*Now Working for 4.3 Update* Will require an up-to-date install of 4.1.x first and then after re-boot, it will update to 4.3 (read post on next page).
Warning:
Because of of how weird step 7 was, I'd recommend NOT INSTALLING THE OTA and just waiting for a ROM to have the changes incorporated. This is the last time I'll install an OTA I think as the whole thing was sketchy at best. However, if you just insist doing the OTA, that's how I did it. It may not work for you. You'll probably brick your phone as I may have just gotten lucky.
Background:
I'm certainly not a developer but can wiggle my way around XDA and figure out what to do and how to do it from time to time without having to ask too many questions. This morning I got the notification that an OTA (over the air) Update was available for my HTC One Dev Edition (running the stock ROM) and I simply downloaded it and tried to flash the zip in Clockwork like I've done with countless other updated nightlies on various phones. It didn't work.
Solution:
I figured out after researching that the custom recovery wouldn't allow the OTA to be flashed and that the stock recovery would be needed to flash the OTA update. I also realized that it took a bunch of different threads to figure out how to make it all work and there didn't seem to be one thread on the HTC One forum that discussed how to do it so I figured I may as well write up what I did to help someone else--after all, so many folks have helped me on this forum and I've rarely had much to contribute of any real depth anyway--just repeating what others already had taught me.
How to:
You need to re-flash the original recovery to your phone so that CWM or TWRP are no longer your recovery. Obviously, now is the time to do a backup and I'd put it somewhere other than on the phone in case you really mess this up.
1. Get the stock recovery bits here https://www.dropbox.com/s/9wbux6a4kn0ndz9/StockRecovery-signed.zip
2. You'll need to un-pack the rar and there is a text file that has the instructions.
3. Of course, I didn't follow the instructions, I just plugged my phone into USB with debugging on and fired up cmd, changed into the directory where I extracted the files, cd'd into fastboot and typed "adb reboot bootloader" and waited until the phone rebooted into bootloader
4. I typed "fastboot devices" and hit enter to make sure I was connected to the phone still
5. Cd.. to get back to where the .bat files are and type install-recovery-windows.bat and the stock recovery is flashed to your HTC One.
6. Now unplug the thing and reboot and you'll get the notification again that the OTA update is ready to install and it will start to install.
7. Mine locked up. That's right, the damn OTA update stopped at about 1/4 of the way through. I figured I bricked the phone. I always figure I bricked it if something doesn't go exactly how I thought it would but I've never actually done it to any of my 6 or so devices. Then I found this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2306996&page=2 and I turned off the phone by holding down the power and restarting it. It got all the way through and hung again so I reset the phone again. Then, it rebooted a few times and looked like it was going to never work right again, but I just let it keep rebooting and left it be and after a few minutes, less than 10, probably more than 5, I was back up and running and saw the android applications updating as expected after an update.
8. Now you'll want to re-flash your custom rom (TWRP, CWM) and I did that with Hasoon's All-in-one tool.
9. Re-get Root. You can do that with Hasoon's tool I suppose or however you prefer to root.
AGAIN:
Because of of how weird step 7 was, I'd recommend NOT INSTALLING THE OTA and just waiting for a ROM to have the changes incorporated. This is the last time I'll install an OTA I think as the whole thing was sketchy at best. However, if you just insist doing the OTA, that's how I did it. It may not work for you. You'll probably brick your phone as I may have just gotten lucky.
Hopefully someone will come up with a better way to do this and start a new thread and we can delete this one forever.
jay_ntwr said:
Warning:
Because of of how weird step 7 was, I'd recommend NOT INSTALLING THE OTA and just waiting for a ROM to have the changes incorporated. This is the last time I'll install an OTA I think as the whole thing was sketchy at best. However, if you just insist doing the OTA, that's how I did it. It may not work for you. You'll probably brick your phone as I may have just gotten lucky.
Background:
I'm certainly not a developer but can wiggle my way around XDA and figure out what to do and how to do it from time to time without having to ask too many questions. This morning I got the notification that an OTA (over the air) Update was available for my HTC One Dev Edition (running the stock ROM) and I simply downloaded it and tried to flash the zip in Clockwork like I've done with countless other updated nightlies on various phones. It didn't work.
Solution:
I figured out after researching that the custom recovery wouldn't allow the OTA to be flashed and that the stock recovery would be needed to flash the OTA update. I also realized that it took a bunch of different threads to figure out how to make it all work and there didn't seem to be one thread on the HTC One forum that discussed how to do it so I figured I may as well write up what I did to help someone else--after all, so many folks have helped me on this forum and I've rarely had much to contribute of any real depth anyway--just repeating what others already had taught me.
How to:
You need to re-flash the original recovery to your phone so that CWM or TWRP are no longer your recovery. Obviously, now is the time to do a backup and I'd put it somewhere other than on the phone in case you really mess this up.
1. Get the stock recovery bits here http://www.androidrevolution.nl/downloader/download.php?file=Flash_recovery_2.17.401.1.rar
2. You'll need to un-pack the rar and there is a text file that has the instructions.
3. Of course, I didn't follow the instructions, I just plugged my phone into USB with debugging on and fired up cmd, changed into the directory where I extracted the files, cd'd into fastboot and typed "adb reboot bootloader" and waited until the phone rebooted into bootloader
4. I typed "fastboot devices" and hit enter to make sure I was connected to the phone still
5. Cd.. to get back to where the .bat files are and type install-recovery-windows.bat and the stock recovery is flashed to your HTC One.
6. Now unplug the thing and reboot and you'll get the notification again that the OTA update is ready to install and it will start to install.
7. Mine locked up. That's right, the damn OTA update stopped at about 1/4 of the way through. I figured I bricked the phone. I always figure I bricked it if something doesn't go exactly how I thought it would but I've never actually done it to any of my 6 or so devices. Then I found this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2306996&page=2 and I turned off the phone by holding down the power and restarting it. It got all the way through and hung again so I reset the phone again. Then, it rebooted a few times and looked like it was going to never work right again, but I just let it keep rebooting and left it be and after a few minutes, less than 10, probably more than 5, I was back up and running and saw the android applications updating as expected after an update.
8. Now you'll want to re-flash your custom rom (TWRP, CWM) and I did that with Hasoon's All-in-one tool.
9. Re-get Root. You can do that with Hasoon's tool I suppose or however you prefer to root.
AGAIN:
Because of of how weird step 7 was, I'd recommend NOT INSTALLING THE OTA and just waiting for a ROM to have the changes incorporated. This is the last time I'll install an OTA I think as the whole thing was sketchy at best. However, if you just insist doing the OTA, that's how I did it. It may not work for you. You'll probably brick your phone as I may have just gotten lucky.
