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Flashing TWRP and Rooting the Asus Zenpad 10 (Z300M)

CREDIT: Diplomatic, JustShaun, and Flukester69 all made this possible. But really if anybody needs an applause, it's Diplomatic. If you wish to thank him you can do so here.

IMPORTANT! READ BEFORE CONTINUING!

Nobody here is responsible if you mess up your tablet! This is your decision and yours alone! Yes, this will void your Warranty! The below is based on the success of our own testing. We suggest reading this multiple times if necessary, before attempting. Ask questions if you are unsure, I'm sure someone will try and help.

Things you'll need:

- Windows computer / possibly Linux if you are savvy enough.

- Z300m with Android 7 (check if there's updates, if so, reboot tablet when done.)

- USB Cable (the one that came with it, or one you are sure works)

- MediaTek VCOM Preloader Drivers (I will explain further below) (Win10 installed drivers work too)

- Z300m Scatter File

- TWRP 3.1.1 image

- SP Flash Tool 5.1532

- SP Flash Tool 5.1548 or later (latest is 5.1720 at the time of this writing)

- Magisk Manager (Beta 13 works)

or

- TWRP 3.1.1 Recoveryasboot

Create a temp folder on your desktop and throw all the above downloads in there.

MTK Driver Install - Pre-Flashing Procedure:

Turn your tablet OFF and plug it in to your computer, Windows should recognize the device and download the drivers. You should be able to manually search through device manager (Turn on Hidden devices might be necessary). When the drivers have been downloaded feel free to unplug the tablet again.

You'll want to make sure the drivers are installed properly. A quick way to test,

Open Device Manager by either searching for it or running 'devmgmt.msc'

Turn on hidden devices.

Expand the 'Ports (COM & LPT) section

If the drivers are installed properly you should see 'MediaTek PreLoader USB VCOM Port (COM*)'

Good enough, if that worked. If not, check your device manager and figure out your driver issue.

Backing Up:

Open the SPFL (latest) dir and open option.ini in any text editor, you'll want to change "[ReadBack] ShowByScatter=false" from false to true and save your changes.

Load into flash_tool.exe.

Change the download-agent from MTK_AllInOne_DA.bin to DA_PL.bin - This is located under the SPFL dir.

Add the Scatter-loading file which should have been downloaded previously.

Head into the Readback tab and you should see 'Preloader, pgpt, proinfo ect...'. Check all of these boxes and click Read Back

Make sure the tablet is turned off and then plug it into your computer. Bar goes red, yellow and then done. Green Checkmark.

It's safe to unplug the USB from the tablet now and you can close the Flash Tool

Flashing TWRP:

It's up to you to backup your tablet. You should, but the tablet technically should reset if anything fails. Another choice that is up to you alone.

Again, Make sure your tablet is powered off and NO USB plugged in. This is basically the same procedure as backing up, except you're using the Download tab instead of Readback.

Extract SP-Flash-Tool-v5.1532.00 and Launch flash_tool.exe.

Change the download-agent from MTK_AllInOne_DA.bin to DA_PL.bin - This is located under the SP-Flash-Tool-v5.1532.00 dir.

Add the Scatter-loading file which should have been downloaded previously.

Look down the list you see Recovery line, click on the right side, point it to the TWRP.img you downloaded. (Make sure this line is only checked.)

Click the Download button and THEN plug in the USB cable to your tablet. Bar goes red, yellow and then done. Green Checkmark.

It's safe to unplug the USB from the tablet now and you can close the Flash Tool

Alternative method that does not require SP Flash Tool, scatter file, etc.

Unlock the bootloader: Download the Asus unlock tool for your tablet here and run it. (It's an APK from ASUS. When done you reboot tablet, you will see a message Your Device Cannot be Trusted..., you're unlocked.)

Download twrp-recoveryasboot-3.1.1-0-z300m.img.

Make sure you have fastboot/adb installed on your PC. Put your tablet in fastboot mode by holding Volume Up and Power, then selecting Fastboot Mode from the menu, and connect to PC.

Run this command to do a tethered boot of TWRP

fastboot boot twrp-recoveryasboot-3.1.1-0-z300m.img​

This will boot but will not install TWRP. You may be able to do whatever you need in this environment. But it is recommended to install TWRP to your flash ROM, and proceed from there.

To flash TWRP from TWRP, go to Install -> Install Image. Select the twrp-3.1.1-0-z300m.img file you downloaded earlier (not the twrp-recoveryasboot*.img file). Select Recovery, then swipe to flash.

Reboot to Recovery

[TWRP first launch]

Now press and hold both the Volume Up and Power button at the same time. Tablet will show a list so let go of the buttons.

Use the Up volume now to select Recovery and press Down volume to select. Tablet should reboot into TWRP. (takes 10-15 seconds)

A dialogue will show in TWRP stating that there is a chance Recovery will be restored (the Asus one) so slide across to keep TWRP.

Mounting /system in read/write mode could be potentially hazardous, this is patched at your own risk.

***NOTE: You will need to boot into the recovery immediately after flashing, failing to do so will result in the Android OS reflashing its stock recovery. If you are concerned about which recovery is installed I would suggest using 'adb reboot recovery' to minimize risk.

[ROOTING]

Put the Magisk flash file on a working micro sdcard and pop it in your device. (this won't get deleted and can be accessed by TWRP)

Don't reboot yet, we need to flash Root (you should have Magisk img/zip on your micro sd inserted in tablet)

Assuming you are familiar with TWRP, Install the Magisk Manager.

When this is done, reboot your tablet to System with TWRP.

We've tried to make this guide as helpful as possible, read this thread and the Z380 thread as there may be new things learned, past experiences of others that could help you.

Enjoy your Rooted Tablet!