diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index d58ee5f8..2084cb1f 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@ language: android
 
 jdk:
   - oraclejdk8
-  - oraclejdk7
+# disabled -- we now set sourceCompatibility and targetCompatibility appropriately
+#  - oraclejdk7
 
 env:
   - GRADLE_OPTS="-XX:MaxPermSize=256m"
diff --git a/app/build.gradle b/app/build.gradle
index 6ff8c87a..f7675008 100644
--- a/app/build.gradle
+++ b/app/build.gradle
@@ -9,6 +9,12 @@ tasks.withType(Test) { systemProperty 'MiFirmwareDir', System.getProperty('MiFir
 // sourceSets.test.runtimeClasspath += File('src/main/assets')
 
 android {
+
+    compileOptions {
+        // for KitKat
+        sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_7
+        targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_7
+    }
     compileSdkVersion 23
     buildToolsVersion "23.0.3"
 
diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index a9300381..912050fc 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ buildscript {
         jcenter()
     }
     dependencies {
-        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:2.2.0-beta1'
+        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:2.2.0-beta2'
 
         // NOTE: Do not place your application dependencies here; they belong
         // in the individual module build.gradle files