Nexus 7 Lollypop 5 and factory reset WORKS

[mededitor]

Like others, I was getting myself more and more confused while reading about ways to "downgrade" my Nexus 7 (2012) back to KitKat (or JellyBean) or re-installing a factory image of Lollipop (which I didn't want to do).

I found a video on YouTube that finally made sense to me. I ran the video on my HTC One while I had my Nexus 7 attached to my Mac for "downgrading." I paused the video whenever I needed to type a command and it worked for me the first time! My Nexus 7 is now running better than ever with no lag or stutters. Yes, it means wiping your device, but it was well worth it in my opinion.

This video is aimed toward Mac-users, but is very easily translated for PC users---just don't do the "./" step toward the end of the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzzDxrccZO8

I hope it helps someone. I couldn't stand Lollipop on my Nexus 7, the lags were terrible. Plus, I don't like some of the features such as the combined mailbox, the lack of silent mode, no "Gallery," etc. I know that a clean install of Lollipop might have solved the lagging, but I much prefer JellyBean or KitKat as an OS.

JMO.

 

[Dmjohn29]

Thank you for that. While I'm still waiting for the OTA update, it's nice to know there's an easy to follow way to get back to 4.4.4.

 

[Seronac]

So, less than a week after doing a factory reset to try to get Lollipop to work, my N7 has slowed to a crawl. Unless someone can give me a good reason not to, this weekend's project will be to revert back to KitKat, and write a strongly worded letter of complaint to Google. This is ridiculous.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[kentrol72]

Factory reset bought zip back to my N7 2012 but Chrome is slow. Will try the Dolphin browser tip mentioned earlier. Biggest complaint is that I cant have multiple user profiles anymore with 5.0. It froze on a blank screen when I attempted to switch so I removed the second profile and the device runs normal.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Bazza1]

FURTHER TO: Chrome issue and the move to Dolphin browser -

I saw an updated Chrome install the other day (December 4) and thought that might have resolved it's issues with Lollipop on my N7 (2012) . Clearly not. Gave it the old college try and it was just as slow to load and then froze up and brought my N7 to a halt. Hard reboot to regain control and the app has once again been banished to a dark corner of my device in favour of Dolphin, which is still a lot snappier than Chrome ever was.

'Way to go, Google!

Meanwhile, on the Facebook front via Dolphin - I've swapped out the default Facebook link on Dolphin's 'New Tab' page - which offers access to the full desktop version - to the mobile version (m.facebook.com) for an even better viewing / access experience. A side benefit of accessing Facebook via Dolphin is also regaining access to Messaging, without need for a separate app.

 

[CarbonOak]

Like others, I was getting myself more and more confused while reading about ways to "downgrade" my Nexus 7 (2012) back to KitKat (or JellyBean) or re-installing a factory image of Lollipop (which I didn't want to do).

I found a video on YouTube that finally made sense to me. I ran the video on my HTC One while I had my Nexus 7 attached to my Mac for "downgrading." I paused the video whenever I needed to type a command and it worked for me the first time! My Nexus 7 is now running better than ever with no lag or stutters. Yes, it means wiping your device, but it was well worth it in my opinion.

This video is aimed toward Mac-users, but is very easily translated for PC users---just don't do the "./" step toward the end of the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzzDxrccZO8

I hope it helps someone. I couldn't stand Lollipop on my Nexus 7, the lags were terrible. Plus, I don't like some of the features such as the combined mailbox, the lack of silent mode, no "Gallery," etc. I know that a clean install of Lollipop might have solved the lagging, but I much prefer JellyBean or KitKat as an OS.

JMO.

My mom's 2012 Nexus 7 is pretty bad post Lollipop, even after the various tips and tricks around the net to improve performance. I'm going to have to downgrade it, so thanks for the link.

 

[Seronac]

I went back to KitKat and my N7's performance is much better now. Although I do get the occasional freeze and restart, it is now usable. I'm not inclined to even try 5.0.2 since I'm not real impressed with Lollipop's new features anyway.

So, in conclusion, Lollipop and factory reset DOES NOT work, KitKat does. And Google should be ashamed of themselves.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Roosterman]

I haven't gotten 5.02 OTA yet and was hoping it would fix some of the issues. I'm limping along at this point when I see an article that 5.1 to be released this summer Android 5.1 Lollipop to roll out in major devices by summer; Nexus and GPE devices first | Christian News on Christian Today

 

[rong21]

I went back to KitKat and my N7's performance is much better now. Although I do get the occasional freeze and restart, it is now usable. I'm not inclined to even try 5.0.2 since I'm not real impressed with Lollipop's new features anyway.

So, in conclusion, Lollipop and factory reset DOES NOT work, KitKat does. And Google should be ashamed of themselves.

Posted via the Android Central App

I had 5.02 and still had issues, even after a factory reset. Went back to KK.

Lollipop can suck it. I'll keep kk.

 

[Seronac]

I haven't gotten 5.02 OTA yet and was hoping it would fix some of the issues. I'm limping along at this point when I see an article that 5.1 to be released this summer Android 5.1 Lollipop to roll out in major devices by summer; Nexus and GPE devices first | Christian News on Christian Today

I'll believe it when I see it. I might even install it, if it works. I am so disappointed in Google with Lollipop.

 

[Roosterman]

Seronac, I have to agree. Google has been a huge disappoint with this rollout. I did finally get 5.0.2 and it still sucks. Basically, my N7 is just a media server now. I can't do much more with it than stream music to a BT speaker. It can handle that as long as I don't have much else running.

 

[Roosterman]

I've stumbled onto what might be a workable fix without having to root and go back to KitKat. While on another site I came across this link https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/EWUtW5-fVrE[1-25]

In it are a number of settings changes. I've made them and can say my N7 is actually usable. I can use chrome with multiple tabs open. Being able to change pages and have a somewhat reasonable user experience. I can't say it is 100% back to pre lollipop, but it is a night a day difference at this point. I've only used it for about an hour, but before this, I wasn't able to use it for an hour. It was more like 10 minutes before the N7 stalled out and had to be hard shut down.

The settings took maybe a half hour to do but so far, a half-hour well spent. I recommend you give it a try.

 

[Seronac]

So, after having read through the post at the above link, it seems that the solution is to disable every enhancement and convenience that Android offers and run a bare bones OS.

To me, the reason I have a N7 and Android is to take advantage of those features. Disabling them in order to run the latest version is unacceptable, and not something I should have to do to get reasonable performance. If I wanted a bare bones OS, I would root it and install Ubuntu or something.

Google has declared that Lollipop is compatible with the N7 (2012), so I therefore expect it to work as originally designed, with no noticeable hit to performance. This is not the case. Therefore Google needs to either get it fixed or to amend their original declaration of compatibility to exclude the N7 (2012). I can be patient and wait for them to get it together, or I can sell the N7 and buy something that works.

I don't necessarily need the latest tech, but I do need a device that works. The N7 (2012) with Lollipop ain't it.

Posted via the Android Central App