Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2024

[ayanamizer00]

Once upon a time I successfully flashed an LG drive properly, and I've been using that to rip 4Ks with no problem. It decided to stop recognizing discs, so I'm trying to flash a second drive I have. I tried flashing once on my Mac with an OWC enclosure and it didn't work, I stuck it in a PC, refreshed it, but I'm wondering if someone could tell me which firmware I should flash to it.

[dcoke22]

Once upon a time I successfully flashed an LG drive properly, and I've been using that to rip 4Ks with no problem. It decided to stop recognizing discs, so I'm trying to flash a second drive I have. I tried flashing once on my Mac with an OWC enclosure and it didn't work, I stuck it in a PC, refreshed it, but I'm wondering if someone could tell me which firmware I should flash to it.

Your first picture shows a service code NS40. It needs to be NS50 (see the first post in this thread). That drive is too old.

[ayanamizer00]

Isn't that one of the drives recommended in the first post though? Or is the service code NS40 different than the NS40 in the WH14NS40 name?

Recommended UHD Drives to get:
All of these drives will need to be flashed to unlock UHD Reading/Ripping
LG WH14NS40, UHD Friendly Internal 5.25 sata | Rip speed 8x BD 66 ~45 mins BD 100 ~1 hour if flashed properly other wise 6x rips speed and slower then BU40N

[b@ner#les]

The XD07UHD is 160 USD here, which I consider a lot for a 4x speed. Not to mention from some unknown online shop. Are there any differences with the other ones in recommended section terms of noise? I have no idea if a drive can have other benefits besides it's speed and noise. Maybe enclosure compatibility?
Last thing I want is a drive that is scratching like a whole NAS.

I do not know where you are located. But in USA you can get the external slim drive BDR-XD08UMB-S from Amazon or Pioneer direct for $140. It also comes with a software if to read/play UHD disks. This drive will allow you to rip/backup your 4K discs using MakeMKV without any firmware patches. It also comes ready to use (USB cables), unlike the XD07UHD where you will need to buy an external enclosure or 5.25" space in your desktop computer.

I also highly recommend the BDR-XD08UMB-S. I recently replaced an ASUS external drive with it. I've had this pioneer for a couple days now, and it has ripped everything perfectly with no issues so far (including a couple 4k UHDs that the ASUS kept failing on). Plus, this pioneer is super small (literally the size of a single CD case) and it does not require a power adapter/cable (since it powers thru the USB-C). Great great drive. And simply worked out of the box! Didn't have to muck with flashing it.

[Woodstock]

Isn't that one of the drives recommended in the first post though? Or is the service code NS40 different than the NS40 in the WH14NS40 name?

Service code is separate from the model number. Pretty much any service code less than NS50 is not UHD-friendly, from my experience.

[jedidarrick]

Your identifier for your optical drive is /IOBDServies/0D2B1F16 as listed by the first command. The drive identifier you used in the second command is different. In the second command you need to use the identifier discovered in the first command.

So do I change the identifier in the second command to the one in the first command or do I do something else? I want to make sure that I don't brick my Drive, because these things aren't exactly cheap.

[FrostBitten]

A word of advice to those trying out this system to get their 4k discs to work:

Don't buy the LG WH60NS40 drives. They're absolute junk.
I bought two at the local big box store and brought them home, thinking It's best to have a spare, just in case. They both had 1.05 encrypted firmware installed. I installed one drive in an external enclosure and flashed it with Marty's GUI/SDF tool and the WH16NS60 1.02mk as instructed and the flash completed perfectly. Repeated operation on the second drive. Both could now see and read UHD discs! Yay!

The first drive lasted about 4 discs before it started getting read errors, then not long after couldn't detect any UHD disc.
The second drive barely lasted a whole disc before developing read errors.

Either I'm doing something horribly wrong, those drives are junk, or the firmware is asking the drives to do something they're not really capable of.

Just buy the out-of-box UHD capable pioneer drives if you can, and save yourself much angst and $$.

