My first-generation Nexus 7 tablet recently updated itself to the latest version of the Android OS, Android 5.0 Lollipop, thanks to Google’s commitment to keep the entire Nexus system abreast of the latest developments in its platform. And so far at least, despite some other reports to the contrary, the experience has been almost entirely favorable.

Lollipop is supposed to be all about a change and improvement in the user experience, with faster and smoother operation thanks to the new Android Runtime (ART) environment that replaces the old Dalvik virtual machine with its just-in-time compilation method. On that score, it does seem to deliver better performance, even on the ageing hardware. This is supposed to be complemented by the new Material Design platform, “a comprehensive guide for visual, motion, and interaction design across platforms and devices” able to “use the new components and functionality available in Android 5.0 (API level 21) and above.” Not everyone may prefer the results – for instance, the busy animations “for touch feedback in UI controls, changes in view state, and activity transitions” get a little tiresome for me – but they do at least all run smoothly, making processes that would drag on the older OS iteration quicker and cleaner. And there’s certainly no going back – Google apparently intends to bring the same animations and navigation transitions to Chrome OS and the Chrome browser.

Recents is one of the few areas touted as a step forward in the OS that still feels clunky on the Nexus 7 2012: although an ostensible improvement in Android multitasking, it does feel awkward, though this could just be a matter of familiarity. Less welcome, though, is the forced transition from the old Email app to the new multiple inbox version of Gmail. Many users have had very good experiences of Google’s latest email solutions – Chris Meadows included – but it would be nice to at least have the choice to stick with the old Email. As it is, the Email icon is now just a dummy link to Gmail, which automatically absorbs the old email settings to sit alongside your existing Gmail account.

That piece of inbox land grab aside, this is overall the step forward in user experience it was supposed to be, and I look forward to working with it more.

105 COMMENTS

  1. well, I’m glad it doesn’t suck for you, but I’ve had awful problems with my Nexus 7 since downloading the update. It runs slowly, some apps don’t run at all, and since I downloaded Lollopop, I had to re-start to tablet to get it to run properly at least three times a day. Until a bug fix comes out, I’ve completely stopped using my tablet.

    Here’s an example. I got an email from work and needed to respond to it. I love that I an read stuff on a locked screen now, but had to unlock to respond. Since the tablet stopped functioning when I tried to unlock it, it actually took me less time to boot up my computer, open my email and send a response than wait for Lollipop to run as it is supposed to on my Nexus 7.

    So, right now, I think it sucks.

  2. I don’t know what planet Paul St John lives on, but I have had nothing but problems with multiple apps and functions. Much like Susan’s experience. I have wiped the cache many times just to read my email after rebooting. Help Nexus 7 is tanked and can’t get up. Lollipop SUCKS!!!

  3. Amen, Susan. I am having the same problems with hung/crashing apps since 5.0 upgrade on my first gen Nexus 7 (32GB) tablet. Hopefully folks are working on fixes. (I have submitted trouble tickets to both Google & app maintainers.)

  4. I have had multiple issues with the Lollipop version on my Nexus 7. I wish I had never updated. The Nook reader app isn’t compatible yet and they don’t know when it will be. I’ve got several new purchases stranded there. Gmail has been buggy since the upgrade too.

  5. I think the update sucks. My nexus 7 tablet is driving me crazy. Nothing is working. It’s slow and I can’t load some of my apps. I have been unable to install new apps. I hate it. They better fix it quick.

  6. So I have to wonder how much the author was paid to print this rubbish..” the experience has been favorable”. I updated my Nexus 7 on Saturday, since then it has been unusable! It took 2.5 minutes to open facebook and goes into re-boot every few minutes, which are the symptoms described by other users. I have put mine in a cupboard where it will stay until a cure is found and to stop me throwing it at the nearest wall!. Anyone considering a tablet for Xmas should be looking at the iPad, Nexus in its present carnation is a disaster.

  7. Personally I have had no problems at all. And I’ve been looking out for them, as mine is a first-generation 2012 Nexus 7, but – fingers crossed – nothing so far. The whole Email/Inbox app issue and design choices are another story, but the new OS at least does what it’s supposed to. I’ve had far fewer crashes than I had on my Asus MeMO Smart 10 tablet – actually, only one since the upgrade. If the problems that others are having are down to individual machines or apps, I’d be interested to know why that is.

