Manually Update Nexus 7 To Official Android 4.1.2 (JZO54K) Jelly Bean [How To Tutorial]

One of the biggest advantages of buying a Nexus smartphone / tablet is direct support from Google so you can get major updates for Android faster than other Android devices on the market. While the Motorola Photon 4G with its dual core processor and 1GB of RAM from mid 2011 isn’t even going to be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, even the 18+ month old underpowered Nexus S recently received the update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

Now, those of you who own a Nexus 7 will be interested to know that a minor update to Jelly Bean has been released in the form of Android 4.1.2 with build number JZO54K.

There are two ways you can go about this: either wait for Google to push it to your device over the next few days and weeks or you can easily flash it manually and enjoy the new features right now.

If you’re considering the latter, we’re here to help! First, you will need to root your Nexus 7 and flash ClockworkMod Recovery, then follow our guide below:

Step 1: Download Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean (JZO54K) [Official Google]

Step 2: Place it directly under /sdcard on your Nexus 7’s storage.

Step 3: Reboot to ClockworkMod (CWM) Recovery.

Step 4: Navigate to install zip from sdcard > choose zip from sdcard and then select the file you transferred to your Nexus 7 in Step 2.

Step 5: Let CWM do its thing.

Step 6: Select reboot system now from the main menu.

If you followed the steps correctly, your Nexus 7 will now boot into Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean (JZO54K). You can confirm this by going to Settings > About.

Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean comes with support for landscape support in the launcher. Many reviewers noted the lack of support as a bit of a shortcoming in reviews of the Nexus 7’s software, so this is certainly a welcome feature. Other things include minor bug fixes and performance improvements.

In related news, Android 4.2 Key Lime Pie is expected to be announced later this month with features like Project Roadrunner to improve battery life, enhanced Google Now and Google Play, and a Customization Center.

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