HTC Sensation is HTC’s one of the most popular device and is still owned by thousands of users. The device sports some very powerful specifications, powerful of the time when it was launched. The only things this device lags in, it’s software which stopped at Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and HTC just forgot this device. Another reason for HTC to stop it’s update might be the hardware compatibility with the higher version of Android, but the device users may not worry about this drawback of their device because custom firmwares can always give the forgotten devices a new life.
While Google is heading towards Android L, and most of the high end and mainstream devices are running on Android 4.4.4 or Android 4.4.2 KitKat, HTC Sensation users probably are a bit disappointed. To wipe of this disappointment, XDA senior member Shantur has come up with Android 4.4.4 KitKat based on CarbonROM, which happens to be one of the most popular custom ROMs of the day.
In case you’ve been looking to get your device a KitKat, you are at the right spot at the moment. In the succeeding guide, we will be flashing Android 4.4.4 KitKat based on CarbonROM on our beloved HTC Sensation. You only need to follow this guide carefully. Let’s go through the early preparations and then flash this ROM.
Early Preparations:
This is only for HTC Sensation!
This custom ROM is only for the device mentioned above. Make sure that your model number matches the one listed above. To do so, go to Settings > About Device on your device and see your model number. Flashing this ROM on any other device will result in bricking it so make sure that you meet this requirement first of all.
Battery should be charged at least over 60%.
Make sure that your battery is charged enough to complete the flashing process. In case your battery is low and your device goes dead during the flashing process, you may end up soft bricking your device as it won’t complete the flashing process.
Flash a Custom Recovery.
A custom recovery, 4EXT recovery is required to flash this ROM. You may find guide to install 4EXT recovery on your Sensation device on our site and flash it using the instructions explained in the guide.
4. Backup everything!
Just to be on the safe side, you may consider backing up each and everything from your Android device. This is highly recommended so that in case anything goes wrong, you still have the access to all of your data and you can restore it immediately. You may backup everything as listed below.
- Backup SMS Messages
- Backup Call Logs
- Backup Contacts
- Backup Media – Copy your files manually to your PC or Laptop.
- Titanium Backup – If already rooted, use Titanium Backup to backup all of your apps, system data and other important content.
- Backup Nandroid – Use 4EXT recovery to do so.
5. Disclaimer
The methods involved in flashing custom recoveries, roms and rooting your phone are highly custom and may result in bricking your device, and has nothing to do with Google or the device manufacturer that is HTC in our case. Also rooting your device will void its warranty and you will be no longer eligible for any kind of free device services by the manufacturers/warranty providers. In case of any mishap we may not be held responsible. Follow these instructions to the letter to avoid any mishap or bricking. Make sure that whatever you do, you are doing it at your own responsibility.
How To Install Android 4.4.4 KitKat On HTC Sensation with CarbonROM:
- Make sure that you’ve installed a custom recovery. There’s 4EXT recovery linked above.
- Download CARBON-KK-UNOFFICIAL-KERNEL-3.4-20140729-1611-pyramid.zip
- Download Google Gapps.zip file
- Copy both the .zip files to your phone’s SD card.
- Boot into 4EXT recovery mode on your phone now. To do so, turn if off completely first. Now turn it on by pressing and holding Power + Volume Down. As soon as you see the screen turning on, leave the buttons and you should boot into the bootloader, and then select recovery from and enter in it.
- Once in recovery, perform and factory data reset and also wipe cache.
- Now select “Install from SD card > Choose Zip from SDcard > locate the CARBON-KK-UNOFFICIAL-KERNEL-3.4-20140729-1611-pyramid.zip file > Yes” and flash it.
- Once flashed, now once again select “Install from SD card > Choose Zip from SDcard > locate the Gapps.zip file” and flash it.
- Once flashed Gapps, wipe cache and dalvik cache from the 4EXT recovery and reboot your device.
- As soon as your device boots up, you will see the CarbonROM.
- First boot may take up to 10 minutes, hold on tight till it boots up completely.
- That’s all. Enjoy KitKat on your device now.
In case you got any issues or you face any difficulties regarding this post, please feel free to stop by the comment box below and let us know. We will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you all.
Hey, thanks for the guide (is it also for HTC Sensation XE?), but I saw also another for 4.4.2 – https://techbeasts.com/2014/08/24/install-android-4-4-2-kitkat-on-htc-sensation-using-cm-11-custom-rom/ …I just wonder, which one is better for me as a ‘common’ user? 🙂 And one more question, I installed this recovery while following this root guide: https://techbeasts.com/2013/09/27/root-htc-sensation-xe-on-android-4-0-3-official-firmware/ Should I install this ‘4EXT Recovery’ anyway? Thank you very much for the guide and answers 🙂
@disqus_oPGdOWWjPN:disqus I’m not sure about Sensation XE, but you may give it a try and see if it works or not, just backup nandroid before doing so. Yup you should install 4EXT recovery. It’s up to you, go for Android 4.4.4 CarbonROM or 4.4.2 CM 11, choice is yours.
the download links are broken.