Last Updated on January 5, 2023 by Mathew Diekhake
Smartphones that run the Android operating systems offer plenty of reason for people to buy them the way they come off the shelf. Often it’s not the operating system a device runs that ultimately becomes the cause for somebody making a device purchase but rather the hardware coupled with the price. Sadly, it’s the software that falls way down the list and often people don’t even know the difference between software versions when they see them. But make no mistake, Android developers are hard at working each day trying to better your experience on the smartphone screen you tap that allows you to do things — this, by the way, is the software.
Companies and corporations like Apple — the makers of the iPhone — love to have you staying within their boundaries. Apple makes their unique software called iOS, and it is what you find on an iPhone. That changes with Android. The Android platform is equivalent to iOS, but Android does not have a parent company who developed smartphones. Google own Android and Google own the Nexus range of devices, but those Nexus devices are manufactured by a new manufacturer every year — the latest being LG and Huawei. LG, Huawei, Samsung, Sony and other smartphone manufacturers all make smartphones themselves, but they all run the same Android software.
Android is great as an operating system because it is based on the Linux kernel which is many geeks favorite kernel in the world and is known as the quickest operating system people can use. The problem — if you can call it that — to do with Android is that it was always open source and open source environments are some of the least secure environments you can find. That creates some problems when trying to sell something to a mass audience, and the problem is people of a mass audience need high levels of security. It’s not normal for most of the population in the world to be geeks or know technology anywhere close to its deepest levels, and that means when we give mass audiences something to do with technology most of those people aren’t going to have any clue as to how to use it. Consider is a hackers heaven.
There is one sure fire way to make the Android operating system more secure, and that is to take away the administrator permissions from the owner. If people know that they were not getting a device with administrator permissions, they would probably flip. However, people haven’t a clue, and that is what you are given. Imagine how bland Windows would be without the option of being able to alter your system and make changes that are required to have administrator rights to run. I’m sure most of us have used a computer and been prompted to give the administrators passwords before it allows us to make the relevant ad necessary changes to the system. Without root access on the Asus Zenfone Mac, we are not able to make those necessary changes, and that’s why it’s important to have the ability to root Android should you feel confident enough to use a device with root access.
Files You Need
- Those of you with the Asus Zenfone Max from the western countries need the file from here.
- Those of you with the Chinese version of the Zenfone Max need the file from here.
Note that your rooting bundle will include a package for ADB and Fastboot both of which are available after you extract the files above. Should, for whatever reason, you feel the need to install ADB and Fastboot separately, you can do that by following our ADB for Windows, ADB for Mac and ADB for Linux guides. Anyone using ADB that is not for Windows will need to follow a separate guide because ADB commands for Mac and Linux are different in comparisons to the commands we run from the Windows operating system. The files in the guides for Mac and Linux are just the files you need to install ADB and Fastboot on your computer. We only give the guide for Windows operating systems because it is the operating system most people use and to write the guide for three operating systems will look confusing to most.
Rooting the Asus Zenfone Max running on the Android 5.0 Lollipop software updates
- Extract the rooting bundle from the files section above and then copy everything from the root folder over to the tools folder.
- Reboot the Asus Zenfone Mac smartphone by pressing the hardware key combination for the Fastboot Mode.
- Connect the Zenfone Max smartphone to the computer with the USB cable.
- From within the tools folder, hold down the Shift key and right-click the mouse on the white background and choose to open a new window here from the menu.
- Type the following command “fastboot erase system”.
- Type the next command “fastboot flash system system.img”.
- Wait for the rooting to complete and then type the command “fastboot reboot”.
In conclusion, that is how to root the Asus Zenfone Max smartphone — both for the Chinese version of the smartphone and the other version that is sold to the western world countries. You can begin installing your root requiring applications like the ROM Toolbox by JRummy or the Titanium Backup application that is waiting from the Google Play Store. You can check if your guide worked by installing one of the basic root checker app versions from the Google Play Store, which you should find is available free or charge. Moreover, there is a paid version of the root checker app available for those who want to take it to another level and use some more advanced features from the app.
In addition to the guide above, there is also a kind fellow who has made a great tutorial he posted to his YouTube channel so you can follow this one via video if you prefer learning that way.
Furthermore, anyone wanting to pair a custom recovery with the rooted Asus device can do so now by following our guide for installing a custom recovery on the Asus Zenfone Max smartphone. With a custom recovery and root access to the internal system to the Max device, you can start installing any new ROMs when they become available. Moreover, some people enjoy using the custom recovery for taking complete backups with the NANDroid Backup feature — a feature that is usually reserved for new ROM installers but can also be used by anyone who prefers it over apps like the Titanium Backup application.