Any way to start a Nexus 7 2012, Android 5.1.1. device without creating a Google Account/signing in?

[openweb]

Say, you are an American, visiting China, Google is blocked. Or, you are vacationing in the rainforests. The point is, you can't access Google's servers.

These is absolutely no way to use this device with its latest software, given these circumstances?

I had then chance to a few iterations of Android, I could always get tot he device's home screen without this hassle.

Strange business decisions on Google's part.

 

[B. Diddy]

It prevents you from getting past the lockscreen? I would have thought it would just prevent you from connecting to your Google services (like Gmail, Google Play Store, etc.).

 

[openweb]

I freshly reseted (or resetted?) this device. It does not allow me from welcome screen to home screen, until it connects to a Wi-Fi network. It does not have the Skip connect to Wi-Fi option like all the other Android iterations I came across. May I call it faulty by design?

 

[B. Diddy]

It's been a while since I had a 2012 N7, so I can't test it out directly. However, this thread from 2012 shows that it's how it always has been for that tablet: How to skip WiFi configuration during initia… | Nexus 7 | XDA Forums