Android 10 widgets on a Moto E7i Power question.

[Android Central Question]

As a Smartphone rookie, I have just bought a Moto e7i Power for my wife and am trying to set it up.

It has Android 10 installed; long press on the screen and all that appears is Home Setting and Wallpapers, no Widgets.

I want to add a home screen short-cut to my mobile number, and I think that can be done via a widget, but only if there is the widget app available.

How can I get this to work?

Thanks

 

[Javier P]

Welcome to the forums. The Moto E7i Power is an Android Go Edition phone and in these devices the stock launcher doesn't include the widget drawer. Install a custom launcher, such as Nova, and see if it works.

I would recommend you to create an account so you can reply on this thread.

 

[Javier P]

Installing a custom launcher is much easier than it sounds If you want to try it we can help you to set it up.

 

[Rekusu]

Thanks for the replies. I have a Galaxy J5 that a friend gave me when he up-graded. I have had not problems with it and even managed to put a shortcut for my wife's mobile on the home page.

With this Moto that I have bought for her, I am now somewhat annoyed that Android appears to do less of what I want but a lot more of what I don't want. Didn't know that when I bought it!

What is a custom launcher and what does it do?

The problem' is rather basic really. Both of us want a phone that has a nice to look at screen, makes phone call, texts, may be photos and a couple of other bits and bobs. Neither of us want a phone that stores thousands of photos, is constantly updating stuff from the web, we don't want to watch movies or listen to music, play games, etc. but all those things come included. It seems impossible to just get the basic necessities.

 

[Javier P]

Thanks for the replies. I have a Galaxy J5 that a friend gave me when he up-graded. I have had not problems with it and even managed to put a shortcut for my wife's mobile on the home page.

With this Moto that I have bought for her, I am now somewhat annoyed that Android appears to do less of what I want but a lot more of what I don't want. Didn't know that when I bought it!

What is a custom launcher and what does it do?

The problem' is rather basic really. Both of us want a phone that has a nice to look at screen, makes phone call, texts, may be photos and a couple of other bits and bobs. Neither of us want a phone that stores thousands of photos, is constantly updating stuff from the web, we don't want to watch movies or listen to music, play games, etc. but all those things come included. It seems impossible to just get the basic necessities.

Thanks for registering. The Moto E7i is a budget phone that came with Android GO. This is a stripped down version of Android for devices with 2 GB of RAM or less. One of the limitations is the lack of support for widgets.

A launcher is the app that controls your home screen and app drawer, only that. You can install Nova launcher from the Play Store. This is a free version.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher

Don't worry, you can get back to the stock launcher very easily.

 

[Javier P]

Thanks for the replies. I have a Galaxy J5 that a friend gave me when he up-graded. I have had not problems with it and even managed to put a shortcut for my wife's mobile on the home page.

With this Moto that I have bought for her, I am now somewhat annoyed that Android appears to do less of what I want but a lot more of what I don't want. Didn't know that when I bought it!

What is a custom launcher and what does it do?

The problem' is rather basic really. Both of us want a phone that has a nice to look at screen, makes phone call, texts, may be photos and a couple of other bits and bobs. Neither of us want a phone that stores thousands of photos, is constantly updating stuff from the web, we don't want to watch movies or listen to music, play games, etc. but all those things come included. It seems impossible to just get the basic necessities.

I've seen that you edited your post to include more information. There are budget phones that come with a full version of Android (not GO). The idea of Android GO Edition is to make that phones with a limited hardware can have a better performance. The price is that it comes with some limitations.

 

[Rekusu]

Thank for the explanation. If I had known this, I would not have bought the phone! As widgets are not a feature, I will rephrase the question; is there another way to crate a shortcut on the home screen to a specific phone number?

I have tried Nova Launcher and I cannot see any shortcut methods but perhaps I am missing something.

Thanks

 

[Javier P]

The other way to add a shortcut is from the Contacts app. Select one of your contacts, tap the three dots top right and see if there's such an option. It's possible that it doesn't exist in your app.

Have you already set Nova as your default launcher? To make sure go to settings - apps & notifications - default apps - Home app. Once it's set as default long press your home screen and see if you get the Widgets option this time.

 

[eddrumsuk]

Hi all, just to hijack this thread - I've also just got a Moto E7i Power, and while moving things around on the home screen I managed to accidentally remove the default clock widget. Given that there's no 'widget' option when you bring up the home screen menu, does anyone have any idea how I can get it back?! Thanks!

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! If you long-press an empty part of the homescreen, do you get an option for Home Settings?

 

[Javier P]

Also, make sure that Time & Weather is not disabled in settings - apps - show system - down arrow - disabled.

 

[eddrumsuk]

Welcome to Android Central! If you long-press an empty part of the homescreen, do you get an option for Home Settings?

Yes I do

 

[eddrumsuk]

Also, make sure that Time & Weather is not disabled in settings - apps - show system - down arrow - disabled.

There is no Time & Weather app, but there is the Moto Widget app, which I believe is what I want to be using - that is enabled

 

[Javier P]

There is no Time & Weather app, but there is the Moto Widget app, which I believe is what I want to be using - that is enabled

Open the Moto app, select Moto Display and see if you can add it back from there. Post a screenshot with the options in that screen.

 

[B. Diddy]

Yes I do

Ok, what Home Settings options do you see?

 

[eddrumsuk]

I ended up getting frustrated with this and just doing a factory reset to get it back to how it was, so that has solved the problem for me, but it would be good to know if there is a way it can be done without that!

Ok, what Home Settings options do you see?

The available Home settings options are:

- Add icon to Home screen
- Home screen loop
- Pull down action
- Unread badge
- Icon label display double lines

 

[B. Diddy]

Thanks for the follow-up. Frustrating, but it's helpful to know that this is one of the limitations of Android Go.:-\

 

[Javier P]

I ended up getting frustrated with this and just doing a factory reset to get it back to how it was, so that has solved the problem for me, but it would be good to know if there is a way it can be done without that!



The available Home settings options are:

- Add icon to Home screen
- Home screen loop
- Pull down action
- Unread badge
- Icon label display double lines

Ugh, that's unfortunate. Did you check the options in Moto Display?

 

[eddrumsuk]

Ugh, that's unfortunate. Did you check the options in Moto Display?

I wasn't sure where to find Moto Display - Moto Widget only showed up as a system app, so I couldn't actually open it to do anything from there...

 

[Javier P]

I wasn't sure where to find Moto Display - Moto Widget only showed up as a system app, so I couldn't actually open it to do anything from there...

It is in the Moto app.