Nexus 7: boot loops, rooting, operating systems...

[nikki]

I have a 2013 model Nexus 7 which mostly gets used when I'm on tour.

I rooted it and installed cyanogenmod when I first got it as I often use it with an On The Go adapter so I can transfer files to/from things like my Garmin and my camera. It's always been a bit temperamental, falling over after upgrades etc, but nowadays its super unreliable and often gets stuck in a boot loop or throwing a wobbly a few seconds after booting with some process or other crashing and needing a restart. Currently Google Play Store has stopped, Trebuchet's another favourite.

I can't rely on it, so time to start again from scratch I think.

If I do a full-on factory reset, what does the panel suggest as what to do next regarding rooting etc? What software are people using and what operating systems do you recommend (and why)?

Thanks.

[Kim]

The lightest leanest OS you can find, with as little Google as you can get away with.  My old Nexus 7 is unusably slow for anything much more demanding than ebook reading and a bit of email.

[nikki]

I got proper stuck in bootloop catastrophe, but managed to revert back to the original back-up of the shipped OS from right at the beginning. 2014 Android is currently catching up with itself.

Amidst all the updates I've already caught a glimpse of how much bloat is on there! Ye Gods! I was thinking of maybe just leaving it, but not sure I can tolerate all that crap!