Nexus 7 Owners Thread - apps, tips & tricks!

ferrigan101

corkie wrote: »

If you can get the device into fastboot mode (Vol Down + Power from off)?

It maybe possible to manually flash the factory image, get the latest factory image for your device here. (5.0.2 (LRX22G) for wifi 2013.)

If that works, you could then use the NRT to root and flash a custom recovery.

So I can't seem to get the bootloader unlocked. It just keeps hanging at

(bootloader) Unlocking bootloader...
(bootloader) erasing userdata...

I'm assuming this is because of the seemingly corrupt cache. Not sure what to do next. Has anyone any experience dealing with Google or Asus customer care?

corkie

ferrigan101 wrote: »

So I can't seem to get the bootloader unlocked. It just keeps hanging at

(bootloader) Unlocking bootloader...
(bootloader) erasing userdata...

I'm assuming this is because of the seemingly corrupt cache. Not sure what to do next. Has anyone any experience dealing with Google or Asus customer care?

That process takes a while, how long did you leave it at that process?

If you left it for a while, you may have a corrupted bootloader!
Fixing that is beyond my knowledge.

ferrigan101

corkie wrote: »

That process takes a while, how long did you leave it at that process?

If you left it for a while, you may have a corrupted bootloader!
Fixing that is beyond my knowledge.

Hmmm about 10 minutes. I'll try again and leave it longer so!

eoinf

Stood on my nexus 7 2012 this morning, pissed off as the new update had just made it useable again. Anyway, anyone any experience of swapping out the screen. Is it something you reckon could be done at home?

ferrigan101

ferrigan101 wrote: »

Hmmm about 10 minutes. I'll try again and leave it longer so!

Well, it didn't work. Eventually it just failed.

When I get home later I'm going to attempt to format the cache, but I'm not sure that will work with the bootloader locked.

It's looking more likely that I'll be getting on to Asus customer support.

Adamcp898

Anyone got any recommendations on keyboard cases for the 2013 model?

neacy69

Is it still worth getting a nexus 7 2013? I'm looking for a new tablet and considering this (or maybe the hudl 2)...Whats the best price for the 2013 device?

I like the nexus 9 but i think its just too expensive

murphaph

If you ever want to play around with custom ROMs (for example when the manufacturer no longer supports them or provides updates) then go for the Nexus over the Hudl. The Hudl (at least the first generation which my mother has) cannot be flashed with a custom recovery so cannot be flashed with custom ROMs AFAIK, so you're stuck with the ROM as provided by the manufacturer, forever.

Just something to think about. There are obviously other tablets that can be flashed with alternative ROMs, but you did specifically mention Nexus & Hudl.

neacy69

murphaph wrote: »

If you ever want to play around with custom ROMs (for example when the manufacturer no longer supports them or provides updates) then go for the Nexus over the Hudl. The Hudl (at least the first generation which my mother has) cannot be flashed with a custom recovery so cannot be flashed with custom ROMs AFAIK, so you're stuck with the ROM as provided by the manufacturer, forever.

Just something to think about. There are obviously other tablets that can be flashed with alternative ROMs, but you did specifically mention Nexus & Hudl.

Thanks for your reply
I have a HP touchpad at the minute so I have flashed custom roms in the past so its not something i'm adverse to...

Probably because the N7 is from 2013 so almost 2 years old now (in july) is the only reason im reluctant to buy iy

Gran Hermano

I'd avoid the 2012 model as even with lollipop there are reports of it struggling. The hardware is dated at this stage. I'm still using my 2013 N7 without any problems. I use it daily and would have no problem recommending it.
(I use it as much as my N9).

Keep an eye on Bargain Alerts forum and search recent threads there as they often pop up on special offers.

I'd also take a look at the newer tablets from China. Onda, Teclast and Xiaomi all have powerful tablets for around 150 euro.

jonski

Gran Hermano wrote: »

I'd avoid the 2012 model as even with lollipop there are reports of it struggling.

I've one of the first 2012 models and struggling is being polite , it'll go out the window one of these nights . It does all the things , browsing , youtube , news apps , boards app , it's just that sometimes it just stalls .

ThisRegard

I know exactly what you're saying. At this stage I use my phone before the 2012 7 on lollipop, it's just a frustrating pain in the ass to use. I just haven't had the time to go flash it yet, or throw it at the wall.

If you have one, and haven't upgraded the OS yet from KitKat, don't. Despite its age it ran well on KitKat.

My daughters first gen Hudl is a much more pleasant experience.

t0mm13b

jonski wrote: »

I've one of the first 2012 models and struggling is being polite , it'll go out the window one of these nights . It does all the things , browsing , youtube , news apps , boards app , it's just that sometimes it just stalls .

The reason for that, is the filesystem is flaky on the nand chip. There was reported success in using a alternative kernel that has f2fs support, the only catch was, that the entire filesystem be reformatted to f2fs instead of ext4fs. Once that gets formatted and a kernel that understands f2fs, it actually brought the Nexus 2012 first gen, back to life.