    • And here I’ve been grumbling that the 5.0 update hasn’t downloaded yet for my 2nd-gen Nexus 7. Even considered rooting and unlocking so I could put it in manually without wiping out my system. Guess I’ll just keep waiting.

      Probably not too surprising there are problems with a .0.0 release. I expect a 5.0.1 will come out pretty shortly to address some of the issues. That’s how it was with 4.4 and 4.4.1 after all.

  8. Yeah, glad it doesn’t suck for you. Meanwhile, I get 20-30 error reports popping up per DAY. “Processing System” error, “UI System” errors, “Chrome is not responding” errors. Facebook just up and closes by itself over & over. YouTube won’t play. Games barely open, then act incredibly stupid. ” I literally have to swipe up a minimum of 3 TIMES just to get the opening screen up & going. AND IT IS SLOOOOOOOOW to do ANYTHING. I would totally downgrade back to KIT KAT if I thought I could do so with my limited tech knowledge. My Nexus 7 2012 is a useless paperweight now.

  9. @Bob, just to make the point that I hoped I wouldn’t need to make: I didn’t get paid anything for writing this. Okay, I get Teleread’s usual fee, but I could equally well get that for rubbishing the upgrade, and I certainly got nothing from Google or any of its affiliates. Yes, I’m an unashamed Android fanboy, but what I wrote is what I experienced – nothing else. Sorry for all you other people out there having problems with it, but I’m not, and with HWR input software running fulltime on my device, I’m hardly the least demanding user.

    That said, if any of you would like to give some input on why you’re having these problems, I’d be glad to record and print those too – it gives me more to write about, plus one more per-article fee, which is exactly the same as I would get for writing that Android 5.0 Lollipop is the greatest innovation since the invention of fire, or the cybernetic equivalent of ebola.

  10. Post Lollipop, this is my Nexus 7:

    *YouTube app stopped working

    *video doesn’t play properly on any app

    *screens can’t be locked in horizontal or vertical

    *no more stable wi-fi, regardless of how strong the signal is

    I actually have two Nexus 7 devices – a 2012 and a 2nd gen. Lollipop only forced itself on the 2nd gen, so I have simply gone back to using the old one.

    @Paul: I appreciate you couldn’t complain of issues that didn’t affect you; however, given the sheer amount of people complaining about the upgrade, is it reasonable to decree Lollipop “doesn’t suck”?

    I mean, Lollipop brings at best a different look and a couple of newish features if it’s working properly. It’s a minimal improvement IF you’re lucky to have it working.

    If it’s not working, it turns an excellent tablet into a paperweight. How is this not sucking?

  11. Paul, the day this posted, I was writing out a post in my head about how Lollipop has been terrible. So, instead I just left a comment here rather than writing a new post.

    I also have a first generation Nexus 7. I have barely used my tablet since this has happened and have stuck to using my phone for any mobile needs. I have an hour commute every day on the train and pretty much just read everything now on my phone.

    It’s disappointing, but I will wait for an update to hopefully fix it.

  12. I too am frustrated with my nexus 7 wifi tablet since this “oh so wonderful” update. NOT. It worked great for school as I have rented e-textbooks that I access on it during class but no….As soon as I open my nook app, crash. So I uninstalled it and tried to re-install…I get, your device is no longer compatible with this app. I think there should be an easy way to revert back to earlier version after an upgrade when things like this happen. Can anyone post instructions on how to revert back to previous version if this is able to be done? Thanks

  13. Since this last update, just like everyone else here, cannot do anything. It locks up, many apps will not work or will close out, Internet connections drop, have to reboot all the time (I stopped using it because I was getting POed). Any ideas on a fix update?

  14. What can I say but me too? I loved using my 1st generation Nexus 7 from day one until the day I installed the Android 5.0 update since when it has become all but unusable. I am hugely disappointed that Google should be forcing obsolescence on such a lovely piece of kit. Shame on them!

