yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] nlinecomputers:
Use the instructions to reflash your bootloader.

http://blog.laptopmag.com/how-to-hard-reset-a-bricked-nexus-7-with-your-pc

Note replace the instructions to download 4.1.1. with the correct version of the ROM you want to flash. Make sure you grab the correct version for your device. Flashing the wrong bootloader can hard brick your NEXUS with

no chance of recovery

. Also don't relock your bootloader unless you are certain that you will never want to flash again. Unlocking wipes all of your data and you also can't be rooted if you lock it again.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] tigerdim:
Doesnt work. Cant get passed the first step. After 1 hour its still "erasing boot..."
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] MCPiston:
I flashed 5.0 successfully... You can't send it to Google with warranty? Try on other computer, do it manually using fastboot and don't give up!
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] JustZaphod:
As long as you can still boot into Fast Boot..

Your device can be restored..

I suggest using Wugfresh's Nexus toolkit

http://www.wugfresh.com/nrt/

The issues coming from the latest upgrade are common problems when ever we upgrade..

Its always better if you know how, just use the Nexus Toolkit and install the factory image..

Then it will sit at bootup for about 5-7 mins, then restore your apps... Profit

OTAs will always cause issues with some devices..
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] tigerdim:
Again.. I cant unlock the bootloader whether manually trying with fastboot or running NRT. Flashing a stock image is not possible.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] JustZaphod:
If you have not tried the latest version of NRT, you may of fried your locked bootloader..

Regardless, don't give up... Someone will come to the rescue.. Nexus devices are pretty robust..

Try using another cable, make sure you have the correct driver, double check in Device Manager...

Then try again with the lastest NRT.. Mine just updated.. As a rule of thumb its better not to use a USB hub if thats the case.. Try swapping out your cable, make sure you have the Nexus drivers... I had to re install mine..
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] dayz3r0:
I'm in the exact same spot. Also, I know that I don't have USB debugging enabled, so not sure if I'm blocked out because of that. Very frustrating.

The computer sees the tablet though. If I click on List Devices in NRT Advanced Utilities, it shows my serial # fastboot.

update: I tried the Unlock command and it goes to the Unlock Bootloader screen. I click Yes, but then the device just hangs on that screen (I let it sit for 30-40 minutes). Ideas?
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] tigerdim:
It hangs because its probably stuck at "erasing userdata". If you do it manuall with fastboot oem unlock you will see this in the cmd window.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] dayz3r0:
yep, it does
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] tigerdim:
I ve given up . Bought a Nexus 9. Wasted too much time on this.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] Mordecai253:
Having the same problem

My Nexus 7 (2013 32gb wifi) was working just fine on Monday. Had an unusual freeze up when I was reading something on Adobe Acro., but a quick reboot had it running again. I remember a notification about a system update but didn't pay it much mind. Later that evening I went to pick the N7 up and it was stuck on the Google loading screen. Freezes at Google loading screen when I attempt Recovery mode from Fastboot. Fastboot OEM unlock gives me the same stall at 'erasing user data' as mentioned above (left it on for this for 12+ hours yesterday and nothing). I haven't tried a different cable other than stock yet but I have tried multiple ports and two different machines to unlock the bootloader so I can flash the OS. No other functions with NRT (1.9.9) work including forced flash+unroot. I can't even flash the bootloader or erase or format any partitions. Feeling a little SOL here and I think it has something to do with Lollipop update.

N7 was unrooted and used for reading for the past couple weeks, so pretty vanilla use over the recent past.

4 months out of warranty with Asus and they want an est. $100 for RMA. Google tossed me to them after dragging me through the basic stuff I've been doing the past few days. Going to keep messing with it I suppose once exams are over but feel like I'm running out of things to try. If anyone has any suggestions, questions or a solution, posting them here would be much appreciated.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] mulperi:
My upgrade from 4.4.4 to 5.0.1 took ages. It was like bouncing the four small balls for perhaps 5 minutes. Just have patience.

I would recommend not to use xposed or titanium backup as I expect those programs mess with /system files and that can break the android upgrade script. Just disable any unwanted bloatware in regular application control. At least all my updates have been successful so far. Yes, I am rooted.

