Externally Jump Start Your Dead Nexus 7 - Final solution when all else fails! 

Doug, I had given up on my Nexus 7 but then after watching your video, I felt equipped to attempt to revive it. It worked perfectly and now my tablet is back! Thank you very much!

Doug! Thanks so much! I know this vid is years old, but it is very much still "current". I have not used my N7 in several years and thought there was no hope for working again. I followed your perfect instructions and my N7 now works again! I charged both "ports" for 30 min each, and ended up with a 20% charge. Plugged it into it's normal charge cord and 3 hrs later, 100% charged! Thank you for posting! The worst part is remembering how this tablet works! LOL

Thank you so much - my tablet hadn't been used in months and months. Didn't know exactly what was wrong, though I suspected the battery was just that dead. Alligator clips and wire strippers weren't items I had on hand. So I wanted to share my less-than-ideal setup, that worked: I used an old phone charger where the charging plug was severely bent (no loss of revenue here!) and a pair of jewelry-making wire cutters (ain't no shame to my game). This plug only had a single red and a single black wire - stripped those, twisted the fine copper wires, and then inserted them into the battery's plug ... charged each cell for 30 minutes just like you said, and Voila!! Booted like a charm. I went ahead and powered it down properly and then completed the charging using a standard cord. For being a non-technie, I felt pretty comfortable after watching your video. Good job and thank you again!

Doug, that's fantastic. Your video saved my day and my Nexus. Everything worked like a charm and my Nexus is up and running again. I had spoke to Google this morning and the only thing they suggested was repair (which wouldn't be worth it). Just by chance I stumbled across your video. Instead of alligator clips, I just used binder clips which worked fine. Thanks again for having a heart to help others and for making this easy to follow video. Great job!

Thanks a million Doug..Tried everything I could find on the internet and nothing worked till I stumbled across your post here. Started right up after 40 minutes of charging direct to the battery. I "dyked" the end of the USB cable and tinned the wires rather than using clips, they slid right in, just tight enough to stay in without sliding out. Had to replace the charging port which was a simple and cheap process and my sons Nexus 7 is back in commission. Thanks again.

Thanks Doug for this video. My n7 has been dead for over a year and when I first researched solutions to why it was dead and not charging I found nothing. I decided to see what new things were out there that could fix my problem and I stumbled upon your video. Everything worked and it is now charging, so many thanks and bless you.

Very clear voice and very clear instructions. Your video is way better than the other videos out there. keep it up.

Doug thanks for your informative and thorough video. Your comment that the unit may have not quite finished its shut down sequence was insightful. I knew my Nexus 7 was not dead but it had not shut down properly.I eventually got it to reboot by pressing the Start/Volume buttons again, for much longer time, and it restarted. Sort of temperamental these devices. Your video was an inspiration!

Doug, just wanted to take a moment to thank you for this tip. I bought a Nexus 7 online and it arrived with a completely dead battery and none to the tricks worked to get it to charge. It would briefly flash when I plugged it in, but that is all it would do after letting it charge for two days. I did your method as a last resort and it worked like a charm. I only let each cell charge for 5 minutes and the instant I plugged it in and pushed the power button + volume down the charging symbol appeared for the first time. Thanks a lot for posting this video. I had no idea that Lithium Ion batteries had this characteristic. It is definitely a flaw in the design, but it is nice to know that it is not impossible to recover from. Thanks again!

Doug you are a STAR. This just worked on my daughters 2nd gen N7. Thank you. I had tried everything, my next step was going to be attempting to solder a new USB port onto the board. Thank you Thank you!!!!!

Awesome, thank you! You're the man, this worked for me! Agreed with SpinalMan, appreciate how there was no fluff, loud intro music, etc. Just cut to the chase, and convey the information needed. Nice job!