Hopefully someone will come up with a better way to do this and start a new thread and we can delete this one forever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate you writing this up. It seems like I've never been able to find a good solution to installing the OTA updates post-root. That being said, do you have any idea what happened in Step 7 that made it finally work? I just don't understand how doing the same thing over and over finally just worked. I want to try installing an update, but I'm a little nervous to do it. And I don't know how else to make the pesky update notification go away without installing it.
trickinit said:
I appreciate you writing this up. It seems like I've never been able to find a good solution to installing the OTA updates post-root. That being said, do you have any idea what happened in Step 7 that made it finally work? I just don't understand how doing the same thing over and over finally just worked. I want to try installing an update, but I'm a little nervous to do it. And I don't know how else to make the pesky update notification go away without installing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really have no idea why Step 7 got so strange. The only thing that gave me a warm fuzzy whatsoever was that others were reporting that it was hanging and they just rebooted the phone over and over until it got all the way through the process. It could have something to do with the stock recovery for all I know--a bug perhaps. Again, it made me nervous and I won't do it again. I only did the write up so folks could see what happens and make a call whether or not they wanted to try it themselves and see the steps all on one page instead of getting stuck like I did and then finding the rest of the steps. That part sucked. At least you'll know what you're getting into though. Good luck one way or the other. Please post up if you do go through with it and what your results are.
Thank you for the info! Does sound like an awful lot of work though
jay_ntwr said:
I really have no idea why Step 7 got so strange. The only thing that gave me a warm fuzzy whatsoever was that others were reporting that it was hanging and they just rebooted the phone over and over until it got all the way through the process. It could have something to do with the stock recovery for all I know--a bug perhaps. Again, it made me nervous and I won't do it again. I only did the write up so folks could see what happens and make a call whether or not they wanted to try it themselves and see the steps all on one page instead of getting stuck like I did and then finding the rest of the steps. That part sucked. At least you'll know what you're getting into though. Good luck one way or the other. Please post up if you do go through with it and what your results are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm thinking I'll give it a go. I'll do a nandroid backup and store it on my pc. Worst case scenario, I'll just start over from scratch, re-root, and restore my backup. I'll make sure to report my results.
I just makes me wonder why bother using the OTA update if you already went through rooting and flashing custom recovery? It's just one step more to flash the custom ROM and at least you will get constant updates with the developer who created the custom ROM. To me it seems like you either stay stock if you want OTA updates or go the whole hog and use custom ROMs. Just my 2 cents.
shadowboy23 said:
I just makes me wonder why bother using the OTA update if you already went through rooting and flashing custom recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, in my case, I purchased the Dev edition straight from HTC so I automatically have a de-bloated OS from HTC instead of the ATT ROM that I would have gotten had I purchased the phone from the ATT Store. In that case, I'd no question have a custom ROM from the forum. I just didn't see the need this time around. I would have left the stock recovery, but I do like to make backups so ClockworkMod is something I can't live without. I suppose there are others in that same boat but they are probably few and far between. Really, I just hate to update my ROM since the phone is working how I want at the moment. It's hard to justify just blowing away a functioning OS, setting up everything again, etc. but I may do it again if the OTAs come frequently and/or the process is as strange as it was this past go around.
jay_ntwr said:
Warning:
Because of of how weird step 7 was, I'd recommend NOT INSTALLING THE OTA and just waiting for a ROM to have the changes incorporated. This is the last time I'll install an OTA I think as the whole thing was sketchy at best. However, if you just insist doing the OTA, that's how I did it. It may not work for you. You'll probably brick your phone as I may have just gotten lucky.
Background:
I'm certainly not a developer but can wiggle my way around XDA and figure out what to do and how to do it from time to time without having to ask too many questions. This morning I got the notification that an OTA (over the air) Update was available for my HTC One Dev Edition (running the stock ROM) and I simply downloaded it and tried to flash the zip in Clockwork like I've done with countless other updated nightlies on various phones. It didn't work.
Solution:
I figured out after researching that the custom recovery wouldn't allow the OTA to be flashed and that the stock recovery would be needed to flash the OTA update. I also realized that it took a bunch of different threads to figure out how to make it all work and there didn't seem to be one thread on the HTC One forum that discussed how to do it so I figured I may as well write up what I did to help someone else--after all, so many folks have helped me on this forum and I've rarely had much to contribute of any real depth anyway--just repeating what others already had taught me.
How to:
You need to re-flash the original recovery to your phone so that CWM or TWRP are no longer your recovery. Obviously, now is the time to do a backup and I'd put it somewhere other than on the phone in case you really mess this up.
1. Get the stock recovery bits here http://www.androidrevolution.nl/downloader/download.php?file=Flash_recovery_2.17.401.1.rar
2. You'll need to un-pack the rar and there is a text file that has the instructions.
3. Of course, I didn't follow the instructions, I just plugged my phone into USB with debugging on and fired up cmd, changed into the directory where I extracted the files, cd'd into fastboot and typed "adb reboot bootloader" and waited until the phone rebooted into bootloader
4. I typed "fastboot devices" and hit enter to make sure I was connected to the phone still
5. Cd.. to get back to where the .bat files are and type install-recovery-windows.bat and the stock recovery is flashed to your HTC One.
6. Now unplug the thing and reboot and you'll get the notification again that the OTA update is ready to install and it will start to install.
7. Mine locked up. That's right, the damn OTA update stopped at about 1/4 of the way through. I figured I bricked the phone. I always figure I bricked it if something doesn't go exactly how I thought it would but I've never actually done it to any of my 6 or so devices. Then I found this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2306996&page=2 and I turned off the phone by holding down the power and restarting it. It got all the way through and hung again so I reset the phone again. Then, it rebooted a few times and looked like it was going to never work right again, but I just let it keep rebooting and left it be and after a few minutes, less than 10, probably more than 5, I was back up and running and saw the android applications updating as expected after an update.
8. Now you'll want to re-flash your custom rom (TWRP, CWM) and I did that with Hasoon's All-in-one tool.
9. Re-get Root. You can do that with Hasoon's tool I suppose or however you prefer to root.
AGAIN:
Because of of how weird step 7 was, I'd recommend NOT INSTALLING THE OTA and just waiting for a ROM to have the changes incorporated. This is the last time I'll install an OTA I think as the whole thing was sketchy at best. However, if you just insist doing the OTA, that's how I did it. It may not work for you. You'll probably brick your phone as I may have just gotten lucky.
