The Nexus 5 is the hottest Google smartphone right now, and because it runs on Android 4.4, it's also one of the most appealing Android devices. Nevertheless, owning an Android smartphone also means that the customization options are virtually limitless. As such, if you're into custom ROMs and you wish to "spice" your Nexus 5 up, then you may be interested in ROMs such as CarbonROM.

So far, there's no official Carbon KitKat ROM released on the Nexus 5, but XDA senior member "PippoX3" has recently managed to port the Carbon KitKat ROM on the latest Google smartphone. CarbonROM is based on AOSP Android 4.4, CyanogenMOD, as well as AOKP custom ROMs.

This tutorial will teach you how to apply this unofficial Carbon ROM on your LG Nexus 5.

IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ BEFORE PROCEEDING

  • This guide is only for the LG Nexus 5. Do not attempt to apply this ROM to any other smartphone. Please visit this link to learn more about rooting, installing custom recovery and unlocking the Nexus 5 bootloader
  • In order to apply this ROM, you need to have a rooted Nexus 5 running the latest TWRP Recovery image. NOTE: while CWM Recovery should still work, it's recommended that you use TWRP instead
  • This installation process requires you to factory reset your device. Create backups if necessary
  • You can use the "Helium" application to backup app data. You can use "SMS backup & restore" for messages, and "APN Settings Backup & Restore" for APN settings
  • Your contacts should already be synced with your Google account
  • Before proceeding, you need to enable "USB Debugging" from the "Developer Options" menu. To make "Developer Options" visible, go to "Settings" > "About phone" and tap on "Build number" until you get a message that developer mode is enabled. Then, go back to "Settings", tap "Developer options" and mark the "USB debugging" check box
  • Before proceeding, make sure your smartphone has at least 60-70% battery left. It's important that your smartphone does not run out of juice during the installation process
  • Don't skip any steps
  • This is an advanced guide. If you damage / brick your phone, or you lose data, you cannot hold the developers or anyone else responsible
  • To visit the ROM's official thread at XDA, click this link

Installing CarbonROM Android 4.4 on the LG Nexus 5:

  1. Download the custom ROM zip file by visiting this link
  2. The ROM does not include Google apps. Download the Gapps zip file by visiting this link. (Make sure that it's the file for Android 4.4 KitKat. It should measure 245.5 MB in size, and should be named "pa_gapps-full-4.4-20131126-signed.zip" without the quotes
  3. Download the "SuperSU" root zip by visiting this link. NOTE: this ROM does not hold root access, which means that you will need to flash SuperSU after installing the ROM
  4. Now, connect your smartphone to your computer (make sure that USB Debugging is enabled)
  5. Copy the downloaded zip files to your phone's internal storage. Do not unzip the files
  6. Once the files have been copied, disconnect your smartphone from your computer and turn off the device
  7. Now, boot the smartphone in TWRP Recovery Mode
  8. You should now create a full NANDROID backup for your current ROM. This will create a restore point for your device so that you can rollback to your current ROM, should you want to. To do so, press "Backup", name the file and confirm the backup process
  9. Now, factory reset your Nexus 5. Press "Wipe" and swipe to confirm the "Factory Reset"
  10. After the reset is complete, press "Install" in TWRP, browse for the CarbonROM zip and install it
  11. After the process is complete, flash the Gapps zip file using the same method as when you flashed the CarbonROM zip
  12. Once all the files are flashed, return to the main recovery screen
  13. Reboot your smartphone in normal mode. NOTE: this first reboot may take a while to complete. Don't panic and don't press any buttons. If your smartphone is stuck in a loop or if the process takes too long, then the installations has not been successful and you need to start over. Don't skip any steps!
  14. Congratulations!

NOTE: if you wish to restore your previous ROM, use the NANDROID backup file that you have created at step 8

› See More: LG Nexus 5: Install Unofficial CarbonROM Android 4.4