Backup before you start.
I think the simplest way is to use

Wugfresh - http://www.wugfresh.com/nrt/

You can get factory images from

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

look for nakasi

Backup everything you can before you start, then you need to Flash stock + unroot button.
You get prompted if there is something missing or if you need to perform some additional steps.
Getting the pc and device to communicate can be a stumbling block, but normally ticking or unticking Media device or Camera from
Settings -> Storage -> (3 dots) USB computer connection sorts it.

Backup before you start.

Do I need to back up if all my apps are already backed up to my Google account . I have minimal aps on my 2012 Nexus so wouldn't I be able to restore the one from Google ?

Yes, your apps will in google, but you will need to reinstall them. Make sure you know your username/password though!
Obvious ones to back up are photos, videos, any downloaded documents, any notes you have made using Keep or a text editor. If you use email, then make a note of the settings.
If you like games, then you will lose your game progress.
There is a backup option in the wugfresh app.


Forgot to mention that if you do try this approach, don't worry if it seems to take an age to boot up after installing the image. This is normal.

It's not difficult per se, you just need to follow the instructions. I just googled "how to downgrade android nexus 7 2012 wifi" and followed the instructions at AndroidPit.

Most finicky part for me was using the Command Prompt to get to the folder where the files were and ensuring all the archives were unzipped - due to them using non-standard zip formats I ended up downloading a new unzipper. (I still use XP)

Beginning to wonder now whether Firefox (with Adblock installed too) were indeed what was causing my issues. Since removing them the tablet has been so much more responsive and quicker to boot up. Not just on one or two occasions, but on every reboot. Since I use the tablet a lot this has been extremely noticeable. Could this really have been my problem?

I managed to roll back to kit kat on my 2012 Nexus , it does seem more responsive but I wouldn't say that it's as quick as it was originally , still freezing and sluggish in comparison to the 2013 version .

If it is freezing and sluggish following a complete wipe and return to a earlier OS, then maybe there is some other fault with it.

So far running 5.1.1 has been ok.

Four days later, my downgraded 4.4.4 is working wonderfully. Battery holding its charge better (streamed a 3.5hour baseball game last night, lost only 20% battery). Updated apps quicker, opens up from sleep without having to wait for screen to adjust to landscape/portrait mode..... it's as I wanted it. Bugger Lollipop.


Incidentally - I think this proves that Dalvik is much better than ART.

My Nexus 7 Wi-Fi (2013) received a brand new notification today to update to Android 5.1.1. Took around 1min to download. Very quick. Anyone else got this?

I only installed Android 5.1 exactly 2 weeks ago, so 2 weeks later i've now got 5.1.1 on my Nexus 7. No problem whatsoever. I really do think all the bugs have been sorted now. Such a fantastic tablet. A shame Google have declared it EOL and discontinued it.

As for the Nexus 9, that's still on Android 5.0.2 and that's supposed to be the flagship!

What advantages does a now viable lollipop confer over kit kat?

Improved performance

I have to concur with tealady.

my 2012 N7 did the OTA up to 5.1.1 last night and fingers crossed it seems much better than any previous lollipop version so far.

In what way?

My Nexus 7 from 2012 updated the other day to 5.1.1, and so far a cautious thumbs up from me. I won't go too nuts over it, as I've been here before and the last release took a while to reveal its true colours, but suffice to say so far much improved performance. Much quicker generally, no lagging (or at least only the same slight lag I might have seen on previous versions) and a much nicer experience generally.

My main problem remains though, and that is an incredibly slow boot up. We're talking Windows XP slow. It takes about three minutes to boot up, and then another couple of minutes before it can be used comfortably. That is still really poor imho, especially as my Nexus 4 is like lightning.

I've still got 4.4.4 on my nexus and it is like lightning.

Agreed. My wife's N7 2012 is back working like the fast, very capable tablet she originally bought after me putting 4.4.4 back on it. Lollipop should never have been released on it. It caused me a lot of embarrassment and hassle. It was me who persuaded her to upgrade to it.

My 2012 updated to 5.1.1 over the weekend. The initial "oh, its faster" thoughts rapidly disappeared. 5.x is definitely slower on the UI elements than 4.x. The majority of hardware out there hides that quite well, but the 2012 N7 is a pretty sluggish bit of kit by modern standards.

Not that it matters, all I use it for is chromecast control these days.

I agree it's an older piece of kit now, but it still has enough power to run Android and get around the web, play games, movies etc. I'm still having a decent experience with 5.1.1 so far. I can't say to you that it is running poorly particularly, aside from the aforementioned slow boot up. Does anyone know of a way to speed it up?

I forget when I bought my Nexus 7 now. Is there any way I can find out what version I have from the About screen?

Even with the latest update, it's still running like a dog. Even my old WiFi Xoom 10" is better than that. Best of all is my phone - HTC One M8, although the screen size is why I have a tablet in the first place.

Settings | About Tablet | Android version
Settings | About Tablet | Build number

Well, that was a bit tongue in cheek given the
It is much better than 5.0.2 (?1)
I have used 5.1.1 for a week, and had to reboot once so far, which is once too many. Now thinking about reverting to 4.4.4 as it a little sluggish at times.

I managed to downgrade my Nexus 2012 to Kit Kat and indeed it did feel a bit snappier with less freezing . However I got tired of being nagged to upgrade to Lollipop so just went ahead and did it (Now on 5.1.1) . Lo and behold my Nexus 2012 is now running better than it has been for a long while , maybe not out of the box fast but definately useable again ( though still a fair way off the 2013 version )

Yeah I'm really happy with it thus far. No freezes or anything, and it's nice to use. I cleared the cache partition as well as the app cache earlier and that seems to have improved the boot speed quite a bit as well, so at this moment I'm not planning to downgrade.

I know it's quite old but I still very much enjoy this tablet!

Can confirm a quicker boot here. A minute and 35 seconds from zero to login. That's pretty good imho and much better than the last Lollipop. Provided nothing dramatic happens I can say it's a keeper on this old Nexus 7.