Author Topic: MY WII IS DEAD (Also, Nintendo customer service sucks.) (Read 31625 times)

SnoozerBear · « **Reply #50 on:** October 05, 2011, 01:34:24 PM »

Quote from: Mop it up on September 27, 2011, 06:05:30 PM

Well, looks like I've got yet another problem with my system, and I've got a question about it. There is some kind of static or other graphical defect that happens in most games, usually when special effects like wind and fog happen but it shows in other places as well. It's kind of difficult for me to explain, but it looks something like the problem in this video I found:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJNMO9PALZ8

It started small and so I just let it go, but it's been getting worse and becoming distracting. I have a feeling that eventually it is going to stop working. To make sure that it is the system and not the TV, I tried it on another TV and also using a different cable, and got the same result.

From what I can gather, this is a problem with the GPU. So my question is to people who have experienced this issue themselves and sent it in for repair: did you keep all of your data? If there's a risk the data will be deleted (or if doing so is a part of the repair process), then I'll probably just ride it out and see how much longer it lasts.

I'm pretty sure they'll transfer your channels/WiiWare games, along with your save data. I've had the exact same problem, and ended up buying a replacement Wii. The Wii gets too hot and fries its own GPU or whatever. Turning off whatever it is that recieves email etcetera while it's off seems to prevent it. Was it Standby Mode I'm thinking of...? Anyways, new Wii hasn't had a problem since. If you do send it into Nintendo, you'll want Standby Mode or whatever it is off. When my first Wii was on the fritz and the whole screen got like that video (far worse) I turned off Standby Mode and it slowly got better, until it was gone except for when bullets were shot or fog drifted in etcetera, generally in an FPS.

Mop it up · « **Reply #51 on:** October 05, 2011, 06:15:19 PM »

Quote from: SnoozerBear on October 05, 2011, 01:34:24 PM

The Wii gets too hot and fries its own GPU or whatever. Turning off whatever it is that recieves email etcetera while it's off seems to prevent it. Was it Standby Mode I'm thinking of...?

Yeah, it is called the Stand By mode. I've used it a few times but it's been over 18 months since the last time I had it enabled, so I'm not sure if it had an effect or not. Whether it did or not though, that still qualifies as normal use, and I'm disappointed to have my first Nintendo product that breaks through normal use.

From what I've found, the people who waited until their system stopped displaying any image didn't have their data recovered, so I'm not taking any chances.

Halbred · « **Reply #52 on:** October 05, 2011, 09:49:07 PM »

My own Wii has been dead for like six months. At first, it wouldn't even get past a black screen when I turned it on, but sometimes it would get to the "Press A to continue" screen, but THEN would go black. About 10% of the time, I could get to the menu. But games wouldn't work. At all. Pop that disk in, or even start a downloadable game, back to that good ol' black screen.

Since Zelda's a month away, I'm gonna have to send it in, but I'm not thrilled at the prospect of spending $80 to fix it.

Sundoulos · « **Reply #53 on:** October 05, 2011, 10:19:45 PM »

Yikes, that's steep. I had no idea the expense was that high.

My brother-in-law has occasionally experienced the graphic artifacts as shown on the video as well, and he makes sure that he turns the Wii completely off. Thus far, it hasn't gotten worse, to my knowledge. The heat generated by Wii Connect 24 has a negative affect on the solder joints in the GPU. I'm probably mistaken, but I think that this isn't as much of a problem with newer Wiis. I still have my launch Wii, so I make sure to turn mine off completely just in case.

UncleBob · « **Reply #54 on:** October 05, 2011, 10:28:38 PM »

Quote from: Halbred on October 05, 2011, 09:49:07 PM

Since Zelda's a month away, I'm gonna have to send it in, but I'm not thrilled at the prospect of spending $80 to fix it.

Seriously, at this point - buy a new one.

