install Official Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean XXMC8 Firmware for the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 I8160

The Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 has just received its official Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OTA Update. This guide is for those users who didn’t receive the OTA Update notification and wish to flash the XXMC8 firmware manually. Read the entire post and you will be able to install the latest Jelly Bean OS on your smartphone fast and easy.

This guide is for advanced Android users as you will need to use your Windows PC, connect the smartphone to it and then flash the XXMC8 Jelly Bean firmware update using ODIN application. The Android 4.1.2 Update brings the Google Now service, expandable notifications, buttery smooth UI, improved voice search, better keyboard, gesture-typing and multiple others.

In order to make sure that you successfully flash this new ROM for your Galaxy Ace 2, read first the preparation guidelines that I’ve listed below:

• Use the guide only for the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 model number I8160. Don’t try to flash this firmware on any other device with a different version number. Check this info under Settings> About phone. If the model number doesn’t correspond with your Galaxy Ace 2 then you should close this post.
• Backup all your data files before getting to the ‘how-to’ part of this post. The tutorial might delete some data from your device.
• Make sure that your computer has all the Galaxy Ace 2 USB drivers installed, as otherwise you won’t be able to flash the new update.
• Enable the USB Debugging option from your phone’s Developer Options. Note that after the update is applied, you will need to re-enable the Developer Options section like this: Open Settings, then About Phone, scroll down to Build Number and tap this 7 times.
• Make sure that your PC doesn’t have the Samsung KIES running on your computer.
• Disable all the antivirus applications from running when you’re installing the new OTA update.
• This guide is for advanced Android users and you shouldn’t use it in case you don’t know what you’re doing.
• Don’t blame us in case something goes wrong and you lose data or you brick the phone in the process. Use the tutorial to ask for extra help.
• Your phone’s battery should have enough power left before getting to the tutorial.

I think that these are all the steps that you had to go over before getting to the next part of this article and learn how to successfully update your device to a stock Android OS

How to flash Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean XXMC8 Firwmare OTA Update for the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 I8160:

 

1. Download the XXMC8 Jelly Bean 4.1.2 update file from HERE. After the download is complete, unzip the contents and you should get only a .tar or .tar.md5 file. Save it to your PC.
2. Download Odin 1.85 zip from HERE. Save the file to computer and then extract the zip contents to a folder named ODIN.
3. Power off your smartphone now.
4. Boot it into Download Mode by pressing and holding at the same time Volume Down, Home and Power buttons. Release the buttons when the Android Download Mode appears.
5. Launch Odin executable on your PC.
6. Connect the phone to computer via USB cable. ODIN will now display the ‘added!!’ message and you can continue to the next part of this post.
7. Click the ‘PDA’ button and load the XXMC8 I8160 .tar.md5 file into ODIN. Make sure that the ‘Re-partition’ option is not enabled. Also, don’t change any other default Odin settings.
8. Press ‘START’ button when you’re ready to install the new OTA Update for your Galaxy Ace 2 I8160 smartphone.
9. The installation should take a while before completion and you need to wait until the process is complete. When the install is finished you will see that the device has rebooted, you can disconnect it from PC right now.
10. The Galaxy Ace 2 should now boot into normal mode and you will be welcomed by the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean welcoming screen.
11. Test the new OS and then you can begin to customize the home screens and all the other parts of it. These were all the steps you had to take in order to complete the update.

If ODIN doesn’t complete the install or it displays the FAIL alert, then you should disconnect the phone from PC. Close ODIN, remove the phone’s battery and then re-insert it after 5 seconds, boot the phone into Download Mode once again and then repeat the entire tutorial once again. You should manage to flash the new files at your second attempt.
If you have any other problems with this OTA Update then you can ask for extra help in comments. Make sure to leave a detailed comment so that we can come up with a viable solution for your problems.