Good luck.

---------- Post added at 12:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:45 AM ----------

For Wugfresh excellent "Nexus Root Toolkit" to work you need to enable usb debugging in developer menu. You enable the developer menu by tapping a lot on your version information.

The usb debugging gets reset on every upgrade.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] TriadX1:
They quote you $100 RMA, but once you send it in they will send you an invoice for $200. $165 for the motherboard, $25 labor and $10 return shipping. I fought it and they eventually dropped $10 for the return shipping. Last time I ever deal with Asus.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] Mordecai253:
If it were just $100 I would consider it, but I agree on the Asus thing, they kinda suck. I've used their products (Mobos, laptops) for years but I've had a number of problems with many of their devices (screwy CPU multipliers on a mobo years ago and a bogus cooling solution on a laptop more recently). Anyway, I think I will hold on to the N7 for now.

I've tried several different drivers and I wonder if that might be worth focusing on. Anyone have experience with differential success in using fastboot functions with different drivers? I've tried Asus, Google, and Manual through NRT with no change.

Would there be any use in taking the thing apart? I was thinking about disconnecting the battery for instance.

If Google was responsible for bricking it with a botched OS update should I try and press them to replace or fix it themselves?

Also, if anyone knows any other good threads worth following, I'd like to know.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] Boned by google:
I have this same problem after being on 4.4.4 and getting googles update to 5.0.1. Google said if i didnt by it from the play store I need to talk to Asus. I talked to them and they agreed with me that its the os not the hardware. After talking to them awhile they came around and said even though it was out of warranty they would do an RMA.

Now after reading the shady things they are doing with an RMA more flags are up for me.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] Norcalz71:
In the same boat here. I never got the 5.0 update OTA, just straight from 4.4.4 to 5.0.1 about 10-12 days ago. When I got the update the n7 seemed pretty sluggish, weak battery life, wasn't pleased. Then one day I went to open the cover and it was stuck at the google logo. Since then I have tried reflashing manually, OEM unlock, etc - nothing works. My bootloader was not unlocked and so similar to others, I hang at the "erasing user data" and it never oem unlocks.

Anyone found a resolution to this yet? I purchased july 2013 so I am out of the 1 year period but I find it completely unacceptable to have to pay any RMA costs when the product fails randomly after 18 months. Tablet was babied and I didnt actually even root/customize it, totally stock.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] Boned by google:
I would love to know if anyone with a bricked Nexus 7 after googles ota , was able to get the device working.

I am in the same boat Norcalz71. I tried google a few times but they will not help me at all. I did not buy from them, it is over a year old. Even though it was Googles ota that hosed my N7 and they have since pulled the 5.0.1 push, they will not help me. I lost faith in this company. I used to back them 100% and would talk to people who were unsure what to buy. NO LONGER for me. I truly expected them to step up in this case to the people with broken N7's from this ota push.

Also I did try Asus but they want $800 to ship it to them to be repaired. When I told them I paid $300 for it new they said it is what it is.

It is what it is.......... THANKS GOOGLE
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] iglu:
This happened to me too.

Few weeks ago I got the 5.0.1 OTA to my stock unrooted N7 2013. When it updated it seemed to me that it takes longer to go through the "Google" logo, eventually it passed it.

Then, on the morning of a day later i saw that the device is off, and the white notification led is blinking when i press the power button. eventually it rebooted right into bootloop on the google logo.

I tried contacting the local Asus service but since it is out of warranty all i can do is to send it to (paid) repair.

So frustrated since this thing happened to me a few years ago with the Nexus S device. can't believe i got it again from google.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] Boned by google:
I am just hoping someone is able to figure out a fix for the hosed nexus 7 2013, and can post it.

Sorry to hear this isn't the first time google has done this to you.

