14 DAY TRIAL // Roughly two weeks ago, netflix announced the availability of its mobile application for a series of mobile phones powered by Google's Android operating system, with some high-end devices out there left out of the equation. HTC ThundrBolt is one of them, with users still waiting for it to receive the Netflix application, which should prove great on Verizon's 4G network, one should agree.
While no formal solution on this emerged, ThunderBolt owners have now the possibility to get video streaming on Verizon's LTE airwaves in an unofficial manner.
However, the process is a complicated one, and would involve the rooting of the phone, and the installation of an custom ROM on it, which might not appeal to many.
But, first things first. A patch that enables support for the Netflix app on more Android devices than those announced two weeks ago was recently released into the wild, but it works only on Gingerbread-based handsets.
However, a Gingerbread ROM is already available for download for ThunderBolt. Not the official release, although we might have wanted it to be, but it would still do the job.
To get ThunderBolt running under Android 2.3 Gingerbread, users would have to head to this post on the XDA-Developers forum to learn more on rooting their devices, and to find a download link for the said ROM.
Keep in mind that rooting a mobile phone would void warranty. Users would be doing this at their own risk, and the same applies to loading unofficial ROMs on the handset.
As soon as the leaked ROM is up and running on Thunderbolt, one would have to download the aforementioned patch. Just keep in mind that this is not the Netflix application itself, but only a hack to enable support for it on the mobile phone.
More on it can be found in this post on the XDA-Developers forum. Here's what its maker notes:
This patch will replace effectively the entire media library stack with a newer version, allowing Netflix to function on Gingerbread ROMs. The patch does not contain the Netflix apk itself, just the libs to fix playback. As far as I know, the patch WILL NOT work on Froyo.
Several folks on IRC confirmed the patch works. However, I recommend a Nandroid backup before applying the patch. Worst case, you can re-install your ROM to revert the changes. No wipes or anything are needed.
As stated above, the patch would work only on Gingerbread devices. However, users of Android 2.3 phones which were not included in the list of supported handsets the Netflix app was released with should give it a try and see if it works.