Saturday, January 12, 2013

Easily root Asus TF101 Transformer using Ubuntu

I couldn't find an easy "One Click" root for my Asus TF101 Transformer that worked on Ubuntu so I decided to go ahead and roll my own.  I have tried to make the installation as simple and painless as possible so you won't have to spend ages researching like I did.  The script will root your device and install Rouge XM(a ClockwordMod based recovery tool) as well as root your device and install SuperUser.  It has been tested on a B70 model of the TF101 running the ICS 9.2.1.27 build but should work for other builds and versions.  Please leave a comment detailing your experiences with other models for the convenience of other users.

As is the usual thing with all these guides I take no responsibility for any problems/damage to your device from rooting it.

The following instructions are for the command line because it's much easier than making screenshots etc. however if you want to do it the GUI way just download the zip from here, extract it and run the root_tf101.sh script.

NOTE: if you are using an Ubuntu version lower than 12.10 please follow the instructions here to install adb before running the script. http://www.webupd8.org/2012/08/install-adb-and-fastboot-android-tools.html

To do it the command line way just enter the following at the command line and then follow the prompts.

wget http://ubuntuone.com/5xwKVscUxwgdnudw589ERd -O TF101_Root.zip

unzip TF101_Root.zip -d TF101_Root

 cd TF101_Root

 chmod +x root_tf101.sh

 ./root_tf101.sh

 The script will prompt you during installation and your device will be rebooted several times, make sure you have your battery at least 80% charged before starting the process.

Sources:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1862298
http://www.transformerforums.com/forum/asus-transformer-development/22695-tool-peri-v0-4-one-click-root-recovery-fix-bootloops-soft-bricks-all-ics-firmware.html
Posted by jamespcole at 10:29 PM

15 comments:

  1. Tried this on my Transformer TF101 and absolutely nothing happened. Here is what I get:

    Me:~/TF101_Root$ unzip TF101_Root.zip -d TF101_Root
    Archive: TF101_Root.zip
    inflating: TF101_Root/Superuser-3.0.7-efghi-signed.zip
    inflating: TF101_Root/recoveryblob
    inflating: TF101_Root/root_tf101.sh
    Me:~/TF101_Root$ cd TF101_Root
    Me:~/TF101_Root/TF101_Root$ chmod +x root_tf101.shfb@Me:~/TF101_Root/TF101_Root$ ./root_tf101.shThis will root your TF101 Transformer and install Rouge XM(ClockworkMod) recovery manager.
    Please make sure you disconnect all other Android devices(except yor TF101) from your computer before you continue.
    This script has been tested with the TF101 only but may work for other devices also, if you do test with other devices or you modify the script to work with other devices please let me know the results.
    Also the usual disclaimer - I am not responsible for any damage the rooting process may cause to your device.
    Do you want to continue?(Y/N)y
    running root script now...
    I require adb but it's not installed.
    Do you wish to install adb automatically now?(Y/N)y
    Reading package lists... Done
    Building dependency tree
    Reading state information... Done
    E: Unable to locate package android-tools-adb
    Checking device exists...
    ./root_tf101.sh: 32: ./root_tf101.sh: adb: not found
    ./root_tf101.sh: 36: ./root_tf101.sh: adb: not found
    Found Device....
    pushing recovery blob to device...
    ./root_tf101.sh: 45: ./root_tf101.sh: adb: not found
    moving temp...
    ./root_tf101.sh: 47: ./root_tf101.sh: adb: not found
    Exiting adb shell
    ./root_tf101.sh: 49: ./root_tf101.sh: adb: not found
    ./root_tf101.sh: 50: ./root_tf101.sh: adb: not found
    Rebooting device...
    ./root_tf101.sh: 52: ./root_tf101.sh: adb: not found
    Press Y when your tablet has fully rebooted.

    N to leave

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. If you are using a version of Ubuntu lower than 12.10 follow the instructions here first to install adb.

      http://www.webupd8.org/2012/08/install-adb-and-fastboot-android-tools.html

      Delete

  2. The script was unable to install adb because it's not in your package lists, which version of ubuntu are you using? Without adb installed Ubuntu can't communicate with your tablet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. I have adb installed.

      Ubuntu sees Transformer for a second then says it cannot mount it.

      Delete

    2. This what I get when I run the first line of script above:

      ~$ wget http://ubuntuone.com/5xwKVscUxwgdnudw589ERd -O TF101_Root.zip
      TF101_Root.zip: Permission denied

      Delete

    3. You're running the script in a folder you don't have write permissions to. Are you running it under your home folder? You could run it as sudo but running it from a folder you have the correct permissions on would be better.

      Delete

  3. the script installed successfully, but when i want to enter recovery mode first i see a picture of a droid and i progress bar, then i get a picture with a droid and an exclamation mark. And there it hangs. I can still turn it off with the power button. What should i do? any suggestions? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. executed again the script and this time it worked. Don't know what happened.

      Delete

  4. Worked wonderfully on my fully OTA patched TF101. Thanks for the assist!

    - Dave

    ReplyDelete

  5. sry but i'm a noooooobbbb. so do you plug in your tf101 to a computer of do it on the tablet?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Make sure USB debugging is enabled in your settings on the TF101 then plug the tablet into your computer and then you enter the commands at the terminal on your computer.

      Delete

    2. thanks but where can you get ubuntu?

      Delete

    3. From http://ubuntu.com (google could tell you that). You realise Ubuntu is an Operating System right? The guide is assuming you are running Ubuntu as your OS. What OS are you using at the moment?

      Delete

    5. This guide is intended for people running Ubuntu, if you want to install Ubuntu(or dual boot it with Windows) there is plenty of info online.

      Delete

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