Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2026

Forum for discussions about UHD-capable dives
austincummings0324
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2026 4:23 am

Re: Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2026

Post by austincummings0324 »

MartyMcNuts wrote:
Wed Jan 28, 2026 4:10 am
austincummings0324 wrote:
Wed Jan 28, 2026 3:20 am
MartyMcNuts wrote:
Wed Jan 28, 2026 1:39 am


Nope, no idea. Did you test the drive with a blu-ray before flashing just to make sure the drive worked and wasn't faulty to begin with?

If you are going to return it, you can do the RECOVER process again, this time, selecting the current BU40N firmware that is on the drive, then choose the BP50NB10 1.03-MK firmware in the normal firmware selection drop down box.
I ended up returning the drive. I think this one was a bit complicated for me. Do you have any recommendations on drives below $200 USD? I don't really have the budget to buy one alr flashed so I will have to deal with one I need to flash on my own. I was looking at getting the BP60NB10 or an actual BU40 instead. Thoughts?
Verbatim 43887 (normally a Pioneer BDR-UD03), 43888 (contains a LG BU40N), 43889 (contains a LG BU40N) or 43890 (can be either a Pioneer BDR-UD03 or a LG BU40N).
Tried looking for some of these online and it doesn't seem like any are available right now and all are on back order. Any other recommendations? :shock:
MartyMcNuts
Posts: 4594
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:45 pm

Re: Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2026

Post by MartyMcNuts »

austincummings0324 wrote:
Wed Jan 28, 2026 5:40 am
MartyMcNuts wrote:
Wed Jan 28, 2026 4:10 am
austincummings0324 wrote:
Wed Jan 28, 2026 3:20 am


I ended up returning the drive. I think this one was a bit complicated for me. Do you have any recommendations on drives below $200 USD? I don't really have the budget to buy one alr flashed so I will have to deal with one I need to flash on my own. I was looking at getting the BP60NB10 or an actual BU40 instead. Thoughts?
Verbatim 43887 (normally a Pioneer BDR-UD03), 43888 (contains a LG BU40N), 43889 (contains a LG BU40N) or 43890 (can be either a Pioneer BDR-UD03 or a LG BU40N).
Tried looking for some of these online and it doesn't seem like any are available right now and all are on back order. Any other recommendations? :shock:
Well, it is going to be quite difficult to find anything these days, as I said, none of them are being manufactured and the worrld's supply is dwindling extremely fast!

Maybe the ASUS BW-16D1X-U would be the best bet. It may contain either a Pioneer or a LG drive inside. I have no idea on the price though. You might just have to bite the bullet and pay the extra for a Pioneer BDR-XD08 from Billycar11 while he still has some left. At least these are already prepared and tested for UHD so you know it will work for you out of the box.
Cheers :D
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For UHD enabled drives (AU/NZ/SG + Others) & DIY Single Drive Flasher (WW): https://uhdenableddrives.com
austincummings0324
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2026 4:23 am

Re: Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2026

Post by austincummings0324 »

MartyMcNuts wrote:
Wed Jan 28, 2026 5:45 am
austincummings0324 wrote:
Wed Jan 28, 2026 5:40 am
MartyMcNuts wrote:
Wed Jan 28, 2026 4:10 am


Verbatim 43887 (normally a Pioneer BDR-UD03), 43888 (contains a LG BU40N), 43889 (contains a LG BU40N) or 43890 (can be either a Pioneer BDR-UD03 or a LG BU40N).
Tried looking for some of these online and it doesn't seem like any are available right now and all are on back order. Any other recommendations? :shock:
Well, it is going to be quite difficult to find anything these days, as I said, none of them are being manufactured and the worrld's supply is dwindling extremely fast!

