Motorola Moto Z Play Troubleshooting

The phone screen is black even when the phone is on, or appears distorted during scrolling.

A lot of purchasers of the Moto Z Play have problems with their screen being black even if the phone still works. A potential fix to this issue is to do a hard factory reset. Connect your device to the charging cable. Hold down the power key for 10 - 20 seconds. If that doesn’t work, hold down both the power key and the volume key for 30 - 40 seconds. Use the volume down key to scroll to “Recovery” and the volume up key to confirm. Press and hold the power button when the Android logo appears.

Warning: If the phone is not charged past 5% or plugged into the charging cable, it may not turn back on when you reset it.'

If the display is distorted when you scroll up or down on your phone, the screen could be on upside-down. Remove and replace the screen in the correct direction using this guide.

After plugging in the charger to the phone, the battery will not charge.

If the screen is black and does not power on while charging, press and hold the Power button for 5-10 seconds. If device still does not turn on, wait 1-2 minutes, then perform the process again.

It is likely that if the device is not charging properly, the device charges in factory mode. A usual cause can be downloaded applications that force the device to restart itself, freeze, crash, or lag. Safe mode starts the device without the interaction of 3rd party applications. To Enable Safe Mode (if device is off):

1. Press the Power button
2. Press and hold the volume down button as soon as the Motorola logo shows up on the screen.
3. Keep holding button until animation ends and the device will start in safe mode.

While in safe mode, use the device normally and if the device works, it is likely that a recently downloaded application is the cause of your problems.

To remove application:

1. Go to Play Store
2. Go to Menu
3. Go to My apps & games
4. Touch the application you want to remove
5. Touch Uninstall, and press OK
6. After removing the app that’s causing the problem, exit from safe mode by restarting your device.

Lint, dust, and debris can easily get stuck in the charging port and block the charging cable from fully connecting. Try inserting a small needle or paperclip into the charging port and gently moving it or sliding it around. Repeat this process until you are no longer removing lint and debris from the charging port.

At some point, the battery on your phone won't be able to hold a charge anymore. It might be time to replace your battery, using this guide.

If the charging cable does not fit into the charging port, it is likely that the charging pin is bent in the phone. It can be bent back into place and straightened to fit into the charging cable.

Often times, devices require specific charging cables. Make sure you are using the charging cable that came with the device, and not a third party charging cable.

Before any sound starts playing from the speakers, there is a popping or cracking noise which can occur before ringtones, notification sounds, watching videos, keyboard sounds, and sending text messages.

This cracking/ popping sound often occurs when you have the Moto Voice feature setup and then you turn the Bluetooth feature on. Try turning one of the features off.

If the speaker crackling is a software issue, then a hard factory reset will should solve the problem. Connect your device to the charging cable. Hold down the power key for 10 - 20 seconds. If that doesn’t work, hold down both the power key and the volume key for 30 - 40 seconds. Use the volume down key to scroll to “Recovery” and the volume up key to confirm. Press and hold the power button when the Android logo appears.

Warning: If the phone is not charged past 5% or plugged into the charging cable, it may not turn back on when you reset it.

The speaker can wear out and break down over time or from misuse. Try replacing your speaker using this guide.

An image is visible on the screen, but no actions by the user seem to have any effect.

Most of the time all that is required to “wake up” an unresponsive device is a simple restart.

Connect your device to the charging cable. Hold down the power key for 10 - 20 seconds. If that doesn’t work, hold down both the power key and the volume key for 30 - 40 seconds. Use the volume down key to scroll to “Recovery” and the volume up key to confirm. Press and hold the power button when the Android logo appears.

Warning: If the phone is not charged past 5% or plugged into the charging cable, it may not turn back on when you reset it.

The glass screen is cracked or shattered.

The Moto Z Play may or may not still be functional, but the display may be cosmetically damaged. Unfortunately the glass and digitizer are a single unit and must be purchased together. The screen may be purchased here, but be sure to select the correct color.

The Motorola Moto Z Play screen replacement guide may be found here.