Why does my Moto X (2013) battery drain fast?

[stuff5150]

Re: Moto X (2013) Screen On Time

Hi terrrrrible,

Thanks for posting these. I'm replying here so we don't mix the threads.

Yup, seeing your stats is pretty much like seeing mine, where Kernel and Android are on top of the Gsam list. I also have a high WiFi active percentage. I'll post my screenshots after the next full charge & use.

Keep in mind that in my case, I don't use facebook/twitter/reddit/instagram, etc. I've kept it pretty bare bones, meaning if an app is not used, it's not installed.

Remind me, how long have you had your phone? Was it ever better than this? I've had mine for two full months now and it's always been like this. I really can't say if it's a HW issue or SW/Android power management. I'm inclined to say the latter, though.

The impression that I get, however, after having literally read everything I can find on the topic online is that something changed after 4.4.2. Almost everything that I read about awesome battery life was on 4.4.2, then 4.4.3 was a bit worse and 4.4.4 just ruined it. Of course, there is no way to prove this, just a subjective opinion based on what I've gathered.

Don't get me wrong, I like the phone because it's packed with innovative features that make it one-of-a-kind and special. Holding it is also a treat! But would I go as far as saying that it's better than the Nexus 4 I upgraded from (and that Jerry also concluded was better in his review. I don't have enough posts for links yet, google "moto x vs nexus 4 android central" )? Probably not. Sure, the 4 had its issues as well (overheating was one) but looking back, if I used it as conservatively as I use the X, I'm certain I would be getting better battery life and SOT.

Lollipop and service are the two options left for me. Hopefully the former does it, not keen on the latter. If that doesn't make things better I might consider selling it, which of course would be a huge disappointment and waste of time, energy & money since the plan was to keep it for two years. Needless to say, I would never buy another Motorola product after that. First and last for me.

Coming to think of it, if the 1st gen's battery is said to be better than the 2014, I dare not think what a let down that phone might be! A larger screen with a marginally bigger battery...really Motorola??

Feedback from those who might have a suggestion or solution is always welcome, of course.

 

[weksa]

Re: Moto X (2013) Screen On Time

From today's run, here's an album of my battery screenshots: http://imgur.com/a/Lwl3j
I use every Moto feature: Active Display, GPS high accuracy, Touchless Control, brightness on auto but using the app Lux, etc.

This is one of my better runs, but not the best. I don't often test my battery anymore like I did when I first got the phone. SOT will be lower (2-3.5 hours) if I use the phone over the course of a longer day (12-18 hours).

From my experience, factors making a shorter battery run include using the camera and watching videos directly on the phone (I don't play much games). My general usage involves G+, FB, email, text, Chromecast Netflix and Hulu to my TV, seldom voice calls, news, and -- especially recently -- researching for deals (holiday shopping).

 

[stuff5150]

Re: Moto X (2013) Screen On Time

Not bad, considering you sucked the life out of that screen!

 

[Photo_Drew]

Re: Moto X (2013) Screen On Time

That's crazy. I never get near that much SOT, but I don't get great signal at my house so I think it's using more juice for that. Also run auto brightness. Could probably turn it down but it works. New '14 comes next week and I'll put it through the paces.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[stuff5150]

Re: Moto X (2013) Screen On Time

How much SOT do you average, Photo_Drew? Let us know how the two Xs compare. I never fell for the argument of disabling auto-brightness. Sure, I could go crazy and disable everything/go manual but it's too much hassle, too many buttons to be pressing, too many settings to remember. #refusetobeneurotic

BTW, since you mentioned it, one thing that I recently started looking into which I had never paid attention to is signal strength. I did a little online research on it and downloaded the Network Signal Strength app (by Lakshman) a few minutes ago. It just reinforced what I knew from the Android battery stats: the reception in my apartment is not that good. This, therefore, definitely has to be a factor in my battery life, I just don't know how much. Anyone know of a way to calculate that?

Finally, here are my stats from yesterday's usage.



If someone knows how to read the Android/Kernel stats and has any suggestions for improving or modifying them, chime in.

 

[Photo_Drew]

I usually get about 2.5 hours of screen on time with sporadic use during the day. I have a gear live hooked up all day and location set to high. I was going to do a factory reset when 5.0 hit but I just ordered a 2014 X. I see a lot more wake locks than I used to but neither stock or gsam really point to a culprit. I'll post some screens later.

But I also rarely let it go below 20% so there's probably another hour or so in there.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[sixty_four]

Some thoughts on battery life after weeks of fiddling...

I've spent the last couple of months trying to optimize battery life on my Moto X 2013 without disabling any of the features that I find helpful. I'm not an expert on Android internals so my efforts have been limited to trial & error and cause & effect observations. It's not the optimal way to approach a complex issue like this but it's the best I could do.

After a lot of combing through settings screens, disabling that, enabling this, uninstalling apps, reinstalling apps I've come to think that the best I can do is a ~2.5%-per-hour-drain-while-idle when the phone is configured in a way that is useful to me. I've occasionally hit >2% but that's a rarity. While I'd like to be able to match the impressive battery life and SOT stats I've seen here and elsewhere, I'm not willing to hamstring my phone to get there.

