Upgrade Nexus 5 with CyanogenMod 11 (CM11) for Exciting Features!

Known Bugs/Issues:

[As of December 26,2013]

• No issues reported yet.

Let’s see how to install the Android 4.4 KitKat on your Nexus 5.

WARNING!

Warranty may be void of your device if you follow the procedures given on this page.

You only are responsible for your device. We won’t be liable if any damage occurs to your device and/or its components.

CHECK DEVICE MODEL NO.

To make sure your device is eligible with this, you must first confirm its model no. in ‘About device’ option under Settings. Another way to confirm model no. is by looking for it on the packaging box of your device. It must be D821! 

Do not use the procedures discussed here on any other Nexus device or any other company. You have been warned!

BEFORE YOU BEGIN..

You must do this pre-installation stuff before attempting to install the ROM on your NEXUS 5  in order to avoid any complications later, and have a smooth and successful process.

UNLOCK BOOTLOADER OF NEXUS 5

As it is with every other android phone, Nexus 5’s potential will also get doubled if it is wholly available to the user.

In this case, it would be when Nexus 5’s bootloader is unlocked — all ready for root, custom ROMs, custom recovery, etc., that is.

And if you are particularly excited about custom ROMs, custom recovery, mods, etc you must definitely get a bootloader unlocked of your Nexus 5.

For help on unlocking the bootloader of Nexus 5, here is our exclusive page on that linked below.

► UNLOCK BOOTLOADER OF NEXUS 5

GET THE LATEST CWM/TWRP RECOVERY

Make sure that you’ve latest version of the recovery of your choice installed on your device.

Older versions of both CWM and TWRP recoveries are not working with Android 4.4 based ROMs, throwing installation errors and WiFi bugs, therefore you need to use the latest version of either recovery.

► GET TWRP RECOVERY FOR NEXUS 5

► GET CWM RECOVERY FOR NEXUS 5

BACK UP YOUR DEVICE

Back up important data and stuff before you start playing around here as there are chances you might lose your apps and app-data (app settings, game progress, etc.), and in rare case, files on the internal memory, too.

For help on Backup and Restore, check out our exclusive page on that linked right below.

► ANDROID BACK UP AND RESTORE GUIDE: APPS AND TIPS

CHARGE YOUR DEVICE

If your android device powers off due to lack of battery while the process is underway, it could damage the device.

So, make sure your device is adequately charged — at least 50% battery of the device.

EXAMPLE VIDEO

If you haven’t used a custom recovery, either CWM or TWRP, before, to install a .zip file of a ROM on anything else, then we suggest you first watch a video of that, given right below, to get familiar with the process.

Just fyi, the video below shows installing a .zip file (of recovery) on Galaxy S3, but it doesn’t matter as the process remains exactly same. So, once you are finished with video, jump to downloads and step-by-step guide below.

NEXUS 5 ANDROID 4.4 KITKAT ROM

DOWNLOADS

Download the files given below and transfer them to a separate folder on your phone and remember the location.

GAPPS FILE

DOWNLOAD LINK  | File name: gapps-kk-20131119.zip (123.7 MB)

ROM FILE

DOWNLOAD LINK | File name: cm-11-20131226-NIGHTLY-hammerhead.zip (198.64 MB)

For latest version of the ROM, check the original page →

Before you proceed, make sure you’ve transferred the files you downloaded above to a separate folder on your Nexus 5.

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

Reminder: Make sure you’ve installed latest version of the recovery of your choice and have backed up your device adequately (including important data stored on internal memory) as mentioned in ‘Before you begin‘ section above.

GUIDE FOR CWM RECOVERY USERS

1. Boot into recovery mode. For this:
   • Power off your device and wait 4-5 seconds after lights go off.
   • Press and hold Volume Down + Power key together and release the Power key once the Google logo appears, but keep holding the Volume Down key. You will be in Bootloader mode now.
   • Press Volume Down two times so that Recovery option appears, and then press Power key to reboot into recovery mode.
     └ In recovery, use Volume buttons to navigate Up and Down between options and use Power button to select an option.
2. Create a Nandroid Backup from recovery. It’s optional but very important to do, so that in case something goes wrong you can restore to current status easily. For making a Nandroid Backup, go to Backup And Restore » Backup.
3. Perform a Factory Reset (This will delete all apps and their settings and game progress). For this:
   • Select Wipe data/Factory reset, then select Yes on the next screen to confirm factory reset (screenshot).
4. Also perform a System Format, Go to ‘Mounts and storage‘, select ‘format /system‘, then select Yes on the next screen to confirm system format.
5. First Install the ROM file:
   • Select Install zip » Choose zip from sdcard (or external sdcard, you know where your files are) » browse to the location where you saved the file and select the ROM file.
     
6. Now similarly flash the Gapps file.
   └ Make sure to first flash the ROM file and then the Gapps file.
7. Reboot your device. For this, go back to the main menu of recovery and select reboot system now.

That’s all. Your phone will now reboot and it will take some time as it’ll be phone’s first boot after installing Android 4.4, be extremely excited for this!

Note: In case your device gets bootloop (stuck at logo while rebooting), just do a factory reset (step 3) and you will be fine.

GUIDE FOR TWRP RECOVERY USERS

1. Boot into recovery mode. For this:
   • Power off your device and wait 4-5 seconds after lights go off.
   • Press and hold Volume Down + Power key together and release the Power key once the Google logo appears, but keep holding the Volume Down key. You will be in Bootloader mode now.
   • Press Volume Down two times so that Recovery option appears, and then press Power key to reboot into recovery mode.
     └ In recovery, use Volume buttons to navigate Up and Down between options and use Power button to select an option.
2. Create a Nandroid Backup from recovery. It’s optional but very important to do, so that in case something goes wrong you can restore to current status easily. For making a Nandroid Backup, go to Backup » and select all check boxes and swipe on the Swipe to confirm option at the bottom of the screen to confirm backup.
   
3. Perform a Factory Reset (this will delete all apps and their settings and game progress). For this:
   • Tap on Wipe » then at the bottom of the screen do a Swipe on the ‘Swipe to factory reset‘ option (screenshot).
4. Also perform a ‘System format‘. For this:
   • Tap on Wipe » tap Advanced Wipe » tap System to select it » then at the bottom of the screen do a Swipe on the ‘Swipe to wipe‘ option.
5. First Install the ROM file:
   • Tap on Install » browse to the location where you saved the files and tap on the ROM file. Now at the bottom of the screen, do a swipe on the Swipe to confirm flash option to begin flashing.
     
6. Now similarly flash the Gapps file.
   └ Make sure to first flash the ROM file and then the Gapps file.
7. Reboot your device. Go back to the main menu of recovery and tap on Reboot » then, tap on System to reboot your phone.

That’s all. Your phone will now reboot and it will take some time as it’ll be phone’s first boot after installing Android 4.4, be extremely excited for this!

Note: In case your device gets bootloop (stuck at logo while rebooting), just do a factory reset (step 3) and you will be fine.

FEEDBACK US!

It was easy to install Android 4.4 KitKat, right? Let us know how it tastes to you.

Your suggestions and queries, if any, are most welcomed!