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Help First recent Android phone. A little help please.

Racineur

Newbie
Mar 30, 2014
22
10
Montr
Hello to you all. I bought for almost nothing (of course) my first recent Android phone: Moto e 2020. Had a phone on Android 5 years ago but hate it. So I got this little Moto for cheap to see if I could switch...So much disorienting for now. The "e" is on Android 10. Is it still possible to move an app to microSD card? I tried all I know, searched the Web and the infos about that are very old. How to achieve that with the Moto Ui on top? Also: I chose the photos to be saved on the SD card. Ok but are they also on the internal memory (tiny 32)? I see no Gallery app. Is Google Photos now acting as the default gallery? Do I need one on the Play Store? Lastly: if ever you know, why is the screen so dim? Not bright at all. It has to be cranked up to 85%.
Thank so machine advance for your help
 
Hello to you all. I bought for almost nothing (of course) my first recent Android phone: Moto e 2020. Had a phone on Android 5 years ago but hate it. So I got this little Moto for cheap to see if I could switch...So much disorienting for now. The "e" is on Android 10. Is it still possible to move an app to microSD card? I tried all I know, searched the Web and the infos about that are very old. How to achieve that with the Moto Ui on top? Also: I chose the photos to be saved on the SD card. Ok but are they also on the internal memory (tiny 32)? I see no Gallery app. Is Google Photos now acting as the default gallery? Do I need one on the Play Store? Lastly: if ever you know, why is the screen so dim? Not bright at all. It has to be cranked up to 85%.
Thank so machine advance for your help
85%????? I have my screen crancked up to 100% on all of my Android devices. I sacrifice a little bit of battery so that I can enjoy whatever I'm doing on the phone, so keep that in mind.

Not all manufactures currently support portable storage. This is where you can have your SD card setup as the phone's internal storage.

And moving apps to the SD card does not really save much space as only parts of the app gets moved.

You are going to have to live with 32gbs of space. Keep in mind that the android Os will use up some of that space as well. It's on a different partition but never the less, it is included in the 32 gbs.

And Google photos is a great gallery app to use as it will store all of your photos in the cloud so you never have to worry about losing them. Just make sure that you have backup and sync option turned on.
 
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I have that phone.
It is my daily driver.
The device has 2GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory.

There are 8 cores, and each can run at 1.8 GHz.

This device is actually pretty darn good for the money.

A Straight Talk locked version can be had for $50, and has a removeable battery.

An unlocked version costs $120, and the battery is nonreplaceable, although the device is 'splash resistant'.

It can handle an SD card up to 512 GB.

Don't bother trying to move apps to the SD card.
That is really not a thing anymore- and it never really was that good anyway.

When you put an SD card into it, you will be asked how you want to format it.

If you format it as external (much prefered), then the card can be moved from device to device.

If you format it as internal (not recommended), then it will become part of the internal memory.
On the surface, this sounds great. But the drawbacks are great.
The card cannot be used in any other device, the lifespan of the card is greatly shortened, and once it crashes everything on it is gone forever.

Personally, I believe that stock utility apps are only there to be used until you find something better.

Nowadays I don't even bother with them at all- upon purchase I immediately disable all stock utility apps and replace them with Simple Mobile Tools.

The Simple Gallery Pro and File Manager Pro apps are amazing and work together great.

These will simplify and enhance your Android experience.

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.gallery.pro/

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.filemanager.pro/

https://www.simplemobiletools.com/
 
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Keep in mind that it's going to be a bit overwhelming to get used to a new phone. There's always a learning curve involved when you buy a new gadget. So let things sink in gradually, don't try to figure out everything right away. Get comfortable using it and familiarize yourself with all its features and capabilities.
If you're switching back to Android after using an iPhone or Windows phone, you just need to get used to the basic configuration issues that have changed in the last few years. Basically all smartphones have a very similar user interface in that there's a touchscreen and we just tap on icons to do stuff (loose generalization), it's the initial setting up and configuring steps that are more involved.
Anyway, one notable aspect you need to keep in mind is the 'E' designation is for Motorola's 'Economy' line of its phone offerings. So just set your expectations accordingly. The Moto E 2020 phone is a solid performer and very good, basic, daily-usage phone but don't expect it to have the same responsiveness and capabilities as a flagship level phone. A lot of people mistakenly assume just because smartphones are so similar in general appearance that they're also all equally similar in functionality but that's just not a reality, and unfortunately the tech news media isn't very good at all about making this clear to consumers.
https://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_e_(2020)-10287.php

