How to Install Custom Recovery on the Asus Transformer TF300T (4.2/4.1)

Every Android device has, what is called, a recovery image on it. This is basically a part of the Android operating system that you or the manufacturer can access if your device becomes unresponsive and then use it to restore your device.

A custom recovery image, however, is a recovery image that a developer has altered that can not only help the device if it becomes responsive, but also has the added benefits of allowing us to make major changes to the operating system and have even further customizations on your device.

In this procedure, we’ll show you how to flash a custom recovery on your Asus Transformer TF300T.

After flashing a custom recovery on Transformer TF300T, you’ll be able to:

• Perform full backups of your device (literally save EVERYTHING from it).
• Increase your device’s performance (after flashing something called a kernel).
• Increase your device’s battery life.
• Flash custom ROMs (these make it possible to flash a newer version of Android, totally new user interfaces, add tons of new features, and much more).

Interested? Here’s how to flash a custom recovery on your TF300T:

I.  Before You Begin

1.  You need to be rooted for this procedure to work.  Use our guide here to get root privileges.

2.  Make sure you have the necessary drivers installed before you begin.

3.  Charge your device to 75% or more and back up everything important before you begin.

4.  You should be running Android 4.2 or 4.1 for this procedure to work.

II.  Necessary Downloads

1.  openrecovery-twrp-2.5.0.0-tf300t-JB.blob (for Android 4.1) or openrecovery-twrp-2.5.0.0-tf300t-4.2.blob (for Android 4.2) [Download links available in this post]

2.  adb-fastboot.zip

III.  Installing TWRP Recovery on the Transformer TF300T

1.  Enable USB debugging on your device.  To do this, go to Settings > Development options and tick the USB debugging checkbox.

2.  Rename openrecovery-twrp-2.5.0.0-tf300t-JB.blob (or openrecovery-twrp-2.5.0.0-tf300t-4.2.blob) to twrp.blob.

3.  Connect your device and copy twrp.blob to your device’s SDcard (do not put it into any subfolders; just drop it in the main folder).  Also, if there are any drivers being installed at this point, let them do so before continuing.

4.  Extract adb-fastboot.zip to a folder on your desktop.

5.  In the extracted folder where you will find adb.exe, hold Shift on your keyboard and right-click in the empty space of the folder, then click on Open command window here to open up a CMD window.

6.  Run the following commands:

adb shell

su

dd if=/Removable/MicroSD/twrp.blob of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p4

7.  Once you have run the commands, reboot your device.

All set! Now, you can head to our How to Flash a Custom ROM procedure for the Asus Transformer TF300T to open up a whole new world of customizations for your Android device!

By the way, don’t be scared, you can always put your device back to stock by heading to our Rooting How To’s section, finding your device, and doing the How to Unroot listed for it there.