For ~$60 more, you get a *new* system, Wii Remote Plus, Nunchuk, an extra set of hookups (AV/Power/Sensor Bar) and a copy of Mario Kart Wii w/wheel (which, if you already have, should net you ~$30+ on eBay. Hell, I'll give you $20 shipped for the game and you can keep the wheel). Plus Club Nintendo coins.

BranDonk Kong · « **Reply #55 on:** October 06, 2011, 12:15:09 AM »

If you buy a new one, then you lose all of your content, and $80 is a pretty good price. You won't get any out-of-warranty repair from Sony or Microsoft for less than $100, and you'll be without your console for several weeks. With Nintendo, they typically actually repair your console, and you get it back in a few days.

UncleBob · « **Reply #56 on:** October 06, 2011, 12:21:09 AM »

Quote from: Brandogg on October 06, 2011, 12:15:09 AM

If you buy a new one, then you lose all of your content, and $80 is a pretty good price. You won't get any out-of-warranty repair from Sony or Microsoft for less than $100, and you'll be without your console for several weeks. With Nintendo, they typically actually repair your console, and you get it back in a few days.

Depending on the situation, you can arrange for the transfer.

I'm not saying it's a bad price - I'm just saying it's a better deal (IMHO) to just buy a new one. No worries of a refurbished unit, extra goodies and a game you can sell for $20-$30 (33-50% of the difference). Hell, just wait for Amazon, Walmart or Best Buy to do another one of the Gift Card deals and you'll probably be able to get it for virtually the same price.

ejamer · « **Reply #57 on:** October 06, 2011, 08:41:25 AM »

I'm in the same boat. Rung up a repair order for my Wii that is having corruption issues... but haven't had the heart to send it in when (after shipping and taxes) the total cost was $110.

There have been new Wii consoles that include a game on sale here recently for $120+tax... so the repair pricing is tough to swallow. If I didn't own 67 Virtual Console/WiiWare games plus some in-game DLC for a couple of titles then the decision would be automatic.

I'm thinking about contacting Nintendo Customer Service and trying to arrange a transfer instead. Between my digital downloads and owning 111 retail games, if I'm not a good enough customer for them to make that effort then I'll be pretty disappointed.

BlackNMild2k1 · « **Reply #58 on:** October 06, 2011, 11:07:06 AM »

If I were you guys, I would bring up my My Nintendo account and learn how to haggle.

Those Nintendo reps have the power to waive the cost if you convince them to.

UncleBob · « **Reply #59 on:** October 06, 2011, 09:19:27 PM »

For what it's worth, I didn't have that luck

Mop it up · « **Reply #60 on:** October 06, 2011, 09:32:51 PM »

If UncleBob can't convince Nintendo that he is a big fan, what chance do the rest of us have?

BlackNMild2k1 · « **Reply #61 on:** October 06, 2011, 11:21:32 PM »

Ummm... I don't know.
But maybe it's because I'm a salesman by profession that i was able to talk the talk?
or maybe I just got lucky with the right rep.

I've never talked to UB by voice so I don't know how he sounds, but there are a combination of things you need to be doing during a conversation to make sure it goes your way.

subliminal

Mop it up · « **Reply #62 on:** October 10, 2011, 08:29:47 PM »

Well, it wasn't easy, but I was able to talk the price down to $30. I've never been good at talking on the phone, it's just so awkward for me, so I'm glad I was able to get anywhere with it. Though the problem is that the rep didn't seem to fully understand the issue as I described it, and said that she's never heard of a problem like that. So, it will be interesting to see what happens when they receive the system; hopefully they will do some sort of diagnostic test that will show the graphical anomaly.

BlackNMild2k1 · « **Reply #63 on:** October 11, 2011, 08:49:46 PM »

$30 + Free shipping?

I'd say you should have started crying, but since you had a female rep, that might not have worked

Mop it up · « **Reply #64 on:** October 12, 2011, 05:14:37 PM »

The $30 includes shipping, yes. I got that after an hour on the phone and being put on hold twice, so I don't think I could have pushed it any further.

