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I currently have a rooted HTC Legend. In light of the current Android Market sales, I would love to be able to purchase some of the apps on sale without a compatible handset, since I plan to get a GNex in the next few weeks.

I've read that it may be possible to modify my build.prop file to a more modern handset, however beyond this suggestion, I can't find any more specific details, nor which phone model would be ideal for this. How can I do this?

I note that a number of people complain they've bricked after messing with build.prop. Is this a real danger or would it just require fixing the build.prop from adb, or reflashing the ROM?

Izzy
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DanH
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    Found this http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/ha5oh/root_how_to_edit_your_buildprop_to_make_netflix/ which looks very likely to apply in my case. – DanH Dec 07 '11 at 06:38
  • I would just like to advise to tread carefully when messing with build.prop. I went through a phase of tinkering with it and I got myself in a right mess at one point! – Jonny Wright Jul 01 '14 at 12:56

1 Answers1

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There is no particular phone that's ideal, given the app devs can choose to support whatever subset of devices they wish. The Nexus devices are probably the most likely to be broadly compatible though.

You can't brick with build.prop as far as I know, though you can certainly prevent your phone from booting if you change the wrong setting. Make a backup of the file and don't edit anything under this line:

# end build properties

Just edit anything that has the device name, e.g. 'ro.product.device' or similar. Replace it with the corresponding entry from the build.prop for the device you're emulating (extract it from the ROM or see if it's been posted somewhere). Updating any other text to be accurate (like manufacturer) is best too. Note that changing the version of Android in this file won't help, since it looks like the Market polls the system directly. Nothing you can do about that unfortunately.

After editing, make sure /system is mounted read-only. Then reboot and clear the data for the Market.

Below is the relevant portion of my Vibrant's build.prop, with which I just got Minecraft for 10 cents :)

# begin build properties
# autogenerated by buildinfo.sh
ro.build.id=FROYO
ro.build.display.id=Bionix NextGen 1 by TeamWhiskey
ro.build.version.incremental=UVKA6
ro.build.version.sdk=8
ro.build.version.codename=REL
ro.build.version.release=2.2
ro.build.date=2011. 01. 18. (화) 21:53:23 KST
ro.build.date.utc=1295355203
ro.build.type=user
ro.build.user=jaeyoon.yoon
ro.build.host=SEP-05
ro.build.tags=release-keys
ro.product.model=SGH-T959
ro.product.brand=Samsung
ro.product.name=SGH-T959
ro.product.device=SGH-T959
ro.product.board=SGH-T959
ro.product.cpu.abi=armeabi-v7a
ro.product.cpu.abi2=armeabi
ro.product.manufacturer=Samsung
ro.product.locale.language=en
ro.product.locale.region=US
ro.wifi.channels=
ro.board.platform=s5pc110
# ro.build.product is obsolete; use ro.product.device
ro.build.product=SGH-T959
# Do not try to parse ro.build.description or .fingerprint
ro.build.description=SGH-T959-user 2.2 FROYO UVKA6 release-keys
ro.build.fingerprint=Samsung/SGH-T959/SGH-T959/SGH-T959:2.2/FROYO/UVKA6:user/release-keys
# Samsung Specific Properties
ro.build.PDA=T959UVKA6
ro.build.hidden_ver=T959UVKA6
ro.build.changelist=860813
ro.tether.denied=false
# end build properties
Matthew Read
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  • I tried modifying the fingerprint here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=973919 which seems to have worked for others, how had no effect for me. There does seem to be an element of luck in how long it takes for the Market to update after you've changed the fingerprint though which I might need to wait for. – DanH Dec 07 '11 at 07:58
  • OK, the problem seems to be that I'm not able to write to build.prop, or in fact /system at all, despite either running the remount command, or enabling mount r/w with ES Explorer. Fishy stuff going on, and I also can't get HTC Sync to install so that I can use adb. – DanH Dec 08 '11 at 15:47
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    @DanH I use Root Explorer, you might have better luck with that. I assume ES requested and you granted escalation via the SuperUser app, right? – Matthew Read Dec 09 '11 at 01:58
  • Yeah it's really weird, I grant ES access, then it appears to write successfully initially, however that just makes the build.prop file totally disappear, including from terminal emulator. After this initial "success" and then disappearance, I'm no longer able to write to anything under /system. Rebooting just seems to restore the build.prop to it's original state. – DanH Dec 10 '11 at 02:52
  • @DanH I wonder if you might need to re-root for whatever reason. That's really strange. – Matthew Read Dec 10 '11 at 03:45
  • Ahh OK, hadn't considered that re-rooting was a thing :) I'll look into that too thanks :D – DanH Dec 12 '11 at 04:28
  • Can you please update values or tell me what I should change so my device becomes a Galaxy S II? – Shimmy Weitzhandler Sep 20 '12 at 20:45
  • @Shimmy You should search and see if you can find the SGS II's build.prop file or a ROM from which you can extract it; I don't have one handy. Or ask someone who has the device to extract it :) – Matthew Read Sep 20 '12 at 20:47
  • @MatthewRead, thanks for your response. I've tried the model in your example, and it worked for some apps. However some apps (Google Search, Go Launcher Ex Notifications etc.) are still unavailable, any idea why, maybe it's not related to the device model (My device is actually a Galaxy Player 5 USA (YP-G70). – Shimmy Weitzhandler Sep 20 '12 at 23:19
  • @Shimmy I'm not sure. Maybe regional restrictions? – Matthew Read Sep 21 '12 at 21:24
  • @MatthewRead, thanks again for your effort. I've used Market Enabler to become US T-Mobile, and also reduced density to factory setting, but these apps are still unavailable, what else can you think of? – Shimmy Weitzhandler Sep 22 '12 at 23:54
  • @Shimmy Last thing I can think of is the Android version, which can't be faked without altering the OS, but I assume you have the required version? And Google Search ought to be available to all versions. Hmm. Sometimes the Market doesn't pick up Market Enabler changes right away ... you may need to clear the Market data, reboot, and wait for a bit before opening the Market (connect via mobile data rather than wifi). – Matthew Read Sep 24 '12 at 03:18
  • @MatthewRead, I'm on the SGP which has no data-conn, just WiFi. I did what you said and it didn't work. Thanks for your ideas. Should you come up with new ones, please come back and throw them in. Thanks a lot! – Shimmy Weitzhandler Sep 24 '12 at 07:01
  • @Shimmy Ah I see, that might be the issue ... I've never had much success tricking the Market over Wi-Fi. – Matthew Read Sep 24 '12 at 16:14
  • @MatthewRead, I never knew there is a difference between 3G network and WiFi. Anyway, yet if you come up with an idea, please come back :) – Shimmy Weitzhandler Sep 24 '12 at 18:57