Moto G Verizon Prepaid - bibanon/android-development-codex GitHub Wiki
Best Buy is having a firesale on the Prepaid Verizon Moto G, just $20-25.
Note that this phone is CDMA-only (no SIM card slot), and you must use the Prepaid Verizon service to get cellular service. But if you don't need cell phone service, this phone works perfectly as a WiFi-only tablet.
Workarounds
Surmountable obstacles with a bit of effort and money.
- The bootloader is locked and cannot be officially unlocked.
- You can buy a Sunshine S-OFF Bootloader Unlock for $25. This makes it possible to use custom recovery, and thus, custom ROMs.
- You must (temporarily) downgrade to Android 4.4.2 before you can root your phone.
- Thankfully, you can do this safely using Fastboot. Download the 4.4.2 Verizon Moto G image here and flash it normally: CFC-fastboot_falcon_verizon_user_4.4.2_KXB20.9-1.10-1.20_22_release-keys.xml.zip
- On the other hand, after unlocking the bootloader with Sunshine, the custom recovery allows you to root the phone at any time on any Android version.
Caveats
Unavoidable downsides.
- No SDCard slot. 8GB internal is all you get.
- The Moto G does support USB OTG, so you could plug in a Meenova SDCard reader, if you're OK with a piece of plastic sticking out.
- CDMA Only. You must use Prepaid Verizon for cellular service. They will refuse to activate existing Verizon contracts.
- There is no SIM card either, not that it supports many bands anyway, so GSM is physically impossible to use.
- On the other hand, after Sunshine bootloader unlock, it's possible utilize a CDMA provider like Boost Mobile.
Bypassing Activation Screen
When you first boot the phone out of the box, the phone will prompt you to activate it on Verizon. You can bypass this screen in one of two ways.