Unofficial LineageOS 19.1 port brings Android 12L to Nexus 7 2013

Damien Wilde | Mar 23 2022 - 3:43 am PT

Although Android 12L has only just come to the flagship Pixel 6 series courtesy of a delayed update, thanks to an unofficial port of LineageOS 19.1, you’re now able to install it on your 9-year-old Nexus 7 tablet.

We were led to believe that Android 12L was designed with larger form factors in mind, yet there are no devices larger than the Pixel 6 Pro actually running this latest build. Clearly, developer followmsi saw that as a challenge as this led to a port of LineageOS 19.1 and Android 12L to the now ancient Nexus 7.

The 9-year-old device initially launched with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and subsequently was supported all the way up to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. Given the official support window ended back in 2017, anyone hanging on would likely have to enter the world of custom ROMs to keep their affordable tablet alive.

Bringing Android 12L to the Nexus 7 is clearly no mean feat as XDA notes that the developer has managed to shoehorn the latest release into the cellular and Wi-Fi versions of the tablet. Obviously, this is not just as simple as flashing the ROM on a compatible Nexus 7 unit. It requires quite a bit more work, including repartitioning your device so that you’re able to install a Google Apps package.

SELinux is set to permissive here, which in layman’s terms means that one of the core features of the system is not protected by SELinux and therefore no operations are denied. Any potential attackers are not prevented from accessing your device. That said, it appears that this build contains all of the previous security patches and exploit protections that recent updates protect against.

Whether the effort is worth it is ultimately up to you, but some of the neat new features might be worth a look if you have an old tablet lying around and you fancy a little tinkering. Check out our rundown of all of the new features added in Android 12L down below: