Nexus 7 failing to boot into Android

[HarvA]

Hi all,

I have an issue with a Nexus 7 2012 Wifi tablet not booting into Android.
The issue occurred after the tablet prompted for the user for an Android OS update. The user went through with the update, and seemingly the update failed at some point.

- The bootloader is locked, and USB debugging is disabled. The OS version etc. is also completely stock.

- The tablet cannot load Android up. It simply sits with the 'Google' loading screen forever.
-----* Because Android won't load up I CANNOT enable USB debugging.

- The tablet is able to get into the bootloader menu (by holding down the 'Power' and 'Volume Up' buttons).
-----* Selecting 'Recovery mode' displays "Booting failed".
-----* Selecting 'Restart bootloader' causes the device to restart, however it displays a black screen and does not progress any further. (I know the device restarts instead of powering off because the device is connected to my Windows PC, and during the reboot the Windows 'disconnect' and 'reconnect' noises play).

- I have installed the Android SDK, and have also installed the correct USB driver for the tablet. I can see mention of 'Android Bootloader Interface' within Device Manager.

- After opening a command prompt and navigating to 'C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Local\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools', I have run the following commands:
-----* 'adb devices'. This displays "List of devices attached", and does NOT then list any devices at all. I believe this is because USB debugging is not enabled.
-----* 'fastboot devices'. This displays the serial number of the tablet and then "fastboot" i.e. "[AndroidSeralNumber] fastboot".
-----* 'fastboot oem unlock'. This causes the tablet to ask if I want to unlock the bootloader. If I select the option to unlock it, the device reboots, then displays a black screen (just as when selecting 'Restart bootloader', as mentioned above).


I suspect that the update removed several crucial software components from the device, such as the 'recovery' and 'boot' components, and then the update failed before it replaced them, however I'm by no means an Android expert and haven't ever looked into this sort of thing before today! I'm guessing at this point that the device is completely bricked, but figured I'd ask on here before giving up on it.

If any of you are able to figure out how to fix this I will give you praise beyond your wildest dreams!

 

[scary alien]

Welcome to our AndroidForums, HarvA.

It's unlikely that your device is bricked.

Having an unlockable bootloader (which I highly believe you've already done (i.e., on the bootloader screen that you've mentioned that you've seen, you should probably see something in very small print on the (bottom left of the) screen telling you what the bootloader lock status is (i.e., locked or unlocked)).

Anyway, have a peek at this area of our forums, especially the stickied threads:

Nexus 7(Gen1/2012) - All Things Root - Android Forums

There's a ton of information in there that should help you out.

Failing that, create an account and post a thread in the section, re-post what you have in here and/or point to this thread (http://androidforums.com/android-questions/871548-nexus-7-failing-boot-into-android.html#post6725352) and I'm sure someone will be happy to lead you through some steps to hopefully get you working again.

Cheers!

 

[HarvA]

Thanks for the reply scary alien. I've taken a look through the stickies but couldn't find anything that didn't involve the 'fastboot oem unlock' command (which doesn't seem to work on the tablet), so I'll post a new topic there instead.

Thanks again!