Last Updated on April 6, 2017 by Mathew Diekhake

CyanogemMod still reigns supreme for Custom ROMs to choose from for most Android enthusiasts and now there is a new version of CM11 that they can flash at will that will upgrade them to a custom version of Android 4.4.3. many people will want that because the official Android 4.4.3 Kitkat is not released for the HTC One M8 yet and this is the only way to get it. This version is one of the hottest commodities for Android-based devices. It is based on stock Android 4.4.3 and adds extra applications, numerous features and extra capabilities that you otherwise would not have had the chance to use.

In addition to this, using CM11 custom OS on the flagship HTC One M8 will give extra ability to customize, prioritize, optimize and increase the power under the hardware hood which increases the performance. A lot of that requires rooted apps though so check out XDA for learning more on that.

Cyanogen get CM

We write a lot of things that need looking at but once we get down to starting the guide it will only take a few minutes until you are finished. The guide splits up in two halves depending on what custom recovery option you prefer to use so note that you only need to look at once of these options after picking which version you are going to roll with.

  • Whenever we install anything custom and not official it takes away the devices warranty if there is any withstanding. Remember that device warranty’s do not last forever. All of you should still have warranty now though because the M8 only came out during March of this year so it is new enough to be looked after.
  • Backing up the M8 is the most important thing to do here because we will be wiping the OS clean during the installation. This is common for all custom Roms so don’t be alarmed. If you normally take the risk of performing the installation on stock or official firmware without backing up you cannot do that this time because it will be gone. We want to store call logs, SMS texts, MMS texts, contacts, photos, videos, apps and anything else you can think of. During the steps we will run over Nandroid that can be used for this if you prefer. If you want another solution try using Titanium that is available from the Google Play Store. If you don’t have anything you wish to store other than contacts you can sync them with the Google account that is hooked up to the smartphone.
  • You must have an unlocked bootloader and root access already pre-done before you can start this procedure. We cover many of those guides here on site if you want to use the search box. Furthermore, a custom recovery image must be installed such as CWM recovery or TWRP recovery. Once this is pre-installed you can start and when the guide splits up follow the correct path depending on which you chose to use.
  • During the update process you will need a USB cable, a computer and a HTC flagship smartphone for 2014 called the One M8.
  • Go to the settings menu and enable USB Debugging mode from the Developer Options menu. Inside will be a box that can be marked or unmarked. We want to mark this so that it represents being on and working.
  • Only follow the post if you are an advanced Android user.
  • The USB charging feature is power the battery when plugged into the computer.
  • You can use a Windows, Linux or mac computer. Furthermore, it can be a notebook so long as it comes with a USB slot in the side.

How to install the CM11 Nightly custom ROM based on Android 4.4.3 KitKat for the HTC One M8

  1. Download the Google Gapps file you need from here.
  2. Download the unofficial CM11 Nightly ROM file from here.
  3. You want to use the desktop of the computer for downloading both the files. Furthermore, do not extract the two files as you need the files zipped.
  4. Now connect the HTC device to the computer and use the copy and paste feature to shift the files over to the internal SD card on the M8 phone.
  5. Boot the M8 to recovery mode.
  6. The first thing to do inside recovery mode is take the Nandroid backup. The Nandroid takes a complete snapshot of the current ROM, almost like a complete mirror image. It’s very effective for backing up just about everything in your M8.
  7. Apply the factory reset from inside the custom recovery image if your choice. You can use TWRP recovery or ClockworkMod recovery.
  8. Now select the ‘install’ or ‘install from SD card’ option depending on your recovery.
  9. Upload the CM11 unofficial ROM zipped file and confirm the installation.
  10. Upload the Gapps package and confirm the same.
  11. Your device is now fully loaded with both the ROM and the Google apps.
  12. Go back to the main recovery screen and select the reboot option.

Once the M8 device reboots it’s going to have the new ROM flashed and ready to use. Remember you ought to do a factory reset each time you are changing ROMs. Likewise, you want to do that the same way you did it now from inside recovery.