Since Monday the land has gone Lollipop crazy. Android 5.0 has finally been pushed by Google to the Android Open Source Project and as such the source code is now ready for public consumption. Most OEMs have put a self-imposed ninety day deadline on when they hope to start rolling out Lollipop to their respective customers. But that hasn’t stopped just about everyone flooding social networks with requests for it sooner. If you are a Google Nexus owner then you are one of the lucky ones who will get the update to 5.0 much sooner than the rest. Most Nexus owners were hoping they would see the update on Monday, but that was not the case. Since then Google has announced that the Nexus 4, 5 and 7 should start receiving the update from November 12th, much sooner than any other device.
Still if you cannot wait even until 12th (which is next Wednesday by the way), then don’t worry. As we have come to expect, the folks over at XDA were quick out of the gates and it seems have already ported builds of Android 5.0 for the Nexus 4, 5 and 7. Now before I direct you to the relevant links you have to get the obligatory disclaimer. This sort of thing can seriously damage and ruin your device if unsuccessful or done wrong. This is commonly known as ‘bricking’. If the files are bad, instructions not followed properly or the procedure not fully understood you can either soft brick or hard brick your device. If you soft brick your device then your device won’t boot and instead the boot animation (the carrier or OEM logo) will simply keep spinning. This is kinda fixable. In contrast hard bricking means your device is as good as a brick. It wont turn on, it does not work and chances are it won’t again. So, you’ve been warned. By using any of these links you do so at your very own risk. Last warning, backup, backup and BACKUP.
That said, here you go. If you are running a Nexus 4 then click here for the downloads and installation instruction. Likewise, if you are running a Nexus 5 then this is your link. Lastly, if you are running a Nexus 7 (2013) then this link is for you. Remember these are not official builds and as such could be problematic, could be buggy and might not work. Also remember at present there is no working custom recoveries such as CWM or TWRP available yet. If you do try them, do a backup. Those words have never been more important. If you give any of the unofficial ROMs a try then leave a comment letting us know how you get on.