  15. Hey Guys,
    I have just installed the new update – lollipop. Two days after downloading it and working with it I’ve restarted my good nexus 5 phone. It is frozen which forces me to format/wipe user data. I did that, I cannot access my phone forever.
    Google Nexus 5 lolipop sucks big time.. I cannot mount my cashe, i cannot restart te recovery !
    My phone is wasted and i only bought it almost eight months ago !

  16. I hate this stupid update so much! Ruined my nexus! How can they say its faster!? Even typing lags. Instant mix for music has gone. Stupid double swipe to get to the settings menu… Petty but I really fail to see the point of that one. Facebook crashes, gmail crashes, google crashes. Everything is soooo slow, they gave my nexus constipation.7
    Its lollipop alright!! The new phrase for shite!!!

  17. My 2012 n7 also became unusable after the update. However a factory reset has made it as responsive as before. That is no third party apps and a clean tablet with default settings. Before that I had several third party apps installed. Planning to install one at a time and see which one breaks the experience.

  18. I can confirm that the update is completely sucks. Once you opened multiple apps including facebook and max 10 tabs on uc browser, it became very slow and laggy. I went back to Kitkat and everything is business as usual now.

  19. Since the update to lollipop my nexus 7 runs like one of those cheap $50 tablets. In other words it hangs often, often and often. Sometimes I have to force a restart several times just so the damn screen works. I don’t like the new drop down notification screen since it often hangs or won’t go back up till it’s damn good and ready. I’m not at all pleased with the update.

  20. Lollipop Sucks!

    OMG, since I updated to Lollipop I’ve had nothing but trouble. Facebook randomly crashes; hotmail & gmail both get hung up and I can barely respond to emails; you tube stopped working, hell even Chrome doesn’t want to open. houzz, NPR feed & the economist don’t want to work properly. did I mention that music & pictures don’t work well either. the only thing that still works, just barely, is the alarm clock.

    Can I go back to the previous OS on my Nexus 7? If Android wants to keep a loyal customer they better come out with a patch right NOW!!!

    how was the blithering idiot who approved the release of this? they really should be pilloried in public and then made to only use Lollipop to summon help! ha!!

  21. I agree with everyone above… This update has caused nothing but chaos and frustration… I Luv my nexus 7 but now I can’t open some of my apps and if I can they shut down after a couple minutes… I used to brag about my nexus… It goes everywhere with me literally fits in my purse… Now I just feel the weight of it… And where the heck is my gallery… It’s gone and just photos is there…uugghh… Please fix this!!!

  22. Lollipop has totalled my mk 1 nexus 7 – I tried clearing the cache, this worked until the next time I woke it up.I have all the problems listed above. Here in the UK we have trading standards laws so I’m off to see my trading standards officer to find out what the legal position is when a supplier willfully destroys a product like Google have done. Meanwhile PLEASE DONT update update my LG3

  23. I miss Kit Kat and wish I never upgraded it. My phone works just fine, but I hate some of the new features, I will list them.
    1- I liked it better to unlock my phone with a ” to the side slide” versus ” slide up”
    2-I absolutely HATE having all emails and notification displayed on my locked page, NO privacy, So, you leave your phone on a table and people can read who is messaging you….BAD!!
    3 – The searching TABS are gone, b4 I could have several pages open and flip them back and forth, now I don’t know how to do it anymore. Or even to open a new searching TAB without loosing the previous one, dunno.
    4-I can’t find my Galery anymore, I have to use ” photos app” to see my pictures now.
    5- And everything else is weird now, like background colors and how things are displayed, but that I am sure is just matter of time b4 I get used to it.
    Anyone can help me with these issues?? Thank you, Glaucia

  24. Sucker is more like it (lollipop indeed) is a disaster.

    My Nexus 4 is a dog since the OTA upgrade to Sucker. Half the apps don’t work or behave inconsistently.

    This is the worst software upgrade I’ve ever dealt with. BOOOOOOO Google.

    You can’t compete with Apple with this kind of fiasco.

  25. Glad to know i am not the only one with problems. I loved my Nexus 7 until I upgraded to Lollipoop.
    Now the damn thing is almost useless.
    Freezes, constantly crashing FB, apps I had before don’t work now, glitchy flow, and just SLOW altogether.
    I thought there was some kind of problem with the tablet because it worked great before the “upgrade”. At least I know now its not just me. Put me in the category that Lollipoop SUCKS!