This entire ordeal has left me unsure of google for the first time.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] tetakpatak:
Why don't you flash manually an entire KitKat factory image by using fastboot?

tetakpatalked from Nexus 7 flo
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] iglu:
Because in order to flash you need to perform

fastboot oem unlock

which doesn't work - simply stuck once you approve the unlock on the device.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] tetakpatak:
It is strange if the fastboot connection is working... it might be a hardware issue. Do you still have your receipt/valid warranty? If yes, I would send it in and request replacement or service.

tetakpatalked from Nexus 7 flo
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] iglu:
It sounds very strange for it to be hardware malfunction since this whole thread is full of people that this has happened to them within 24 hours of the lillipop OTA. If i had to guess they have a bug in the low level areas of the OTA which corrupted the boot-loader or so. I know Google in the past used a technology that should prevent that , but in the recent versions they stopped using that certain technology.

I have a receipt but the I'm already out of warranty. I took it yesterday to the local asus repair service for paid service. Hopefully this is something that can be fixed cheap and not an expensive "replace motherboard fix".

I will update the advancement but i'm afraid they too won't know what to do and suggest the only to replace memory/motherboard.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] tetakpatak:
Yes, it is such a shame. I really can't believe how many people ran to update their tabs with a first release. This time, it is very buggy and not-mature release. I have tried test version of L last summer and wasn't happy with it at all, so I updated none of my Android devices to Lollipop until today. I like KitKat very much and feel no need to change it.

It would be a logical explanation, that the bootloader got corrupted somehow. It wouldn't be the first time that Google screws the bootloader, Google has messed it already up with Nexus 7 Wi-Fi (model 2012) with the 4.3 update.

Good luck, mate!
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] vraj896:
So there is no fix for this? Google should do something about this error.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] tetakpatak:
Best you can do is never to use OTA updates. It causes endless problems, not only by Google but with all major brands.

Update always manually, Nexus is so easy to flash with fastboot.

tetakpatalked from Nexus 7 flo
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] chrisinsocalif:
Why did you relock the device especially when using a 3rd party recovery?
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] vraj896:
That's what I did for 5.0 but for 5.0.1 used OTA.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] iglu:
The local Asus (official) lab i put the device in returned to me and said that the flash card is messed up and I need to replace the motherboard. the price is 200$, 75% of a new N7 2013 :/

I'm really disappointed from Google at this moment !
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] Norcalz71:
My n7 has been at the Asus facility in Texas for a week and it is still not showing up in their RMA online system. It was sent signature FedEx so I know it arrived, if its not in the system tomorrow I will start off pretty unhappy with this process. I am about one month beyond my warranty so if they stick me with a repair bill for this and don't make it right I will be swearing off Asus is every way shape or form. Not feeling good about what I've heard so far. Sounds like they know it can be an issue but basically say tough ****.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] ariesgodofwar:
Just from experience, it takes a while to show in the tracker, but once it does, there is a very fast turn around. I get the feeling they do not enter them in the tracker until they are ready to work on them.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] tetakpatak:
Yes, and besides it was Xmas and New Year. Nearly nothing works in Europe since one week.

tetakpatalked from Nexus 7 flo
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] Mista513:
I can't believe I'm finding so many users with the same issue and there is no fix. Google has to know the Lollipop OTA was borked and bricking tablets. I have a perfectly working 2012 N7, and my 2013 was a day one buy. I never rooted it, has always been in a case and never dropped and it gets bricked. At this point I wish I did actually root cause this wouldn't of occurred. I'm out of warranty and refuse to pay Asus to fix this issue. I'm going to hold onto it and hope someone discovers a solution.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] seels86:
Bricked

Has anyone found a fix for this yet, or is Google planning to release a special fix that doesn't require an unlocked bootloader? Mine is having the exact same issue, and there is no hope no matter what I attempt to do via fastboot. This is so upsetting. There is no way I'm paying for another motherboard for this tablet.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] crazymonkey05:
Has anyone had this problem after ota to android 5.0.2, I got my n7 about 2 weeks ago from Walmart and it was on 4.1.2 and I had to ota all the way to 5.0.2 and never had a problem the tab is butter smooth and runs perfectly.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] bahaeddin:
same issue here !

anybody got anything !?
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] kmtathome:
Ditto

Same issue here...
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] DVS_Sokar:
I have been thoroughly looking at the issue of Lockup after update to Lollipop. Spoken with Google and Asus.

