This hidden feature of the Motorola Razr is like a time machine that takes you back to a simpler time
Flip phones are back with a traditional twist, although today’s flip phones are more advanced than those of the early 2000s. Samsung and Motorola are leading flip phones with the Galaxy Z Flip and Razr, but only one of those phones evokes nostalgia and plays well.
The Motorola Razr continues to be my favorite line of smartphones; with its impressive folding display and bold color options, it does an excellent job of marrying the past with the present. However, there is one hidden trick that you may not know about that turns your modern Razr into a relic of the past.
What is the Retro Razr?
Retro Razr is a piece of software on Motorola’s latest flagship phones, such as the Razr Ultra 2025. When activated, it changes your display and mimics the design and UI of the original RAZR from 2004.
The bottom part turns into a standard number pad, complete with a circular ring with navigation and selection keys, shortcut keys, and Call/End keys. The top half of the phone is a small rectangular “display” with shortcuts, a status bar at the top, and an old-school wallpaper. Everything is pixelated to match the RAZR’s minimal resolution, truly bringing the experience home.
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When you start tapping numbers, you’ll be greeted with an old-school dialer UI. What’s great about it is that when you click on any “button,” you get haptic feedback on the phone to help you mimic the feeling of actually clicking on a dial pad, not much like the subtle vibrations you get when typing on a smartphone (vibration motors can do a lot more).
That said, the Retro Razr is essentially just an overlay. If you tap a shortcut, like on a navigation pad, you’ll be taken back to what the modern Razr does with the specified app or setting, and unfortunately there’s no app drawer. However, if you’re looking for a Retro Razr app on your phone to activate, you won’t find that in your app drawer.
How to unlock Retro Razr
It doesn’t mean that Retro Razr is only available on Motorola Razr smartphones. Here’s how you get it.
1. Swipe down from the top of the display to activate the quick settings menu.
2. If you don’t find the Retro Razr icon, press the pencil icon in the upper right corner.
3. Tap Edit quick settings.
4. Scroll until you find the Retro Razr icon. It should look like an old-school Razr that’s closed. Long press and drag the icon in your active quick settings tiles.
5. Tap that back button or swipe back.
6. Tap that Retro Razr icon to activate the feeling.
To exit the Retro Razr experience, simply swipe out or tap the back button as you would any other app on the phone. You won’t find the Retro Razr in the app drawer so the quick settings menu is the only way to access the sit.
I wish Motorola would go further
While the Retro Razr doesn’t bring anything else useful to the phone, it’s a cool way to lean into the nostalgia of the Razr name and a fun way to display the phone. However, I wish Motorola took it to the next level.
For example, instead of just a simple overlay, Motorola could make this an entire phone theme that applies changes to the entire UI. For example, opening the app drawer can reveal a list of old-school, low-resolution icons for each app. Changes may also apply to some UI elements, such as the settings menu, which may resemble the original RAZR V3, while more modern UI elements, such as the quick settings menu, may also use a more 2004-esque style.
But for now, the Retro Razr is a fun party trick to pull out when you want to show off or trick your friends into thinking you have an old-school RAZR.
