LightningMods releases noBD updater payloads to public, but PKG requires licence

After Lightning Mods' noBD updater had 100% success rate updating PS4s with broken Blu-ray drives, he has released the modified Mira payloads for the updater.

A few days ago, I reported about LM’s NoBD updater for PS4 (free for a limited time), which allows PS4s with a broken Blu-ray drive update to a higher firmware, like 9.00. The application and its payloads after testing have passed with flying colours, i.e., 100% success rate! Impressive, right? Now, LM has released the noBD payloads to the public.

This is good news for everyone out there who have been hanging onto a PS4 with no scope for homebrew. Why? Just because they have a PS4 with broken or even missing Blu-ray drive.

But, what does this mean? Is the noBD updater free? Keep reading to find out.

LM noBD updater for PS4: Supported Firmware

Update: More firmware added to the supported list (check below)

Fortunately, since the testing began, the number of supported firmware have gone up. I updated the earlier article accordingly. Looking at the payloads that LM has released, the following firmware are supported:-.

  • 4.55
  • 5.03
  • 6.20
  • 6.7X (6.70, 6.71, 6.72?)
  • 7.0X (7.00, 7.00 Betas, 7.01, 7.02?)
  • 7.50
  • 7.51
  • 7.55

This means that your PS4 with a broken Blu-ray drive should currently be on any of these firmware versions to be able to use LM’s noBD updater.

Is LightningMods’ noBD updater free?

Update 1: A one-time licence costs $10. More details awaited.

Update 2: LM is considering options other than licensing. Details awaited.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case. But, I had already warned my readers that noBD updater for PS4 would remain free only for a limited time, i.e., till testing is over. And since noBD updater for PS4 has a 100% success rate, it is ready for final release.

Now, many of you might be confused as to how it works. Since the payload is released to the public, can’t anyone use it? Well, they can, but, the payloads are only a part of the process. The process in itself requires an application, packaged as PKG. The interface you see below in the image is from that application, not the payload itself.

First step on PS4 No BD updater asking the user to confirm they want to continue

How to update PS4 with a broken drive using LM’s noBD updater?

Remember that, at the time of writing, LM is still preparing a website to sell the PKG licence. Talking about the payloads themselves, they are modified Mira loaders which help you access the Debug Menu.

So, the steps to update your noBD PS4 given below will be updated as soon as we have more information. Anyways, here’s a brief look at the process.

  1. Download the noBD payload file.
  2. Unzip it and go to the folder pertaining to your current firmware.
  3. Load the payload.bin or USB.elf on your PS4, depending on the way you like to load your payloads.
  4. Install noBD updater PKG.
  5. Start noBD updater.
  6. Select Download FW 9.00.
  7. Once the download finishes, select Update X.XX to 9.00, where X.XX is the current firmware on your PS4.
  8. Voila!

Oh, and if you need a way to load the payloads easily, rest assured. Devs karo and kameleon are already on it. Follow me and these devs on Twitter to receive real time updates.

By the way, while the process is ongoing, refrain from pressing any keys on the controller or any input devices connected to your PS4. Infact, I would suggest you to keep the USB ports vacant for this process.

As an added step to make sure you are not caught in this pickle of a no update situation later, I also suggest creating a clone of the PS4 Hard Drive post update. Why is that? See, once you have updated to firmware 9.00, you are safe. Is that so? Nope! If your hard drive were to fail at any later time, you will be in a very bad situation. This is because even if you were to buy a new hard drive, the PS4 won’t let you install a firmware on it because the PS4 doesn’t have a working Blu-ray drive.

So, once updated to 9.00, create a sector-by-sector clone of the PS4 hard drive. If your hard drive were to fail, you could simply restore this backup to the new Hard drive and get started! If you need detailed instructions for this, please leave a comment below.

Conclusion

If you missed the chance to update your PS4 when the noBD updater was free, don’t worry! LM said, only a convenience fee will be charged for the service. I will update when the fees for the service is revealed by the man.

1 Comment

  1. Hello. Thanks for guide. Could you share the full guide to how to clone hdd for next plug and play installation? All done and am on 9.0.

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