Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2026

[MartyMcNuts]

Is buying the makemkv license required to make a rip?

No.

[UnmindfulNaturist9]

i will try this forum

[Gazurk]

I am trying to flash but even though it says t hat it is successful, it is not5 actually updating the firmware. Any ideas?

[disneyvader]

I have tried reading this post but frankly it's written quite confusingly...
I'm just looking a good drive that's available in the EU, preferably working out of the box but I can settle for an easy firmware swap
Any recommendations?
I would have bought one from Asmcom but their vacation seem to be dragging on and are unreachable

[MartyMcNuts]

I am trying to flash but even though it says t hat it is successful, it is not5 actually updating the firmware. Any ideas?

rawflash enc

[Gazurk]

I am trying to flash but even though it says t hat it is successful, it is not5 actually updating the firmware. Any ideas?

rawflash enc

Gosh thank you! It didn't show up on the enc list so I din't think to do that.

[dcoke22]

I have tried reading this post but frankly it's written quite confusingly...
I'm just looking a good drive that's available in the EU, preferably working out of the box but I can settle for an easy firmware swap
Any recommendations?
I would have bought one from Asmcom but their vacation seem to be dragging on and are unreachable

The Verbatim 43888 will probably come with a Pioneer UD04 drive inside it that'll work with MakeMKV for ripping 4K UHDs out of the box. There have been some reports recently that the Verbatim 43888 might come with a BU40N drive inside it that'll need to be flashed before it'll work with MakeMKV for ripping 4K UHDs. Either way you'll end up with a decent drive. It is supposedly a power hungry drive, so it works best if it is plugged into powerful USB ports, preferably a USB-C port.

[banteringbiscuit]

First time buying a UHD drive.
First day on the board.

I just bought a pioneer after seeing what was recommended.

Is this a drive I should return? In reading this forum.. I have not yet seen instructions on rolling this back to 1.02 or lesser.

Drive Information
OS device name: /dev/sr0
Manufacturer: PIONEER
Product: BD-RW BDR-XS07U
Revision: 1.03
Serial number: ...
Firmware date: 2023-01-06
Bus encryption flags: 13

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible, not yet enabled
Drive platform: Pioneer RS8E21
Firmware version: ID05

[d00zah]

Firmware date: 2023-01-06

Too recent. Return it.

Pioneer firmware update February 2023

As many of you have noticed, Pioneer released a mass firmware update for almost all drives. The firmware date is around December 2022 and release date is around February 2023. The sole purpose of this update is to disable LibreDrive and unofficial firmware flashing tools such as DVRtool.

[johannu]

I have got an HP UHD-Drive. Inside is a LG BU40N with firmware S05JH. I think this firmware is adopted to HP.

Is it possible to flash this firmware to 1.03 MK and to 1.00?

Thank you!

[zittrig]

Show your drive and libre drive information from the MakeMKV screen.

[johannu]

The problem is, that I don't have the drive yet... I could buy it rarely cheap. But do not want to spend money, when it is not confident, that it can be flashed...

[zittrig]

I see but without the information there're only statements possible which express the possibility without guarantee.

Generally the BU40N, HP or LG labeled, are ready for a downgrade as far as I know.

[theredsox]

Just providing an update for anyone looking for recent info on the Verbatim Ultra HD 4K External Slimline Blu-Ray Writer, bought on Amazon. It came with the BD-RE HL-DT-ST BU40N with firmware from April 2024 version 1.05. I could find this info by opening the MakeMKV software, choosing the drive, and looking at the info on the right hand side. Also it said:

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

I tried ripping a 4K Blu-Ray out of the box, it failed because LibreDrive wasn't enabled. So I downloaded:

- SDF Tool Flasher @ viewtopic.php?f=16&t=22896
- "The all you need firmware pack" also @ viewtopic.php?f=16&t=22896

1) Unzip both downloads to the current directory.
2) Run SDFtool Flasher.exe
3) Choose your drive in the dropdown at the top
4) Choose 'Write Firmware'
5) Navigate to '.\The all you need firmware pack\LG slim BU40N\' directory
6) Select the only BIN file in the folder, the 1.03
7) Click 'start'
8) Once done, restart MakeMKV

The drive should now be labeled 'BD-RE HL-DT-ST BD-RE BU40N 1.03'. Tried a 4K Blu-Ray after and it was successful. So you can downgrade the 1.05 firmware version to 1.03MK.

NOTE: I also found a 1.04MK version @ viewtopic.php?f=19&t=19113 in the mk-firmware-pack, but because this thread said "BU40N on any Firmware directly to > BU40N 1.03MK" I went with the 1.03MK and it works. Cheers.

[trooperdadon87]

Hallo,

ich bin neu hier im Forum. Nutze bisher Makemkv v.a. für meine Blurays um diese zusätzliche auf eine externe Festplatte zu sichern. Hat bisher auch immer wunderbar funktioniert.
Ich möchte allerdings zeitnah auf 4k UHD umsteigen und daher meine Frage:

Geht dies grundsätzlich mit meinem BR-Laufwerk "Techpulse 120" BD-XL M-Disc und 4K UHD steht vorne drauf?
Muss ich dies zuerst flashen? Wie gehe ich hier vor? Meine Englisch Kenntnisse sind leider etwas dürftig.

Vielen Dank für eure Hilfe und hoffentlich bin ich im richtigen Beitrag.

Grüße trooper

I'm new to the forum. I've been using Makemkv primarily for my Blu-rays to back them up to an external hard drive. It's always worked great so far.

However, I want to switch to 4k UHD soon and so my question is:

Is this generally possible with my BR drive "Techpulse 120" BD-XL M-Disc and 4K UHD is written on the front?

Do I have to flash this first? How do I go about this? Unfortunately, my English skills are a bit poor.

Thank you for your help and I hope I'm in the right post.

Greetings, trooper