Selecting this, we clicked ‘Extract all’ on the toolbar and extracted the compressed file to a folder called ‘platform-tools’ in our Downloads folder.Īt this point, we turned on the tablet again while pressing the volume down button, which prevented it from launching the Android operating system. This revealed that it contained a sub-folder called ‘platform-tools’.

We then double-clicked the downloaded file to open it in File Explorer.

We then searched for Google’s Platform Tools and downloaded them from Google’s site for Android developers ( ), clicking the ‘Download SDK Platform-Tools for Windows’ link. With the driver updated, we closed the boxes, quit Device Manager, unplugged the tablet and turned it off completely (just putting it to sleep isn’t sufficient). This opened a box, on which we switched to the Driver tab, clicked Update Driver, and navigated to the driver we had just downloaded. Here, we expanded the Mobile Devices section within Device Manager and double-clicked on our tablet. We then connected the tablet and opened Windows Device Manager (press the Windows key, type device and click Device Manager). Having downloaded the drivers, we moved them to a folder on our computer. Again, you’ll probably need to search for these (we found ours for the Nexus on Softpedia: see screenshot above). These instructions asked us to install Google’s Platform Tools, and drivers specific for our device. However, if you can get Touch to work on an old tablet or phone that you own, you might be able to breathe new life into an old piece of kit. Compatibility varies from device to device and, as you might imagine, replacing an operating system is a big job. Rather than try to force an update to the latest version of Android (13, released in August), we’re going to install Ubuntu Touch ( an opensource Linux-based operating system being developed for a wide range of Android devices. The most recent version of Android it can officially run is 6, released back in September 2015.

We have a second-generation Nexus 7 tablet (pictured right), jointly built by Asus and Google, which was released in August 2013 and discontinued in April 2015. Here, we’re going to take the third option. Do you buy a new device? Keep running your existing device with out-of-date software? Or install a new operating system?

Manufacturers eventually stop supporting old devices because doing so would hold back owners of newer, ‘faster’ hardware – and, at that point, you must make a decision.

Use android studio on android tablet