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

35 comments:

  1. Human Rights LawyerJanuary 24, 2013 at 7:11 AM

    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. jamespcoleJanuary 28, 2013 at 8:11 AM

      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. Michael AgyemanJuly 24, 2013 at 9:26 PM

      Worked like a dream. Thanks. Couldn't have been easier.

      Delete
  2. jamespcoleJanuary 28, 2013 at 8:08 AM

    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. Human Rights LawyerMarch 4, 2013 at 12:16 AM

      I have adb installed.

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

      Delete
    2. Human Rights LawyerMarch 4, 2013 at 12:18 AM

      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. jamespcoleApril 13, 2013 at 11:45 PM

      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. UnknownMarch 1, 2013 at 12:15 PM

    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. UnknownMarch 1, 2013 at 1:58 PM

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

      Delete
  4. dluketestMarch 8, 2013 at 8:55 PM

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

    - Dave

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownApril 11, 2013 at 2:21 PM

    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. jamespcoleApril 12, 2013 at 8:35 PM

      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. UnknownApril 15, 2013 at 8:04 PM

      thanks but where can you get ubuntu?

      Delete
    3. jamespcoleApril 16, 2013 at 6:27 AM

      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
    4. UnknownApril 16, 2013 at 5:23 PM

      windows 7 64 bit right now

      Delete
    5. jamespcoleApril 16, 2013 at 9:57 PM

      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
  6. UnknownJuly 8, 2013 at 9:31 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownJuly 8, 2013 at 9:34 PM

    Thank you for the excellent guide, and more importantly, for the excellent script and blob ;) I use OSX, so I had to install the android sdk first to get adb and make sure adb was in the $PATH, but the root_tf101.sh script worked perfectly without modifications on my mac, and looking at the script, it should on any other unix-like os with sh/bash (which is pretty much all of them). The only trick is getting adb installed first which is a whole tutorial in itself ;)
    Again, thanks! Easy to understand, easy to use, and worked perfectly!

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownAugust 10, 2013 at 9:22 AM

    Works great, for noobs make sure before final re boot that the OS is mounted, shows un mounted at finish, if you reboot you will get stuck on the boot animation.

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownSeptember 7, 2013 at 10:03 PM

    Used your instructions on an Asus TF101/Android 4.0.3, on Ubuntu 12.04.

    They worked perfectly and saved me tons of time.
    Thanks, you are the man! =)

    ReplyDelete
  10. root_of_all_slownessSeptember 10, 2013 at 10:06 AM

    Worked great. I didn't even know adb was in the repository till this. Thank you so much. I had it rooted but returned it to stock a few months ago to diagnose a problem and hadnt been able to root it since. Happy to be back on eos even if the gps doesn't appear to work. Thanks a bunch. For those whom are still having trouble:
    -On Ubuntu 12.10 I installed adb from software center.
    -Opened a terminal and typed adb to make sure it worked and it did
    -Downloaded and extracted zip file
    -on tablet made sure I had it on debug mode
    -on ubuntu opened terminal and "cd"d to download directory (where the script was after unpacked it)
    -type "sudo sh root_tf101.sh" and enter (i think it may be important to sudo but I assumed it would help so did it anyway)
    -and follow the instructions as they popup on your terminal
    Worked great. And totally worth it, I forgot how slow the factory asus rom is

    ReplyDelete
  11. PaulSeptember 15, 2013 at 7:07 AM

    Worked great!! Thank you for sharing James.

    ReplyDelete
  12. piemashandgravyOctober 20, 2013 at 11:57 AM

    Likewise - worked a treat, took about five minutes. Thanks for making this so easy.

    ReplyDelete
  13. ThierryOctober 27, 2013 at 9:45 AM

    Work splendidly with my TF101. Thanks a million !

    ReplyDelete
  14. SebaCylonNovember 11, 2013 at 6:41 AM

    Thanx James! Worked great!
    Now my tablet TF101 has root rights. Yeah! Did not want to do that through Windows with the 1-Click procedure, cuz of the risk of evil code! :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. UnknownDecember 31, 2013 at 9:22 AM

    Awesome!! Just what I needed thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. UnknownJanuary 30, 2014 at 7:26 AM

    I'm having trouble :( My TF101 won't show up in neither Ubuntu 12.04 nor Windows 7 Ulti 64-bit. The pad doesn't even charge when I connect it to either. I have an idea why it doesn't work in Windows, but that's something I'm not gonna fix (might be that I don't have Windows Media Player). I did install adb and fastboot, witch ave me nothing. I have tried about 3 different mtp programs, but nothing. Can you help me out?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownJanuary 30, 2014 at 8:15 AM

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. UnknownJanuary 30, 2014 at 8:18 AM

      The TF101 is running stock Android 4.0.3, I just did a factory reset on it. I did enable USB-debugging again. It's running V. 9.2.1.27.

      Delete
  17. UnknownFebruary 11, 2014 at 9:44 AM

    work perfectly with ubuntu 13.04
    after i have installated rom katkiss 4.4.2 with this recovery
    thankyou!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Federico BrinkworthMarch 8, 2014 at 3:38 PM

    Worked perfect on TFT101 running stock android 4.0.3 build 9.2.1.27 using Ubuntu 13.10 x64.
    Great work!
    Thank you very much!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. UnknownAugust 17, 2014 at 10:09 AM

    The Ubuntu One link is no longer valid :(

    ReplyDelete
  20. UnknownOctober 17, 2015 at 5:22 PM

    we need a working link to download the file. Thanks in advance

    ReplyDelete
  21. andre uebeNovember 28, 2015 at 12:22 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  22. UnknownSeptember 1, 2016 at 6:23 AM

    Anyone manage to get the TF101_Root.zip file?
    It downloads but will not unzip

    ReplyDelete

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