Doug. My man! Thank you! After days of googling, to no avail, I was about to start checking battery prices, when I found your video. It took me a couple of tries, but it worked like magic! Charging each cell for about 10-15 minutes gave me about 15%, which was exciting, and immediately powered on. After that, I did about 45 minutes for one cell, then 15-20 for the other, and it powered right on, with about 26% charge. It's now charging with the cord. Thank you for figuring this out, and for sharing your knowledge! =) Just an fyi, I had no alligator clips, nor paper clips, but a stripped twist tie, connected from each of the black/red usb wires, secured into the battery cable, did the trick, just the same.

Hi Doug, great video. Your advice worked a treat bringing an old Nexus 7 back to life after it had sat in a cupboard for a couple of years.

Thank you! My N7 was literally dead for a year and I finally brought it back to life!

Thank you! Your video was one of several I watched to get the Nexus 7 going again. Just want to let you know that this is still relevant. Mine had not been used since 2015 and this technique brought the battery back enough to get the tablet to reset and login, as well as getting a charge to "take" on the battery.

My wife's Nexus 7 hadn't been used in a year and, like others, couldn't boot it up. After watching Doug's technique, I bought a $3 USB cable, and used a couple of sewing needles as the contact points for the battery, plugged it in to a wall charger, and after less than 2 minutes, had it kickstarted. A few hours later it is now fully charged up and working like old. Thanks for this video.

Thank you! After replacing the charging port I jump started the battery as you have shown and now the tablet charges well. One improvement I made, instead of using a paper clip,I used a wire wrapper (used in packaging groceries) that has about the same gauge as the existing wires connected to the battery.

I havent used my tab for two years. Thought it was damaged but just revived it by following your instruction. Thanks sir for sharing.

My Nexus was completely dead and had not been out of the drawer for over 12 months. I followed your procedure and remarkable the Nexus it now fully functional. Thank you for the instruction.

Hi Doug Your trick with the modified USB cable worked a treat and it now functions as it should. The glass shattered some months ago and by the time I managed to fix it, the whole thing was dead. Quite a relief to see the charge icon and then the Google screen! Thanks, Phil Bacon

Thanks my nexus has been dead over a year, wouldn't charge or display anything . I followed your video to jump start the battery, but instead of alligator clips I just wrapped the cut usb wires around a staple for each wire. After I found out it worked I used a hot glue gun to make a more stable usb jumper cable. I charged each cell for only 10-15 minutes and this resulted in 5-8% charge. I also realized that I can only charge the tablet when it is powered down I don't know if it was like this before but I'm happy to be able to use something I thought was dead. Thanks for making your video ! Thumbs up!

Had one left in a drawer for years and wouldn't accept any charge via USB -the jump start worked a treat! Thank you 👍

Thank you Doug!! Very much! I had the same issue as you with my daughters nexus 7 and tried all the tricks with power and volume but no luck...Thanks God I found your video and it helped me to bring the device back to life. Special thanks from my daughter to you, Doug!!

Thank you for posting this video. It is exactly what I needed to get my Nexus 7 working. Your update was correct, I only needed to have it charge each cell for a minute or two to get it to start up and from there I was able to use USB port to finish the charging process. I hope ASUS is proud of themselves that they didn't leave a way out of this mess when the tablet battery drains too low..

Just tried this, and it worked a treat. Thankyou SO MUCH for posting this. Have been looking for a solution (when all the other solutions failed) for ages. Much luv!

Found my wife’s old nexus 7 tablet in a drawer and remembered it wouldn’t boot up a long time ago. Tried this for $hits and giggles and what do you know...it worked!! Now we have a spare tablet for her mother to destroy! It’s slow as crap, but simply amazed this process worked! Thanks!

Thank you so much! Lately my Nexus 7 wouldn't power on anymore and I thought it died. But then I saw your video and tried the suggestion and it worked! Now it's charging and powered on! Thanks!

Was just about to send in for repair but found your posting, tried it, worked! Thanks Doug, you rock!!!

