Topic: Wii repairs

[shammack]

I recently sent my Wii to NOA for repairs after I started noticing graphical glitches in several games, in the form of scattered patches of wrongly-colored pixels in certain areas of the screen (especially in Resident Evil 4, but you could also see them sometimes in Twilight Princess and Metroid, and occasionally some N64 virtual console games).  After a little bit of research on the web, I saw some people with similar (but worse) issues, saying that it was a result of the GPU overheating while the Wii was in standby mode with WiiConnect24 enabled.  I've never noticed my console getting particularly warm, even when running games, but at any rate I sent it in.

So, my question is, if it is the WiiConnect24 thing that's the problem, is it safe to continue running WiiConnect24 once I get the thing back from Nintendo?  I know there was a firmware update a while ago that supposedly enables the fan to run in standby mode (but I've never seen that actually happen), and I'm hoping that the repair will fix or replace whatever did cause it to happen in the first place, but I was wondering if anybody else had had this happen or knew how it turned out.

[NWR_insanolord]

My friend couldn't find a Wii until May, and then when he got one that happened to him. He got great service and got it back quick, so at least he got that. I believe he has WC24 enabled and it hasn't caused him any troubles since.

[stevey]

It depend on a few thing...

1 how good is your Internet, If it's slow or disconnect a lot then your wii will get way hotter than normal when it on longer struggling to connect.
2 do you have it well ventilated, and is it stand up of flat down?
3 How long is it in stand by
4 How hot is it in your house  

[shammack]

1. I don't know the figures off the top of my head, but I have a reasonably fast, mostly reliably cable connection.
2. It stands up, on a table near the TV.  Should be pretty well ventilated; not buried under a bunch of other stuff or anything.
3. Any time I'm not playing it, so, most of the day.
4. I try to keep the air conditioning around 72-74 degrees (F), but on especially hot days it can sometimes approach 80 if the air conditioner can't keep up.

[wulffman04]

hmm... i would say it's fine to leave it in wc24 during the day but maybe shut it, completely, off during the night, but don't unplug it

I wouldn't worry about it, if it goes kaput again you can send it back in

[Chozo Ghost]

Why not just leave WiiConnect24 permanently disabled? Can't you manually get it to update itself when the need arises?

[Plugabugz]

It doesn't auto-update to begin with. All Wiiconnect24 does at the moment is check your message board for new messages and fire up the blue light if there is any.

[Chozo Ghost]

Quote
Originally posted by: Plugabugz
It doesn't auto-update to begin with. All Wiiconnect24 does at the moment is check your message board for new messages and fire up the blue light if there is any.

Okay. I shut my WC24 off last night because the Wii was pretty hot for just not being used. I don't want to destroy the whole system just so I can have my messages light up.

Now that it is off it has been a lot cooler, so err, yeah... I'd recommend everyone just turn it off for the sake of their system.

[shammack]

It also checks for Miis and firmware updates (even though it doesn't automatically download them), and things sent between games (like the friend vouchers in Metroid).  I'd rather not turn it off if I don't have to because the whole point is that it's supposed to be left on all the time.  I know it hasn't been used for much yet, but hopefully it will in the future.

[Chozo Ghost]

I know what you mean. Hopefully Nintendo finds a way to fix the overheating problem with a firmware update. But until then I think I'll just leave mine off just to be on the safe side.

[shammack]

In case anyone's interested, I finally got my Wii back today (from the time I shipped it to the time I got it back, it was 18 days).  Or, to be more accurate, I got a new Wii today.  They sent me a replacement one with a "post Wii repair instructions" sheet with the following boxes checked:

"After thoroughly testing your Nintendo component(s), we could not duplicate the problem you were experiencing.  Your Wii and your Wii Remote(s) may need to be synchronized if both were not sent in."
"While we were unable to duplicate the problem, we have replaced the component(s) that we feel may fix the problem you described.  All system data was retained, so no additional steps are necessary."
"Due to the nature of the problem you described, we have replaced your system.  Your user information, which includes game save data, system settings, etc., has been loaded into this system.  Depending on the system features you used, you may also need to do the following.
+ Your system has a new Wii number.  If you had people listed in your Address Book in the Wii Message Board, they will need to be given this new number.
+ If you had acquired any games or applications through the Wii Shop Channel, these can be re-downloaded to your Wii, at no additional cost.
+ Any Miis you created are available on your repaired/replaced unit.  However, these Miis can no longer be edited."

Sooo... that kind of blows.  I guess I'm not surprised they couldn't duplicate the problem, since it only happened in certain circumstances, but if I'd known they were just going to replace the whole thing and I'd have to deal with a new system number and uneditable Miis, I don't know if I would have sent it in in the first place.

In conclusion, I guess my message to anyone else who encounters a similar problem is, just be advised: if the problem isn't easy to replicate, they'll probably just replace the whole system and it'll be a big pain in the ass.

[BranDonk Kong]

At least you got to keep your game saves...right? I'm surprised they can't dump and copy your flash memory to a new unit.

[shammack]

Yeah, all my game saves and other saved data like message board messages, Internet Channel favorites, and Everybody Votes Channel history was still there, but I had to re-download those channels and all my VC games.  And all my Miis are still there, but I can't edit them because it thinks they were made by somebody else.  Now that I've downloaded all my channels again, everything but the Miis is pretty much back to normal, except I'll probably never manage to get all my friends to register my new system number.

[franky005]

Just thought I'd chime in quick.  I'm actually on my 3rd Wii.  My first malfunctioned right away because of a disruption during the firmware upgrade.  My 2nd had the exact same problem after a little while.  After letting them know how upset I was, I was able to get them to send me an advance replacement Wii, and then I called in and they transferred my stuff from the phone.  It took a matter of about 3-4 days to get my knew Wii.  I was extremely happy with that, but I do not have WiiConnect 24 on now for fear of the same problem.