Android 4.4.3 KitKat with Sense 6 is now available on the HTC One M7 via the Maximus HD custom ROM. The update also brings an updated kernel and the latest system apps — as well as improvements to audio, the camera, and battery life. As with all third-party ROMs, however, you’ll need a custom recovery and S-OFF to flash it.

HTC One M7 owners who use custom ROMs will almost certainly be familiar with Maximus HD already; it’s one of the biggest and best third-party firmwares there is for the 2013 flagship. It’s based on stock firmware, so it still includes HTC’s Sense 6 user interface and all the features and benefits it brings — plus many more than you don’t get out of the box.

Maximus HD also comes pre-rooted, is deodexed, and supports over-the-air updates, so once it’s installed on your device, you can get seamless updates without having to flash them manually.

Maximus HD 42.0.0 is the first One M7 ROM based on Android 4.4.3, which was — until yesterday — the latest KitKat release. Not even HTC has made this version available to its users yet. Swift updates like this are just one of the reasons why third-party ROMs are so popular.

If your One M7 is already running a custom recovery with S-OFF, you can download Maximus HD 42.0.0 by following the source link below. If you’re coming from another ROM, you’ll need to wipe your user data, so be sure to back up first. This should be the first thing you do before flashing any ROM.

• SourceMaximus HD