Thank you! Brought my 2012 nexus 7 back from the dead after 2 years! Only had to charge with the cut USB cable for 15 minutes.

Thanks Doug, this got my nexus going. I only needed to "jump start" the battery for about 2 minutes as well. this was enough to get 1% and now its all back together charging and screen is on.

You saved my day ! My Nexus 2012 wouldn't charge and boot. Google support page tips were useless. I externally charged it for 10 minutes and bam ! works like a charm. Thank you Doug !

Thank you, Doug! After a couple tries using the USB port from my computer which allowed me to see the contacts were being made when the computer tried recognizing a USB device, I plugged my cable into the wall charger. 10min on one "cell" and my second gen nexus 7 had enough juice to power up. Charged up just fine after.

I was about to take it to service and buy a replacement. Was looking for a video on how to detach the battery correctly. After that video finished, youtube autoplay started your video. By that time I tried everything and it didn't work. And then I learned how to fix this. A big thank you!

Hello. Just dropping a line saying thanks! My wife had this tablet in the bottom of a moving box and wanted to use it 6 months after we moved. Of course, the battery was completely drained and wouldn't charge conventionally. I was a little wary of leaving this unattended while charging each cell for 1/2 an hour, so I only charged each cell for 7-10 minutes each. Then I reattached the cover and attempted to conventionally charge it. It worked! Battery indicator came right up. I left it on the charger an additional hour and no problems booting up, Thanks again!

worked very well on a dead 2012 - 7 that was in India for 3 months... just got back to the states yesterday and came alive with this fix..thanks!

Many thanks for your very practical advice. I didn't need to charge my battery in the end - just detaching it for a few minutes got the system "unstuck". It is no longer a door stop!

Doug, as has been said, your tip worked flawlessly, turning what hand been a lovely paper weight into a nice little tablet. Thanks!

Dear Doug, thanks a lot!!!!! It worked like a charm. I measured the battery after pulling it out and saw it was totally dead, but thought it just went bad and was planning to order a new one, didnt think about charging it externally. I followed your method but used 2 pairs of cat5 cable and charged both cells at the same time, I let it charge for about 1hr and the battery charged to 30%. Then completed the process just as you mentioned and it worked perfect. Thanks a lot for all the help!! You are the maaaan! :-)

Thanks Doug. I thought this was unlikely to work but was pleasantly surprised. Thank you. I am delighted.

Honestly, I'm shocked that this worked! I have a first gen Nexus 7 that I have had kicking around the house for while, only getting used here and there. When I last fished it out of a drawer to do some reading with it I couldn't get it to turn on and I couldn't tell if it actually took a charge when I left it plugged in for a few long sessions. I started researching fixes and, though it seemed odd, I decided to give your solution a try. ( What's the worst that could happen? It already wouldn't turn on.) I didn't have alligator clips so I used an couple sewing pins with the micro USB wires wrapped around them. I only did it for 5 minutes on a single cell and plugged the battery back in. Lo and behold it booted up nice and easy! Thank you so much!

Great video and well explained. I followed your instructions to the letter and revived my mothers dead nexus! Thanks and well done. Much appreciated.

i never leave comments but i wanna thankyou from the bottom of my heart you have saved my sons nexus 7 and saved me alot of grief from a 7 year old...lol thanks again x

Doug. You are the man! I purchased two of these tablets for Christmas for my kids. One worked, the other didn't. As you can imagine, the second kid was disappointed. I tried all the other tricks and none of them worked. Just jump started it and, for the first time, I see something on the display. It is now charging as I type this. I just called me son to tell him it works and he said, "YES!!!! Thank you daddy!" Thanks for the help

i just want to thank you for your very helpful information. I followed the steps and It actually restored my dead battery and I now have a working tablet again.

