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5 Pesky Motorola Droid Turbo problems, and how to fix them in a hurry

Motorola Droid Turbo
Image used with permission by copyright holder
When it first came over to Verizon, Motorola’s new flagship was an impressive sight. A fantastic big screen, impressive battery life, and a 21-megapixel camera wrapped in a tough, textured body. Sadly, the Droid Turbo’s honeymoon was soon over, and there have been some issues.

We’ve been checking out the top Motorola Droid Turbo problems as reported by owners, and we’re offering up some ideas on how to fix them right here.

Problem: Battery life is worse

One of the main selling points for the Droid Turbo is battery life. It has a whopping 3,900mAh battery in it, but some owners have been having trouble with the battery life since updating to Android 5.1 Lollipop. Start by taking a look in Settings > Battery to see what’s draining your juice.

Potential solutions:

  • There are reports of a patch that has improved battery life. Check that you’re up to date in Settings > About phone > System updates.
  • Disable or uninstall any apps or games that you don’t use.
  • It’s a good idea to try clearing your cache, particularly after an update. Turn your phone off. Press and hold Volume down and Power for a few seconds. You should see Boot options, and you can use Volume down to highlight Recovery mode and Power to select it. Press and hold Power, then tap Volume up. You should see another menu, and you can use Volume down to highlight wipe cache partition and Power to select it. Select Reboot system now when it’s done, and your Droid Turbo will restart.
  • If you’re still having an issue, there’s a good chance it’s down to old settings or apps. A factory reset would completely wipe your phone and could make a big difference, but you’ll have to be careful about what you restore and reinstall. Make sure you back up everything important by going to Settings > Backup & reset > Factory Data Reset, and then tapping Reset Phone.
  • Android Lollipop has a battery saver feature built-in. You’ll find in the menu on the battery usage screen in Settings > Battery.
  • You can also reduce battery drain by going to Settings > Moto > Display and turning Moto Display on. There might be some savings if you go to Settings > Display and turn Attentive display on, as well.
  • Check out how to extend your smartphone battery life for more general tips.

Issue: Slower charging

A few people have found that the Droid Turbo is no longer Turbo charging after the Lollipop update. Some users have suggested that Turbo used to charge up to 70 percent, but now stops at 50 percent. Others are finding that charging is generally slower at each stage.

Potential solutions:

  • First of all, make sure that you’re using the original wall charger and cable that shipped with your Droid Turbo.
  • Try using a different socket, different cable, and different charger — just to make sure there’s no fault there.
  • If you’re still having an issue, it may be time to contact your carrier, retailer, or Motorola.

Glitch: Lag and stutter

The Droid Turbo is a powerful phone, so you really shouldn’t be seeing any lag or stutter issues. The most likely culprit is an app. There are a couple of things worth trying:

Potential fixes:

  • Try clearing your cache, particularly if you haven’t done it since updating. Turn your phone off. Press and hold Volume down and Power for a few seconds. You should see Boot options, and you can use Volume down to highlight Recovery mode and Power to select it. Press and hold Power and tap Volume up. You should see another menu, and you can use Volume down to highlight wipe cache partition and Power to select it. Select Reboot system now when it’s done, and your Droid Turbo will restart.
  • If you’re still having an issue, you can either uninstall apps one by one and test, or just go straight for the factory reset and reinstall selectively. If you want to try it, then back up your stuff: Go to Settings > Backup & reset > Factory Data Reset, and then tap Reset Phone.

Problem: Wi-Fi won’t connect, disconnects, or slow

This is a big issue that we see frequently for pretty much every phone model on the market. There are so many different routers and potential configurations out there that Wi-Fi problems are inevitable from time to time. You may find that switching Airplane mode on or turning the phone and router off and on again solves the issue, at least temporarily. There are lots of other things worth trying:

Potential fixes:

  • Go to Settings > Wi-Fi, tap and hold on the router you are trying to connect to, and then choose Forget network. Now set the connection up fresh.
  • Check the menu in Settings > Wi-Fi and go to Advanced to make sure that Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep is ticked.
  • If you are using a battery saving app, take a look at the settings to make sure it isn’t interfering with your Wi-Fi connection.
  • If you have the option to switch from 2.4GHz to 5GHz and vice versa, give it a try.
  • Download the free Wifi Analyzer app to check out how crowded your channels are. Switching to a less crowded channel could make a huge difference.
  • Check with your ISP or manufacturer to make sure that your router firmware is the latest.
  • Make sure that your MAC filter is turned off on your router or add your Droid Turbo’s MAC address. You’ll find it in Settings > About phone > Status.

Issue: Volume is too low

Quite a few people have reported issues with the Droid Turbo related to low volume. Some people are having trouble hearing incoming calls and alerts, others are complaining about low volume during calls.

Potential fixes:

  • The first thing to do is head into Settings > Sound & notification to set your desired volume levels, tones, and vibrations.
  • Take a look at Audio effects in Settings > Sound & notification, and try turning them off.
  • You might want to try a different equalizer app. There are plenty to choose from in the Play Store. If you have music apps installed already, then take a look in the settings for anything that could be tweaking your volume.
  • It’s possible that Moto Assist is causing the problem. Make sure that you have the latest version of the app. Open it up and try unchecking Silence to see if that makes a difference.
  • It’s worth checking that nothing is interfering with the volume rocker or masking the speaker. Make sure the SIM tray is properly closed, and try removing the case if you are using one.
  • Try switching off power saver or any power saving app you might have installed and see if that helps.
  • Turn your phone off. Press and hold Volume down and Power for a few seconds. You should see Boot options, and you can use Volume down to highlight Recovery mode and Power to select it. Press and hold Power and tap Volume up. You should see another menu, and you can use Volume down to highlight wipe cache partition and Power to select it. Select Reboot system now when it’s done, and your Droid Turbo will restart.

That’s all the Motorola Droid Turbo problems we have right now, but we’ll update this with new issues or fixes as we find them.

Simon Hill
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Simon Hill is an experienced technology journalist and editor who loves all things tech. He is currently the Associate Mobile…
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