My Moto G4 Play (XT1607) Finally got Android Nougat (7.1.1)

I have a carrier unlocked Moto G4 Play (XT1607) which I purchased about a year ago. I've enjoyed the phone. I've really only had two issues: 1) an issue with speaker after a drop which I posted about here and 2) an issue with the GPS which seems generally sub-par, but was notably terrible on my last phone until I requested a replacement a few months ago, which I tweeted about.

This phone is notably better than the one it replaced, a Moto G LTE with 1GB memory and only two cpu cores, I think. The screen is bigger and the quality is similar or better. The extra ram and double internal storage really make a difference, as does the newer OS version.

The problem is that the phone was "promised" an update long ago...pretty much when I first got it. I actually considered the OS update potential before purchasing...so was pretty bummed when the update didn't roll out promptly. Not that Marshmallow (6.x) cause me any trouble, really. And, with Google decoupling much of their software from the OS so that search and assistant can get updates, I didn't really feel I was missing out on anything dire...but the update was promised! Each time I looked it up, someone in another country on another carrier had started rolling out the updates...but my version was carrier-unlocked and should get updates pretty soon...certainly before something with the additional bloat of Verizon, right?

Well, the day has arrived. My update finally came through. Aside a few changed icons and the option to split-window or use "on-body detection" to keep my phone unlocked (which I will probably at least try), it will probably not change my day to day use. It will probably allow me to continue considering Motorola/Lenovo products in the future, though. I'll take a late update over a lie, even though I hope this lax schedule doesn't become the norm. I'm tolerant of delays, but they should be the exception.

Now, that, is customer service (Thanks, Motorola Mobility!)

*edited 2012.12.11 for th link*
I hesitantly dipped my toes into the icy waters of smartphone sea last year. Despite my techie inclinations and interest in bleeding edge technologies, I'm a bell-curve purchaser. My frugal nature wins out 99% of the time.

For example, I am still rocking my AMD/ATI 3850* on a AMD 6400 (x2) BE system...and I, at one point, fancied myself a gamer. It, somehow, still gets the job done on my monstrous(/s) 19", 1280x1024 Hanns-G screen*. I did upgrade to 4 GB of RAM, Windows 7, and an SSD (64 GB) last Fall, but with the expectation of at least three more years before I perform a new build. At most, I'll upgrade my video card prior to that...but probably won't convince myself.

So, smartphones...yeah, my wife's LG Ally, bought used, has been acting up and I came across a steal on craigslist (not literally) -- $110 for a Droid 3 with a clean ESN. Met the guy after work and made the trade. Performed a couple of benchmarks where it handily wiped the floor with our current phones and traded blows with our ThinkPad. Not bad for the price. We are former Verizon users currently enjoying the drastic price reduction of Page Plus Cellular bills (roughly $60/mo now vs $130-$150 on Verizon with 'dumb' phones). Obviously, we have to buy our own phones now...and our data is limited (100MB/mo**), but on Verizon, we'd have to pay another $40-$50 to share data between our phones...so our change has been a welcome one. For the record, we each have enough data to check email / browse casually when out of wifi range, and, most importantly, use GPS functionality when necessary.

Check out your new phone, Wife. Oh, it was noth-...oh, the camera doesn't work? When clicking the camera app (or, any 3rd party variant), it simply displays a black screen and half-way locks up the phone until the app is closed? Balls.

I tinkered with the device...scoured forums, and it seems that this isn't a software issue. I was going to flash a new Rom -- try ICS or Jelly Bean on it, but hardware was, apparently, the culprit. Some others had success with hard-pressing the area around the camera. I didn't. I was about to take that thing apart...maybe replace the camera module myself (buy a broken screen / dirty ESN d3 on ebay?), but thought I'd check the warranty. Verizon was out of the question, since I wasn't a legit customer...but I decided to give Motorola a try. Long story short, I filled out the Warranty Service Request and am on my way to having a repaired/replaced Droid 3.

But, there is more. I had to ship my device to Motorola (reasonable, since there is no Motorola store near-by). They spelled everything out in the email: "ship without the back cover, the battery, the SIM card, any micro SD card you've inserted, and any accessories you've added." Easy enough, except that I can't follow instructions. I put the back cover on after I removed the essentials.

No problem, though. I didn't even realize I had made the mistake until I received the back of my phone in the mail today with a polite note saying "We know you failed to follow our instructions, but here's the back of your phone that you shipped us, anyway. Your phone should be there within a week. Take care."

Obviously, it would have been ideal if the camera didn't break to begin with (although, realistically, I'd not have been able to purchase it for $110 if that were the case). Or, for that matter, if the back could just be placed on the replacement/repaired phone prior to shipping it back...but I'm pretty impressed that Motorola will service the device and doesn't totally pawn their warranty services off on the carrier (Verizon).

If I don't get my phone back or it comes back still broken, I'll be a little sad...but, for now, I'm a little more happy with Motorola Mobility than I guessed I would be and hope Google does good things with them.

* my monitor died (5 years -- not bad) so i replaced it with a 1080p Asus. the 3850 showed its age even more pushing the extra pixels, so i got a AMD HD 7790 a couple of months ago for $100 and it came with three games (which I would have never purchased otherwise). not bad. my processor is holding back my framerates, now.
** this was just bumped to 250MB, then 500MB for (seemingly) no reason, and no extra cost. I don't stream audio or video, but this allows me to very rarely use wifi (for backing up phone) anymore. thanks, pp.

Access your Motorola VU204 (Verizon) to add Custom Ringtones

First of all, the following links provide an abundance of information and should be visited should any problems arise or at least held in revelry due to their amazing content:

http://www.modmymoto.com/forums/showthread.php?t=412671
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1538268


...there were a few others which had similar information, but these two were the ones I referenced.

That said, I hope this instruction is a little more direct and helps people so that they don't spend 2 and a half hours on something that now only takes me 10 minutes.

How do I access my Motorola VU204?

Download Necessary Software

• motorola usb driver (not pc charging driver)
  
• Motorola Software Update (MSU) [direct download link]
• P2k Commander (v.4.9E -- normally the higher the better, but 6 didn't work for me and 4.9E did) [p2k commander rapid share search]

Install the Software

Install the driver.

Install the MSU and run it. Let it update your phone. If you have any trouble after an update with the phone not being recognized by your computer (when it is recognized, it reinstalls all the drivers), remove and re-connect the usb cable from your phone. If that doesn't work, unplug it from the back of your computer and plug it into another empty usb port. After updates, you can close it for now, *sighs*, i guess.

Extract P2K Commander and remember where you extract it.

Access My Phone

Run MSU.

Run P2K commander by browsing to the folder you extracted the contents to and running p2kcommander.exe

In a drop down (either side), click the down arrow and select /a P2K phone system then click re-read.

Voila. You should see your phone data.

What do I do Now?

You can create custom ringtones (i use audacity to select 20-30 seconds of a jam that i like, and have on my computer, and then export it as a lower quality (96/128kb) .mp3 files). Just copy the files by navigating to the mp3 location on your computer on one side of the dual display, and then the P2k:/a/brew/mod/my_ringers/ directory on the phone and dragging the files over. The transfer will go one file at a time and ask you to wait, but allows multi-tasking, during each file transfer. I only say this because earlier versions of P2K Commander were notorious for crashing if the window lost focus.

You can also copy over pictures, I'd imagine...and backup all your data from your phone to your computer. Maybe even find some apps and copy them over. Go crazy!