My Moto X (2014) Overheated After Playing Marvel Avengers Academy

[Reno Takamiya]

So, the other day I was playing Marvel Avengers Academy on my Moto X for several minutes and then I decided to close the app. I still had plenty of battery life left after playing and so I just turned the screen off and left it idle. (I even made sure to fully close the app before I did this.) It was probably an hour or so later that I heard my phone vibrate and then I found out that it was hot to the touch and the battery had depleted completely. I waited until it had cooled down before I started to charge it again and I could really only account for 66% of my battery being used and that should have left me with 30-34% (more or less) left on it. When I checked the battery life via settings to see what happened it told me that Marvel Avengers Academy only used up about 12-13% of it. I know it's the culprit because I have played the game a second time after this occurred and the phone dramatically shot up from 89 degrees to at least 112 degrees. It had also taken another 12-13% of my battery in a matter of minutes as well. I'm not the first person to have problems with this game but I do think I am the only one who has had this specific problem with Marvel Avengers Academy.

The game also seems to have minimal in-game performance issues while running on my phone, but I have uninstalled the app and learned that the cause might have been because it was a graphically intensive game since then. However, the results and issues I had don't feel normal at all to me. I have been able to play Final Fantasy Mobius with little to no problems and the same goes for Marvel Future Fight and Marvel Contest of Champions as well. I am now worried that it may have degraded my battery and/or possibly damaged my phone. I did download the Battery Doctor app and it says that my battery is still good. I'm just worried that I might be losing battery life more frequently now even if that's not the case. Is there a way to figure out if my phone has been damaged or if my battery was without sending it in or without going to an expert? My phone still seems to be operable and I'm no longer playing Marvel Avengers Academy but this still has me worried.

Any and all help is appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Citizen Coyote]

Unless you experience noticeable battery life degradation (dying halfway through the day where it used to last all day, etc.) I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Reno Takamiya]

Unless you experience noticeable battery life degradation (dying halfway through the day where it used to last all day, etc.) I wouldn't worry about it.

Thanks for the reply! I was starting to wonder if someone was ever going to post.

I haven't noticed it dying halfway through the day, but I did notice it turn off at 10% battery life when it normally does that at 5% or even lower. Although that seems to be an inconsistent thing that happens. It'll turn off at 10%, 12%, and even at 5% or even lower. This Moto X is a great phone but I'm thinking of getting a OnePlus 3 (Possibly 3T?) or ZTE Axon 7 to finally be able to play graphic intensive games on. (Of course I'd also use it for everyday phone tasks.) The Moto X Pure also seems like a great phone as well but I don't know if it'd still be worth it today or for heavy gaming. The larger battery life in these phones is also tempting me.

 

[nickname303]

That problem with the phone dying at 10%, 12% etc. is a common problem with this phone and one that will only get worse if my personal experience is anything to go by. Mine started off dying at those sort of levels, and over time has got worse and worse. Last week my phone died when it said it had 46% battery left! It's basically had its day now, hence I have a Moto Z Play arriving this Friday

FWIW the Moto X 2014 has been an excellent phone apart from the battery life and sub standard camera. If it wasn't for the battery problem I probably wouldn't be getting rid of it. The user experience and software optimisation is spot on. Still runs relatively smoothly even now, 2 years down the line.

 

[Reno Takamiya]

That problem with the phone dying at 10%, 12% etc. is a common problem with this phone and one that will only get worse if my personal experience is anything to go by. Mine started off dying at those sort of levels, and over time has got worse and worse. Last week my phone died when it said it had 46% battery left! It's basically had its day now, hence I have a Moto Z Play arriving this Friday ??????????????????

FWIW the Moto X 2014 has been an excellent phone apart from the battery life and sub standard camera. If it wasn't for the battery problem I probably wouldn't be getting rid of it. The user experience and software optimization is spot on. Still runs relatively smoothly even now, 2 years down the line.

Thanks for the reply and good luck with the new phone! I also agree that the optimization and performance is amazing!

I actually have taken some great photos with my Moto X (2014) but I guess your mileage may vary with the phone's camera. I did notice that it has issues in low-light and when taking pictures while zoomed in though. It might be worth looking into a Moto Z Play myself, since it includes a headphone jack in that version of the phone. (I just hope the lower specs means it can still play low to high-end games without overheating.) I don't think I'd purchase any of the Moto mods though since they seem way too expensive for me. The OnePlus 3 and ZTE Axon 7 are still very tempting to me, but I don't think they have 4G LTE support on Wal-Mart's MyFamilyMobile service from what I've seen around on the internet. Plus I still enjoy how close Motorola is to 'stock' Android on their phones.