Hopefully someone will come up with a better way to do this and start a new thread and we can delete this one forever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi,
one question. this recovery.img i also can use for my htc one 802w? i use the original rom (4.1.2) on my htc one. i make s-off over htcdev.com install cwm802w.img . i become the info the system update to 4.2.2 is available but the phone cant install the update.
any people like help me?
best regards,
ps: sorry for my bad english
Does sound like an awful lot of work though
greengoose_at said:
hi,
one question. this recovery.img i also can use for my htc one 802w? i use the original rom (4.1.2) on my htc one. i make s-off over htcdev.com install cwm802w.img . i become the info the system update to 4.2.2 is available but the phone cant install the update.
any people like help me?
best regards,
ps: sorry for my bad english
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just find a stock recovery for 802w, flash it to your phone and you should be fine to to OTA. The original post didn't mention if he's using 802w. If he's not, then the recovery.img can't be used for 802w.
How to get s_off , supercid 11111111
and return to s_on with supercid ?please tell me quickly
Thanks for all friends
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
I haven't been able to get this to work. I flashed back to the stock recovery, but when I attempt to install the update it gets about half way through before rebooting. It goes back into recovery, starts installing again, but then stops and just shows a red triangle with an exclamation mark. I can get the phone to reboot by holding the power button for 10 seconds, which boots it up normally. When it gets up and running, it's like nothing ever happened, but then the update notification reappears.
trickinit said:
I haven't been able to get this to work. I flashed back to the stock recovery, but when I attempt to install the update it gets about half way through before rebooting. It goes back into recovery, starts installing again, but then stops and just shows a red triangle with an exclamation mark. I can get the phone to reboot by holding the power button for 10 seconds, which boots it up normally. When it gets up and running, it's like nothing ever happened, but then the update notification reappears.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm experiencing the same thing, can't seem to find anything about it...
With the new 4.3 rolling out on the Dev editions, I decided it was time to try this again. What I found was I had to update to a something prior to the new 4.3. In other words, it was still one of the 1.29 streams that updated first and did just like the last time I did this. The thing stopped, locked up, had to hold the power button down, locked up again, reset again, then it was fine. As soon as the phone booted, the 4.3 update was available and I installed that without any issues. So, the method above still works and even with the weirdness I felt a little better this go around.
Good luck.
sunnyyen said:
Just find a stock recovery for 802w, flash it to your phone and you should be fine to to OTA. The original post didn't mention if he's using 802w. If he's not, then the recovery.img can't be used for 802w.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't really checked this thread in weeks. I'm not sure what an 802w is. If you can clarify, I'll check and post.
Totally ran just fine
I had to as stated roll back to the attached recovery, did that with fastboot and no problems, then restarted the phone, then had it start the OTA update, then read around debating if I want CWM or TeamWin, but before I notice, the progress bar got up past half way. Looked away for what must've been less than 5 minutes until it vibrated and was restarting itself. It restarted again, and then it loaded and updated all the apps... Seemed like the smoothest rooted update I've ever done, no forced restarting or anything!
I just bought my HTC One last friday, and I think I screwed up things a little bit, because the first thing I did after I charged it, was updating everything to 4.3, before unlocking the bootloader, getting s-off and before rooting the phone. So I ended up with the latest 4.3 on my phone, but it was a pain in the ass to root it properly. I was able to unlock the bootloader, but something must be different with the way 4.3 treats the internal storage distribution, because I was only able to get root, using TWRP and the latest version of SuperSu, but I wasn´t able to install Busybox.
It's a little bit weird, because although I was able to use Titaniumbackup to install some apps, apps like OTA Rootkeeper don't work properly. I also lost the stock calculator, flashlight and voice recorder, but I was able to install older versions again.
I think the only thing I regret is not getting s-off first, but I think this will only mean that I will have to wait for a revone update, or I will have to flash the boot.img after flashing a custom rom as I always did with my One X.
jay_ntwr said:
I haven't really checked this thread in weeks. I'm not sure what an 802w is. If you can clarify, I'll check and post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
802w is Chinese dual sim version with different radio frequency
Sent from my HTC One dual sim using xda app-developers app
deepforest said:
802w is Chinese dual sim version with different radio frequency
Sent from my HTC One dual sim using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is not the one I have then.
I have a rooted HTC one with stock rom. I relock the bootloader and I also have stock recovery.
I am on 4.19.401.5 version.
So, will it be possible for me to have new OTA update including Sense 6?
Should I install the missing applications also, like calculator and flashlight?
Hi everyone,
I'm using QBKing77's tutorial to manually upgrade my Nexus 7 to Kit Kat 4.4 (and up) but haven't been able to with ClockworkMod Recovery installed.
The video I'm using is on YouTube, titled: "Manually Update the Nexus 7 to Android 4.4 KitKat" and at the step at 3:38 I don't know what to do.
(sorry I'm unable to post links bc I'm a new user:crying
CWM doesn't have the 'Apply update from ADB' option that stock Recovery has (or at least I'm not sure what to do in its place).
If anyone knows how I can continue the upgrade process it would really help!
Thanks in advance :good:
hennimore said:
Hi everyone,
I'm using QBKing77's tutorial to manually upgrade my Nexus 7 to Kit Kat 4.4 (and up) but haven't been able to with ClockworkMod Recovery installed.
The video I'm using is on YouTube, titled: "Manually Update the Nexus 7 to Android 4.4 KitKat" and at the step at 3:38 I don't know what to do.
(sorry I'm unable to post links bc I'm a new user:crying
CWM doesn't have the 'Apply update from ADB' option that stock Recovery has (or at least I'm not sure what to do in its place).
If anyone knows how I can continue the upgrade process it would really help!
Thanks in advance :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, hennimore...
From your post, I assume you have already CWM installed... if so, then upgrading is pretty straightforward. Assuming further, that you can boot your Nexus 7 into Android normally, you can flash an OTA .zip directly from the Nexus 7 itself... without recourse to ADB or a PC.
The first thing to do is to determine the build number of the currently installed version of Android you're running. This is found in SETTINGS>>ABOUT TABLET>>... and at the bottom, will be the build number.
Next, go here where you will find an archive of all currently known OTA .zips for the Nexus 7 (2012)... listed by build number.
Using Chrome (or whatever Android browser you're currently using) download to your Nexus 7, the correct OTA .zip(s) appropriate to your situation. Depending on how old your current version of Android is, you may have to download more than one.
For example... if you're currently running Jellybean 4.2.2, build JDQ39 on a WiFi only 'nakasi/grouper' Nexus 7, the 'update path' is as follows... and the OTA .zips you'll need are...
----------------------------------------------------
JWR66Y from JDQ39
Updates Jellybean 4.2.2 TO Jellybean 4.3
KOT49H from JWR66Y
Updates Jellybean 4.3 TO KitKat 4.4.2
----------------------------------------------------
Keeping in mind this is just an example (your situation maybe different), these should be flashed IN THE ORDER GIVEN ABOVE... slowly bringing your Nexus 7 up to date. From Jellybean 4.2.2 through Jellybean 4.3 and finally arriving at the latest build of Android, KOT49H - KitKat 4.4.2.