BlackNMild2k1 · « **Reply #65 on:** October 12, 2011, 08:22:44 PM »

Well, you tried and you got a pretty good discount.

Shipping round trip is probably ~$25 on it's own, so I think you did good.

ejamer · « **Reply #66 on:** October 13, 2011, 08:59:34 AM »

Maybe $30 isn't impressive to BnM (edit: as in, maybe he could do better)... but I think that's an awesome job talking them down. Hope that the price stays low and that you get a fixed system before long!

BlackNMild2k1 · « **Reply #67 on:** October 13, 2011, 01:13:30 PM »

Quote from: ejamer on October 13, 2011, 08:59:34 AM

Maybe $30 isn't impressive to BnM (edit: as in, maybe he could do better)... but I think that's an awesome job talking them down. Hope that the price stays low and that you get a fixed system before long!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=25054.msg643888#msg643888
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=31507.0

my previous experience with Nintendo Customer Service

ejamer · « **Reply #68 on:** October 13, 2011, 01:22:29 PM »

Quote from: BlackNMild2k1 on October 13, 2011, 01:13:30 PM

Quote from: ejamer on October 13, 2011, 08:59:34 AM
Maybe $30 isn't impressive to BnM (edit: as in, maybe he could do better)... but I think that's an awesome job talking them down. Hope that the price stays low and that you get a fixed system before long!
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=25054.msg643888#msg643888
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=31507.0

my previous experience with Nintendo Customer Service

I need to be stronger in these type of negotiations. I hate arguing for stuff and am usually more likely to either pay full price or just give up when talking with customer service (if I bother to call at all) than to fight for discounts like this.

BlackNMild2k1 · « **Reply #69 on:** October 13, 2011, 01:44:14 PM »

Wasn't a fight at all. Was actually a pleasant, but long, conversation that just happened to go my way... With 2 different reps too, 1 female and the other male.

FloY · « **Reply #70 on:** October 30, 2011, 01:14:51 AM »

Quote from: Mop it up on September 27, 2011, 06:05:30 PM

Well, looks like I've got yet another problem with my system, and I've got a question about it. There is some kind of static or other graphical defect that happens in most games, usually when special effects like wind and fog happen but it shows in other places as well. It's kind of difficult for me to explain, but it looks something like the problem in this video I found:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJNMO9PALZ8

It started small and so I just let it go, but it's been getting worse and becoming distracting. I have a feeling that eventually it is going to stop working. To make sure that it is the system and not the TV, I tried it on another TV and also using a different cable, and got the same result.

From what I can gather, this is a problem with the GPU. So my question is to people who have experienced this issue themselves and sent it in for repair: did you keep all of your data? If there's a risk the data will be deleted (or if doing so is a part of the repair process), then I'll probably just ride it out and see how much longer it lasts.

yea my wii got that.... i never sent it in because it wasnt too distracting but.... my wii stopped reading disc a few months ago so i had to send it in for 80 dollars... i drove to the nintendo center...there was one like 1 hour away...call nintendo to see if you can drive there..
anyway they fixed both problems the same day..only took an hour

i will tell you that it doesnt work as great as before.. the disc reading i mean.. sometimes my wii freezes and i have to turn it off manually.... it never did that before..

MegaByte · « **Reply #71 on:** October 30, 2011, 01:21:21 AM »

You should let them know that they didn't fully fix it... I'd imagine they'd do it again for free.

FloY · « **Reply #72 on:** October 30, 2011, 01:24:44 AM »

Quote from: MegaByte on October 30, 2011, 01:21:21 AM

You should let them know that they didn't fully fix it... I'd imagine they'd do it again for free.

you speaking to me?

yea well.. it freezes like once a month... it hasnt frozen for like 2 months.. so its not really like a problem..but whatever they did wasnt as good as buying a new wii...

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Author Topic: MY WII IS DEAD (Also, Nintendo customer service sucks.) (Read 31625 times)