[GTALUG] Keeping it alive: Nexus 7 (2012) running lineageOS 14.1

[Evan Leibovitch]

I have both models of the Nexus 7. Great tablets.

Mk1 (2012 codename 'grouper')
​original owner​

Mk2 (2013 codename '
​flo​
')
​ bought during a brief sale in '15 when they could be had for about $100.​


The Mk1 has a replacement ROM
​, which it badly needed​
. One of the official Android
​ROM ​
updates introduced a bug that killed performance, apparently to do with the
model's slow nvram drive.
​ ​
Most replacement ROMs, including LineageOS, and have fixed this
​ (so long as you still run *fstrim* from time to time)​
, performance is reasonable but still a little sluggish. The Mk2 does not
have this problem, so it still runs stock.

​(​
K
​inda strange that my second-oldest active Android device is the only one
running Nougat.)
 ​
​A few extra comments:

   - ​
   Only the Mk2 is officially supported by LineageOS
   <https://download.lineageos.org/flo>
   ​, ​
   the Mk1 version is unofficial
   <https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-7/development/rom-lineageos-14-1-nexus-7-2012-t3530261>
but
   in my experience quite stable

   - D​
   on't expect too much
   ​ speed from the Mk1​
   , even at its best. Its Antutu score is 23259 (by comparison, the Mk2 is
   40168 and my LG G4 is 44339).

   - Occasional use of the fstrim app
   <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fifthelement.trimmer>
   (about once a month) yields noticeable performance improvement.

   - ​Also of value are the official apps that alert you when ​updates are
   available for two major components of your replacement ROM, TWRP
   <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.twrp.twrpapp> and
   OpenGapps
   <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.opengapps.app>.

   - This who are both lazy and have access to Windows (any version will
   do) can take immense benefit from the Wugfresh Android Toolkit. It is IMO
   an amazingly intuitive tool for rooting and flashing ROMs and supports
   every device ever called Nexus. It can find and install any version of
   stock, and can even un-root a phone that needs warrant servicing now (a
   feature that is of diminishing value now that the Nexus brand appears to be
   supplanted by Pixel.)

I still like the 2013 Nexus 7, and recommend it to anyone who spots it for
less than about $125. But the ones I see now on eBay in new condition are
$300+, that's freaking insane. For less than that, a superior modern
alternative is the $200 Nvidia Shield tablet
<https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/tablet/>.

- Evan​
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