Installing Android 4.4 CM11 ROM On Xperia Z

It’s still unclear when or if Sony intends to roll out an official Android 4.4 KitKat update for the Xperia Z, but if you’re not looking to wait any longer, the CyanogenMod team has a custom KitKat ROM ready to be flashed to your handset today.

This guide will walk you though the installation process for CM11 on the Sony Xperia Z. As always, DroidReport assumes no liability for the firmware installation. Proceed with caution.

Before Getting Started

Do not use this guide for any device other than the Sony Xperia Z. Flashing this ROM onto any other device will most probably result in a bricked phone.

You must have your Sony Xperia Z rooted, with a recovery utility like ClockworkMod installed. As always, you want to backup your device and charge it to at least 80 percent.

Finally, enable USB Debugging mode by navigating to Settings -> Developer Options.

Updating Sony Xperia Z to Android KitKat 4.4 via CM11 ROM

1) Download the Android 4.4 KitKat CM11 ROM, Fastboot, as well as the Google Apps package, which can be found here, here and here. Extract the ROM package to get the “boot.img” file.

2) Using your USB cable, connect your Sony Xperia Z to your computer.

3) Create a folder on your phone’s SD card named Fastboot and copy the Fastboot files there.

4) Copy CM11 custom ROM and the Google Apps package to the root folder of your handset’s SD card.

5) Turn off your phone. While holding the Volume Up button, reconnect the phone to your computer and wait until the LED turns blue.

6) Navigate to boot.img file and open a command prompt by holding shift, right-click and selecting “open command prompt.”

7) Type “fastboot flash boot boot.img” into the command prompt, followed by “fastboot reboot.”

8) Once the violet LED activates, immediately tap Volume Up to enter Recovery mode.

9) In CWM recovery, navigate to “Install Zip from SD card” and select the ROM file copied earlier. Repeat the same step to install the Google Apps package.

10) Perform a factory reset.

11) In CWM recovery, tap “Reboot system now” to restart your phone. This may take some time.

12) After restarting, your Sony Xperia Z will officially be running Android 4.4 KitKat CM11 ROM. Kudos.