diff --git a/tools/aapt2/ResourceUtils.cpp b/tools/aapt2/ResourceUtils.cpp
index bd2ab53773114..03009aaeead22 100644
--- a/tools/aapt2/ResourceUtils.cpp
+++ b/tools/aapt2/ResourceUtils.cpp
@@ -738,7 +738,13 @@ std::unique_ptr<Item> ParseBinaryResValue(const ResourceType& type, const Config
                                           const android::Res_value& res_value,
                                           StringPool* dst_pool) {
   if (type == ResourceType::kId) {
-    return util::make_unique<Id>();
+    if (res_value.dataType != android::Res_value::TYPE_REFERENCE &&
+        res_value.dataType != android::Res_value::TYPE_DYNAMIC_REFERENCE) {
+      // plain "id" resources are actually encoded as dummy values (aapt1 uses an empty string,
+      // while aapt2 uses a false boolean).
+      return util::make_unique<Id>();
+    }
+    // fall through to regular reference deserialization logic
   }
 
   const uint32_t data = util::DeviceToHost32(res_value.data);