Installing Android 4.4 CM11 ROM On Xperia ZL

If you're waiting on an official Android 4.4 KitKat rollout for the Sony Xperia ZL, you'll need to keep waiting, but in the meantime, the CyanogenMod team has you covered with a custom KitKat ROM. 

This guide will walk you though the installation process for CM11 on the Sony Xperia ZL. 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 ZL. Flashing this ROM onto any other device will most probably result in a bricked phone.

You must have your Sony Xperia ZL 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 ZL 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 ZL 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 ZL will officially be running Android 4.4 KitKat CM11 ROM. Kudos.