  26. I too have experienced the same problems described above. My nexus 7 has gone from being a great product to now being a source of irritation. I sent many reports it now i have stopped using till Google fixes it. I only use my phone now. Come on Google

  27. I too find lollipop is sucking big time on my 1st generation nexus 7 32gb tablet. I received it unexpectedly when google began pushing it ota. I had no problems prior to the update. Everything was fine. No problems with lags or crashing. Now I hate using my Nexus 7 tablet. I welcome any suggestions for fixes.

  28. After installing Lollipop, my Nexus 7 doesn’t work. The WiFi, the apps, the
    IU…..everything fails. It continuously freezes, breaks….lollipop sucks. Worse no response from Android yet….what can I do?????

  29. I have a similar issues on my gen 1 nexus 7. It appears the memory management of lollipop on this tablet is pretty weak. It appears that if you open the recent apps selection (square button) at the bottom you can swipe of a bunch of recent apps. This appears to clear the memory so that apps will rum like normal. I’m finding that after about 4 or 5 apps I run I have to go back and swipe out the recent apps to get my tablet useful again. I’m guessing the memory management isn’t doing a great job at freeing up memory from this background app selection.

  30. I wish I had read the reviews before upgrading my Nexus 7 first generation to lollipop. What a pain. It is so slow and even if I only open one google window it takes ages to open and refresh.
    I’ve cleared the cache several times in the last few days (had never had to do that before) in the hope of improving it.
    Considering an ipad mini 2 now but will try and wait for an update to Lollipop. If anyone takes the factory reset route, please post and tell me how you get on.

  31. Like most everybody else, android 5.0 has totally hosed my 1st-gen Nexus 7 and made my Nexus 5 an intermittent turd as well. The Nexus 7 is slow as heck, almost unusable at times — app loading times are ridiculously long and if something does open it’s slow. My Nexus 5 is usually ok, but locks up or reboots itself from time to time, along with the various app crashes. I really wish I could roll back my OS! I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’m definitely considering going with iPhone after this. This is just ridiculous. It’s as if they didn’t actually test the OS before releasing it. Never seen such a buggy POS in my life.

  32. Yet another, essentially bricked 7 and 4. Seems strange that on most sites, reviewers say it’s great but “real users” seem to disagree. Until last week, I could have been described as a fanboy. This is bad enough to drive me back to a crapple iPhone. No crapple update I had was ever as bad as this. Worst still, android seem to have adopted the “we know best and this is how your phone should look philosophy”.

  33. I have a Nexus 7 2012 edition, 16 GB version. Installed the OTA update and the tablet became unusable. The new ART engine needs to compile each app, so perhaps that explains the initial sluggishness. But that does not explain the continued hangs and delays that plague this release. I’ll probably give 5.0.1 a try, and if it doesn’t fix my N7, I’ll be downgrading to 4.4 which is on a public Google site along with complete instructions (google it :). I’m also deferring the upgrade on my Nexus 5 phone. Maybe when 5.1 comes along….

  34. I never realized how much I love my Nexus 7 until I got Lollipop. Now nothing works. I can’t really use it. It seems pointless to keep complaining; what can be done to fix it? Or do I need to buy a new tablet??? Can I un-install Lollipop and go back to what worked for me?

  35. I hadn’t received the OTA update to Lolipop on my 2012 Nexus 7 and wasn’t in a rush after hearing the horror stories but I decided to flash an unofficial rom last night. All I can say is Google must have messed up the official update as my Nexus is like a new tablet now, much faster than KitKat.

    It does look like there is a 5.0.1 update out for some devices, 2013 Nexus 7 included. So maybe help will come soon.

  36. I don’t think I got the same update as Mr Mackintosh because mine Totally Sucks even after clearing the cache and history it is slow and buggy and less than half as good as it was before or you would say for a Nexus 7 it sucks worse than Windows 8.1 on a non touch screen laptop.

  37. Lolipop blows chunks. Holo interface of Kitkat and before was so nice. Material Design interface of Lolipop is so god aweful. Just goes to show you cant have something beautiful in this world that is intuitive and just works for very long, before so asshole hot shot college kids come along and think they know better than the old masters, fuck things up, and foist and tam it down everybody elses throat as the latest greatest shit.