But getting back to your issues getting your phone setup the way you want, I'd recommend you don't start installing various third-party apps and things just yet and instead get familiar with your phone as is. Skip on trying to do everything all at once and just approach things one at a time. Sit down and start going through the Settings menu. The Settings menu on your phone is going to be a direct indicator of what your phone is capable of. There won't be any options showing features that are available on a different model phone, it's been customized to correlate with your particular model. Look at each menu entry and note that a lot options have their own contextual menu (maybe accessed by long-pressing) or hidden submenus accessible by an icon (gear icon, hamburger icon, three vertical dots icon) in an upper or bottom menubar. Android's Settings menu and individual app's Settings menus have only gotten more chaotic and less standardized. Anyway, look through each option and see what relates to changes you need or want to do. If you do make alterations, just keep track of what you change in case you need to reverse back later. So if you make a lot of alterations at the same time, document them somehow. The online menu for your model might be a helpful thing to bookmark, or download it as a PDF file:
https://download.lenovo.com/Motorol...oto e.US Retail.UG.en-US.SSC8C82087-C_web.pdf
The Apps menu (either the Apps menu in Settings or swipe up from the bottom in one of your screens if you're not in Settings menu) to see just what apps are already on your phone. Once you get a handle on what you might need, then install a third-party solution. Or is the currently installed app isn't to your liking (some have feature and/or interface tweaks in the app's Settings so always check for that first), disable the installed app and install your own preference.
 
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Hello again and thank you all so much for your precious help. I admit, it's a hard task to switch from an iPhone and I am very willing to give it a try hence the reason I bought an entry level. And I had it for 80$ new and packaged (nice price in Canada...). I understand better now how storing photos work. I checked and they are stored on the SD card where I want them to be. I follow your tips concerting moving apps to SD card. It's an old thinking I guess. I was always told that this was such a big advantage over iPhone. Anyway, concerns apps, I kept my iPhone habit not to use third party app whenever possible. For now, everything is Google on the Moto. I only DL an Internet speed tester "Open Signal, Kiwi browser, Amazon app and a Canadian provincial medical passport (a must if I want to go out). After reading your posts, I found the courage to do some cleaning. So gone are Sportsnet, Google docs and all. I spent the day "playing" with my new toy. I think I'll get used to it fast enough. One thing for sure, it's growing on me. Thanks again.
 
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Hello to you all. I bought for almost nothing (of course) my first recent Android phone: Moto e 2020. Had a phone on Android 5 years ago but hate it. So I got this little Moto for cheap to see if I could switch...So much disorienting for now. The "e" is on Android 10. Is it still possible to move an app to microSD card? I tried all I know, searched the Web and the infos about that are very old. How to achieve that with the Moto Ui on top? Also: I chose the photos to be saved on the SD card. Ok but are they also on the internal memory (tiny 32)? I see no Gallery app. Is Google Photos now acting as the default gallery? Do I need one on the Play Store? Lastly: if ever you know, why is the screen so dim? Not bright at all. It has to be cranked up to 85%.
Thank so machine advance for your help
https://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_e_(2020)-10287.php
Looks like you have a 32gb internal space only.
Photos are stored on the Google photos app it looks like...

I checked and they are on the SD card. There is no gallery app. Should I download on instead of Google Photos?
 
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85%????? I have my screen crancked up to 100% on all of my Android devices. I sacrifice a little bit of battery so that I can enjoy whatever I'm doing on the phone, so keep that in mind.