Thanks for the video Doug! My nexus 7 has sat uncharged for months and this worked for me instantly. My battery showed less than 2mv on both cells and 1 minute of charging off a 5v wall charger gave me 2.97v and 3.02v for both cells. The device charged like normal and even got to the android boot menu straight away. Thanks again!

After some years of being in a drawer it worked for me and now it is charging. It was even easier. I connected de wires from the stripped USB cable directly into the battery connector holes. Very clear voice and very clear instructions also.

Dear Doug, I am currently re-certifying in CompTIA A+/Net and working on my first CCNA. I used to consider myself a hardware guru. This stupid tablet has proved my wrong. Thank you so much for this post. I am going to give this a try and will post my result.

You have taught me how to fix my Nexus 7 and for that I'm grateful! your inner pictures gave a clear picture of what you where describing, very helpful. for my self I charged each cell 15 minutes each then reinstalled the battery plugged it in and started it. I started up fine (slow since lollipop :( ) ... funny thing - it said it has a full battery now... but I don't trust it and leaving it to charge longer! I was kind of fearful that I may have ruined everything because as I went to touch the battery to check if it was warm I zapped it (static electricity - I have ruined surround sound systems before because of it! )

Thanks man! I 've tried everything else and nothing worked.. Volume Down Button + with power button, re adjusting the cable inside the tablet. Nothing. Then I saw your video and tried what you said. I used a cable connector with screws instead of alligator grips, a USB cable like you showed us & a stripped down PC motherboard cable. Charged each cell for 15 minutes then boom! Nexus 7 came back from the dead! Thank you for your video! You saved me money & time! Cheers!

OMG!!! i bought a box of tablets to repair and re-sell and this tablet was one of then, didn't start so i check on google and your video was the first search, try this and 5 minutes later the tablet was on and charging, after a couple of hour when it was at 100% i installed LineageOS 14 and is running so smoothly, i'm gonna keep this one to read comics and stuff like that THANK YOU!!!

Excellent video..saved my tablet! I used sewing needles and wrapped the USB cable wire around them. Thanks!

Fantastic - the video’s advice worked and more importantly saved me £40 for a non required repair on the charging port. Big thanks

Hey doug. A friend gave me a Nexus 7 and he told me if I could get it working, I could have it. I took 2 small pieces of speakers wire and 2 staples and bent the stable straight and pushed it down inside the middle of the speaker wire so it would come in contact with the wire and the plastic would keep it nice and snug in place. It worked! Thanks a lot!

This totally worked! I didnt use the alligator clips though I connected them directly into the tablet. A little risky but my tablet is now showing the charging icon! So exicited its been months since ive been able to turn this on! Thank you!

Thanks Doug - your solution worked perfectly. A comprehensive and lucid explanation (the close-ups were really useful). All the other official fixes I found on the internet were a waste of time.

Doug, Thanks ! After Wiping the Drive Clean, and completely Taking apart as far as I could go without removing the Gorilla Glass and Finding only one thing Wrong (and it wasn't a loose battery connector) the USB Port was bent and contacts were dirty! Reinstalled and put it all back together without loosing those minute screws by the way ! Well it still didn't charge unless I physically Held theUSB Jack Perfectly Still at just the absolutely precise angle ! And yes I tried five different USB cables and chargers! Anyway Took this advice (and yes it does get easier to take apart) , Jump started both sides of the battery for an Hour each side and Today the wireless Charger Came and violaMy Daughters Nexus 7 2013 works Again! Thanks again! Rock on Dude!!

This totally worked exactly as explained, dude, the guy all but kicked me out of his repair shop he was mad he couldn't fix it, turns out the new charger port he installed doesn't work now, so I paid him to break it only to fix it myself, YOU'RE THE BOMB!!!!!

thanks, looked ghetto when I set it up but it worked. Battery is back in and it's charging up now!