It's important you download the OTA's relevant to the type of Nexus 7 you have... so for a WiFi only model, you need 'nakasi/grouper' OTA's... if it's a WiFi/3G model, then you need 'nakasig/tilapia' OTA's.
Now to flash...
Once you've downloaded the OTA zip (or zips) to your Nexus 7... shut down the device completely. Reboot it into the bootloader, with the VOL DOWN+hold, POWER ON key press sequence. Once in the bootloader, and using the VOL BUTTONS, navigate to the RECOVERY MODE option, and press the POWER BUTTON to select. Your device should now boot into CWM.
Once there, select the INSTALL ZIP option, followed by the CHOOSE ZIP FROM /SDCARD option. Navigate (via the 0/ folder) to the /download folder on the internal storage of the Nexus 7... where you should find the OTA .zip(s) you previously downloaded via Chrome or other Android browser. Select NO, YES or GO BACK accordingly.
I'm not sure it matters, but if you have to flash more than one OTA .zip to bring your Nexus 7 up to date, then I recommend booting normally in between flashes... just to make sure everything is working OK.
Unless you're running a really old version of Android, say Jellybean 4.1.2, I can't see it taking more than a couple of reboots into CWM. And if you're currently on Jellybean 4.3, then it's just one OTA .zip flash.
A few caveats...
If you've modified system files in any way, these OTA's will fail, as they expect to find unmodified versions of stock Android system files. If they've been changed, say as a result of a Custom ROM or Custom Kernel flash... then they can't be 'patched', ie., updated... and the OTA will abort, with no changes made.
Root and having a Custom Recovery (CWM or TWRP) installed however, won't block an OTA... although you will loose both during the OTA update procedure.
If you're familiar with fastboot, then it's relatively straightforward to re-acquire them after the OTA update(s).
Hope this helps... and good luck.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Wow really appreciate and very useful for me Mr blake. Thanks a lot. One question, im in stock 4.4 krts160 with root and unlock bootloader with twrp cwm, i m going to flash the newest ota, will this step erase my root and relock my bootloader? Or i watch in youtube post by rootjunkies that twrp can handle ota. What would you suggest the better way. And thanks again for the information.
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium
deny_kei said:
Wow really appreciate and very useful for me Mr blake. Thanks a lot. One question, im in stock 4.4 krts160 with root and unlock bootloader with twrp cwm, i m going to flash the newest ota, will this step erase my root and relock my bootloader? Or i watch in youtube post by rootjunkies that twrp can handle ota. What would you suggest the better way. And thanks again for the information.
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, deny_kei...
You will loose root, and your Custom Recovery... whether that be TWRP or CWM.
I'm afraid it's unavoidable - it's always been that way with OTA's. You have to fastboot flash your Custom Recovery of choice again afterwards, and re-root... not difficult, but a bit of a nuisance nontheless.
Flashing an OTA, though, will NOT re-lock the bootloader.
The bootloader will remain unlocked until you purposefully choose to relock it with fastboot oem lock.
TWRP should be able to handle an OTA flash. I'm currently using CWM (with which I flashed the KitKat 4.4.2 OTA), but I've never had any problems myself applying OTA's with TWRP in the past.
Rgrds,
Ged.
GedBlake said:
Hi, hennimore...
From your post, I assume you have already CWM installed... if so, then upgrading is pretty straightforward. Assuming further, that you can boot your Nexus 7 into Android normally, you can flash an OTA .zip directly from the Nexus 7 itself... without recourse to ADB or a PC.
The first thing to do is to determine the build number of the currently installed version of Android you're running. This is found in SETTINGS>>ABOUT TABLET>>... and at the bottom, will be the build number.
Next, go here where you will find an archive of all currently known OTA .zips for the Nexus 7 (2012)... listed by build number.
Using Chrome (or whatever Android browser you're currently using) download to your Nexus 7, the correct OTA .zip(s) appropriate to your situation. Depending on how old your current version of Android is, you may have to download more than one.
For example... if you're currently running Jellybean 4.2.2, build JDQ39 on a WiFi only 'nakasi/grouper' Nexus 7, the 'update path' is as follows... and the OTA .zips you'll need are...
----------------------------------------------------
JWR66Y from JDQ39
Updates Jellybean 4.2.2 TO Jellybean 4.3
KOT49H from JWR66Y
Updates Jellybean 4.3 TO KitKat 4.4.2
----------------------------------------------------
Keeping in mind this is just an example (your situation maybe different), these should be flashed IN THE ORDER GIVEN ABOVE... slowly bringing your Nexus 7 up to date. From Jellybean 4.2.2 through Jellybean 4.3 and finally arriving at the latest build of Android, KOT49H - KitKat 4.4.2.
It's important you download the OTA's relevant to the type of Nexus 7 you have... so for a WiFi only model, you need 'nakasi/grouper' OTA's... if it's a WiFi/3G model, then you need 'nakasig/tilapia' OTA's.
Now to flash...
Once you've downloaded the OTA zip (or zips) to your Nexus 7... shut down the device completely. Reboot it into the bootloader, with the VOL DOWN+hold, POWER ON key press sequence. Once in the bootloader, and using the VOL BUTTONS, navigate to the RECOVERY MODE option, and press the POWER BUTTON to select. Your device should now boot into CWM.
Once there, select the INSTALL ZIP option, followed by the CHOOSE ZIP FROM /SDCARD option. Navigate (via the 0/ folder) to the /download folder on the internal storage of the Nexus 7... where you should find the OTA .zip(s) you previously downloaded via Chrome or other Android browser. Select NO, YES or GO BACK accordingly.
I'm not sure it matters, but if you have to flash more than one OTA .zip to bring your Nexus 7 up to date, then I recommend booting normally in between flashes... just to make sure everything is working OK.
Unless you're running a really old version of Android, say Jellybean 4.1.2, I can't see it taking more than a couple of reboots into CWM. And if you're currently on Jellybean 4.3, then it's just one OTA .zip flash.
A few caveats...
If you've modified system files in any way, these OTA's will fail, as they expect to find unmodified versions of stock Android system files. If they've been changed, say as a result of a Custom ROM or Custom Kernel flash... then they can't be 'patched', ie., updated... and the OTA will abort, with no changes made.
Root and having a Custom Recovery (CWM or TWRP) installed however, won't block an OTA... although you will loose both during the OTA update procedure.
If you're familiar with fastboot, then it's relatively straightforward to re-acquire them after the OTA update(s).
Hope this helps... and good luck.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for the helpful response! I should have also mentioned that I currently have AOKP running on my N7
(Version: aokp_grouper_jb_build-2 Build number: aokp_grouper-userdebug 4.1.1 JRO03L eng.roman.20120916.095343 test-keys)
I'm not sure how this affects the update process, but would definitely appreciate any other help you can offer.
