I Made My Asus TF201 Transformer Prime Usable

My purchase of an Asus TF201 Transformer Prime tablet was one of the most disappointing electronics buys I’ve ever made! Based on the specs it should have been amazing. In reality it was terrible.

After a few days use the table began to slow down. Websites that should have loaded in seconds took minutes! And it just kept getting worse.

I’m not a hardware guy, but the problem seemed to be caused by the type of memory used coupled with Android’s inability to properly deal with it.  As the disk cache filled, the tablet would slowly reallocate the memory.

Maybe slowly is too positive a term.  The tablet became totally unresponsive for long periods of time. That’s a frustrating 21st Century problem.

Last week I used the recently released Motochopper app to become a “superuser.” Then I installed Lagfix, which requires “root” privileges.  Now every night the tablet does some housekeeping so I start the day with a clean slate.

Is this the optimum fix? Probably not. Asus made poor hardware choices I’m paying for. 

However, it is the first fix that’s worked. And it seems to work well.

Now I’m using the tablet all the time, even to write this blog entry.  What was a painful slog has become fun. The tablet’s form factor makes it a perfect carry around the house companion.

This Asus experience has left a bad taste in my mouth.

12 thoughts on “I Made My Asus TF201 Transformer Prime Usable”

  1. I too bought myself thw TF201 when it was being hyped…as you said very shortly it would become uselessly slow. I pretty much don’t use it all anymore since I bought a Galaxy Note 2 (which seems to take the place of almost every electronic device I have).

  2. Glad to know I’m not the only one unhappy w/ my Asus Transformer. I’m simply at the “what do I buy next” stage now– I like the 10″ size personally. I keep looking… the Surface looks like great fun, and runs real Office, but are the apps I like available for it? Love my Galaxy Nexus smartphone, so Samsung is calling me…

    OTOH I have had two Asus laptops. The first one was poorly designed in that it had no fan cooling for a high-powered vid card, which burned out after about 2 years of MMORPG’ing on it. But my replacement Asus is really *great* — not only well-cooled but very responsive. I don’t think I’ll need another laptop for a while, but would certainly buy another Asus.

  3. i too got screwed with the tf201. wi-fi is crap all my other devices have no wi-fi issues in our home. i put in a bb complaint Asus will not rectify. i took my 1 year old tablet in and the techs were amazed at the poor design and also said the antennas were corroded and dirty, so i’m stuck with a 500 dollar frisbee. i will never get anything Asus brand and i will continue to let the world know that it sucks.

  4. So I’m not the only one. I can’t believe what a useless piece of junk they could release and not get sued or shut down for it. $500 down the drain.

  5. I realize this post is from a few years ago, but if you still have a TF201, like I do, goolge KatKiss 5.1.1 TF201. After rooting your tablet, you will be able to install Lollipop 5.1.1 (KatKiss custom ROM), and the thing will run better than new.

  6. Can someone please help with the first comment (fix) on this page?
    It said: “Last week I used the recently released Motochopper app to become a “superuser.” Then I installed Lagfix, which requires “root” privileges.”

    Many thanks,
    Michael

  7. Asus TF201 transformer prime tablet was one of the most disappointing electronics buys I’ve ever made. Having an issue with GPS kit.

  8. After a few years of futile attempts to make my Trasformer Prime 201 work, I actually threw it out. Asus knew it launched a brick and never had the integrity of a recall-and-replace, nor did it provide any useful solutions.

    Too bad, though – it was a well-designed and robust piece of hardware that was nice to use at first.
    But, given the above, I won’t be an Asys customer again any time soon.

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