    Worse, every app now has to be bloated supporting both interfaces across both OS’s. Not every android device can upgrade or will ever be able to. Worse, there is no switch inside Lolipop in settings to revert back to Holo… even thoigh all the apps have to support it and you want it god damn back so bad.

    Google must of hired the Windows 8 design team after they were fired by Microsoft for the Windows 8 split personality delete the START button fiasco. What do they do but proceed to fuck up android as well with a split personality.

  38. Have you tried selecting text with Lolipop yet with your finger?

    Try it. See if you can select only the text of my post WITHOUT selecting the word December in the date stamp above the text ofmy post. Go ahead, try it. It’s infuriating.

  39. I agree with about 99.99% of the comments here. Ever since the upgrade I can’t do anything on my tablet. I can barely get it to unlock to get to any of the apps anyway. I’ve considered doing a factory reset to see if that helps anything, but from reading these comments, it doesn’t sound like it will help anything. I’m really hoping they come up with a fix soon, I’d really like to be able use my tablet again!

  40. I think Paul is a blithering idiot to be polite….DO NOT UPDATE your android device it will SUCK….No more short cut to the system, u have to set each individual item on a screen ….this is the worst upgrade ever and I will now consider an iphone for the first time in 4 years…leave our systems alone you IDIOTS…get a hobby as you should be fired for all the problems you cause us…now there is a camera icon on my lock screen….i want to smash the phone against the wall….who do we sue in court for this crap…i am serious…it was ok until this upgrade…I wish google would file chapter 13 bankruptcy and go away…the search engine sucks as well….i guess it is called lollipop as it is something to suck on…right Paul?

    • I’m enjoying Lollipop on my Nexus 7. It skipped 5.0.0 and went right to 5.0.1, so I guess they stopped the rollout while they patched.

      So far I’ve noticed only a couple of problems. I can’t seem to figure out how to get face-unlock to work right, and I can’t get into wifi settings from the pulldown; I have to go into Settings and then tap the wifi icon. Other than that, seems to work great for me so far.

  41. Lollipop certainly does suck on my Nexus seven. Since the upgrade, my device has slowed considerably; YouTube starts for non reason at all; the device resets itself; and a host of other annoying bugs that you would find in low quality software. I considered reverting to the previous version, but this is not straightforward and would be very time consuming.
    As a software developer, if I released software of that quality, I would be sacked.
    I can only conclude that the author of the article didn’t do any proper research and simple jotted a few notes together for the sake of filling up space with an article.

  42. My Nexus 7….1st Gen 16 Gig ……is a Paperweight. Just copy paste everyone else’s not so positive points up there …..right here. It ran like greased Lighting before Lollipop, yet now, I think it might make a serviceable coaster while I shop for a non Android tablet to take it’s place……

  43. I tried everything to get my Lovely Nexus 7 first generation to work reasonably after Lolipop upgrade, I gave up and bought an IPad mini2. Certainly better than the poor Nexus 7 with Lollipop and lollipop give me anything new.

  44. I’m glad the lollipop update worked out so well for the author. As for me, the only thing on my tablet that still works correctly is the app/process that gives me the message that “(blank) app isn’t responding. Would you like to close it or simply throw your tablet against a wall?” or whatever it says. Since I have just about completely quit using my tablet I only see it a few times a day now but on average that’s about every 3 minutes.

    If the author could tell the rest of us how to make the update work that would be outstanding. Otherwise this was just a waste of time. Thanks

  45. Yep, I can only conclude that the author had picked up the wrong tablet and wasn’t in fact using anything with lollipop on it. Either that or works for google marketing.
    The update is “fair” on my nexus 4 (except for hangouts calls where it reboots after about 30 seconds) and the crap 70+ pages i seem to have if i press the”square window” and constantly having to unlock the bloody thing….who the hell thought that was a good idea! It proves at least 3 people at google are prats. 1 the one that thought it was a good idea 2 the one who saw what he had doneand tell him he was a prat. 3 the manager who said “that’s a good idea, run with it”.
    Google turned my nexus 7 into an expensive place at that’s is too small to even hold a decent size plate.
    Google (basr#£%ds) seem to remain silent, press don’t seem to care (if it had been an apple update the press would have been all over it like flies on dog s##t).

