Basic requirements

  1. Make sure your computer has working adb. Setup instructions can be found here.
  2. Enable USB debugging on your device.

Unlocking the bootloader

  1. Download the bootloader unlock app for your device:

    • Navigate to Asus’ support site and go to your device’s page by entering its model number.
    • Click Driver & Tools.
    • Select Android from the drop-down menu.
    • Open the Utilities section.
    • Download the Unlock Device App.
    • If the downloaded file is packaged in a .zip archive, extract it.
  2. Open a command prompt or terminal and change to the location where the Unlock Device App .apk resides.
  3. Install the apk by running:

     adb install Name_of_unlock_app.apk
    
    • For example, on the ZE551ML device, it would be adb install UnlockApp_ze551ml_20150723.apk.
  4. Run the application Unlock Device Tool from the device and agree to the terms.

  5. Press the button to unlock your device.
  6. The device should automatically reboot into bootloader mode and the message unlock successfully...reboot after 5 seconds should be displayed. The device will then reboot and load Android.

Installing a custom recovery using fastboot

  1. Download recovery - visit twrp.me to obtain the latest version of Team Win Recovery Project for your device.
  2. Connect your device to your PC via USB.
  3. Open a terminal on the PC and boot the device to fastboot mode by typing:

     adb reboot bootloader
    

    You can also boot into fastboot mode via a key combination:

    • Hold Volume Up & Power simultaneously.
  4. Once the device is in fastboot mode, verify your PC finds it by typing:

     fastboot devices
    

    If you see no permissions fastboot or <waiting for device>, try running fastboot as root/Administrator.

  5. Flash recovery onto your device:

     fastboot flash recovery your_recovery_img.img
    
  6. Now reboot into recovery to verify the installation:
    • With the device powered off, hold Volume Up & Power simultaneously. On the next screen (fastboot mode) use Volume Down to scroll to RECOVERY and then use Power to select.

Installing LineageOS from recovery

  1. Download the LineageOS install package that you’d like to install or build the package yourself.

    • Optionally, download 3rd party application packages like Google Apps
  2. Place the LineageOS .zip package, as well as any other .zip packages on the root of /sdcard:
    • Using adb: adb push filename.zip /sdcard/
    • You can use any method you are comfortable with. adb is universal across all devices, and works both in Android and recovery mode, providing USB debugging is enabled.
  3. If you aren’t already in recovery, boot into recovery:
    • With the device powered off, hold Volume Up & Power simultaneously. On the next screen (fastboot mode) use Volume Down to scroll to RECOVERY and then use Power to select.
  4. (Optional, but recommended): Select the Backup button to create a backup.
  5. Select Wipe and then Advanced Wipe.
  6. Select Cache, System and Data partitions to be wiped and then Swipe to Wipe.
  7. Go back to return to main menu, then select Install.
  8. Navigate to /sdcard, and select the LineageOS .zip package.
  9. Follow the on-screen prompts to install the package.
  10. (Optional): Install any additional packages using the same method.
  11. (Optional): Root the device by installing the LineageOS su add-on (use the arm64 package) or using any other method you prefer.
  12. Once installation has finished, return to the main menu, select Reboot, and then System.

Get assistance

If you have any questions, or get stuck on any of the steps, feel free to ask on our subreddit, or in #LineageOS on freenode.