What's really weird is that I only got this Moto X (2014) this June and it seems to be having issues already. I'm thinking of sending it in to Motorola to have it fixed but I don't know if they'll be able to do anything about it. It's not like I can purchase a new phone straight away though so I hope it continues to last. *crosses fingers*

 

[nickname303]

Thanks for the reply and good luck with the new phone! I also agree that the optimization and performance is amazing!

I actually have taken some great photos with my Moto X (2014) but I guess your mileage may vary with the phone's camera. I did notice that it has issues in low-light and when taking pictures while zoomed in though. It might be worth looking into a Moto Z Play myself, since it includes a headphone jack in that version of the phone. (I just hope the lower specs means it can still play low to high-end games without overheating.) I don't think I'd purchase any of the Moto mods though since they seem way too expensive for me. The OnePlus 3 and ZTE Axon 7 are still very tempting to me, but I don't think they have 4G LTE support on Wal-Mart's MyFamilyMobile service from what I've seen around on the internet. Plus I still enjoy how close Motorola is to 'stock' Android on their phones.

What's really weird is that I only got this Moto X (2014) this June and it seems to be having issues already. I'm thinking of sending it in to Motorola to have it fixed but I don't know if they'll be able to do anything about it. It's not like I can purchase a new phone straight away though so I hope it continues to last. *crosses fingers*

Well from what I've read the Moto Z Play performs well whatever you throw at it. That Snapdragon 625 processor coupled with Motorola's optimisation seems to be able to perform like the Snapdragon 820 in most situations.

I was tempted by the Axon 7 when I first saw it, but after reading of many people having various issues with theirs I decided to give it a miss. The Oneplus 3 was another phone I looked at. Maybe would have bought one if it didn't have a weak vibration motor. I work in a noisy environment so I need to feel my phone vibrating in my pocket to notify me of messages etc. A phone with a weak vibration is no good to me. Also, I've read some people saying that their camera became faulty and the only way to fix it is get a new phone. Obviously every phone will have some defective units, but when i start to see quite a few people getting the same problem it puts me off. So, after weighing up all of the options, I decided to get the Moto Z Play. It's not perfect either, like I say, what phone is? But it fits my needs and preferences better than other phones at the moment. After the poor battery life of the Moto X 2014, the battery life is going to be insane for me!

Regarding the camera on the Moto X 2014 - yeah it is possible to get some good photos out if it, it's just that you also get alot of crap ones too. But my main gripe with it is that when trying to take a photo of something close up, it regularly refuses to focus. This gets really annoying after a while.

 

[Reno Takamiya]

Well from what I've read the Moto Z Play performs well whatever you throw at it. That Snapdragon 625 processor coupled with Motorola's optimisation seems to be able to perform like the Snapdragon 820 in most situations.

I was tempted by the Axon 7 when I first saw it, but after reading of many people having various issues with theirs I decided to give it a miss. The Oneplus 3 was another phone I looked at. Maybe would have bought one if it didn't have a weak vibration motor. I work in a noisy environment so I need to feel my phone vibrating in my pocket to notify me of messages etc. A phone with a weak vibration is no good to me. Also, I've read some people saying that their camera became faulty and the only way to fix it is get a new phone. Obviously every phone will have some defective units, but when i start to see quite a few people getting the same problem it puts me off. So, after weighing up all of the options, I decided to get the Moto Z Play. It's not perfect either, like I say, what phone is? But it fits my needs and preferences better than other phones at the moment. After the poor battery life of the Moto X 2014, the battery life is going to be insane for me!

Regarding the camera on the Moto X 2014 - yeah it is possible to get some good photos out if it, it's just that you also get alot of crap ones too. But my main gripe with it is that when trying to take a photo of something close up, it regularly refuses to focus. This gets really annoying after a while.