Maybe the ASUS BW-16D1X-U would be the best bet. It may contain either a Pioneer or a LG drive inside. I have no idea on the price though. You might just have to bite the bullet and pay the extra for a Pioneer BDR-XD08 from Billycar11 while he still has some left. At least these are already prepared and tested for UHD so you know it will work for you out of the box.
I thought ASUS drives were ASUS manufactured. I don't see it on the main page of drives. Is it like the verbatim drives where they just encase the main drive with their branding and sell it as their own? The price is manageable for me but I think I may agree with you in possibly needing to bite the bullet and get one from Billycar...
MartyMcNuts
Posts: 4594
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:45 pm

Re: Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2026

Post by MartyMcNuts »

austincummings0324 wrote:
Wed Jan 28, 2026 5:53 am
MartyMcNuts wrote:
Wed Jan 28, 2026 5:45 am
austincummings0324 wrote:
Wed Jan 28, 2026 5:40 am


Tried looking for some of these online and it doesn't seem like any are available right now and all are on back order. Any other recommendations? :shock:
Well, it is going to be quite difficult to find anything these days, as I said, none of them are being manufactured and the worrld's supply is dwindling extremely fast!

Maybe the ASUS BW-16D1X-U would be the best bet. It may contain either a Pioneer or a LG drive inside. I have no idea on the price though. You might just have to bite the bullet and pay the extra for a Pioneer BDR-XD08 from Billycar11 while he still has some left. At least these are already prepared and tested for UHD so you know it will work for you out of the box.
I thought ASUS drives were ASUS manufactured. I don't see it on the main page of drives. Is it like the verbatim drives where they just encase the main drive with their branding and sell it as their own? The price is manageable for me but I think I may agree with you in possibly needing to bite the bullet and get one from Billycar...
ASUS don't make drives, they OEM them from LG & Pioneer just like Verbatim. I assume pretty soon, that will be it for Verbatim and ASUS too as they won't be able to source any more drives.

I've noticed over the past few days, people have found some Verbatim's (the 43890 I think) at Staples (not online but at a physical store) and Office Depot stores. You could try there...

There's also one on Amazon called XrtFore which has a LG BU40N inside. No idea on the quality of the enclosure though... viewtopic.php?p=192551#p192551
Cheers :D
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For UHD enabled drives (AU/NZ/SG + Others) & DIY Single Drive Flasher (WW): https://uhdenableddrives.com
TechSmid
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2026 5:14 pm

Re: Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2026

Post by TechSmid »

Fave119 wrote:
Tue Jan 27, 2026 8:34 pm
TechSmid wrote:
Tue Jan 27, 2026 6:09 pm
Good evening,

I'm trying to figure out how to flash my Verbatim.
I've looked at all the descriptions and videos, but I don't understand which flasher I should use.
This is my drive info:

Drive Information
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BU40N
Revision: 1.05
Serial number: ****
Firmware date: 2124-04-23 13:47
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 82

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible, not yet enabled
Drive platform: MT1959

Kind regards,
Rick
I think I have the exact same drive as you, also a Verbatim with the exact same drive information.
I found this repo which worked for me: https://github.com/nxyzo/Flashing-Verba ... -to-1.03MK

I am now on Revision 1.03 with fully enabled libredrive :)
Thank you very much, it worked!
mutoad
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2026 12:51 pm

Re: Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2026

Post by mutoad »

Worked like a charm!
Many thanks!
mannduro
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2026 10:11 pm

Re: Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2026

Post by mannduro »

Billycar11 wrote:
Tue Jan 27, 2026 11:56 pm
mannduro wrote:
Tue Jan 27, 2026 10:23 pm
hi, this is my Drive (external USB 3.0 Drive)
Laufwerksinformation
OS-Gerätename: E:
Produzent: ASUS
Produkt: BW-16D1H-U
Revision: A101
Serienummer: K92F3JC0726
Firmware-Datum: 2114-12-08 09:59
Markierungen der Bus-Verschlüsselung: 1F
Highest AACS version: 68

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1939
Firmware type: Original (unpatched)
Firmware version: 0.A101W
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Partial
Unrestricted read speed: Yes
How do i make this read UHD discs ?
You don't it's 12+ years old
Don't flash it. It will die
I am saddened to the ground... What a waste of money...SHIT
mannduro
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2026 10:11 pm

