Can you completely wipe an android tablet or mobile and replace it with a later android OS

[Android Central Question]

Hi,

I have an old mobile running android 4.4.4 and an old tablet running android 4.1 but I need an os running at least 5 on the mobile or 6.(something) on the tablet in order to use them for my Google Home mini & Cromecast.

I have absolutely no idea about android and would need spoon feeding step-by-step on how to wipe and rebuild a mobile or tablet.

I understand you can root and also use something called TWRP to 'Flash'??? as part of a rebuilt (I could also be talking sh!t)

I have on many occasions wiped and rebuilt my windows pc (Easy), but android seems to a very different kettle-of-fish especially for the technophobic.

If wiping and rebuilding the above mentioned mobile, tablet or OS's is not possible, what about wiping a windows tablet and replacing it with an android os, is that possible?

Failing all that I might just nip to Curry's (Other retailers are also available lol) and buy a cheap but usable tablet.

Any help on this would be much appriciated.

Cheers,
Indy

Ps: and to think I was an IT manager back in the 80's-90's lol

 

[hallux]

You could using 3rd-party ROMs, but you're going to get to the point that the device simply won't support it. Unlike Windows, each device needs its OS built specifically for that device. Most of those tablets are going to be 1-2 GB of RAM, they're simply not going to run the newer versions of Android as well as you might hope and the "drivers" for the SoC are going to be "hacked" as there never was official support for that chip on newer versions (SoC manufacturer support, not even Android).

We realize budgets are always a concern. However - at some point the time, effort and risk involved in such endeavors far outweigh the cost of just replacing the device. On top of that, you'll be constantly "chasing" the requirements if you don't upgrade to something more recent. Today, the minimum OS version for casting might be Android 5 but that could change to Android 6 tomorrow and you'll be seeking the same solution to get that old hardware on 6.

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[Rukbat]

You can replace the current version of Android with any version ROM that's been written for that particular model tablet. Windows (and most distros of Linux) has enough drivers to figure out wehere it is during installation, and use the right driver for sound, video, etcx., and install properly. Even though Android is running on Linux, all that's been taken out in the interest of compactness, so the ROM is written for the specific device.

Look at Lineage OS, and see if there's a version for your phone o your tablet that's new enough.

Or look in the appropriate forum on XDA Forums (the one for your phone or the one for your tablet) to see if someone has redone a newer ROM for one of your devices.

Otherwise ... I wouldn't suggest buying a cheap tablet (or even a cheap phone). The cheap tablets are usually made by some Chinese company that's in business long enough to make a few production runs of tablets, take a few thousand Yuan and make a few hundred thousand Yuan, then disappear. If you ever need anything, help, a new ROM, you won't find it. Curry's might take it back if it fails during the warranty, but that's about it.

You might find a few apps, like Chrome and YouTube, can do casting in 4.4.4, but you;d need the old version of the Chromecast app to cast the whole screen in KitKat - and Home won't work at all. Early JellyBean? Much too early to have anything you can use.