Manually Update Nexus 4 To Android 4.4 KitKat With Official Factory Image (KRT16O)

Ever since the release of Android 4.4 KitKat, the main question was when would get this new OS on devices other than Nexus 5. Now the factory images and binaries for Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 are readily available for download, which means official Android 4.4 OTA update will roll out soon on these devices.

If you would like to update your Nexus 4 to official Android 4.4 KitKat (Build: KRT16O) manually, here is an easy to follow guide. Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 users please go through my previous post to update their device to Android 4.4.

Disclaimer: Please follow this guide at your own risk. We can’t take responsibility for anything that goes wrong. This guide is intended for technically talented users only. Also, don’t forget to backup your phone data (contacts, sms, etc.)

Prerequisites

– Android Studio/SDK installed on your PC
– Android 4.4 KitKat (Build: KRT16O) factory image (occam) for Nexus 4 (Download, direct link)
– This guide is for Nexus 4 only, don’t try it on other devices.

Instructions

1. Extract the downloaded Android 4.4 factory image to the desktop. You will have a new folder viz occam-krt16o.

2. Restart Nexus 4 into fastboot mode. For this, switch off it, press and hold Volume down and Power key together until you see the bootloader screen.

3. Now, connect the device to the PC via USB cable.

4. Open the extracted folder “occam-krt16o”, press Shift key and right-click and select “Open Command Window here”.

5. Type the following commands (run one-after-another to complete the process):

fastboot erase boot

fastboot erase cache

fastboot erase recovery

fastboot erase system

fastboot erase userdata

6. To flash the bootloader, type:

fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-mako-makoz20i.img

7. To reboot the bootloader (important!), type:

fastboot reboot-bootloader

8. To flash the radio, type:

fastboot flash radio radio-mako-m9615a-cefwmazm-2.0.1700.84.img

9. To reboot the bootloader (important!), type:

fastboot reboot-bootloader

10. To flash the 4.4 Factory Image, type:

fastboot -w update image-occam-krt16o.zip

The flashing process will take some time to complete. Once the flashing process finishes, Nexus 4 will reboot itself. Now, disconnect USB cable from PC and enjoy all the goodies of KitKat on your Nexus 4.