Am I happy with my battery life? I can honestly say I am not. My phone will last a day, but I'm always keeping one eye on the battery level during that day. Is there more I could do to improve battery endurance? Probably, but I'm not sure the return of a 0.5% - 1% improvement is worth the investment in time. I haven't done an FDR yet since L is supposed to be right around the corner.

All that said, I look at these smartphone "hyper-milers" with a bit of envy but also with the realization I don't want to be such a mAH scrooge I don't enjoy using my phone as I do now. I do wish more manufacturers would put more thought and design towards battery life endurance like Sony seems to have done with the Z3C.

 

[stuff5150]

Sixty_four,

Thank you for posting this. Although I haven’t posted in this thread since I started it, the X issue has been on my mind, nevertheless, and reading your post reflects my thoughts exactly. After four months of owning this phone and going through every excuse possible to myself to justify it, I can honestly say that this is not a good phone for me. After being with Android for five years, I kind of knew from the very beginning of getting it that it just wasn't good enough, but it’s hard for one to admit making a bad choice. Human nature, I guess, because our ego always wants us to make the right choice.

This phone had so much hype on the web about it’s “excellent/solid/great” battery life and that is simply not the case. Battery life is average, at best, if not even below par. I swear I will never, ever trust a review on “great” battery life again! Not sure if the reviewers reached that conclusion in a haste or whether they were sponsored by Motorola, but I regret selling my Nexus 4 for the X.

To elaborate on your thoughts, I have literally grown a fear of touching the phone without reason because of the battery just dropping! Bear in mind too, that this is almost a bare bones device; no Twitter, facebook, Instagram, games, videos, surfing or anything. Just a phone with average Hangouts use, SMS, occasional phone calls and that’s it, really. Reception is not the best in my area but it’s never 0% either. No matter how much I’d love for that to be the culprit, it simply cannot be. SOT is usually at ~90’ and standby time is never more than a day, at best, and with very frugal use throughout. I’ve had the Nexus go three days on standby when on vacation! Wi-Fi and/or cellular are always on but location is on battery saving. Everything in regards to syncing and apps has been meticulously tweaked so as to favor the battery. Google Now is on, as well as its features and that’s it.

I have become tired of looking and analyzing the GSam stats and always seeing Android System and Kernel at the top of the list with ~10% & ~8% consumption constantly, without actually having used the phone. Discharge rate is rarely less than 3.5% even if phone is sitting on a table.

As a matter of fact, last night after reading your post I had trouble sleeping because this phone has reached the end of my tether. Obviously, this is simply not worth it. Sure, as an argument a charger/wall socket is always around but that’s not the point for me. My expectations for this phone were ~24 hours mixed usage with ~2.5 hours of SOT. I am simply nowhere near this; it’s always one or the other but never both. If I start using the phone on a day out (a combination of calls, light use of Maps or Hangouts) the battery disappears! God forbid if I had a layover in an airport somewhere and wanted to play a game to kill time!

The other issues I have, which are Motorola related is that nothing works! Motorola Connect on my PC has stopped working for the last two months, Lost Phone through the Motorola website doesn’t work either and neither did Active Display until an update recently. On all three attempts of calling the support line, they have been utterly clueless (although cordial) and referred me to online TS help that had I told them I had already unsuccessfully performed. What’s the point of “innovation” if it doesn’t work?

My gut reaction is to get rid of this phone and never buy anything Motorola again. Of course that would mean swallowing the loss of buying it brand new with a plan of keeping it for two years. At this point, we are so close to Lollipop that I might as well wait and see what that will bring, although I’m not holding my breath. Service is the last option but all the diagnostics and battery tests I’ve ran are fine so they’ll probably just shrug and say “this is the phone’s normal behavior...”.

If Lollipop is not it, this phone will be history and a lesson learned. I was contemplating getting the LG G2, which I should have done in the first place, although I’m not a fan of large phones either. However, I simply cannot compromise on poor battery life, as learned here. Alternatively, it’s the Z3C which seems awesome in every way although over my budget.

That’s it. I just wanted to share what’s been on my mind this whole time in hopes that someone considering buying this phone might find my opinion helpful.

 

[stuff5150]

Just to let everyone know, I bought the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact last week and ended my Moto X misery. I wanted so much to love that phone (shape, features) but it just didn't love me back. Subpar battery life, extremely volatile reception and battery drain as well as no Lollipop after *6* months just did it for me. So long Motorola. You will not be missed.

The Z3C on the other hand is great so far! Every day ends with ~40% battery left and the SOT is more than plenty. Stamina mode is extremely useful and this is the direction I think all manufacturers should be heading as far as battery management. Where I was used to seeing ~15% battery drop on the X overnight, now I'm seeing 5% or less. Same apps, same configuration. This is the phone I should have gotten in the first place and saved myself LOTS of agony. The pure Android myth also died for me as I enjoy every one of the "bloatware" Sony apps on it.

Finally very happy!

Thanks to everyone that responded to my posts and tried to help; much appreciated. Maybe we'll meet again on other threads.

George