(Yes, you will lose data, but if you're rooted, back up the apps etc beforehand )

I have Nexus 7 2013 Wifi second generation, which was to remedy numerous issues in 2012 edition, so steer clear of 2012 Nexus 7.

To be honest, I use Nexus 7 daily with custom recovery and rooted KitKat, I am deliberately avoiding Lollipop for now, until Lollipop 5.1 comes out. And furthermore, Nexus 7 is by far, the best tablet hands down.

robinph

Just went and "upgraded" mine back down to 4.4.4 and things are better already. It was just way too painful using Lollipop and the number of times it crashed or ground to a halt on me was not fun anymore.

Fresh Pots

robinph wrote: »

Just went and "upgraded" mine back down to 4.4.4 and things are better already. It was just way too painful using Lollipop and the number of times it crashed or ground to a halt on me was not fun anymore.

Did you use the stock kernel and filing system or the one mentioned above?

robinph

Fresh Pots wrote: »

Did you use the stock kernel and filing system or the one mentioned above?

Erm, not sure.

I used the WUG Toolkit app and just selected the older version. Have been using that to force any firmware changes for a while now as the most reliable way of doing it.

Fresh Pots

robinph wrote: »

Erm, not sure.

I used the WUG Toolkit app and just selected the older version. Have been using that to force any firmware changes for a while now as the most reliable way of doing it.

That would be the stock way so, the method above using the f2fs looks tempting but I wouldn't mind hearing from someone who has already switched. Few mixed reports online.

ThisRegard

robinph wrote: »

Erm, not sure.

I used the WUG Toolkit app and just selected the older version. Have been using that to force any firmware changes for a while now as the most reliable way of doing it.

Where did you get it from?

Last time I did any this stuff was when I used to put Cyanogen on my Galaxy S.

ttenneb

robinph wrote: »

Just went and "upgraded" mine back down to 4.4.4 and things are better already. It was just way too painful using Lollipop and the number of times it crashed or ground to a halt on me was not fun anymore.

I need to do similar. I turned off LOCATION as recommended elsewhere, only slight improvement. Is reverting to 4.4.4 manageable by ham fisted people?

robinph

ThisRegard wrote: »

Where did you get it from?

Last time I did any this stuff was when I used to put Cyanogen on my Galaxy S.

Should have the latest version here:

http://www.wugfresh.com

murphaph

My 2012 3G model (totally stock, unrooted) just got the OTA upgrade to 5.0.2. I said "what the hell" and let it upgrade, expecting that I'd be factory resetting it within the hour and then probably rooting it and flashing it with a clean install using the factory image (having read lots of reports of near unusable tablets after upgrading). It's fine though, more responsive than it was on 4.4.4 for sure.

I have a recent Cyanogenmod12 nightly build (5.0.2 based) on my N4 and Lollipop has grown on me since I flashed it a week ago, so want it on my N7 as well. If it starts slowing down I'll probably just wait now for the first CM12 nightly and flash it with that (clean install), but so far so good.

ThisRegard

Mine initially seemed more responsive, I posted here that it was when I got it. But it has been ****e from there on in.

murphaph

ThisRegard wrote: »

Mine initially seemed more responsive, I posted here that it was when I got it. But it has been ****e from there on in.

Are you planning to do a clean install of stock or CM or something else to get it back toa usable state? No need to live with it the way it is. It's still perfectly capable of being a very usable tablet.

ThisRegard

I agree, it was perfect before lollipop, well perfect apart from me breaking the wireless antenna when changing the USB port.

I just haven't had the time to fool around and see if I'll revert back to a previous stock version, or go the way of CM.

corkie

Nexus 7 (2012) Factory images for Nakasi and Nakasig updated with the correct bootloader files!

People might be aware of the issue with bootloaders from this XDA thread!

Note: Factory image 4.4.2 KOT49H still has the incorrect bootloader!

corkie

Custom Rom Recommendations????


What custom roms are people running and what would people recommend?


I tried Dirty Unicorns but problems with Gapps package prevent me from running it. Found out on XDA it's a problem with must roms unless you use a certain gapps package.


Before wiping I backup my data etc with TWRP. When I re flashed stock, I had reduced storage, so changed the data partition to fat and back to ext4 to fix it.

When I restored the data, I found I had about 2gb extra free storage.

Redundo

Only just finished today a downgrade on my Nexus 7 (2012).went from android 5.0 to 4.4.4. The online instructions weren't the best, but i got there despite some ham-fisted-ness!

It takes a lot to describe how much it has improved. It's gone from an unusable, unmanageable mess to something like new. Responsiveness and stability are back to what they should be.

MonkstownHoop

I see lidl are selling a Silvercrest Bluetooth Keyboard for €19.99 on Thursday, would this be grand for the nexus 7?

ttenneb

I imagine it should work. I bought a chinese copy of a Samsung and it works fine. The only problem was an absence of a user guide for periferal keys.

neacy69

any decent links for cases? I like the slim smart covers...any good&cheap ones?