s screen to begin transferring your files across. It might take a while if you’re shoving all of your videos and photos across, so be patient.
If your old phone was an iPhone, just open Motorola Migrate on your Moto G and select ‘Send data TO this device’ and then iPhone as your old phone type. Then, log in with your Apple credentials and follow the instructions to copy down your contacts.
2. Quickly switch profiles
If you’re about to head into a meeting, or settle someplace where you don’t want to be distracted by non-stop bleeping/vibrations, then simply turn on your Moto G and nudge the volume rocker on the right edge.
When the volume bar pops up, you’ll notice three icons above it: ‘None’, ‘Priority’ and ‘All’. All is the default setting, which allows every notification to buzz you. If you want total radio silence, then tap ‘None’ and you won’t be disturbed for anything – not even an alarm.
The middle-ground is ‘Priority’, which allows you to customise what notifications get through. Tap the cog icon and you can choose, for instance, that only calls are allowed to disturb you. You can then choose which calls to accept – all, or just calls from contacts, or even just calls from your favourites list. And you can also choose a time frame for your profile to automatically switch to Priority and then back again.
You can also use the Moto G’s built-in Moto assistant to prevent disturbances during your scheduled meetings. See the next tip for more info.
3. Get some proper rest at night, with no phone disturbances
Go to your apps and then tap the one called ‘Moto’. This is Motorola’s handy virtual assistant, whose best trick is keeping your phone from annoying you when you need some peace.
Agree to the terms and then tap ‘Assist’. You’ll notice you have a single activity to start with – ‘sleeping’ (which just happens to be our most favourite activity of all). Give that a poke and you can set up a window of time during the night when your phone’s screen stays off and only priority interruptions are allowed through (determined by yourself by tapping ‘Edit’ underneath the ‘Keep Quiet’ section.
If you head back to the main Assist screen and tap the purple circle with the plus sign in it, you can also set up other activities. This allows you to set up how the phone should act during meetings, which are automatically detected in your calendar.
4. Quickly load up the camera
If you spot something hilarious, like a cat riding a badger, you’ll want to take a photo in super-quick time before the moment passes. On the Moto G, that’s thankfully not a problem.
Just snatch the phone out of your pocket or bag, then give it a quick double-twist with your wrist. The camera app loads right up in less than a second, and then all you need to do is point and tap to shoot.
5. Find your way to the toilet at night
Another handy motion-based gesture is the ability to turn on the camera flash by double-chopping the Moto G through the air. Just clutch it in your hand, raise it up to your shoulder and then chop it downwards twice in quick succession, like you’re a demented serial killer hacking up lusty teens. The flash will pop on and you can find your way about in the dark.
Check out our full Moto G 2015 review below to see this in action (complete with horror sound effects and gushing blood).
Read next: Moto G vs Sony Xperia M4 Aqua vs Microsoft Lumia 640
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