[G 2014 General] rbmaster:
My previously phone was just a low budget Xperia X8 but I was used to only have to charge it each 2/3 days with normal usage.

So, after buying the Moto G 2nd Gen and having to charge it twice a day in the first days of usage (heavy usage I must say), I started to try to find ways how I could optimize the battery of my new phone.

I started reading about how what changed with newer versions of Android, the issues lollipop has and the impact services and apps have on the battery life in current versions of Android with the technologies our phone has.

I started looking into tasker and many other apps, and thinking in rooting my phone to have even more control over the battery usage, but even without rooting, I manage to make it last 3 days with normal usage (more than 7 hours on screen time heavy usage).

At that time I was like "Great! Now I only have to charge it once every 3 days just like my old Xperia X8". But then it came to me, my smartphone wasn't actually that smart after all the tweaks I had to make to save its battery.

At that point I started to do lots of tests to check what's really draining the battery and after all those tests now I have a battery that lasts 2/3 days with normal usage while having a true smartphone!

This is what you should do:

Note: I have the model XT1068 and I'm using two sim cards with it, and you'll need the app tasker for a crucial step but you will NOT need root.

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WHAT YOU SHOULD DISABLE:​

- Disable "Ok Google" detection -> big battery drainer

- Disable the following apps:

Assist

Motorola Alert

Motorola Contextual Services

Motorola Migration

Motorola One Time Init

Motorola Notification

HP print service (you already have google cloud print service)

Motorola Init Services

Help

Motorola One Time Init

You should also disable all the google apps you don't want to use.

- Disable Wifi always on network search

- Disable Wifi every time you are not using it

- Disable Auto-Sync (you'll have auto-sync back in a more smart and efficient way using tasker)

- Disable Ambient Notifications (you already have the notification led to warn you about incoming notifications)

- Disable Audio Effects

- Temporarily enable auto-sync so you could manually disable all the apps you don't need to be synced (ex.: Google Plus, Drive, etc). Disable auto-sync after you are done with the changes.

- Disable all those reports being automatically sent (sorry developers, but that really adds up to the battery usage with multiple apps doing it)

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WHAT YOU SHOULD ENABLE TO KEEP YOUR PHONE SMART

(Unless you don't ever use it)​

- Enable Bluetooth (Bluetooth 4.0 consumes nearly 0 battery while not paired to a device, even paired it consumes little power with newer devices)

- Enable Mobile Data

- Enable location in high precision mode (it will activate GPS when an app needs it)

- Enable Auto- Brightness (adjust the brightness slider to 60% or less after that, the lower the better)

- Enable notification light

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SETTINGS AND TIPS​

- If you don't have a really strong 3g sinal switch to 2g mode

- Set the screen to go off after 30 second or 1 minute

- Use a magnetic flip cover so it automatically awakes your device and also automatically makes the screen go off when you close it

- Do not use apps known for their heavy impact on battery !VERY IMPORTANT! ( Use Chrome to access facebook, don't let your online messaging apps be always on, etc.)

- Don't use wifi with a bad signal, well, better said don't use any network with a low signal or else your battery will drain fast. Enable Air plain mode if your network signal is really low.

- Keep your internal storage with >600MB of free storage

- Use only simple methods of unlocking your phone (Don't use anything that uses location services, camera, microphone, etc.)

- Do not let apps being always on using network services like GPS (adjust the app setting so it only uses when you use the app)

- Get rid of any app you installed but don't need

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Tasker: Making your phone more efficient​

- Create a profile that goes on while you have AC power connected and when it goes on it enables Wi-fi and Auto-Sync, when it goes off it disables those features.

- Create another profile that repeats from the time you wake up until the average time you go to bed, and make it repeat every 2 or more hours (depends on your sync needs). What it should do is enable auto.sync, wait 3 minutes, then disable auto-sync

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Congratulations now you have a true smartphone with a good battery life!

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I think I didn't forget about anything, but if I did I will edit this post. :)