[Mr_Orange]

Just buy the out-of-box UHD capable pioneer drives if you can, and save yourself much angst and $$.

You really don't have to buy a Pioneer. I have an LG BH16NS55 which is flashed with the WH16NS60_1.02MK firmware and it has, and continues to, perform flawlessly. I have ripped over 180 UHDs so far.

[dcoke22]

Your identifier for your optical drive is /IOBDServies/0D2B1F16 as listed by the first command. The drive identifier you used in the second command is different. In the second command you need to use the identifier discovered in the first command.

So do I change the identifier in the second command to the one in the first command or do I do something else? I want to make sure that I don't brick my Drive, because these things aren't exactly cheap.

The first command tells you the identifier for your drive. The second command needs the drive identifier to know which drive to operate on. Use the identifier discovered in the first command in the second command.

[MartyMcNuts]

A word of advice to those trying out this system to get their 4k discs to work:

Don't buy the LG WH60NS40 drives. They're absolute junk.
I bought two at the local big box store and brought them home, thinking It's best to have a spare, just in case. They both had 1.05 encrypted firmware installed. I installed one drive in an external enclosure and flashed it with Marty's GUI/SDF tool and the WH16NS60 1.02mk as instructed and the flash completed perfectly. Repeated operation on the second drive. Both could now see and read UHD discs! Yay!

The first drive lasted about 4 discs before it started getting read errors, then not long after couldn't detect any UHD disc.
The second drive barely lasted a whole disc before developing read errors.

Either I'm doing something horribly wrong, those drives are junk, or the firmware is asking the drives to do something they're not really capable of.

Just buy the out-of-box UHD capable pioneer drives if you can, and save yourself much angst and $$.

If you get read errors try cleaning your discs! This does solve the issue 99% of the time,

[FrostBitten]

If you get read errors try cleaning your discs! This does solve the issue 99% of the time,

They're pristine. If there's ever anything on them, I gently wipe them with a clean microfiber cloth then blow any residual dust off with canned air.

[FrostBitten]

Just buy the out-of-box UHD capable pioneer drives if you can, and save yourself much angst and $$.

You really don't have to buy a Pioneer. I have an LG BH16NS55 which is flashed with the WH16NS60_1.02MK firmware and it has, and continues to, perform flawlessly. I have ripped over 180 UHDs so far.

Have you gotten that recently? Because it seems that they're no longer available on the primary market...

[liamtoh1]

Either I'm doing something horribly wrong, those drives are junk, or the firmware is asking the drives to do something they're not really capable of.
Just buy the out-of-box UHD capable pioneer drives if you can, and save yourself much angst and $$.

I had a failure of LG WH16NS40 after approx. 15 months of usage. Ripped over 200 BR and UHD discs. Now, I use the Pioneer BDR-XD08UMB-S and it just works. Much slower compared to LG so far no issues for 3 weeks. The LG drive does not even read the discs that it was able to read in the past.

[asmcom]

Just buy the out-of-box UHD capable pioneer drives if you can, and save yourself much angst and $$.

You really don't have to buy a Pioneer. I have an LG BH16NS55 which is flashed with the WH16NS60_1.02MK firmware and it has, and continues to, perform flawlessly. I have ripped over 180 UHDs so far.

Have you gotten that recently? Because it seems that they're no longer available on the primary market...

Your drive should be working flawlessly. I can back up 100 discs in a row and never get a read error with the drive below.

Asmcom

[MartyMcNuts]

If you get read errors try cleaning your discs! This does solve the issue 99% of the time,

They're pristine. If there's ever anything on them, I gently wipe them with a clean microfiber cloth then blow any residual dust off with canned air.

Most UHD discs have an invisible to the naked eye film on them from the production process that can cause read issues. This is why I said you should try cleaning your discs.

Try with just a microfiber cloth first. If you still get read errors, try using soapy water then dry with a microfiber cloth.