Thanks again!
hennimore said:
Thanks so much for the helpful response! I should have also mentioned that I currently have AOKP running on my N7
(Version: aokp_grouper_jb_build-2 Build number: aokp_grouper-userdebug 4.1.1 JRO03L eng.roman.20120916.095343 test-keys)
I'm not sure how this affects the update process, but would definitely appreciate any other help you can offer.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, hennimore...
As you're running a Custom ROM, you can pretty much forget about OTA's... as they are only designed to upgrade official stock firmware from Google. If you were to attempt to flash any OTA on your Nexus 7 as it currently stands, it would abort almost immediately during the verification phase of the OTA update process. Because nothing in /system would match what the OTA expects to subsequently 'patch' (update) in the second half of the OTA update process.
Your only option, if you wish to have official stock KitKat installed on your Nexus 7, is to fastboot flash back to factory stock.
For this, you will need the full factory stock image for your Nexus 7, available here.
(Currently, build KOT49H KitKat 4.4.2 is not yet available as a full factory image... just KRT16S KitKat 4.4... but that's not a problem...'cos once you have KitKat 4.4 installed, you can then use an OTA to bring it completely up to date... as detailed in my previous post).
Instructions on how to restore factory stock are available here.
This process is more time consuming than it is technically difficult... because fastboot flashing back to factory stock essentially wipes the device... so before you can begin, you need to backup all of your apps and associated app data with Titanium (requires root), and then backup the entire contents of the Nexus 7's internal storage to your PC... for later restore AFTER you've fastboot flashed KitKat.
Fastboot flashing back to factory stock resets the device, as though it where new. You'll need to set up your WiFi password again... and re-enter your Google Account (gmail) details... and restore all your data from your PC... fastboot flash CWM or TWRP in order to re-root. Once rooted, you can then use Titanium to restore all your apps.
Longwinded and tediously time consuming, it certainly is... but it's the only way to get official KitKat on your Nexus 7 if you're currently running a Custom ROM.
Rgrds,
Ged.
GedBlake said:
Hi, hennimore...
As you're running a Custom ROM, you can pretty much forget about OTA's... as they are only designed to upgrade official stock firmware from Google. If you were to attempt to flash any OTA on your Nexus 7 as it currently stands, it would abort almost immediately during the verification phase of the OTA update process. Because nothing in /system would match what the OTA expects to subsequently 'patch' (update) in the second half of the OTA update process.
Your only option, if you wish to have official stock KitKat installed on your Nexus 7, is to fastboot flash back to factory stock.
For this, you will need the full factory stock image for your Nexus 7, available here.
(Currently, build KOT49H KitKat 4.4.2 is not yet available as a full factory image... just KRT16S KitKat 4.4... but that's not a problem...'cos once you have KitKat 4.4 installed, you can then use an OTA to bring it completely up to date... as detailed in my previous post).
Instructions on how to restore factory stock are available here.
This process is more time consuming than it is technically difficult... because fastboot flashing back to factory stock essentially wipes the device... so before you can begin, you need to backup all of your apps and associated app data with Titanium (requires root), and then backup the entire contents of the Nexus 7's internal storage to your PC... for later restore AFTER you've fastboot flashed KitKat.
Fastboot flashing back to factory stock resets the device, as though it where new. You'll need to set up your WiFi password again... and re-enter your Google Account (gmail) details... and restore all your data from your PC... fastboot flash CWM or TWRP in order to re-root. Once rooted, you can then use Titanium to restore all your apps.
Longwinded and tediously time consuming, it certainly is... but it's the only way to get official KitKat on your Nexus 7 if you're currently running a Custom ROM.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, I'm sad to hear that I must flash back, but I appreciate the information! Thanks again for all of you help, hopefully I can complete the process without any hiccups!
Thanks Mr Blake i will considered using ota, nevertheless my last ota i got stuck in the softbrick although my nexus is stock,unlock an unroot.
Thanks for this useful information
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium
I've been following your steps and seem to have hit a wall when I need to install the adb drivers. I went to the link included in your instructions and followed their tutorial for a Windows 7 PC. After coming back to your instructions, I continued to the step with the Command Prompt.
I entered the command correctly as written, however I get no results under the List of devices attached.
I'm not sure if this is related to the problem, but when I am in Device Manager trying to Locate Android Phone in the right pane, all that shows for me is 'Nexus 7' - which I would assume should work.
However, after Right-clicking on 'Nexus 7' (Android Composite ADB Interface doesn't appear) and selecting Update Driver, I continue through the steps to where I must manually update the driver, and I received a message stating, "The best driver software for your device is already installed"
Under that it says, "Windows has determined the driver software for your device is up to date. MTP USB Device"
I'm not sure if you can make anything of this, but I figured I'd ask since you've been so helpful thus far :angel:
Hi guys,
I've been having problems to update to 4.4 in the Nexus 7 wifi version, the only thing I done is unlock the bootloader and root, once I tried the OTA upgrade it starts the process and then it shows up the Android little guy with an error, and doesn't shows the error of installation. I tried once the flashing the zip file using TWRP and it just failed. After the first failed the tablet just started to lag horribly. Any suggestions on how to fix this?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
GedBlake said:
Hi, hennimore...
As you're running a Custom ROM, you can pretty much forget about OTA's... as they are only designed to upgrade official stock firmware from Google. If you were to attempt to flash any OTA on your Nexus 7 as it currently stands, it would abort almost immediately during the verification phase of the OTA update process. Because nothing in /system would match what the OTA expects to subsequently 'patch' (update) in the second half of the OTA update process.
Your only option, if you wish to have official stock KitKat installed on your Nexus 7, is to fastboot flash back to factory stock.
For this, you will need the full factory stock image for your Nexus 7, available here.
(Currently, build KOT49H KitKat 4.4.2 is not yet available as a full factory image... just KRT16S KitKat 4.4... but that's not a problem...'cos once you have KitKat 4.4 installed, you can then use an OTA to bring it completely up to date... as detailed in my previous post).
Instructions on how to restore factory stock are available here.
This process is more time consuming than it is technically difficult... because fastboot flashing back to factory stock essentially wipes the device... so before you can begin, you need to backup all of your apps and associated app data with Titanium (requires root), and then backup the entire contents of the Nexus 7's internal storage to your PC... for later restore AFTER you've fastboot flashed KitKat.
Fastboot flashing back to factory stock resets the device, as though it where new. You'll need to set up your WiFi password again... and re-enter your Google Account (gmail) details... and restore all your data from your PC... fastboot flash CWM or TWRP in order to re-root. Once rooted, you can then use Titanium to restore all your apps.
