The unlocked variant of the HTC One M8 is receiving a new Android 4.4.3 Kitkat update, namely 2.22.1540.3 in the United States. The new software comes as a notification alerting you when it’s ready. The time varies for each person because they roll out in stages. If you choose to not install it when you see the notification you have to navigate to Settings > About Device > Software updates and check for the update.

We said it was coming earlier in the week and told our readers to look out for the alert coming over the air to them in this post.

Android 4.4.3

Android 4.4.3 is made famous for brining in a new radio, the Easter egg sees the new numbers swapped over, the phone dialer is new and the colors are different. The dialer is now blue and white with the bottom bar being a nice ‘sky’ blue. That is the unofficial name I’m giving it just by looking at the color. Others will know it as the traditional Google blue because it is like that. The pictures of your contacts have new attributes so the size of the photo is different.

Android 4.4.3 comes with a security hole that needs patching in past builds. The flaw is found in OPENSSL and it’s made manufacturers and carriers think twice with how they will update their handsets. Some have elected to jump past this builds and go straight to the 4.4.4 Kitkat instead. Others we are still seeing back on 4.4.2 but they are receiving fresher variants of it that carry most of what comes in the latter two builds. All of that done in anticipation for Android L coming soon. That means that many won’t see any future updates, until the ‘L’ comes.

In addition to that, HTC has run a similar path be pre-installing many of the security patches found in other 4.4.4 builds into this firmware. That means that the vulnerability usually found in this number is taken away and there is no more OPENSSL bug or any other that they know of. People were expecting the last chocolate software update to come instead of this, but there is not reason for disappointment because it carries many of the same features as what you would usually find in the 4.4.4 Kitkat.

For more information you can open up YouTube and type in the type of Kitkat. I find YouTube offers a great way to research the updates because you hear talking and the phone on the screen at the same time. often it is the Nexus devices that receive the updates first so many of the popular videos are showing the Nexus 5 and others.

Furthermore, this is a stock official release by HTC and it will not wipe the handset unless it doesn’t finish the installation. If it hangs it may need a factory reset and that is how you may lose data. With that in mind, it’s important to take a backup of the OS, including market apps, texts messages, photos, music files, videos and more.

The M8 comes with 32 GB of built-in storage space that gives a maximum user storage of 24 GB. However, I recommend using the external storage for backing up if the internal memory wipes.

Users will find a better Sense 6 UI, stability improvements, security enhancements, bug fixes and more after installing. The total file size associated with the installation is 592 MB so we prefer downloading over a stable WiFi connection.