From what I can see. The recovery Partition is inaccessible. Attempts to access it through the Menu/Secret Menu(Power + Volume Up) cause the device to Lock up. Attempts to pragmatically force the device to Recovery Lock the device on the Google Logo. At this point I think ASUS or Google should take ownership of this issue and preform a Device Replacement Program in such a way that Apple does when a defect not caused by the customer is found.

My Bootloader is unlocked. I have flashed the proper Factory Image for my nexus 2013 flo model and recovery is just inaccessible.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] chrisinsocalif:
How many users had their devices bricked without using any 3rd party recovery, firmware or toolkits? I am curious.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] beartrap:
I'll be #1. It's been 4 months for me on uprooted and stock Nexus 7. I'll never buy another Nexus.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] tetakpatak:
Many times devices brick after a standard OTA update. IDK how that comes. Custom ROMs and recoveries check the md5 sum before flashing.

IMHO, unrooted devices give feeling of a false security. There is no more reliable way to flash a bootloader than with fastboot while the device is booted in bootloader mode. OTA update that includes bootloader flash is a madness, especially on the devices with locked bootloader.

tetakpatalked from Nexus 7 flo
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] jshamlet:
The only time I have ever bricked a device was with a locked boot loader. After that, I have refused to keep a phone that I can't completely unlock, as I would prefer to deal with system security myself. The advantages to having an unlocked boot loader and custom recovery are that they give you additional options for recovering from a problem, with the only downside being malware can do potentially more damage. My N7 was unlocked, rooted, and running TWRP within an hour of getting home with it, and I've never had a day's problem with that configuration.

I will say that after the Lollipop OTA failed (due to my apparently forgetting which files I had altered), I finally downloaded the factory image and fastboot loaded it. Worked great, other than the memory leak in Lollipop itself.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] ejchis:
I can get into recovery, but it takes a very long time to get there. Then I can't really do anything from within recovery because I can access any storage.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] PoorK:
Yet another bricked N7 2013

After running out of battery, I recharged my N-7 2013 (flo) and booted it, but it hung on the white Google logo. I don't know if it updated to 5.0.2 before running out of juice. I was running 5.0.1 last I knew, running flawlessly.

I can get into fastboot. Screen says it's unlocked, but it won't let me do any writes to any partition, acting as though it's locked and/or completely write-protected. Running fastboot oem unlock says that it's already unlocked.

I can't boot to recovery, either; it just hangs on the white google logo forever. I've tried many different cables and USB ports, too. Even taken the back off the unit (some said that doing that and pressing all the connections resurrected their unit. Not so for me).

Asus and Google need to own up and step up here. I don't give a crap whether running sideloaded or pre-releases voids our warranty. A software update straight from Google (e.g. 5.0.2) should NEVER completely brick a unit. The $100 RMA is bullsh*t. My only recourse seems to be to buy a new unit.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] Tmender:
Mine did the same thing today, while updating Pandora, tablet restarts and stuck at the Google screen. I can access bootloader, but can't write to it, nor access recovery.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] ejchis:
I'm dealing with the same thing. Restart to Google logo. Nothing. Can't boot. Can get to TWRP, but it takes an unusually long time. Can't access any storage.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] PoorK:
Yup, after a long recharge overnight, I *can* get into recovery, but I can't write to memory, such as during a 'wipe cache' or 'wipe data/factory reset'. It can't mount any partitions.

So it's still a brick. Thanks Google. Thanks Asus.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] flyinion:
Anyone have any luck with this? I updated a number of apps last night including Pandora (was mentioned above) but updates went fine. This afternoon I went to use my tablet and noticed it was dead. After sitting on the charger for a bit I tried to turn it on. Now I can't get past the Google logo either. Stock recovery shows it can't read the cache partition (or clear it), can't flash the cache partition in ADB, and trying to boot a TWRP image locks at the TWRP flash screen. Tried to flash TWRP and it failed after 90 seconds and apparently had wiped out the stock recovery in the process. Now trying to flash stock recovery.img and the same thing. They both fail with "FAILED (remote: flash write failure)". So now I have NO recovery!!