Re: Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2026

Post by mannduro »

Billycar11 wrote:
Tue Jan 27, 2026 11:56 pm
mannduro wrote:
Tue Jan 27, 2026 10:23 pm
hi, this is my Drive (external USB 3.0 Drive)
Laufwerksinformation
OS-Gerätename: E:
Produzent: ASUS
Produkt: BW-16D1H-U
Revision: A101
Serienummer: K92F3JC0726
Firmware-Datum: 2114-12-08 09:59
Markierungen der Bus-Verschlüsselung: 1F
Highest AACS version: 68

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1939
Firmware type: Original (unpatched)
Firmware version: 0.A101W
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Partial
Unrestricted read speed: Yes
How do i make this read UHD discs ?
You don't it's 12+ years old
Don't flash it. It will die
The packaging gives me different information.

Image Image Image
MartyMcNuts
Posts: 4594
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:45 pm

Re: Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2026

Post by MartyMcNuts »

mannduro wrote:
Wed Jan 28, 2026 9:05 pm
Billycar11 wrote:
Tue Jan 27, 2026 11:56 pm
mannduro wrote:
Tue Jan 27, 2026 10:23 pm
hi, this is my Drive (external USB 3.0 Drive)



How do i make this read UHD discs ?
You don't it's 12+ years old
Don't flash it. It will die
The packaging gives me different information.

Image Image Image
You've been scammed. One pic shows BW-16D1X-U and another shows BW-16D1H-U which are different models. The other pic shows manufactured in 2016 yet the firmware is from 2014 and it has the old, incompatible MT1939 drive platform which ended in 2015 when they switched to the newer MT1959 drive platform.
Cheers :D
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For UHD enabled drives (AU/NZ/SG + Others) & DIY Single Drive Flasher (WW): https://uhdenableddrives.com
austincummings0324
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2026 4:23 am

Re: Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2026

Post by austincummings0324 »

MartyMcNuts wrote:
Wed Jan 28, 2026 6:13 am
austincummings0324 wrote:
Wed Jan 28, 2026 5:53 am
MartyMcNuts wrote:
Wed Jan 28, 2026 5:45 am


Well, it is going to be quite difficult to find anything these days, as I said, none of them are being manufactured and the worrld's supply is dwindling extremely fast!

Maybe the ASUS BW-16D1X-U would be the best bet. It may contain either a Pioneer or a LG drive inside. I have no idea on the price though. You might just have to bite the bullet and pay the extra for a Pioneer BDR-XD08 from Billycar11 while he still has some left. At least these are already prepared and tested for UHD so you know it will work for you out of the box.
I thought ASUS drives were ASUS manufactured. I don't see it on the main page of drives. Is it like the verbatim drives where they just encase the main drive with their branding and sell it as their own? The price is manageable for me but I think I may agree with you in possibly needing to bite the bullet and get one from Billycar...
ASUS don't make drives, they OEM them from LG & Pioneer just like Verbatim. I assume pretty soon, that will be it for Verbatim and ASUS too as they won't be able to source any more drives.

I've noticed over the past few days, people have found some Verbatim's (the 43890 I think) at Staples (not online but at a physical store) and Office Depot stores. You could try there...

There's also one on Amazon called XrtFore which has a LG BU40N inside. No idea on the quality of the enclosure though... viewtopic.php?p=192551#p192551
There’s no Office Depot near me that Carry’s them. I just stopped by the ones on my route home from work to check. The XRTfore is available on Amazon for $99. I assume the enclosure is just the case and not the actual drive itself that you’re refer to about unknown quality. I’ll look into that one as well as double check the asus one you recommended too. I saw Billy offers remote flashing so I plan on reaching out to him and seeing what that’s about as it may be a way I can still get a safe product while staying in my budget. I appreciate the help!!!
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