Not all manufactures currently support portable storage. This is where you can have your SD card setup as the phone's internal storage.

And moving apps to the SD card does not really save much space as only parts of the app gets moved.

You are going to have to live with 32gbs of space. Keep in mind that the android Os will use up some of that space as well. It's on a different partition but never the less, it is included in the 32 gbs.

And Google photos is a great gallery app to use as it will store all of your photos in the cloud so you never have to worry about losing them. Just make sure that you have backup and sync option turned on.
Checked and the backup and sync option are turned on.
 
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I checked and they are on the SD card. There is no gallery app. Should I download on instead of Google Photos?
no use google photos....like i said it backs everything up on the cloud. you can even hop on your computer and go to https://www.google.com/photos/about/ and see all of your photos so long as the photo app on your phone has sync'd to google's server.
 
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I have that phone.
It is my daily driver.
The device has 2GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory.

There are 8 cores, and each can run at 1.8 GHz.

This device is actually pretty darn good for the money.

A Straight Talk locked version can be had for $50, and has a removeable battery.

An unlocked version costs $120, and the battery is nonreplaceable, although the device is 'splash resistant'.

It can handle an SD card up to 512 GB.

Don't bother trying to move apps to the SD card.
That is really not a thing anymore- and it never really was that good anyway.

When you put an SD card into it, you will be asked how you want to format it.

If you format it as external (much prefered), then the card can be moved from device to device.

If you format it as internal (not recommended), then it will become part of the internal memory.
On the surface, this sounds great. But the drawbacks are great.
The card cannot be used in any other device, the lifespan of the card is greatly shortened, and once it crashes everything on it is gone forever.

Personally, I believe that stock utility apps are only there to be used until you find something better.

Nowadays I don't even bother with them at all- upon purchase I immediately disable all stock utility apps and replace them with Simple Mobile Tools.

The Simple Gallery Pro and File Manager Pro apps are amazing and work together great.

These will simplify and enhance your Android experience.

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.gallery.pro/

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.filemanager.pro/

https://www.simplemobiletools.com/
Thank you so much. I followed the links. Wow! I think I will lovesimplemobile tools but is there enough space on the Moto? I learned fast that, as some iPhone apps, you can't uninstall some Google apps. Disable them but not disinstall to free space. Im amazed at all the possibilities. But do this suite of apps act well with Android? Aren't Google appas specially made for seamless integration with the OS? Thanks again.
 
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no use google photos....like i said it backs everything up on the cloud. you can even hop on your computer and go to https://www.google.com/photos/about/ and see all of your photos so long as the photo app on your phone has sync'd to google's server.
Opening Google photos site on Safari on my iMac or iPad is what I do when I want to see the pics taken with the Moto. Actually, I'm learning that I have to get in the Google world if I want to sync things between iMac and iPad. I had not thought about that. This is the hard part. You know...Apple and its golden walled garden.
 
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Apple and its golden walled garden.
its why i have stayed away from the fruit logo.....cuz once you are in.....you are in. they intentionally makes things harder to climb out.

and no uninstalling or disabling google products will not really hamper the phone at all. if anything it might speed things up a little and can even save a little bit of battery life.
 
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its why i have stayed away from the fruit logo.....cuz once you are in.....you are in. they intentionally makes things harder to climb out.

and no uninstalling or disabling google products will not really hamper the phone at all. if anything it might speed things up a little and can even save a little bit of battery life.
Yeah...the walled garden. I know one thing or two about it. I will absolutely check carefully the suite apps you suggested, They look fine to me. Fine enough. I'm not picky and I'm a light phone user. No FB, no IG, no WA no TT. Just not into that. So many thanks for your help.
 
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There is plenty of room on the device for all of the Simple Mobile tools.
They are by nature rather small apps.
Be sure to get Thank You, as it will correlate the color scheme for all Simple Mobile Tools apps.

All of the apps, even the pro versions, can be found on F-Droid.

The Moto e is the second device, and the most modern one in my collection, that I have deGoogled.

There are no running Google apps or services on the device.

