Help Edited build.props, and broke my phone, please help!

[Argentoratum]

I did something incredibly stupid. I have a Redmi 2 Pro, and for a while, Google Camera was not working as before, and I was always looking for a fix, and then I found one: I have to add "ro.config.low_ram=false" to the build.props file.

I copied this file to I think "/storage/emulated/0/" ,edited it, and then copied it back to /system/, and then I restarted my phone, and now only the MI logo comes up.

I don't know much about Android and I've really never should have experimented with my own phone like this, I feel really stupid. This is the first time ever (probably also the last) when I do anything that needs root. I hope you can help me out! What should I do?

 

[scary alien]

Welcome to our AndroidForums and sorry to hear of your root troubles.

Do you have adb access to your device, even while it's bootlooping (which I'm guessing that's what the "MI logo" indicates) and/or do you have a custom recovery?

Barring that, you might have to find a way to restore your stock Android ROM--I'm not at all familiar with your device and don't see that we have a Redmi 2 Pro specific area here at AF (there are two Xiaomi Redmi areas here that you could check out and/or post in for ideas).

By the way, doing a factory reset is not at all likely to fix your issues, by the way since it won't restore your build.prop file to it's original values.

 

[Argentoratum]

Thanks for your quick reply, I don't have adb, I'm a complete noob when it comes to Android (that's why I should never done that) and also I don't know what would be a custom recovery. The ROM should be online on the miui-s website, is that what you mean?

 

[scary alien]

Yeah, a custom recovery is a special (customized) version of the recovery software (partition) that is on every Android device. The customized one usually gets installed by rooters and enables them to do extra stuff, including using the adb utility to connect to and communicate with the device (ostensibly to fix issues like the one you're unfortunately experiencing).

Each manufacturer usually has a specific version of some special software that can be used to re-write/re-flash the stock firmware, although in some cases its not publicly / openly available. I've no idea what it would be for a Xiaomi device, though...although it does look like the http://en.miui.com/ site might contain what you need (from a quick view of it).

 

[Argentoratum]

Thank you for this clear explanation! Then I guess my phone already had a custom ROM on it (which is a translated and optimised version of the official, and I can download that) and then I install this tool:http://en.miui.com/a-234.html and that would hopefully work?

 

[scary alien]

Ah, yes!

That page looks very useful and helpful--they've done a great job with that, in my opinion.

This will very likely wipe your device (just my guess), but if you've already got a non-responsive device anyway...[edit: I do see that the flash too has "flash all except data and storage" which may very well leave your data intact]

Before you do that, can I ask if your device came pre-rooted or did you have to root it? (or did you not require any special permissions to update the build.prop file?)

If it came pre-rooted, then there's a good chance that you have a custom recovery installed that might already have adb enabled. If that is indeed the case, we can probably get your device working again without wiping it...

 

[Argentoratum]

I think Xiaomi phones are rooted by default (or at least Redmi 2 Pro used to be) but then it also got a custom ROM installed by the reseller. I had to use a buil-in Miui app to grant root to a file manager...

I got a suggestion that my build props file got bad permissions, is that possible to change it through adb?

 

[scary alien]

It's possible that you might be able to use adb to fix your device, but it depends on a couple of things:

1. You have the adb utility installed on your PC

You can grab the adb utility and install it on your PC from post #2 in this thread (i.e., download the sdk-tools.zip file), but you'll also likely need the proper USB adb drivers mentioned on the MIUI site from before before adb on your PC will talk with your phone.​

2. You have the proper adb USB drivers for your Android device installed on your PC (I think I saw this mentioned in the MIUI website link you provided previously)

3. Your Android device is in the proper mode to communicate with the adb client from your PC (this means that the adb daemon is up and running on your phone; this happens when USB debugging has been previously enabled in "normal" Android or when you've got a custom recovery installed and it too is ready/configured to use adb)

So, unless you can confirm that you've got a custom recovery installed (i.e., that it's TWRP or CWM, etc.) or know that you had previously enabled USB debugging access, it's probably a long-shot for getting / using adb to fix your device this way.

Can you put your device in recovery mode (I don't know how to do that for your particular device)?

 

[Argentoratum]

Yes, I've got into recovery mode (MiRecovery) and then when I tried adb it listed my device, but
then with adb shell , I got:
"- exec '/system/bin/sh' failed: No such file or directory (2) - "

I think now it should be possible to either
1) use MiFlash and install a stock ROM from the website I linked
2) try to install TWRP and then try adb from there

I could use some help here, I'm afraid to mess things up even more, I guess if I install a custom recovery (twrp), then I wouldn't able to use MiFlash anymore, but on the other side that might allow me to get back to my old phone and not wipe everything...

 

[lunatic59]

Many instances of stock recovery enable ADB for sideload only, so while it may recognize a device is there, it won't be full adb. I think only custom recoveries give you access to the file system.

 

[Argentoratum]

Many instances of stock recovery enable ADB for sideload only, so while it may recognize a device is there, it won't be full adb. I think only custom recoveries give you access to the file system.

Is it relatively safe to install a custom recovery like TWRP?

 

[lunatic59]

I would only consider it safe (low risk --- there is a risk to any modifications) if there were a version specifically for your device and you had a way to revert back to stock recovery.

 

[Argentoratum]

I would only consider it safe (low risk --- there is a risk to any modifications) if there were a version specifically for your device and you had a way to revert back to stock recovery.

And what about flashing completely with the stock recovery? It isn't ideal, but still, it seems the easiest option...

 

[Bg260]

There is a plethora of info on your device here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/redmi-2

Nevermind just saw your post. XDA is not very answer oriented.

Here we go:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/redmi-2/how-to/error-resolved-t3324791

 

[Bg260]

And what about flashing completely with the stock recovery? It isn't ideal, but still, it seems the easiest option...

It is more ideal than a bootlooping device.

 

[lunatic59]

Safest would be to take it back to stock after any bootloop situation. If you then want to try modifying your device then you can proceed with a good idea how to recover and perhaps a better backup plan.

 

[scary alien]

I also visited the TWRP site last night and didn't see a specific version of their recovery for your device--which is vital/necessary since using a custom recovery built for a different device is "problematic" to say the least .

So, flashing back to stock using the MIUI site's flashing tools does appear to be your best best at this point since adb/custom recovery seems out of reach.

 

[Argentoratum]

I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone! Now my phone is working again, I'm so happy

What I did in the end was: I installed TWRP though a "Mi multi-tool", which had a version also for my phone, and then I've mounted the /system as writable, went into the terminal, and chmod-ded the affected file. And now my phone works again, and it seems MiRecovery is still there (you can use TWRP without really installing it, it seems)

and to top it all, now it seems I can make photospheres again by Google Camera (which was the really stupid reason why I started messing with root.)

So all is well, and thank you again for being so helpful!

 

[lunatic59]

Glad it worked out for you.

 

[Bg260]

Very cool. Do be more careful in the future and also, make a full nandroid backup in TWRP.

 

[scary alien]

 

[lunatic59]

Very cool. Do be more careful in the future and also, make a full nandroid backup in TWRP.

No, no. If everyone were careful, we'd have nothing to do and when @scary alien gets bored, it's scary.

 

[Bg260]

No, no. If everyone were careful, we'd have nothing to do and when @scary alien gets bored, it's scary.

Good to know. Wouldn't want his creepy inner jaw to come out.