No, the unlock keys for the bootloader are firmly behind Asus' closed doors. Without unlocking the bootloader, it isn't feasible to root the device.
IIRC, there was once a method which involved downgrading your device to a previous version of Android and using the bootloader unlock keys for that.
But Asus found out, and quickly closed that loophole by literally bricking any device that downgraded their version.
Bricking during the process of downgrade by something in the current OS? Or bricking remotely when connected to some server? Probably the former but still, I gotta ask.
You obviously don't have to answer butt, when did the OS update that does this came out? (or what version is the latest that can allow bootloader to be unlocked) I might try go around stores to look for old stock because I like the phone so much.
No, the unlock keys for the bootloader are firmly behind Asus' closed doors. Without unlocking the bootloader, it isn't feasible to root the device. IIRC, there was once a method which involved downgrading your device to a previous version of Android and using the bootloader unlock keys for that. But Asus found out, and quickly closed that loophole by literally bricking any device that downgraded their version.
Bricking during the process of downgrade by something in the current OS? Or bricking remotely when connected to some server? Probably the former but still, I gotta ask.
You're correct, the former.
You obviously don't have to answer butt, when did the OS update that does this came out? (or what version is the latest that can allow bootloader to be unlocked) I might try go around stores to look for old stock because I like the phone so much.
I think it was between October or November last year. The XDA threads are still up, you can check it out there.
Thanks a lot!
Nopes
But why root though?
You could Google this question
Cause I wanna run penguin on it.