Did you recently purchase or currently own a LG WP50NB40 Blu-ray drive? If you have noticed that you cannot rip, copy or play some 4K UHD Blu-ray titles, then it might be time to downgrade firmware on LG WP50NB40. In this guide, we will walk you through why you need to downgrade the firmware, and how you can do it.

How to downgrade firmware on LG WP50NB40 for ripping, copying or playing content from 4K UHD discs?

The average user probably thinks the downgrade firmware on 4K UHD drive task for 4K UHD Blu-ray Discs is not necessary. Therefore, before we show you how to downgrade the firmware on LG WP50NB40, will will thoroughly explain why you need to do so.

downgrade on LG WP50NB40

1. Why should you downgrade firmware on 4K drive?

Any UHD drive comes with its own firmware, which in some cases may impose heavy restrictions that can ‘lock’ its full potential. More specifically, UHD Blu-ray disc drives, such as the LG WP50NB40 Blu-ray drive (external) drive implement AACS2 encryption. Having AACS2 protection means your disc drive needs to be presented with an AACS2 host certificate for the corresponding UHD Blu-Ray Disc. At the time of writing, no such certificates are publicly available at the moment. Because of that, users cannot freely make non-decrypted full disc backups of UHD discs from such drives. In rare instances, users may also face trouble reading certain UHD media. Regular BD drives do not implement AACS2 protection, even if they read data from BDXL discs. Therefore, if you downgrade firmware on LG WP50NB40 UHD drive firmware will ensure that you can read UHD Blu-ray Discs, rip them or even copy them.

2. How to downgrade firmware on LG WP50NB40

Now that you know why you might want to downgrade firmware on UHD Blu-ray Disc optical drive, you can get ready to do this task. Actually, carrying this task is not is not as complex as many people think, and an exclusive software such as Leawo UHD Drive Tool ensures that you complete this task in less than five steps. It was specifically designed with ease of use for all users in mind. This flexible UHD drive downgrading tool has the following features;

  • Leawo UHD Drive Tool
  • Leawo UHD Drive Tool

    It supports a wide range of 4K UHD drives.
    It enables you to downgrade UHD-unfriendly Firmware on Blu-ray drive to a compatible version for 4K UHD Blu-ray ripping, copying or playing via certain programs.
    It has an intuitive interface
    It can provide you with detailed information about your UHD Bu-ray drive, as well as a helpful log when you use the software.
    It supports Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10.

To use this software to downgrade firmware on 4K drive, follow the steps below;

  • select-the-uhd-drive-from-the-available-list

    Step 1: Select the UHD drive from the available list. Ensure that the UHD drive is connected to your computer, then start Leawo UHD Drive Tool. Select the optical drive by clicking the downward triangle icon.

  • select-the-desired-firmware-from-the-list

    Step 2: Pick out a target firmware. Choose a firmware version from the drop-down box by clicking the Downgrade Firmware button.

  • downgrading-the-firmware

    Step 3: Downgrade the firmware. When you click continue, the firmware should begin downgrading.

Note: When the downgrading process is finished, restart your computer to make sure that your UHD drive runs smoothly and flawlessly.

Here is a video guide on how to use Leawo UHD Drive Tool:

How to use LG Blu-ray WP50NB40

The LG WP50NB40 Blu-ray drive is an ultra slim and external Blu-ray writer, which means it is ready for ‘plug and play’. To connect and use it on your computer, follow the steps below;

  • Step 1. Connect the USB cable of your external LG WP50NB40 Blu-ray drive to a USB port on the computer. Note, this external UHD Blu-ray Disc drive drive does not need connection to a power outlet.
  • Step 2. After connecting the external disc drive to the computer, it should be recognized automatically by your computer's operating system, and any necessary drivers will be automatically installed.
  • Step 3. Open Windows File Explorer or Finder to review your connected 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc drive, after which you can load your 4K UHD Blu-ray Discs for playback.

What software programs can I use after I downgrade firmware on 4K drive? to rip, copy or play 4K UHD Blu-ray Discs on my computer?

1. Leawo UHD Ripper for ripping UHD Blu-ray Discs

It is currently one of the very few 4K UHD Blu-ray decryption and ripping software tools available today, and it is the bestseller among them because of its features and advantages, such as;

  • Leawo UHD Ripper
  • Leawo UHD Ripper

    ☉ Remove AACS 2.0 protection from UHD Blu-ray discs
    ☉ Decrypt and rip 4K Blu-ray discs, folders and ISO image files
    ☉ Convert 4K Blu-ray to MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, FLV, and other 180+ 4K/1080P/720P/regular files
    ☉ Convert 4K Blu-ray movies in Full Movie, Main Movie or Custom Mode
    ☉ Edit 4K Blu-ray movies like trimming, cropping, adding watermark, applying 3D effect, etc.

2. Leawo UHD Copy for copying UHD Blu-ray Discs

This is currently the best UHD Blu-ray Disc copying software available on the internet. You should consider it because of its features and advantages which are as follow;

  • uhd-copy
  • Leawo UHD Copy

    - 1:1 copy 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray movies without quality loss.
    - Copy 4K UHD Blu-ray movies of all countries easily
    - Remove the 'unbreakable' AACS 2.0 protection upon 4K UHD blu-ray discs.
    - Deliver quality-lossless BD100 to BD100, BD66 to BD66 and 3D UHD disc backup.
    - Preserve the original HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision image quality.
    - Easy-to-use UI and multiple user-friendly settings.

3. Leawo Free Blu-ray Player for playing 4K UHD Blu-ray content

This is by far the best media player for your Windows or macOS computer, which also supports 4K UHD and even 8K content for playback. Why should you this free media player? These are the reasons;

What is the difference between WP50NB40 and BP50NB40?

The LG WP50NB40 Blu-ray drive faces strong competition from its sister product, the LG BP50NB40 Blu-ray drive, which is also external. Both share the same buffer memory (4MB), the same writing speed (6x speeds), and the same reading speeds (6x reading speeds). Both have the same overall dimensions and they weigh almost the same. However, both share their own differences. While the WP50NB40 has Blu-ray writing capabilities, the BP50NB40 has re-writing capabilities, which makes it better in this case. Moreover, the BP50NB40 supports more disc types as compared to the WP50NB40. In terms of the best value for money, the LG WP50NB40 Blu-ray drive is the winner.

Downgrade Firmware on LG WP50NB40

Conclusion

As you can see from this guide, to downgrade firmware on 4K drive, like the LG WP50NB40 Blu-ray drive could be a necessary thing for you. That is because it can ‘unlock’ your 4K UHD Blu-ray drive’s full potential, as you can be able to rip, copy and even play some 4K UHD Blu-ray titles. For the 4K Blu-ray drive downgrade task, the right software that can cater for your needs is Leawo UHD Drive Tool. If you need to rip, copy and play 4K Blu-ray Discs, you can also try Leawo UHD Ripper, Leawo UHD Copy, and Leawo Blu-ray Player respectively.