Longwinded and tediously time consuming, it certainly is... but it's the only way to get official KitKat on your Nexus 7 if you're currently running a Custom ROM.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks!
Hey again, so I was able to get beyond the point where I originally was at a standstill, and now have 4.4 installed on my N7 (Build KRT16S)
So now my question is, do I need to re-root my device, then upgrade to 4.4.2? Or am I currently rooted?
I don't see the option for USB debugging in my settings any longer...
Thanks!!!
I have tried updated ota on my nexus 7 root without unlocking bootloader on 4.3 update and it works fine but you will lost root . Is your nexus root ,unlock bootloader with twrp and stock rom? If thats the case try to update via ota. Ive just manage upgrade to 4.4.2 with ota 10 minutes ago with above situation. I only lost my root not the unlock bootloader. The twrp cwm can handled ota. Thats my advise .
Lets hear advise from others because i also noob in nexus 7
Thanks
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
hennimore said:
Hey again, so I was able to get beyond the point where I originally was at a standstill, and now have 4.4 installed on my N7 (Build KRT16S)
So now my question is, do I need to re-root my device, then upgrade to 4.4.2? Or am I currently rooted?
I don't see the option for USB debugging in my settings any longer...
Thanks!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, hennimore...
Sorry it's taken me a while to respond... been busy with family issues (I don't seem to have the time these days that I used to, to focus on Android stuff).
Anyway... taking your questions in order...
hennimore said:
So now my question is, do I need to re-root my device, then upgrade to 4.4.2? Or am I currently rooted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you've just flashed a clean install of KRT16S, then you certainly won't be rooted. Nor will you have a Custom Recovery installed. You'll be runing 100% totally unmodified stock Android KitKat. The only difference between your Nexus 7 and the average Joe Bloggs' Nexus 7 (who just bought his yesterday)... is your bootloader will be unlocked.
With regard to applying the new update... KOT49H
Well, there are three routes you could go down...
1). Await for the OTA to appear normally in the notification bar, or go to SETTINGS>>ABOUT TABLET > > SYSTEM UPDATES... and tap on the 'check now' button. When the update appears (and sooner or later it will), it will be flashed automatically via stock recovery. This of course, is the standard method by which 99.9% of all Android users get their updates.
2). If you don't fancy waiting, fastboot flash a Custom Recovery, like TWRP or CWM, and then download the KOT49H OTA .zip directly to your Nexus 7. Boot into your Custom Recovery of choice (via the bootloader), and flash it manually.
3). If you haven't done much with your Nexus 7 (ie, installed lots of apps and copied lots of stuff over), since you flashed the full factory image of KRT16S, and you don't mind repeating the process... then the full factory image for KOT49H has now been uploaded by Google, and is available here. Download and flash it the way you did KRT16S. It goes without saying, that this will reset and wipe your device again.
*****
Addendum: It seems that Google have made a bit a mess (of some) of the KitKat 4.4.2 factory stock image download links... and when clicked upon, will give a 404 error message.
The corrected download links can be found here...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2565531
*****
Whichever of these methods you use to upgrade to KOT49H from KRT16S... you'll need to fastboot flash a Custom Recovery afterwards if you wish to re-root.
With regard to USB debugging...
hennimore said:
I don't see the option for USB debugging in my settings any longer...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You won't... this is because Developer Options are hidden by default... presumably to prevent non-technically minded people from screwing things up.
To enable developer options (and by extension, USB debugging), go to SETTINGS>>ABOUT TABLET>>scroll down to BUILD NUMBER... on BUILD NUMBER, tap 7 times. You will see a 'toast' message that says something like "Congratulations, you are now a developer!". (If only it where that easy, eh).
Anyway, with Developer Options now enabled (which you should now find in SETTINGS), USB debugging can now be turned on.
Incidently, I've just seen a new option in Developer Options, called Process Stats - Geeky stats about running processes. I'm pretty sure this is new to KitKat, as I've never seen it before. Anyway, tapping on it does indeed yield some stats... which are interesting... Google however, consider them geeky. The implication being that anybody interested in such things is a geek. I just found it humorous, the use of the word geek by Google.
Humorous allusions aside about whether everybody on XDA is actually a geek...or not... I hope this helps.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Just wanted to say how grateful we are for having you gedblake here in n7 forum while this thread doesn't apply to me I still read it and was pleased to see the well written well explained replies.
Don't mean to hijack this thread or for it come over as all gushy etc but than you.:thumbup::beer:
Sent from my C5303 using xda premium
Meshe said:
Hi guys,
I've been having problems to update to 4.4 in the Nexus 7 wifi version, the only thing I done is unlock the bootloader and root, once I tried the OTA upgrade it starts the process and then it shows up the Android little guy with an error, and doesn't shows the error of installation. I tried once the flashing the zip file using TWRP and it just failed. After the first failed the tablet just started to lag horribly. Any suggestions on how to fix this?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Ged, do you know any about my issues or suggestions? The 4.4.2 ota upgrade showed up and it too failed to upgrade from 4.3
Sent from my LT26ii using xda app-developers app
Meshe said:
Hi guys,
I've been having problems to update to 4.4 in the Nexus 7 wifi version, the only thing I done is unlock the bootloader and root, once I tried the OTA upgrade it starts the process and then it shows up the Android little guy with an error, and doesn't shows the error of installation. I tried once the flashing the zip file using TWRP and it just failed. After the first failed the tablet just started to lag horribly. Any suggestions on how to fix this?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Meshe said:
Hey Ged, do you know any about my issues or suggestions? The 4.4.2 ota upgrade showed up and it too failed to upgrade from 4.3
Sent from my LT26ii using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could be a TWRP problem...
Hi, Meshe...
You don't state which version of TWRP you're using, and what (if any) errors where displayed when the OTA aborted. If, as you say, you have performed no significant modifications to your Nexus 7, other than unlocking the bootloader and flashing TWRP (and rooted it)... then the 4.4.2 OTA should flash...
...however, there seems to be something odd about the behaviour of TWRP v2.6.3.1.
To elaborate... there is a known problem using TWRP 2.6.3.1 when flashing franco's latest kernel. See here for details on this.
This problem seems to relate to TWRP v2.6.3.1 itself, and not to franco's kernel .zip. The kernel flashes without problems using an earlier version of TWRP, namely v2.6.3.0 and also with the latest CWM recovery...
Nobody seems to know why TWRP v2.6.3.1 fails to flash franco r76, but fail it does. It appears that something is 'broken' in TWRP v2.6.3.1.
So I'm suspecting that your difficulties flashing the KitKat OTA might be similarly related to whatever is broken in TWRP v2.6.3.1... assuming of course, that this is the version you're currently running.