Ah, I see. Honestly I've mostly only been looking at phones with the Snapdragon 820 processor thinking that I'd need the fastest processor on the market right now because of running into overheating issues on my Moto X. I thought that it'd be a "the faster, the better" type of situation. I've seen some reviews of the Moto Z Play and it seems good enough for me. I was hoping that it would have dual stereo speakers though, but I guess the one speaker is enough as long as it has the same sound quality as on the Moto X (2014). It also seems to be pretty great with games which is what I like to see coming from my Moto X. I'm hoping that it'll also have great call quality like my Moto X but I'm sure that it will since it's still Motorola. Yeah, nobody's perfect just like with electronics. You just have to take the good with the bad/the pros with the cons. Although I believe it's better to have far more pros than cons when researching stuff.

I think I'll be giving the Axon 7 a miss as well unless they find some way to put on-screen capacitive buttons on the phone. I've heard people having issues with the buttons that are already on the phone because the space between them and the screen happens to be too small. They're also not backlit! The only real upsides I can see to the phone are the speakers, screen and the odd on-screen notification bell now being optional because of an update. The OnePlus 3 just seems to be faster. I've heard that the OnePlus customer service can be lousy though and the speaker on the phone is on the side and can sound distorted at times. I'd prefer not to have to cup my hands around a speaker to get the best sound. That said, I still don't think either the Axon 7 or OnePlus 3 will give me 4G LTE on Wal-Mart's MyFamilyMobile network.

I really can't say that my Moto X has had issues taking pictures of something close up unless it happens to be while zoomed in. I have noticed that focusing and refocusing problem though. It usually just goes away after I manually move the focus around on the screen. I wish there was an option for manual or either just touch the screen to focus.

On a related note, my brother wants to purchase the LG V20 just for the camera alone and I just think that's rather silly. He'd be better off buying a digital camera if all he wants is a camera. He also got hit by the boot loop issue on the LG G4 so he's just been prolonging getting it repaired because it no longer turns on. (He tried a fix suggested by YouTube that seemed to do nothing but make it worse.) He's also the type of person that got suckered into an expensive contract with Sprint and now they won't repair the phone until he pays off his bill which is just getting bigger and bigger. I'd honestly prefer he just dump the contract and purchase an unlocked phone outright but he's the stubborn type. I think he just happens to be an LG fanboy or doesn't want to bother researching things like I do.

This reply got a bit long winded. Feel free to ignore that final paragraph I just felt like ranting a bit. :-X

 

[nickname303]

Lol, it's ok, rant as much as you want. Don't get me started with the LG bootloop issue! I bought my girlfriend a G4 and it had the bootloop issue just outside of the warranty period (surprise surprise). So I then ended up having to buy her an iPhone 6s to replace it only 12 months after I'd bought her the G4. Thats as an expensive year! And I've also seen people saying it's happened to their G5 and V10 too, although I don't think it's as many cases as the G4 had. Still, that's 3 of LG's recent high end phones that have had that issue. Not going to touch an LG phone personally until they sort that problem out. I don't want a phone that's going to be a doorstop after a few months!

Regarding the sound on the Moto Z Play - there's always the JBL mod if you need good sound, no phones built in speakers can beat that, even the Axon 7. It's not cheap though, luckily I got it free when I bought the phone

Tbh I've always looked for phones with the fastest processor etc. too, but I think that the midrange processors these days are getting so good that they can be perfectly fine for the average user because they are able to manage most things the average user does on their phone. Having the latest greatest processor is good, but it's a waste if youre never going to utilise that power. That's a realisation that I came to when choosing the Moto Z Play.

 

[Reno Takamiya]

Lol, it's ok, rant as much as you want. Don't get me started with the LG bootloop issue! I bought my girlfriend a G4 and it had the bootloop issue just outside of the warranty period (surprise surprise). So I then ended up having to buy her an iPhone 6s to replace it only 12 months after I'd bought her the G4. Thats as an expensive year! And I've also seen people saying it's happened to their G5 and V10 too, although I don't think it's as many cases as the G4 had. Still, that's 3 of LG's recent high end phones that have had that issue. Not going to touch an LG phone personally until they sort that problem out. I don't want a phone that's going to be a doorstop after a few months!

Regarding the sound on the Moto Z Play - there's always the JBL mod if you need good sound, no phones built in speakers can beat that, even the Axon 7. It's not cheap though, luckily I got it free when I bought the phone

Tbh I've always looked for phones with the fastest processor etc. too, but I think that the midrange processors these days are getting so good that they can be perfectly fine for the average user because they are able to manage most things the average user does on their phone. Having the latest greatest processor is good, but it's a waste if youre never going to utilise that power. That's a realisation that I came to when choosing the Moto Z Play.

