How do I change the charging port on a moto g5

It is soldered to the board on the G5 Plus, but the G5 just needs a new lower board to fix it. We didn’t get the version you choose on the device page in the US, so you have a Plus if you didn’t import or bought it in a country it’s native to. Depending on how brave you are, it isn’t a job for a novice to attempt unless you are willing to risk the phone as a unit.

If you can’t handle component level work, get a few quotes from repair shops on how much it’ll cost and compare it to a Moto G7 off and on sale that’s factory unlocked. For the non Plus, refer to this guide to change the board. For the Plus, it may total out the phone since you need a board or component level repair. In the US, the G7 usually goes for ~$300 unlocked. I know Best Buy offers a $50 discount for in-store activation here (US), but it’s scope is limited to first time buyers primarily - which is very few unlocked phone customers since most buy them as upgrades or replacements. I've also heard of people getting the Best Buy universal iPhones locked through it unless they start with a Verizon SIM. Spend the extra $50 to avoid having your full price phone SIM locked. Not worth the hassle and handle the activation yourself - I set mine up without the SIM and then switched it over. The Android phones may be safe but better to be sure.

The non-Plus G5 is also pretty dated at this point, especially with a Snapdragon 430. The G5 Plus uses a 625 while the G7 uses a 632, so both are better overall choices if you can afford the upgrade. That said, if you’re happy with it and the repair is cheap it may make sense. If you find the G7 is too expensive, look for a G6 device (not the Play, less RAM and it's got MicroUSB rather then C)*. The storage and RAM configurations are configured to be stingy unless you get the 64GB version (32GB ROM/2GB RAM or 64GB ROM/4GB RAM), but it isn’t bad IF you get the 4GB RAM version. Be weary of Amazon Prime phones - you can supposedly remove the ads for free if it isn’t done, but you may run into an issue with a used device. The problem with most professional quotes is the price is nearly as much as a used G5 Plus or not much more then a G7 - unless you can handle it as a DIYer. **Since a lot of people upgrade on Black Friday/Cyber Monday, you may be better off with a used G5 Plus 64GB.

*In 2022, I no longer recommend ANY PHONE from the G5 series due to the global end of 3G and CDMA support, as the ONE CARRIER who regularly causes issues (AT&T) use this common ransom to sell you the AT&T version, which magically has support since the unlocked version was not paid as part of the AT&T VoLTE ransom. Yes, the Plus supports VoLTE but not all of the carriers enabled support, but these phones are toast as they aren't whitelisted :(. The AT&T "Open network" is a load of crap. I'm in the US, so ignore this tangent on AT&T if you're in a country where this practice isn't SOP.

Stay away from this phone and get a G6 at the bare, bare minimum. It's not worth saving a few bucks because you'll be out looking for a new phone at any day with these because the G6 and up was ransom paid with AT&T.

**Strikethrough applied due to the tangent about AT&T.