-------------------------------------------------
Here's what I would do... flash either TWRP v2.6.3.0 (the previous version) or CWM v6.0.4.3 (links below), and try flashing the KitKat OTA again. (I used CWM when applying the KitKat 4.4.2 OTA and it flashed without problems).
TWRP Recoveries...
http://techerrata.com/browse/twrp2/grouper
http://techerrata.com/browse/twrp2/tilapia
ClockWorkMod Recoveries...
http://www.clockworkmod.com/rommanager
(It's important you get the correct version of CWM recovery for your Nexus 7, as there are four CWM recoveries listed for the Nexus 7; two for the first generation model, and two for the second generation model.)
You'd normally fastboot flash a custom recovery, but if you're already rooted, you can flash a custom recovery directly from the Nexus 7 itself, without going anywhere near a PC... by using the rather excellent flashify app.
To summarize...
1). Install flashify on the Nexus 7.
2). Download to your Nexus 7 any custom recovery other than TWRP v2.6.3.1.
3). Ensure the KitKat 4.4.2 OTA update .zip is located somewhere on the Nexus 7.
-----
4). Use flashify to flash the custom recovery (It will request root privileges).
5). Boot (via the bootloader) into your custom recovery.
6). Using that custom recovery, flash the OTA... again.
Finally, if the above doesn't work, and the OTA aborts again, write down any error messages that are displayed. They can sometimes prove invaluable in diagnosing the problem, in order to decide what the next step is to take. Whenever I embark upon some project, for which taking screenshots isn't an option, I always keep my camera handy, such that I can take photographs of the screen... affording me a complete photographic record of the process, errors included, that I can review later. Very useful when things go wrong... as sometimes they do.
Hope this helps... and good luck.
Rgrds,
Ged.
zolaisugly said:
Just wanted to say how grateful we are for having you gedblake here in n7 forum while this thread doesn't apply to me I still read it and was pleased to see the well written well explained replies.
Don't mean to hijack this thread or for it come over as all gushy etc but than you.:thumbup::beer:
Sent from my C5303 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, erm, I mean yes... thanks... @zolaisugly... not quite how to respond to that.(blushing/embarrassed).
But thank you for your kind words, they're hugely appreciated.
I just try to help as best I can... 'cos I know what it feels like when you think you're 'bricked' or otherwise have problems with your device, as I had last year, with my (the then new) Nexus 7....and it's a uniquely horrible feeling.
You can read about my fumbling efforts here.
But it was posts here on XDA that got me back on track... and got my Nexus 7 working again.
So now, I try to give something back to XDA... my way of saying thanks I guess... and always I remember the stress I went through back in November of last year with my Nexus 7... so I can empathise with those who might not be so knowledgeable, or confident, or sure of their own capabilities, as some of the more experienced XDA veterans. And I try to help... when and where I can. Nobody can know everything... and everybody begins somewhere.
--------------------------------------
To all...
The primary rule I've learned in this past year, is if you think you've bricked your Nexus 7, or have some other seemingly intractable problem, is...
--- DON'T PANIC ---
Panic is an emotional response, and is the enemy of logical, rational thought.
It clouds good judgement... and may lead you to make BAD DECISIONS. Which will likely lead you to make a BAD SITUATION... WORSE.
Don't make any rash, uninformed decisions. It's understandable you want to get your Nexus 7 working again... but do some research first. Review your options. Read... and understand what you're doing... before you do it.
Carpenters and people who work with wood, have an old saying...
~ "Measure twice, cut once." ~
This axiom, I feel, is just as true and applicable to technology as it is to making chairs, tables and putting up a set of shelves.
Use XDA... If you've got a given problem, chances are good, somebody has had it before you, or has it now. A solution may already have been posted.
Use the XDA search engine... or go to Google search, and type "XDA ..." followed by some keywords that distill the essence of your problem.
I've never known Google search to NOT display something that might be pertinent to an Android problem... and usually it's almost always XDA that comes at the top of the Google search results.
--------------------------------------
Right... I'll shut 'up now.. I've waffled on far too long. And I don't want to earn the ire of the moderators for taking this thread wildly off topic.
Rgrds,
Ged.
GedBlake said:
Wow, erm, I mean yes... thanks... @zolaisugly... not quite how to respond to that.(blushing/embarrassed).
But thank you for your kind words, they're hugely appreciated.
I just try to help as best I can... 'cos I know what it feels like when you think you're 'bricked' or otherwise have problems with your device, as I had last year, with my (the then new) Nexus 7....and it's a uniquely horrible feeling.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK well if you don't mind I'd like to pick your brain too . I am without a doubt no stranger to Android, rooting, custom roms, and so on, however this is my first experience with the nexus 7 (or with tablets in general for that matter), so there's just a couple of things I'd like to clarify if possible. I recently got a great deal on a 2012 32gb Nexus 7 WiFi, but I guess one reason why it was a great deal is because it came with 4.1.2 lol. So I have successfully unlocked the bootloader, rooted it, and flashed cwm recovery to it using wugs toolkit (what a great tool by the way!), and I originally assumed from this point on that I'd just be flashing custom roms like normal. After reading around for awhile I guess I must've confused myself, because now I'm not really sure what the "best" route to take would be anymore. First of all would I really need to flash every ota and build all the way up to 4.4.2 like described earlier? I found another thread that shows how to extract the boot, system, and bootloader images from the 4.4.2 ota off of Googles site, and then you could use wugs toolkit to flash them without losing data, would that work though considering I'm only on 4.1.2? Or should I just do all of the ota updates that pop up until I'm up to 4.4.2? I guess what I'm asking is what would be the best and or easiest way to get from 4.1.2 all the way to 4.4.2? I'm not concerned about losing data whatsoever just to clarify because I just got this so I haven't done hardly anything with it yet. I'm just under the impression that I can't even flash a 4.4 custom rom considering how old the version is on this, but I'm not sure if that's even correct or not.Anyway I'd really appreciate any insight or suggestions you might have because the last thing I want to do is rush into something and cause twice the work for no reason lol.
jeep447 said:
OK well if you don't mind I'd like to pick your brain too . I am without a doubt no stranger to Android, rooting, custom roms, and so on, however this is my first experience with the nexus 7 (or with tablets in general for that matter), so there's just a couple of things I'd like to clarify if possible. I recently got a great deal on a 2012 32gb Nexus 7 WiFi, but I guess one reason why it was a great deal is because it came with 4.1.2 lol. So I have successfully unlocked the bootloader, rooted it, and flashed cwm recovery to it using wugs toolkit (what a great tool by the way!), and I originally assumed from this point on that I'd just be flashing custom roms like normal. After reading around for awhile I guess I must've confused myself, because now I'm not really sure what the "best" route to take would be anymore. First of all would I really need to flash every ota and build all the way up to 4.4.2 like described earlier? I found another thread that shows how to extract the boot, system, and bootloader images from the 4.4.2 ota off of Googles site, and then you could use wugs toolkit to flash them without losing data, would that work though considering I'm only on 4.1.2? Or should I just do all of the ota updates that pop up until I'm up to 4.4.2? I guess what I'm asking is what would be the best and or easiest way to get from 4.1.2 all the way to 4.4.2? I'm not concerned about losing data whatsoever just to clarify because I just got this so I haven't done hardly anything with it yet. I'm just under the impression that I can't even flash a 4.4 custom rom considering how old the version is on this, but I'm not sure if that's even correct or not.Anyway I'd really appreciate any insight or suggestions you might have because the last thing I want to do is rush into something and cause twice the work for no reason lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, jeep447...