  46. That’s heartwarming that Lollipop doesn’t suck for you. But for my Nexus 5 phone, it’s sucks beyond belief. Two months in, and I still can’t make heads or tails of the notification system. I’ve been unable to answer calls because the forced widgets on my lock screen block them. Turning the volume up and down is always an adventure. The forced email fusion is annoying. But hey, the new font for the Android logo is super neat.

    I suspect the UI designer for Lollipop has never actually interacted with human beings before.

  47. Tech support says do a hard restore. Wow, you would have thought it was a virus and not an upgrade. System is way slower and freezes. Can no longer get access to USB functions to back up downloaded data I placed on it. It simply will not allow me to get into dev options. Just as a suggestion… maybe you guys should have tested this crap out before releasing it? Whoever wrote this article, I hope you were paid in cash for the claptrap you wrote.

  48. I installed lollipop 5.0.2 on Tuesday, 1/13/2015. Since then my 2012 Nexus7 has caused enough frustration that I am currently waiting for a replacement Samsung tablet to be delivered. I find that most apps will function for short periods, then they become locked. In rare occurrences the apps will begin to work again after a few minutes, but usually they crash, or I have to force close them. I also find the entire OS will become locked regularly enough that I am force rebooting my tablet multiple times during use. This is regardless of the app in use, and I have already tried a default reset, and only reloaded minimal apps since upgrading.
    The most appauling issue is the battery life. This tablet was never great at charging, and always felt like it drained batteries faster than the advertised battery life, but with this update I’m lucky to get 3 hours of use before reaching 5%battery life. To charge the thing in less than 48 hours I have to turn it completely off, and then it still takes 12, or more, hours.

    Most app lockups are occurring with 3rd party apps, such as Facebook, and Firefox, which may be chalked up to apps needing further development. However, I only installed Firefox due to the constant lockups in Chrome. Email regularly failed to load, it doesn’t crash, but since it won’t pull email it doesn’t exactly tax the system. Google Play books also locks up every few minutes which renders the last vestige of use a frustrating experience.
    It would be nice if those having issues had the opportunity to go back to a previous, stable, droid OS, directly downloadable from Google. This would allow for those that are suffering to go back to something stable, and be happy. It would also allow for a second upgrade attempt since the issue may have been the update itself, and not the OS.

  49. At last my Nexus 7 first generation is working ok. Build 5.02 downloaded and this time after a factory reset it is working fine. I had previously cleared the cache but that didn’t do much. The build stayed as 5.02 and all the apps but I lost some of the data in the apps such as colour note. Pity I have bought myself an iPad mini in the meantime but will use both tablets now.

  50. I was so sick of my Nexus 7 with the Lollipop update that I did a factory reset last night. It offered me chance to remember last time I used the tablet earlier that day so nothing was lost that I noticed. My desktop still had same photo. It took a while to reinstall the apps, but I am happy with the results. It has version 5.0.2 and its working well, like pre-Lollipop days.
    I was very disappointed and still am with Google customer support and in the end resolved matter myself. They didn’t send a single email of reassurance.

  51. Good for you, but apparently your ignorance is bliss for you. Sticking your head in the sand of cold hard reality is your choice, but you couldn’t be more wrong in your analysis. This is by far the end of Google/Nexus for me, since my ride only lasted 1 year and now software has rendered my device so slow, I mean literally slow (not just I’m mad slow, but that too) unusable.

  52. As my earlier comments show, I was and still am totally p&&&*d off with my nexus 4 (and 7). Yesterday I bought a new huawei Y550 4g quad core…. It is better than my Nexus 4 HAS EVER BEEN, in EVERY way. People say its resolution is poor but I can see no difference on Netflix BBC etc.
    Absolutely brilliant phone. Stuff nexus, stuff google. If it hadn’t been for this £44 yes 44 pounds I would now be on a windows phone or (puke…..apple)…. Will now be getting Huawei tablet because GOOGLE SUCK TOTALLY!

