The crate isn't mean unless you leave them in there longer than they can hold it.
Let me put it another way - would you rather crate train (meaning crate when you can't supervise) your dog and have him able to roam free by 7 months, or not crate train and have a 7 month old who is no where near being housetrained.
This is just my opinion, and I'm in the minority here but my dog is 100% outside trained, even with his bladder issues, so take this however you like. Outside train your dog. Or, if you must, pad train your dog. But pick one. Don't newspaper train him and then try to make him go outside sometimes or whatever. You NEED to be consistent.
How did you newspaper train him? Did you give him a treat every time he went there? Did you confine him so that he can ONLY go in that space? Are you leaving him confined when unsupervised? With a little work you can put it on cue "go potty" and you can pretty much teach your dog to go when you tell them to.
Loki rings a bell when he needs to go out. Yes even in the middle of the night. When no one is home he is crated for safety. He is housetrained at other houses too.
MAKE SURE you are cleaning with an enzyme cleaner like Natures Miracle, Simple Solution, etc. Otherwise an old pee spot, even if there is no stain, is like a neon sign that says PEE HERE!
I can give you some more suggestions if you want to train him to go outside. I say do it cold turkey and make it NOT ok to pee in the house anymore. If you want help with pad training then there are 100 people on here who can help with that
