Nexus 7 is one of the best Android tablet ever released and those who already own it wouldn’t disagree. Nexus 7 runs Android by default which is a great platform, but if you want to try something new on your device and don’t mind installing Ubuntu OS on it then we have got you covered. In this post we are going to show you how you can install the official build o7 Ubuntu on Nexus 7 device.
Before beginning make sure you back up all of your data so you don’t loose it in the process. Also, before you begin please note that this guide is taken from the official Wiki of Ubuntu and works properly. However if you do any sort of damage to your device during the process, TechDeville will not be responsible for your loss. If you are fine with that then begin with the procedure.
Here are the things you will need for this installation:
- A Nexus 7 device.
- A microUSB cable that you use to sync with your PC
- A PC running Ubuntu 12.04 or later
- Ubuntu Nexus 7 Desktop Installer installed on your development system
Unlocking your Nexus 7 tablet:
First of all before you install Ubuntu on Nexus 7 you will need to unlock your device so that you can flash certain images to your device. You will only need to do this once, but be warned as the process of unlocking will erase all of your data and will restore your Nexus 7 to default or factory settings. It may also void your device’s warranty.
To unlock you Nexus 7 reboot your device and while it is at the Android boot loader screen hold the volume button and the power button. Keep these two buttons pressed until the boot loader UI appears on your screen. The boot loader UI can be seen in the image below.
To Verify that the fastboot lists the device enter:
- $ sudo fastboot devices
- 1234567891234567 fastboot
Afterwards you can start the bootloader unlock process by entering:
sudo fastboot oem unlock
After you have entered the command above you will be asked if you want to unlock the bootloader of your device. Simply tap the Yes button and proceed.
After tapping on the Yes button reboot your device by entering or pressing the power button of your device.
sudo fastboot reboot-bootloader
Ubuntu on Nexus 7
After you have unlocked your Nexus 7 by performing the steps above you can install Ubuntu on your Nexus 7. Before proceeding to the installation process make sure your device is in fastboot mode. Plug Nexus 7 to your computer. Remove all other devices that are connected to your computer because they will get erased too, if not removed.
Now on your computer, type nexus in the search field of your dash and from the search results launch Ubuntu Nexus 7 Installer This installer will help you in installing Ubuntu on your Nexus 7.
The installer will download the latest available version of Ubuntu for your device automatically. It will also flash your Nexus 7, which will take up to 2 minutes. After getting flashed your Nexus 7 will reboot. Then the process of Ubuntu installation will start. This process will take up to 10-15 minutes.
Installing Android back on your Nexus 7
After installing Ubuntu on Nexus 7 you would want to return to Android. You can do it quite easily if you follow the steps below. Be warned that all the data present on your Nexus 7 will be erased. Remove any other device that is attached to your computer before proceeding as it will be flashed too if not removed.
You can download the official ROM of Android for your device from here. After downloading, uncompress it by entering the following command.
tar zxvf nakasi-jro03d-factory-e102ba72.tgz
After that connect your device to computer and put it in fastboot mode and run the resulting script.
cd nakasi-jro03d/ sudo ./flash-all.sh
If you get any errors related to boot.sig, recovery.sig, or system.sig simply ignore them as they would not affect the installation.