This makes things different, and for someone that is used to Google on devices- somewhat odd sometimes.

But I don't use Google for anything outside of a few games, and that is on a different device.

As for your battery question, I have seen what you mention, and it sort of makes sense.

A battery's life will be reduced quicker if it is ran dead between charges.

It is also said that Li-Ion batteries (like what is in these phones) last longer if not left on charge or charged to 100%.

In the past, these theories may have held more water, but batteries have come a long way.

I still don't like running them all the way dead.
As far as charging goes, the Moto e says that it cannot overcharge a battery and that it is fine to leave it on charge after it reaches 100%.

Personally, I have too- I have no computer, everything I do online is with my phones, and so when at home they are on charge.

As far as the 30%-80% thing goes, I tried that for a short while.
It quickly became annoying, because the battery would not gave a lasting charge and it seemed that I was always looking for an outlet to plug into.
80% sounds good, until you realize that 20% of your charge is missing right from the start.

A more realistic way to look at things is to understand that all batteries have a set number of full charge cycles that they can live through.
A full cycle is 0% to 100%.
So, lets say you start out at 100% and have 40% at the end of the day and plug it in.
You will use 60% of a charge cycle to reach 100% again.

Now, if you only use 40% the next time, and replace that much, in total for the two days you have used one full charge cycle of 100%.

Of course, this is not exact, but a better way of looking at it.
The problem is that we don't know exactly how many charge cycles a battery can handle in total, nor would that number be consistant between batteries.

So it comws down to this- is the battery replaceable?
If so, then don't worry about it- enjoy the device and do as you please with the battery.

If not, well then maybe some extra care may squeeze some more life from the battery.

Batteries are designed to last 2-4 years, and it really may not be worth the extra effort to try to extend that.

I have my battery saver set to turn on when the battery reaches 50%, in order to help keep me from running it down too far.
Other than that it is on charge if I am at home and off charge if I am out.
I have various chargers and powerbanks (external batteries) if I need them.

In my experience, the single most important thing about the batteries in these things is to not let the phone get/stay hot.
High temperature will kill a battery faster than anything.
Don't leave or charge your device in a hot environment.
Cars and tents in the summertime, direct sunlight, etc., and even under the covers or pillows on a bed.

Anything more is just too much for me to worry about, especially if the battery is replaceable- a battery is usually $10-$20- and convenience is worth more than that to me.
 
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Hello again and so many thanks to you all. What you give to me is unbelievable. Now, I see that there’s is something called Moto Launcher. Does it mean I could disable this launcher? In doing so, would the e revert to original Google Android launcher? Do you think the Moto launcher is the one to go with? Also, as a footnote, I’m still not able to take a decent picture. But the baby is growing on me. Thanks again for your help.
 
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The apps Motorola adds to its phones are pretty mild as far as being obtrusive so if you disable the Moto Launcher app, the differences you'll experience with the user interface will be not so much a significant difference but a little changes that are altered in how they work or appear.
Samsung's OneUI is its own, highly tweaked and altered user interface. Motorola's customization pales in comparison, it's still a relatively clean Android UI. But if you're really curious, Disable the Moto branding apps and services, restart your phone, and see for yourself. It'll be more subtle changes than anything -- i.e. how your phone shows Notifications when the screen is sleeping. If you change your mind later, just Enable them again, restart your phone.

Try going into the Camera app's Settings menu and see if any of options there might relate to your issues with taking photos.
Another option is to install a third-party camera app and see if that works out better for you. I'd play around with the settings in the default Camera app first though. If you do want to try something else, my favorite generic camera app is the Open Camera app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sourceforge.opencamera&hl=en_US&gl=US
It's Open Source, and actively supported and developed but that aside it also has a nice, extensive feature set so you can customize and optimize the camera app to your liking. (Again, don't just rely upon the defaults.There's a lot of options available in the app's Settings menu).
 
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if you do not like the moto launcher, check out Nova launcher found in the play store. it is much better in my opinion and is very customizable. they have really cool transitions and other effects that i really like.....but those you will have to unlock. the app is free, but they offer Nova Prime which is a one time payment of $4.99(i think) which unlocks all of the cool customization options.

i have been using Nova for almost a decade!!!!!
 
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No, you cannot disable the built in launcher.
This is typical of all devices I have had.

But you can download and use any number of different launchers, albeit one at a time.

I can't stand stock launchers, and find any device that is using one to be a real pain.

Personally, I like KISS.
I went on a lengthy and difficult search for a launcher, and I did not like it at first- but after about 12 hours it had grown on me and the decision was made to keep it.

It has been on all my devices and those I set up for others ever since.

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/fr.neamar.kiss/

As for the camera, I also abhor stock camera apps, as they are generally a security nightmare (as are most stock utility apps).

I use Simple Camera.

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.camera/

Also remember that regardless of which camera app you use, generally a touch of the screen will focus the camera there, before you take the picture.
 
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Hi again. Been 10 days since using the Moto E. Small recap if you may. There have been good and not so good days. I find Android a little more difficult than iOS. Too many adds and warnings from Google apps. Always a bubble here and there asking me to try this and that with the only option is to see what all that means. For now, I stay within the boundaries of Google apps. At least, they all show the same warnings. I feel like Im very much taken by the hand by Google. Strange feeling. But it grows on me. Yep, I start to feel a certain sense of freedom in doing what I want like downloading and uploading. Il also love the fact Play Store installs the app on my phone without me opening the phone. Fantastic. As for the e, it's going fast and without any fuss. It's also faster than my old iPhone 6s that I was about to change for a 12 or 13. So Im not at all disappointed by the phone or Android. Not with a 1.5 day of battery. That's incredible to me. Unfortunately, the camera takes horrible pictures whatever the settings and the environment you're in. I've installed Open Camera but apart from having more options, it doesn't yield nicest pictures than the e's own camera app. I will try Simple Camera later on. As for launchers and skins, I'm not there yet. So in a nutshell, the iPhone user I am is not too lost in Android and not upset at all. For my telephone, I think I could stick with Android. Different thing though for computer and tablet. Thanks so much for helping me so kindly.
 
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No, you cannot disable the built in launcher.
This is typical of all devices I have had.

But you can download and use any number of different launchers, albeit one at a time.

I can't stand stock launchers, and find any device that is using one to be a real pain.

Personally, I like KISS.
I went on a lengthy and difficult search for a launcher, and I did not like it at first- but after about 12 hours it had grown on me and the decision was made to keep it.

It has been on all my devices and those I set up for others ever since.

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/fr.neamar.kiss/

As for the camera, I also abhor stock camera apps, as they are generally a security nightmare (as are most stock utility apps).

I use Simple Camera.

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.camera/

Also remember that regardless of which camera app you use, generally a touch of the screen will focus the camera there, before you take the picture.
Hello again, What do you mean when you say "stock camera apps are a security nightmare". You're scaring me. On the other side, Google is the evil monster that eats your informations. Now the stock apps too. Are you implying an Android device is less secure than the fruity one? I still have the hand on a monster apple...in any case.
 
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Stock apps are there to get the user by until the user finds better apps.

They also can be bad for security, because some have permissions that allow types of tracking and other information gathering.

Stupid things- like clock apps with internet permission, calculators with the same.
Camera apps that not only have internet permission, but also collect date, time, and GPS coordinates of each picture you take.

Not only that, but I have actually seen where a stock clock app that did not have internet permission received an update- and the update gave the clock internet permission!

Also witnessed was a stock browser that got an update, and then it had ads.

So no, I do not use ANY stock utility apps.
I disable them all and replace them with Simple Mobile Tools.
 
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All of those annoying pop ups, the self downloading, and the other Google things are what I strive to avoid.

Yes, at first all of it can be a bit fun, but I grew weary of ads and a device crammed with gobbledygook.

I can help with the ads, even get rid of them, but play with you new toy a bit longer.
Get aquainted with it better, so that we can better help you get what you want out of it.
 
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