[Moto G Stylus 5G] XDAv1d:
Greetings,

My family has been using a mix of 2023 Moto G Stylus 5G phones for about a week on the Xfinity Mobile network. We purchased one 4+128 GB Xfinity-locked model and two 6+256 GB unlocked models. The unlocked models were ordered direct from Motorola during a sale (which is now gone and the phones are back to full price).

Both the locked and the unlocked models seem to work fine with Xfinity Mobile and we cannot discern any difference between them with regard to talking/texting via wi-fi and the cell network. We inserted our existing Xfinity SIM cards (from the three old phones we are retiring) into each of the three new models---so there were no "new" SIM cards to activate. Perhaps this is why we had zero problem with the unlocked phones.

So, the original question I asked at the top of this thread has been answered---the unlocked models work "as is" with no modification needed (as long as you use an already-activated Xfinity Mobile SIM card). My thanks to Karin (fatcat59) and D3RP_ for their initial comments which bolstered my courage to give the unlocked model a try, in spite of Xfinity's and Motorola's statements that it would not work. They were misinformed. And the two models with 6 GB of RAM are providing much-needed headroom where needed.

According to Motorola's specs, the U.S. version of the 2023 Moto G Stylus 5G has four radios for communication to a cell network: a 2G GSM radio, a 3G HSPA (WCDMA) radio, a 4G LTE radio and a 5G NR radio. So it is no surprise that both the locked and unlocked phones were configured at the factory with their "Preferred Network Type" set to "NR/LTE/GSM/WCDMA" so all four radios were active. However, I tested some of my family's common routes over a 25-30 mile area and we only have 4G LTE coverage now. I detected zero GSM or WCDMA signals (I did this by turning each radio on one-at-a-time). We are supposed to have a corridor of 5G NR coverage along a nearby interstate highway, but I was never on this highway and from a quarter mile or less behind the closest cell tower along the highway, I never detected a 5G NR signal. Perhaps they are using a directional antenna array to keep the signal on the highway.

Therefore, it appears that the rumors are true, Verizon (the network used by Xfinity Mobile) has truly shut off many of its 2G and 3G transponders. Based on my tests, I turned off all but the 4G LTE radio on all three of our phones so the other radios would not waste battery. This was accomplished by setting the "Preferred Network Type" to "LTE only". The only way to do this with a stock phone is via the Test Menu described earlier in this thread.

As for the Voicemail app, I can confirm that it is now integrated into Google's Phone app. There is a "Voicemail" option at the bottom of the Phone app which you tap to summon the voicemail screen. Sadly, its effectiveness still appears to be hit or miss, with frequent "unable to connect" messages.

My family does a lot of SMS and MMS texting and we needed to transfer two types of texts to our new phones. We used the free version of the Android SMS Backup & Restore app by SyncTech to transfer our unencrypted texts to the new phones, complete with all media attachments. It also transferred the call log for the Phone app and worked exceptionally well. Highly recommended!

For our encrypted texts that used the Signal Private Messenger app from the Signal Foundation, it was very easy to use the built-in backup and transfer facilities to transfer all texts (a.k.a. "chats") and attached media files directly from one phone to another using a wireless Wi-Fi Direct connection.

Many thousands of unencrypted and encrypted texts and their associated media attachments were safely transferred this way and my family is very happy with the result. It's probably the best transfer to a new phone that we've ever experienced.

Lastly, a few words of caution about these Motorola phones: All of the Moto G family of phones are loaded with pernicious bloatware. The pernicious part is due to the incessant notifications they generate to try to pressure and, in some cases, trick you into loading additional unwanted apps and services onto the phones. I had heard that Motorola had done this to its low-end phone lines, but this was the first time that I experienced it first hand. And it is thoroughly disgusting. Fortunately, it is possible to overcome much of this by uninstalling or disabling a variety of apps as well as denying others the authority to issues "notifications".

If I have time later, I'll start a new thread about the many steps it took to remedy this bloatware issue. Sadly, it makes these Moto G phones wholly unacceptable and

un

recommended for novices.

Kind regards, David