When will N7 (2013) LTE get Lollipop?

[Cees Medema]

I read there will be no update to Nexus 7 LTE 2013

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[smccloud]

I read there will be no update to Nexus 7 LTE 2013

Posted via the Android Central App

There better be, I was told by Verizon it would get it before I bought it.

 

[swebb]

I read there will be no update to Nexus 7 LTE 2013

You got a source for that? I'm dubious. Google kept the 2012 N7 LTE up to date until lollipop. The N9 LTE has lollipop. Google has typically kept all devices up two 2 years old on the latest software.

The vexing part in all of this is why they don't have anything released for the N7 LTE but they do have Lollipop for the N9 LTE. They both have LTE radios so what else is fundamentally different that was not already addressed in the non LTE software? It's also head scratching that VZ is blamed for the delay. Why not ATT, Sprint, and TMo? Perhaps it's convenient for Google to let VZ take the blame.

I believe Google is holding it back to address all the issues with 5.0 and 5.0.1 in one release. It would surprise me if Lollipop and M* (next release) would not drop for all N7's.

 

[YAYTech]

You got a source for that? I'm dubious. Google kept the 2012 N7 LTE up to date until lollipop. The N9 LTE has lollipop. Google has typically kept all devices up two 2 years old on the latest software.

The vexing part in all of this is why they don't have anything released for the N7 LTE but they do have Lollipop for the N9 LTE. They both have LTE radios so what else is fundamentally different that was not already addressed in the non LTE software? It's also head scratching that VZ is blamed for the delay. Why not ATT, Sprint, and TMo? Perhaps it's convenient for Google to let VZ take the blame.

I believe Google is holding it back to address all the issues with 5.0 and 5.0.1 in one release. It would surprise me if Lollipop and M* (next release) would not drop for all N7's.

I wouldn't be surprised if the 2012 N7 didn't get Android M, but time will tell. I would be shocked if the 2013 N7 LTE didn't get Lollipop.

 

[Graham Thomas]

There's no point in blaming telecom companies until after Google releases 5.x factory images for Nexus 7 mobile devices. At the time of writing they aren't available for either the 2012 or the 2013 mobile N7s:

https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images

As someone else said, it's hard to understand the delay, given that there are 5.x versions available for the the Nexus 9 LTE as well as for the 6, 5 and 4 phones. Why should the cellular radios in the N7 be such a showstopper? Maybe it's just that not so many were sold and Google doesn't think it's a priority. Or maybe they're just holding off until 5.1 is ready.

 

[smccloud]

There's no point in blaming telecom companies until after Google releases 5.x factory images for Nexus 7 mobile devices. At the time of writing they aren't available for either the 2012 or the 2013 mobile N7s:

https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images

As someone else said, it's hard to understand the delay, given that there are 5.x versions available for the the Nexus 9 LTE as well as for the 6, 5 and 4 phones. Why should the cellular radios in the N7 be such a showstopper? Maybe it's just that not so many were sold and Google doesn't think it's a priority. Or maybe they're just holding off until 5.1 is ready.

They can't release them until carriers approve the update. And Verizon is well known for taking their sweet time approving updates.

 

[YAYTech]

They can't release them until carriers approve the update. And Verizon is well known for taking their sweet time approving updates.

They've been a little better lately (IIRC, the Verizon MotoX was the first MotoX to get Kitkat), but that's beside the point. Again, there's not a solid update for the non-LTE, so why would we expect there's an update ready for the LTE version that's being held up by anyone? If Lollipop isn't 100% ready/reliable for the simpler device, it's certainly not ready for the more complex one.

 

[Marcel Zonneveld]

Google was testing the N7 2013 LTE owner's patience with the 4.4.4 update, but it seems we have to wait for the 5.x.x update even longer. Still no updates visible on the factory image (and OTA) lists.

This is my first and last Google LTE device, since I expected to be one of the first in line to receive software updates.

 

[Graham Thomas]

The 5.0.2 factory image for the WiFi version has just been posted, so the OTA update for that should be distributed soon. Still nothing for either of the cellular versions of the N7, though. I really can't understand what the holdup is.

 

[YAYTech]

The 5.0.2 factory image for the WiFi version has just been posted, so the OTA update for that should be distributed soon. Still nothing for either of the cellular versions of the N7, though. I really can't understand what the holdup is.

They probably want to be sure the 5.0.2 doesn't have the issues the 5.0 and 5.0.1 versions had before they think about rolling out to the LTE version. When you no longer see people posting about waiting for Lollipop on their wifi versions, I would think it would be coming soonish. Until then, I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[Ntchwaidumela]

The LTE versions will depend on the carriers, I'm sure.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Graham Thomas]

Depends on which country you're in and whether you bought your N7 via a carrier. In some countries there are 'retail' versions that shouldn't depend on when carriers are ready. At the moment we're still waiting for Google to release factory images for both the 2013 and 3012 mobile versions.

 

[smccloud]

Its out for the razorg now.

https://dl.google.com/dl/android/aosp/razorg-lrx22g-factory-2ce5202c.tgz

And I get the following trying to flash it.

C:\Users\smccloud\AppData\Local\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools>fastboot -w u
pdate image-razorg-lrx22g.zip
archive does not contain 'boot.sig'
archive does not contain 'recovery.sig'
failed to allocate 822298328 bytes
error: update package missing system.img

 

[vzwuser76]

http://phandroid.com/2015/01/30/and...-available-for-the-nexus-7-lte-2012-and-2013/

 

[joeynumbers]

Its out for the razorg now.

https://dl.google.com/dl/android/aosp/razorg-lrx22g-factory-2ce5202c.tgz

And I get the following trying to flash it.

C:\Users\smccloud\AppData\Local\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools>fastboot -w u
pdate image-razorg-lrx22g.zip
archive does not contain 'boot.sig'
archive does not contain 'recovery.sig'
failed to allocate 822298328 bytes
error: update package missing system.img

Do you have the Verizon version by any chance?

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[smccloud]

Do you have the Verizon version by any chance?

Posted via the Android Central App

Yeah. I was able to get it to work by extracting the image and flashing each piece separately.

 

[Baazaa]

Maybe the delay is because they are now installing a phone, which should have been there in the first place! Like many others, I was "tricked" by the LTE tag into believing it had one when I bought it. That was the last time I will buy anything branded Google or Nexus.

 

[joeynumbers]

Yeah. I was able to get it to work by extracting the image and flashing each piece separately.

Ah good to know

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Baazaa]

I just noted on productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/qkAv2SFbEeE%5B1-25-false%5D posted 4 hours ago, that "Lollipop 5.0.2 images have finally been posted for both 2012 and 2013 mobile versions of the nexus 7!". I guess we still have to wait for the auto-downloads.

 

[vzwuser76]

Maybe the delay is because they are now installing a phone, which should have been there in the first place! Like many others, I was "tricked" by the LTE tag into believing it had one when I bought it. That was the last time I will buy anything branded Google or Nexus.

All LTE is there for is to give you the ability to use data when no WiFi networks are present. Most 3G and LTE tablets don't have the ability to make a call, they simply allow you to use a mobile network to gain access to data when WiFi isn't present. And considering that making calls over LTE has just started rolling out in the last 6 months, how were you going to have that ability on a device that launched almost 2 hears ago? If it had the ability to make calls, it would've spelled that out clearly, as it would've been a selling point.

Again, having LTE on board is for data only when no WiFi is present, like say in the country or in a vehicle. The only way to do something like that with a WiFi model is to have a MiFi to act as a hotspot. This has the LTE built in so there's no need for something like that.