You're quite welcome to 'pick my brain', as you put it... but don't be too surprised if all you find in there is an oily rag, a half eaten sandwich and a dead D cell battery.
I'm by no means an Android expert; there are far more knowledgeable posters here on XDA... and they appear to be in possession of secret arcane Android knowledge, that is beyond my understanding.
However, I will try to help insofar as my knowledge allows. On to your question(s)...
First things first... if you're currently running Jellybean 4.1.2 on the device, then I think it would be a good idea to bring it up to date to KitKat 4.4.2 first... before you start flashing Custom ROMs.
Theoretically, it shouldn't make any difference if you where to flash a Custom ROM now, without bringing it up to date. But there might be an issue with the bootloader...
...which Custom ROMs WILL NOT update.
The bootloader can only (as far as I know) be updated by either...
-------------------------------------------------------
a) Allowing an Android update via the normal update route (or manually flashing the OTA yourself in recovery).
...or...
b) Fastboot flashing the full factory image that contains the new bootloader.
-- (however, see my Addendum toward the end of this post).
-------------------------------------------------------
I am not aware of any Custom ROMs that go anywhere near the bootloader partition. Which is probably a good thing actually, since a bad or incorrect bootloader flash has the potential for HARDBRICKING the Nexus 7.
My recollection is a little hazy... but I think with Jellybean 4.1.2, the bootloader was at version v4.13... since then, there have been two bootloader updates, v4.18, and the current version, which stands at v4.23.
You can check which bootloader you're currently on by booting into the bootloader as follows... shutdown the Nexus 7 completely. Press and hold the VOL DOWN button, whilst holding, press the POWER ON button. The Nexus 7 should now boot into the bootloader. On the lower left hand side of the screen, in a tiny font, you should find (amongst other things), the bootloader version number.
Now all of this detail about bootloaders might not matter... you could happily flash some new Custom ROM... and it might work without any problems with an old bootloader... but, on the hand, it might not.
So, I think, before you try tinkering around in the Custom ROM area... and If I where you, I would bring the Nexus 7 completely up to date, running Android 4.4.2 build KOTH49H (and the latest bootloader... v4.23).
The easiest and arguably the safest way of doing this, is to just allow the OTA updates normally, as and when they appear in the notification bar. Or, alternatively go to SETTINGS>>SYSTEM UPDATES > > and tap the CHECK NOW button. This is the method by which 99.9% of all Android users get their updates...
...and which is how I initially updated mine...in November of last year, when I first got my Nexus 7.
Running Jellybean 4.1, straight out of the box, once I connected it to mains power (updates won't occur if your battery is below a certain percentage), and acquired a WiFi signal... my Nexus 7 went through 3 or 4 reboots, upgrading from Jellybean 4.1 to Jellybean 4.1.1 to Jellybean 4.1.2 to Jellybean 4.2 (which introduced the world to Googles new and improved 11 month calender!). In December, Jellybean 4.2.1 was released, in time for Santa to arrive, which restored the missing month, December, in the date-picker.
Your succession of updates will be noticeably longer, as since then, we've had Jellybean 4.2.2, Jellybean 4.3, KitKat 4.4, and finally KitKat 4.4.2.
Along the way, with these updates, your bootloader will also be updated, silently and without you being notified of the fact. Most Nexus 7 owners are probably not even aware of the bootloader, much less if the latest OTA has updated theirs. So, the bootloader is not something you would need to normally flash directly yourself.
Of course there's nothing to stop you applying the OTA updates manually yourself, as I've written about here.
However you 'take' the updates, OTA's won't cause you to loose data... all your apps will still be there, as will your pics, videos and music files.
One last point concerning OTA updates... whether applied normally, or flashed manually... you will loose your Custom Recovery (in your case CWM)... and if you're rooted, you'll loose that as well... but it's easy enough to get both back after the update.
-------------------------------------------------------
Once your Nexus 7 is completely up to date, running KitKat 4.4.2, and before you do anything else, I recommend you make a Nandroid backup. I find it vaguely astonishing that so many people seem to miss this (IMHO) critical step.
Once you have a Nandroid backup under your belt... you can pretty much flash any Custom ROM or Kernel, safe in the knowledge that should anything go wrong with the flash, you can restore back to the point you where at before you flashed that ROM/Kernel or other 'mod'.
In fact, I don't think it would be a bad idea for you to create one now... whilst still running Jellybean 4.1.2... using your recently installed version of CWM.
Nandroid backups, whether created with CWM or TWRP, are a bit like 'restore points' in Windows... and I just think it's good practice and common sense, to have at least one good Nandroid backup stored on the device... before you start flashing stuff.
-------------------------------------------------------
Right... I think that covers most of your questions.
I'll try to keep an eye on this thread... in case you have any followup questions.
But I'm going to be pretty busy over the next week or so, what with Christmas on the horizon... so I may not respond immediately.
Good luck with your new Nexus 7... and, as ever... I hope this helps.
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Addendum
I've spoken at length about bootloaders and OTA updates. And I think this is your best and least risky way of bringing your Nexus 7 up to date.
Whist there is now available a full factory image for KitKat 4.4.2 build KOTH49 (see my sig for download links), I would avoid it at this time.
Apart from the fact it will completely wipe you're Nexus 7 (which is normal and to be expected) ... the STOCK FACTORY IMAGES, and the bootloaders that ship with them are currently in a bit of a mess. .. and may cause HARDBRICK.
See this thread for further details on this...
[WARNING][URGENT] N7 grouper (2012 WiFi) bootloader .img files from Google.
There are ways of working around this; (you need the bootloader from Build JWR66V)...
...but I suggest you stick with OTA's for now, to bring your device up to date...
Or at least until either Google sort out the 'dogs breakfast/pigs ear' they've made of the factory images... or until you've acquired sufficient knowledge and confidence in modifying a FACTORY STOCK image, such that it fastboot flashes a known GOOD BOOTLOADER.
Rgrds,
Ged.""