How To Update An Old Android Tablet

Do we have an old tablet and would like to update it to the latest version of Android? Allow's see how to do information technology.

Over the last few years, many unlike tablets have come out on the market, sold equally competitors of the iPad but at a much lower price than the Apple device. Most users have noticed that, after a few months, these cheap tablets hardly provide the speed of execution of high-stop tablets and we can hardly practice anything to amend the situation. For users who do not give up easily we tin can also endeavour to speed up the execution of the apps or introduce new features by updating the Android operating system, in a very like way to when seen on smartphones.

In the post-obit guide nosotros will bear witness you lot how to update an one-time Android tablet , so as to obtain a satisfactory level of functioning to run all the apps nosotros are interested in, without running into excessive slowdowns (especially if nosotros use a lot of Netflix, Disney Plus and YouTube). Updates tin too bring new functions absent in the firmware in use up to that moment.

Official update via OTA

The first type of update that we can apply is the one possibly provided by the manufacturer of the Android tablet: by choosing devices from famous manufacturers (such as Samsung or Xiaomi) we will get periodic updates in the first 2 years from the launch of the product , so every bit to obtain the latest security patches and new features released on the market. If we have never launched the system update on our tablet we tin can proceed rapidly by opening the Settings app , taking us to the Info card of the tablet (or Information -> Updates ) and pressing the Check for updates item .

If there is an update, the system will notify us: by pressing the Download / Download button or Install we will be able to update our sometime Android tablet to the latest firmware version available from the manufacturer. Since the arrangement update files can exist quite large, make sure to connect to Wi-Fi and avoid the use of the cellular data network (on tablets equipped with a SIM module), so as to download the file quickly and without additional costs. update. At the end of the download we restart the tablet and wait for the stop of the update.

Update via Custom ROM

Not all Android tablets on the market have received abiding and frequentOTA updates : some Chinese products have never received even an update! In these cases we can notwithstanding update our tablet past installing a Custom ROM , which is an unofficial firmware managed by volunteer developers and able to give new life to whatsoever old tablet. The best Custom ROM that nosotros can install on tablets is LineageOS , available from the official website .

If nosotros are geeks enough and want to update an old tablet at all costs, all we take to do is find the specific LineageOS version for the tablet in use, download the latest build fabricated by the developers and follow the installation instructions in the link Installation instructions (at the top of the window). In the vast bulk of cases the procedure is the same for all tablets and is very similar to the procedure seen for Android smartphones:

Unlock the bootloader or Samsung Knox (if present)
Install a custom recovery like TWRP
Load the Custom ROM file into the tablet's internal memory
Restart the tablet in recovery style
Install from Custom ROM recovery
Restart the tablet

These are the necessary steps to be able to install a Custom ROM similar LineageOS on our tablet, then as to have the latest version of compatible Android and all the other features present on this unofficial firmware. To learn more we tin also read our guides Install LineageOS, the best Android ROM and How to install a Custom Android ROM .

If we take difficulty with unlocking the bootloader we tin too read our in-depth How to unlock the Android Bootloader .

Custom upgrade

If we do non desire to fiddle also much with our one-time tablet or there is no Custom ROM for the tablet in use, we tin notwithstanding manually update some components of the operating system , so as to get in faster and more than modern. The showtime update that we recommend you to make concerns the launcher, that is the interface in which the home screens and apps are nowadays; the system launcher is often tedious and messed up and therefore it is better to supervene upon it immediately with a new 1 like Nova Launcher , downloadable from the Google Play Shop .

With this launcher we will be able to customize the interface and positioning of each icon, also as being able to use icon packs and themes inspired by the latest versions of Android. This launcher is also very light in memory, so it tin can run smoothly even on tablets with 1 GB of RAM.

The customization of the tablet operating system continues by installing all the indispensable Google apps , so as to supercede the organisation apps nowadays on the tablet (often former and out of appointment). The Google apps that we recommend you download are:

Gboard : the simple, fast Google keyboard total of innovative features.
Clock : the clock present on the Pixel, so you can set up the warning, go timers, check the fourth dimension zones and go the dedicated widget.
Gmail : the ultimate app to manage all your mailboxes in ane app.
Google Calendar : the Google calendar synchronized with the business relationship, so as not to miss fifty-fifty an engagement or an of import event.
Google files: the Google file manager, to access all personal files on the tablet and delete unnecessary files.
Google telephone : if our tablet is equipped with a SIM slot nosotros can also install this app, so as to finer manage calls and automatically cake spam numbers.

By combining the indicated lightweight launcher and the Google apps we volition obtain a "rejuvenated" tablet, with a new interface and many apps updated regularly. On the same topic we can read our guide How to update Android (even without installing new versions) .

Conclusions

An old tablet does not have to end upwards in the cellar or abandoned in a drawer: even if it may seem slow and obsolete by at present, we can ever follow the suggestions seen in the previous chapters to give it a new life, proceeding with an update of the operating organisation or, for less daring, by installing a series of apps that can give new life to any tablet (fifty-fifty models with 1 GB of RAM).

The onetime tablet tin exist reused in many unlike means, similar an onetime Android phone; to larn more we tin can read our guide 15 unlike ways to use the old Android telephone .

To speed up any old tablet we can also read our article Optimize boring smartphone or old tablet .