Thanks. I was worried that my rant might've been seen as unseemly. Ouch... I'm sorry to hear that. I imagine people who've run into the bootloop issue are going to be wary of LG from now on just like people already are of Samsung thanks to the exploding Galaxy Note 7's. I also bet it'll be awhile before both of them are back in people's good graces if ever. Technology can be great when it works and horrible when it doesn't. I like to think of it as a gift and a curse sometimes.

Yeah, I'm tempted a bit by some of the Moto Mods. I'm mainly interested in the JBL speaker, Moto Style Shell, and Power Pack since they're the cheapest. The phone already sounds like it gets great battery life but it'd be nice to have the Power Pack instead of lugging around an external battery just in case if the phone's about to die. I personally don't see a use for the Projector mod unless I'm feeling nostalgic, but even then, there are already different ways to stream what you're watching from your phone/tablet to a TV for a bigger screen experience. I haven't tried or seen the camera mod in action so I can't talk about it yet. I imagine all you'll really need is the phone's built-in camera app unless the camera mod actually makes low-light photo taking better.

Agreed. Cheap phones are getting good. And cheap phones are getting better. (Credit for that saying goes to Marques Brownlee/MKBHD. I like to think of that as a saying that applies more to the price of the phone and not the actual quality of it, although I guess it can be seen as both really since lower specs doesn't always mean a horrible user experience now.) I remember in the past when you pretty much had to fork over an arm and a leg if you wanted quality. It's not like I can afford myself a Moto Z Play presently though, so I'm still going to see what happens in 2017 for smartphones. I imagine there'll be more sites that have a deal for a Moto Z Play and a Moto Mod like Amazon is already doing.

 

[nickname303]

Thanks. I was worried that my rant might've been seen as unseemly. Ouch... I'm sorry to hear that. I imagine people who've run into the bootloop issue are going to be wary of LG from now on just like people already are of Samsung thanks to the exploding Galaxy Note 7's. I also bet it'll be awhile before both of them are back in people's good graces if ever. Technology can be great when it works and horrible when it doesn't. I like to think of it as a gift and a curse sometimes.

Yeah, I'm tempted a bit by some of the Moto Mods. I'm mainly interested in the JBL speaker, Moto Style Shell, and Power Pack since they're the cheapest. The phone already sounds like it gets great battery life but it'd be nice to have the Power Pack instead of lugging around an external battery just in case if the phone's about to die. I personally don't see a use for the Projector mod unless I'm feeling nostalgic, but even then, there are already different ways to stream what you're watching from your phone/tablet to a TV for a bigger screen experience. I haven't tried or seen the camera mod in action so I can't talk about it yet. I imagine all you'll really need is the phone's built-in camera app unless the camera mod actually makes low-light photo taking better.

Agreed. Cheap phones are getting good. And cheap phones are getting better. (Credit for that saying goes to Marques Brownlee/MKBHD. I like to think of that as a saying that applies more to the price of the phone and not the actual quality of it, although I guess it can be seen as both really since lower specs doesn't always mean a horrible user experience now.) I remember in the past when you pretty much had to fork over an arm and a leg if you wanted quality. It's not like I can afford myself a Moto Z Play presently though, so I'm still going to see what happens in 2017 for smartphones. I imagine there'll be more sites that have a deal for a Moto Z Play and a Moto Mod like Amazon is already doing.

From what I've read about the camera mod it's not very good. It's really expensive too, so it's not a great buy as far as I can see. Tbh the modular aspect of the phone is just a potential added bonus to me. I didn't buy the phone because of the modules - it wouldn't have bothered me if it wasn't modular. The JBL speaker was the only mod that I might have wanted, and I got that free with the phone, so I won't be buying any more at the moment. There's hopefully more to come so maybe i'll get some in the future.

 

[Reno Takamiya]

From what I've read about the camera mod it's not very good. It's really expensive too, so it's not a great buy as far as I can see. Tbh the modular aspect of the phone is just a potential added bonus to me. I didn't buy the phone because of the modules - it wouldn't have bothered me if it wasn't modular. The JBL speaker was the only mod that I might have wanted, and I got that free with the phone, so I won't be buying any more at the moment. There's hopefully more to come so maybe i'll get some in the future.

Ah, I see. Thanks for the information and this short discussion we had. It was very insightful! I'm also mostly just interested in the phone and I see the mods as a bonus as well.