  53. Same story on Nexus 7 as most of the above. Have done 5.02 update with little if any change. UI and process stalled. Error messages about repeated app restarts causing slow performance and battery drain. Is there total silence from Google on this?

  54. I have replaced my nexus 4 with huawei y550. Wish I had done it ages ago. Data WORKS YouTube WORKS….. EVERYTHING WORKS. BETTER IN EVERY WAY than nexus 4. Now looking to replace nexus 7 with something.
    Google have let thousands of customers down and lost thousands, I’m sure.
    Their silence speaks volumes!!!
    Even (CR)apple don’t treat customers as badly as Google have done.
    The reviewer who said it didn’t suck……….loud silence from him.

  55. Some progress! While on charge I was running Battery Doctor app and over 2-3 hrs it identified 259 app auto restarts that were slowing the Nexus and draining battery. The worst were Nero Kwik (95), Fongo (58), Picasa Tool (59), Evernote widget (31). I uninstalled the first 3, and also CNN (7), UC Browser (6), Free WiFi Spot (6), and Cracklle. Initial start-up still is slow, but most UI hangs and all process errors have diasappeared.

  56. Nexus 7 (2012) became completely unuseable after the Lollip update – I waited for the holy 5.0.2 release – but it improved usage for maybe a week then became unuseable again.

    In the end I’ve downgraded it back to KitKat 4.4.4 and will be sticking with that – which works like a dream – until there’s a definite solid Lollipop build.

    If anyone is interested I used the Nexus root toolkit v2.0.4 – it’s abit complicated but if you follow the steps slowly it’s doable! Took me about 3 hours.

  57. My first gen Nexus 7 always worked fine but after the lollipop update wich promised performance upgrade and so on it was almost unuseable. Terribly slow and buggy. Fortunately I managed to downgrade the firmware to Android 4.2.2 KitKat and now it runs smootly again. Pfew.

  58. With most recent auto update of 5.02 yesterday (I have lost count on how many there has now been..5..6) there seems to be some progress, Fewer lockups and black screens, and start-up seems faster. Light at the end of the tunnel? or will it go off the track again?

  59. Android on the Google/ASUS Nexus 7 (Wi-Fi 2012, Aka “grouper”) Tablet:

    Well after more than 8+ hours of research and manually working to revert my tablet back to the KitKat v4.4.4 OS version my tablet is now working again in an acceptable manner. It turns out that wiping the tablet clean and putting on a clean installation of the OS followed by reinstalling the application has actually noticeably helped the stability of some of the applications I was using that weren’t very stable as I would have expected them to be previously.

    So I guess in the end, this has turned out to be a good thing that the Lollipop OS (does SUCK) and won’t acceptably work on this hardware. Mostly in a performance point of view and the use of the swipe keyboard, etc… I’ve also noticed that battery life is demonstrably better with the KitKat OS than what I was getting with Lollipop.

    For now the tablet does what I need again. I hope I can get a few more years out of it, but I guess I will see. I will never put Lollipop on it again and in the future when applications won’t run on KitKat, I hope the battery life will have degraded enough so as to make the tablet another resident of some toxic waste land fill anyway, so I will have lived with it as it is.

  60. I have given up in my nexus google and purchased an apple mini2. What a difference. Very disappointed in lack of customer support by Google for this mess up with Lollipop OS. They have lost me as a customer.

  61. The 5.0.2 (?) update improved the responsiveness noticeably, but it STILL SUCKS!

    The most annoying thing is tapping a button, thinking that it didn’t “take” because nothing happens, tapping it again, and then all hell breaks loose. What is going on that’s so important between tap event and actual action?

    The GOOD NEWS is I’ve been looking for an excuse to root my Nexus 7 2013. To Kit Kat, obviously. So thanks Google!

  62. I’ve had nothing but problems since I upgraded to lollipop on my LG G3 ten days ago (May 21st, 2015)… It’s infurating. So, for anybody who thought they might have “fixed lollipop” given 6 months, they didn’t. STAY ON KITKAT.

  63. Wife and I both have note 3’s. this has turned both of them into nothing but paper weights. The old system was fast and an ease to use, now we have apps that freeze, email will not retrieve our mail and the phone locks and requires the removal of the battery to get it to reboot.

    SO YES IT DOES SUCK!!!!

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