How to Update the Samsung Galaxy ACE with the Windows Phone 7 Custom ROM v2.0

One of the middle market orientated devices from Samsung, the Galaxy Ace has come across as quite the bargain Android device, and as such it has attracted quite a big fan base. A big fan base also means that the developers are not far behind, and this is exactly the case of the Galaxy Ace. The little bit of software that is the purpose of this article is meant to be a stable mod of Android 2.3 Gingerbread with a new and modern Windows Phone 7 look. After installing this update you will be easily to easily show off your phone as a Windows Phone 7 device. There are a lot of ports of the Windows Phone 7 theme on the Android platform and the Windows Phone 7 Custom ROM v2.0 for the Galaxy Ace is amongst the best developers offer.
There are still some aspects regarding this update that you must know before proceeding any further. As you might have guessed, rooting or updating your device with any form of custom software will imply voiding the warranty, so if you plan on following this guide you know what to expect if something goes wrong. Speaking of which I also have to show you the disclaimer notice: We cannot be held responsible for any damage that might occur to your device by following the procedures in this guide. However, we will try to help you sort out any glitches or problems that might arise by following the steps in this guide to the extent our knowledge limits us. This note doesn’t mean that the procedure is not safe, as it has been thoroughly tested prior to release.
And now let us move on to the first part of this guide, the one that covers the main features of the Windows Phone 7 Custom ROM V2.0 for the Galaxy Ace:

• WP7 UI
• WP7 Launcher
• WP7 Fonts
• Launcher7
• WP7 Keyboard
• WP7 Alarms
• WP7 Notifications
• WP7 Ring tones
• WP7 Boot Animation
• WP7 Calculator
• WP7 Dialer
• WP7 Contacts
• WP7 Facebook
• WP7 Go SMS PRO theme
• WP7 Messaging
• WP7 Settings
• WP7 theme
• Modded Camera
• Notification Bar Themed to WP7
• WP7 Icons
• CRT Animation Enabled
• CF-Root b84 fixed !!No need Of Flashing Kernel
• Lagfree v3
• Fully Deodexed
• Blue Overscroll Glow
• Framework-res.apk MODDED to look like WP7
• Stable and Very Fast
• Excellent MULTI-TASKING
• Capture Screenshots by pressing home button and lock button
• 90 mb free space
• DT A2sd Script enabled
• Tweaks Manager and Ad-Free added
• All these Features with a Stock Rom Touch!

These are the main features of this particular ROM, but to get a better feel of what you are installing feel free to check the screen shots below to see how the new Android 4.0 ICS ROM looks like.

Windows Phone Rom V2.0

As always we will provide you with a simple and effective way of backing up the personal data stored on your Galaxy Ace, as it will be erased once you apply the new update. The lines below contain some apps and procedures that will help you backup your data in a safe and easy way so please read them carefully before proceeding:

• Text messages – Install this app: SMS Backup & Restore
• Phone Contacts – These can be synced via your Gmail/Google account or by exporting them to the micro SD card
• Call Log – Install this app: Call Log Backup and Restore
• Pictures, Music, Videos, Files etc.– Copy to internal memory card
• Internet & MMS Settings – Backup all the settings from this path “Applications > Settings > Wireless and Network > Mobile Networks > Access Point Names”

You must also meet the two requirements below before updating your ROM. Failing to do so may result in a damaged device or even worse in a bricked one.

• Make sure that your Galaxy Ace is already running on a rooted firmware and that it has a custom recovery installed.
• Charge your device to full or to a minimum of 60% to ensure that the phone will not power off during the updating process.

The third part of this tutorial is actually the hard part, as it covers the whole flashing process and while it may sound like a very complicated process, it poses no threat to your hardware if done properly. As you already have root access, you should know its benefits so we will be moving on to the actual procedure:

• The first step is all about downloads, so you will have to download this Windows 7 Custom ROM Firmware Package to your computer and then copy it to the root of your Samsung’s Galaxy Ace memory card using your original USB cable. If you do not place the file in the root of your microSD card you will have a hard time finding it later on.
• Next up you will have to disconnect your Ace from the PC and reboot it into Recovery mode by pressing the Menu key and the Power ON key simultaneously after the device has been shut down.
• The second to last step is actually some cleaning that needs to be done so you will have to select the Wipe data/factory reset & Wipe Cache partition options in order to clear some important areas needed by the new custom ROM.
• The last step is the one that actually installs the Windows Phone 7 Custom ROM v2.0. All you need to do is select Install zip from sd card > Choose zip from sd card, and then choose the Windows 7 Custom ROM Firmware Zip which you have conveniently placed in the root folder of the phone’s microSD memory card.

All that is left now for you to do is to wait for the software update to finish its job and then simply press the back or select the go back option from the recovery and then select the reboot now option. In either case, you should wait a couple of minutes for the first boot to finish, so don’t be alarmed if it takes longer than usual.
In the unlikely case you encounter problems during flashing you should follow the steps above again and re apply the firmware update, and you should also do so if you get the dreaded boot loop issues. In any case, you might want to restore an earlier nandroid backup before attempting to redo the steps above.
If everything has gone smoothly you can rest as you have successfully installed the Windows Phone 7 Custom ROM v2.0 on your Samsung Galaxy Ace and all that’s left now is to enjoy your new bit of software.