Just tried it and IT WORKS!! I can't tell you how long I've been scouring the interweb for assistance on this issue. I did the half hour on both cells as you suggested to achieve 55% on my 2012 model.

wow! i was beginning to lose hope! thank you +jazman for the idea of the needles- i only did the first circuit and it worked!! Thank you for taking the time to make videos to help others.

Doug - great tip and well presented. Thought my Nexus had had it and was about to ebay it as 'fit for spares only'. Then I found your jump start battery tip and it worked a treat. Updated Android to the latest and greatest and now working as good as new. Top tip Doug - well done!

Dude. Worked perfectly. took it to a service and they wanted to change my mmc board. Basically the whole tablet. I took it home and followed your steps. Booted from the first try.

Awesome!!! I had 2 Nexus 7's that died and they are both back to life in less than an hour! Thanks, much appreciated!!

This is the ONLY WAY that i was able to get this going. YOU ARE A GENIUS! THANK YOU

Perfect, Worked a treat. been trying everything else on the internet for the last 3 days, with no luck

Doug, I just tried this on my new Nexus tablet and it worked like a charm. Thank you so much for this great post!

Doug, This is a great tutorial video...Followed all steps and it worked like a charm....I got 20% of battery life from about a 1/2 hour charge to each cell...unfortunately, the tablet will not charge...Will probably have to replace the usb charging port.... Thanks for a great and 'simple to understand video'....

WOW!!! I had no trouble opening the case. The connector disengaged easily. I "jumped" each pair of red and black pins for 20 minutes. I reassembled everything and plugged it in and it immediately started charging the battery! After being untouched for 8 years, it now appears that this 2013 Nexus 7 is taking a charge. Hopefully I will be able to put this tablet back to work. Many Thanks!

Doug, you sir, are a gentleman and a scholar! It worked like a charm. Thank you.

Thank you Doug! My nexus 7 ha been sitting on a shelf for around a year now but after some work doing this it's working again!

Thanks so much for this video! This worked perfectly. I used a few sewing pins as connectors to insert into the battery, attached to a power bank charger. I let both cells charge for about 10-20 mins each and was able to boot and properly shut down the tablet. Now it's charging after being shelved for 3 years!

Very clear instructions. I would suggest for the ham-fisted or those prone to accidents that it may be better to insulate the two spare wires (individually) out of the way and if it is necessary to add finer wires to the red and black, that you should solder or twist them on to the red and black and then insulate them (separately of course!) This should eliminate danger of shorting out. Nice video!

YESSSSSSS! This absolutely worked! Haven't used my tablet since March! 6 months and POW.....I I'M BACK ON!

Can't believe this worked, but it actually did. Didn't have clamps so I twisted the ends of the wires and fed them right into the connections. Charged each pair of red and black connections for 15 min each. Hit the power button and it turned right on. Thanks man, you saved me from buying a new battery.

Hi, many thanks Doug. I was just about to give up on my nexus after trying various other methods that didn't work. Then I tried your jump start method and it not only worked but gave me a full charge. Thanks

This worked wonderfully! Thank you for taking the time to figure this out and then share it with us. 2 y.o. 2012 Nexus7 wouldn't respond to any attempts to restart (button push combinations, battery connector check, removing battery). After setting up the wires as you explained so clearly and charging each cell for almost 30 minutes each we put it back together and the battery light lit up and it rebooted. I wish you could have heard the cheering! It has now been fully charged with the regular charging unit. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I had to do this twice as the first time I don't think I had good contact and didn't charge for long enough. I twisted the cables and held them in place on the battery connector with dressmaking pins. I left it to charge for about 1 hour on each cell. Reconnected, didn't put back on charge and kept the power but on held. Forgot about it for a minute or two and after 2 weeks of trying IT FINALLY WORKED! THANK YOU SO MUCH DOUG. I was getting quotes of $100+ to "fix" it. If you are having no luck. Definitely give this a go before you hand any cash over to get it fixed.

