2012 Nexus 7 WiFi users, your Android 5.0 Lollipop factory image is here

Let us be very clear, this is a signed release of Android 5.0 Lollipop for the 2012 Nexus 7 WiFi tablet. It lives on Google’s servers and has a build number that is completely in line with other known Lollipop builds, however, we have no way of knowing with one hundred percent certainty that it is the same final release expected OTA for Google’s original Nexus tablet any day now. But it’s close enough for me.

That’s right, for those willing to flash a clean install factory image, Android 5.0 Lollipop is ready for download for your original Nexus 7 WiFi tablet.

The release clocks in as build number LRX21P and comes to us before Google has had the chance to update the Nexus Factory Image page, which is home to all the download links needed to flash stock Android onto any of your Nexus devices.

If you are unfamiliar with the process, let me just say that it will require you to have an unlocked bootloader, have the SDK installed on your connected computer and you’ll need to enter a few lines of code into the command line. We’ve explained the process before. Of course, there is little need to rush things, as we are expecting the normal OTA update any day now. Perhaps with the Nexus 6 dropping as early as tomorrow, and a number of non-Nexus devices just starting to see the Lollipop update, that wait could be shorter than we think.

The 2012 Nexus 7 WiFi will be one of the oldest Android devices to receive the Android 5.0 Lollipop update, and a great number of us have high hopes for what it will accomplish. A number of Nexus 7 users, myself included, have mentioned that their tablets have been feeling a little sluggish lately, Android 4.4.4 KitKat ran fairly smoothly at first, but a short while and a number of Google Play Services updates later, things just were not the same.

In particular, I have high hopes for what developers have done with Project Volta, allowing Android 5.0 Lollipop to stop the immense battery drain that my Nexus 7 has enjoyed of late.

For those interested in the Android 5.0 Lollipop release for their 2012 Nexus 7 tablet, download the required file here (MD5: e68948c23c918436680bd28fc6aaf983) and be sure to carefully follow the instructions from Google to learn how to install. For the rest of us, any day now folks, any day.

Are you willing to flash the Android 5.0 Lollipop release onto your Nexus 7, or will you wait for the OTA update?