edit: Apparently I do still have a recovery, even though it said it failed, stock recovery actually booted.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] ejchis:
I've had no luck, and I've been monitoring the progress of others. The only positive story I've heard is the banging on left side thing, which unsurprisingly did not work for me. I'm really hoping someone has a breakthrough. Unfortunately, I think our best bet is for this to continue to affect more and more people so that finding a fix becomes more urgent. Too many people seem to think that this is a case of user error, which it most certainly is not.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] kjdiehl:
vanilla N7 2013 32GB bricked after OTA

After researching this for 2 days and spending most of that time experimenting with different fastboot commands, I'm convinced I've joined this lousy club. My Nexus 7 was vanilla, not even rooted anymore; I'd only kept the bootloader unlocked. This definitely seems an endemic problem, caused by at least one of the Lollipop OTAs. My device continued running mostly fine, (with occasional mysterious slowdowns,) for at least a couple weeks since it's last OTA update, and then spontaneously rebooted one night, did so again the next morning, and then wouldn't boot past the Google logo. Adb and fastboot experimenting confirms I can communicate with the device in fastboot mode, but cannot boot, cannot access the recovery, and cannot erase or write anything to memory- flashing anything fails, whether flash-all or individually. Basically, I can lock and unlock the device, and that's it.

Given that most people's N7 is over a year old, most average consumers will just assume the device's age is the problem and will simply buy a new device without complaining to Google or Asus. For the most part, only enthusiasts who know how to use adb will discover the real problem, which will be unlikely to cause a large enough customer complaint for Google and/or Asus to rectify the matter. Options from here seem limited in order of cost to:

1. If you're lucky enough to still be covered by Asus' warranty, have them do the repair as a free RMA. (Also, some people's banks may offer extended electronics warranties. Check yours!)

2. Buy replacement NAND and perform home soldering job. Strong soldering skills required. NAND difficult to source.

3. Buy replacement motherboard from eBay or Amazon and perform home repair. ~$25 16GB board, ~$80 32GB board. Not difficult. (My wife is making me do this one to save money.)

4. Pay Asus to perform the RMA repair, ~$200

5. Buy a new N7 from eBay, ~$200-$250

6. Buy a new N7 from Asus, $270

7. Buy a new Nexus 9 32GB from Amazon, Google, etc, $480, ($50 off this week on Office Depot!) I just wish the N9 was as great a tablet as the N7 was...

My biggest remaining question:

Those of you who have executed a motherboard repair/replacement AND then upgraded to vanilla Lollipop, how is your N7 doing now? I'm very concerned that Lollipop might simply fry the new board eventually as well, (though I've not yet seen any reports of this, though none to the contrary either.) Given this worry, I feel I may be better off just rooting and installing a ROM, giving me more options if something goes wrong again. Thoughts?

A thread that provides pretty solid affirmation of all this: http://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus7/comments/2vb9kb/bricked_nexus_7_2013_after_lollipop_upgrade/
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] flyinion:
Here's another thread where people have been posting stuff. Initially a Google employee took notice and seemed like they were trying to help. They just came back this morning and gave a completely bogus solution of contacting Google or Asus for a warranty repair. Yeah cause most of us still have an un-expired warranty. https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/Ykfqr5RnlW0%5B1-25%5D
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] ejchis:
I really torn on what to do because I loved my N7. I'm hesitant to buy a new one because I don't want to go through all of this again down the road (at least this time it would be under warranty). If the N9 had qi charging, I might be more open to that option. I'm a musician, and I use my tablet as a digital music stand, so I am going to have to go with something, and I really don't want to go away from the Nexus line. I'm really hoping someone comes up with a way to access that memory and revive this thing.
[Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A] kjdiehl:
Update: problem persists after repair!

****. I just found this thread where a user (on March 3) with this problem had his device repaired by Asus, it worked fine for a couple weeks, and then the same problem returned, frying the NEW board.

https://productforums.google.com/forum/m/#!category-topic/nexus/nexus-7/aHPjOTqCpXY

So repairs/new N7s are off the table, unless you install an alternate ROM or remain on KitKat.

F*CK!!!