Doug, U R The Man!!! I just can't thank you enough for your video. First of all, I tried charging for 1 minute each, didn't work. I then charged for 5 minutes each, BAAM!!! It turned on and got 2% battery. My original asus cable is broken i guess, so it's not charing using that cable. I changed the cable with my chromecast cable, and it is charging now. Once again, thank you :D

Thank you! I was able to bring back my Nexus 7 with your guide! :)

Just saved my N7. Nothing worked, until I tried this. Thanks man!!

That works on my N7 that haven’t been powered on for 2years. Thanks for saving my device back to life. I really appreciate it.

First man I'v ever seen to jump start a small devices battery, love it tanks a million mate! Been wanting to try this, just couldent figure out the wiring till now, thanks!

Dear Doug, thank you very much. It works! I can jump start my Nexus 7, and continue charging via POGO pins with my doc station (because, unfortunately, my USB port on the device is dead). It works like a charm. I even did not need to go to service menu, it is just started normally.I charged it about 15 minutes for one cell and 10 minutes for another and get to 2%. I've used needles to connect wires with battery socket. Interesting detail: before this procedure, when I connect my Nexus to doc station backlight of the screen started to glow, and it even blinks when I press power buton for 20 sec, but no actual booting started until I jump start the battery folowing your instructions. Of course I tried all that google suggested before (charging for an hour, for 12 hours, and all possible combinations of switch on and volume buttons). Thank you!

It definitely worked! My Nexus 7 is from 2012, Ist gen. It just went off today and couldn't be started. Extra congrats for the clear audio and explanation as the previous commenter points out.

Hello Doug I just tried and it worked. Now our nexus 7's battery is being loaded. thank you to post this video.

Hi Doug, amazing! it totally worked man. I am so happy because I tried everything. Your video was clear and straight forward. Thank you so much for posting it. And now to phase II which is to charge the battery.

Worked great! I charged for 5 min each side and that got me going. Many thanks!

Doug, thanks for the video, managed to revive a Nexus 7 after it being dead for more than 2 years! Had tried all the button push tricks and nothing worked, after 30 mins jump start battery was 7% full. Now charging through the usb.

Thanx Doug, I had this problem with a brand new battery. i charged it externally like you showed and now it works fine. :)

That worked like a charm on my nexus 7 2012. I havent turned it on like for years and wasnt able to power it up. Injected 5v straight to the battery for around 1h, then plugged that to the charger via micro usb and let it do its thing for another 0.5h. After that procedure i pressed power button and the screen went on. Brilliant video. I thought I lost this tablet. I need that to wath some netflix and tv while at work. Cheers👌👌👌👌

Thanks Doug, your method allowed me to recover my Nexus 7. Works fine now.

Thank you for making this video, saved my Nexus after trying all the other tricks, this one actually worked. I used stick pins to make the connection to the battery :)

my n7 was lying around for about 2 years. This actually worked, thank you. Note that it took a second when booting into recovery mode (after charging the battery) for the volume keys to start working before I could select "Power Off".

Very nice video. Super helpful, and you have a great way of explaining things! Please continue making videos like this! One of the best usb videos out there! Thanks!

This method actually saved my tablet. Thank you so much for this video.

Thanks! Worked perfectly. Tablet had been sitting for a few years. Changed charging port also.

Thank you so much. I simply grabbed 2 pins and wrapped the wire around and it worked. Saved my tablet so thank you but now I have to find out how to fix the charging port.

Fantastic! I didn't even do the search about the connections being loose (which, in my case, luckily it was!), but this is fantastic to know! I have quite a few tablets around here and their batteries are completely dead, and I do have the repair equipment on hand. Bought a set of "computer repair tools" at Best Buy when one of our local stores was closing for dirt cheap. Thanks SO MUCH! :)

Worked like a champ! Only had to plug it in for about a minute for each cell. Thanks!!!!!

I did 30 min each side and it came back up like normal with a 16% charge. Good info and thanks!