HTC One M8
HTC One M8Reuters

A new updated version of BlissPop custom ROM has been made available to the HTC's 2014 flagship smartphone One M8.

The new firmware is based on the latest AOSP (Android Open Source Project) 5.1.1 Lollipop. It is around 280MB in size and brings many new features and performance tweaks to enhance user experience. 

Some of salient features of BlissPop Android 5.1.1 Lollipop custom ROM include:

  • Notification Drawer (with Status bar, Tile options, flashlight, quick settings options, SlimActions tile, Force expanded notification options)
  • Gesture anywhere feature (with location and trigger options)
  • Animations (IME, toast, listview, system, scrolling cache and scrolling modifiers)
  • Status bar (with Clock & date options, battery options, super-user indicator, brightness control, Bluetooth indicator and more)
  • Display & Light Options (Smart cover, adaptive brightness, rotation, wake on plug feature, cast screen options and more)
  • Notification manager (Device lock options, block app notification options, priority app notifications and more)

Prerequisites (Things to remember before installing the CyanogenMod CM12 snapshot):

  1. Make sure the device is rooted before going forward with custom ROM installation
  2. The new BlissPop Android 5.1.1 Lollipop custom ROM should be installed on the HTC One M8 models only, if tried on other devices, it might get bricked [To check your device model: Go to Settings >> About phone >> model number]
  3. Installation of custom ROM requires clearing memory in the smartphone, so make sure to back all the data by installing Clockwork Mod (CWM) Recovery/ TWRP in the smartphone.
  4. Make sure to install USB drivers on the PC, or else your smartphone (HTC One M8) will not be recognized by the computer.
  5. Make sure your device has more than 80% battery, or else there is a chance of the smartphone getting temporarily bricked if the installation process is interrupted midway.

[Disclaimer: This procedure is very technical and should be performed by a person with sound knowledge of rooting (or manual software installation) Android devices. If the step-by-step installation process is not followed properly, there are chances of the smartphone getting bricked or being permanently irreparable. International Business Times, India Edition cannot be held responsible for any damage or claims from readers if the procedure does not yield the required results or if the smartphone is bricked. Hence, users are advised to proceed with caution]

Step-by-step installation procedure for BlissPop Android 5.1.1 Lollipop custom ROM on HTC One M8:

Step 1: Download BlissPop Android 5.1.1 Lollipop custom ROM HERE (extract boot.img from the zip file separately) and Google Apps (HERE) on to your PC

Step 2: Connect HTC One M8 to PC via USB cord

[Note: Before plugging the phone to the computer, be sure that you have installed USB driver software. If not, click HERE to download the firmware]

Step 3: Place Android 5.1.1 Lollipop custom ROM zip file and Google Apps file into the phone's SD card memory [Note: Users are advised to paste the .zip file in SD card root, not in any other folder]

[Note: Before installing the custom software, be sure that the device must have been rooted and has installed ClockworkMod Recovery tool]

Step 4: Place boot.img file in the android-sdk-windowsplatform-tools directory

Step 5: Turn off the device and disconnect from the PC.

Step 6: Perform the regular Bootloader mode sortie by press holding 'Volume (down) and 'Power' buttons

Step 7: After entering the Bootloader mode (on the phone), go to android-sdk-windowsplatform-tools (on the PC) and open Command prompt and type in: 'fastboot flash boot boot.img' and press enter.

(To enter Command prompt: Shift + right-click >> open command Prompt)

Step 8: Type: 'fastboot reboot' and follow instructions displayed on the screen. Select BOOTLOADER option to enter Recovery Mode

Step 9: After entering the Recovery mode, clear the phone memory by choosing 'wipe data/factory reset'

[Note: use Volume keys to navigate and power button to select options, while operating under Recovery Mode]

Step 10: Clear the cache memory by selecting 'wipe cache partition'.

Step 11: Go back to ClockworkMod recovery and select 'advanced' and tap 'wipe dalvik cache' [Note: This step is optional, but many recommend this procedure so that users don't face boot loops or any other error in the middle of custom ROM installation]

Step 12: Come back to main recovery screen and then tap 'install zip from SD card'

Step 13: Tap 'choose zip from sdcard' and go to Android 5.1.1 Lollipop ROM .zip file in SD card and enter the installation process. Repeat the procedure for installing Google Apps [Note: use 'Volume' keys to navigate and 'Power' button to select options]

Step 14: Once done with the installation process, navigate to '+++++Go Back+++++' and re-start the device by opting 'reboot system now' seen in the recovery menu.

Now your device (HTC One M8) will take a few minutes to complete the booting process.

Users can then head to Settings >> select 'About phone' to confirm the installation of BlissPop Android 5.1.1 Lollipop custom ROM.

[Credits: Team Android]