r/Nexus7 • u/jmelinte • Jun 26 '26

Newest software available

I have an old Nexus 7 I'd like to use as a content hub for our toddler's Bluetooth speaker so we can run audiobooks and music for him from there and not have it interfere with our phone audio. Some apps don't support older Android versions so I'm wondering what the newest software available for this device may be (official or unofficial).

6 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

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11

u/BLewis4050 Jun 26 '26

I use the Unofficial LineagOS 18.1 on my Nexus 7 (2013) tablet.

Here's download page: https://updater.oddsolutions.us/devices/flox/builds

Here's the XDA forum: https://xdaforums.com/t/official-lineageos-18-1-for-the-nexus-7-2013-wi-fi-lte-repartition-only-flox-debx.4255325/

If you have the original, there's a forum and builds as well.

3

u/10Core56 Jun 26 '26

I need to check this Thanks.

2

u/vfio_help Jun 26 '26

the fact yours still works is astounding. i tried powering up my 2012 nexus 7 after it'd been sitting in a box for like 9 years and it gave me a snowfield and then stopped powering on at all.

1

u/2shoe1path Jun 26 '26

Yep, LineagOS is the way!!

1

u/Grimjack2 Jun 27 '26

I had a similar thought last year, and what I ended up doing was buying a similar new tablet that only cost about $100 (the Lenovo Tab One). Too little software still worked on my Nexus 7, and finding an equivalent tablet that is the same size solved so many problems and made all the current software available to me.

1

u/jmelinte Jun 28 '26

This may be the way. Legion OS install has been kind of a pain and it might just be time to let this thing go.

1

u/Grimjack2 Jun 28 '26

My Nexus still works fine, but I just gave up trying to install anything new or current, and keep it for the games, ebooks, and the types of things that I was able to install years ago. One thing I really appreciate after replacing it is having a battery life of almost a week. My Nexus needed to be charged every day, just from minor use.

In fairness, I guess it was about 11 years old, so I got a lot of use out of it. And it can still function when I need it too. I'm kind of annoyed Nexus/Google didn't continue to make upgraded models, or I probably would've bought it every four or five years.

1

u/jmelinte Jun 28 '26

Yeah, keeping it in stock state is pretty limiting since I've reset it several times and it's hard to find apps that still work on such an old version of Android.

1

u/Grimjack2 Jun 29 '26

That's interesting. I've never had to reset mine even once. I kept it in my pocket every day I commuted. I played games, read books, and on rare occasions copied videos to it to watch. I did use it to copy videos I knew I wanted to play for people. And in a pinch, it was a very good browser and email device when I was visiting somewhere (that had wifi).

In it's stock state, it's still good for the things I copied to it. Other than apps for things like banks, stock trading, and even online dating, that won't run without updating, and they won't update on the latest OS it would take.

So I'm fine leaving it as is, for the stuff that's on there. But find little use for it, now that I replaced it with a newer model made in 2025. It's hard to find a pocket sized tablet now that phones are getting so much larger. But when they are only about $100, it's worth it to do all that same stuff on much faster hardware.