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WiiU

Wii U Firmware Update v2.1.3 Now Available

by Curtis Bonds - March 4, 2013, 6:24 pm EST
Total comments: 23 Source: Nintendo

System stability updates and nothing more.

An update to the firmware of the Wii U is now available to download. 

Going into the System Settings menu and selecting System Update will start the five-minute download and installation process. According to Nintendo, the update is only for "improvements to overall system stability."

The scheduled spring system update, mentioned in the January 23 Nintendo Direct conference, is still due to arrive sometime in April, and will include new features and faster load times for system-level applications.

Talkback

Quick, someone try to quit Runner 2.

EnnerMarch 04, 2013

Heh, indeed Shaymin. That's what I'm thinking the update is for.


I'm a bit concerned on the amount of Wii U hard locks I've been hearing since the system launched. Granted, I've had my freezes and such with the Gamecube and the Wii; system instability comes with the territory of increasing software complexity. It's just... not something I'm used to hearing from a Nintendo system.

RoboConkerMarch 05, 2013

Quote from: Shaymin

Quick, someone try to quit Runner 2.

YES! It works now!!!!  ;D

Kytim89March 05, 2013

The initial out of the box firmware update has me a little hesitant to buy a Wii U. Wasn't it hard locking systems and people had to send them into Nintendo?

OblivionMarch 05, 2013

Quote from: Kytim89

The initial out of the box firmware update has me a little hesitant to buy a Wii U. Wasn't it hard locking systems and people had to send them into Nintendo?

T_T


It's because those idiots were turning off their systems mid-update. Which, by the way, is true for any gaming console. Thats why every modern video game has a warning where if you turn off the system while it is accessing the hard drive, it can corrupt your data.


In layman's terms, don't be a fucking nimrod, and you should be fine.

BlackNMild2k1March 05, 2013

^^That's a lie. But I don't think the initial firmware was the cause either.

I've had exactly 1 (or was it two...) hard locks and never again since then. I didn't reset anything in the middle of anything, but my freeze(s) I believe happened within the 1st week.

broodwarsMarch 05, 2013

I've had numerous hard locks dealing with downloading Wii VC/WiiWare software off the Wii Mode Wii Shop, as well as hard locks coming out of Bit.Trip Runner 2.  That's on top of the massive loading times to get ANYWHERE on the Wii U. Back when the Wii U first released, quite a few podcasts would mention firmware install times so long they actually thought their console had crashed, which led to the Power Offs that led to the hard drive corruption Oblivion mentioned.  The console's OS is just spectacularly poorly written, so that big Wii U firmware update Iwata promised back in January can't come soon enough.

OblivionMarch 05, 2013

Runner 2 causing hardlocks is not Nintendo's fault, that's all on Gaijin Games.

broodwarsMarch 05, 2013

Quote from: Oblivion

Runner 2 causing hardlocks is not Nintendo's fault, that's all on Gaijin Games.

Perhaps. However, Gaijin Games has said that they could not replicate the issue on their dev kits, but that it only occurred on Retail Wii Us and they weren't even sure their code was responsible for the crashes.  Given how spectacularly shitty we've already seen the Wii U's OS code is, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if this was a firmware problem and not an issue w/ Runner 2's code.

CalibanMarch 05, 2013

Quote from: RoboConker

Quote from: Shaymin

Quick, someone try to quit Runner 2.

YES! It works now!!!!  ;D

Indeed it does.

Thanks Nintendo.

broodwarsMarch 05, 2013

Quote from: Caliban

Quote from: RoboConker

Quote from: Shaymin

Quick, someone try to quit Runner 2.

YES! It works now!!!!  ;D

Indeed it does.

Thanks Nintendo.

Which would prove that the Bit.Trip Runner 2 crashing issue was, indeed, Nintendo's fault via firmware issues.  :P:  Well, at least it's fixed now so I can enjoy Bit.Trip Runner 2 again without having to yank my power cord after every session.

OblivionMarch 05, 2013

They said that the Runner 2 fix would come through a patch on their end.


http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=40831.0


Along with other things. This could've been a coincidence.

alegoicoeMarch 05, 2013

a great day indeed; another step towards having a bug free system!!! :cool;

FoetoidMarch 05, 2013

Quote from: broodwars

I've had numerous hard locks dealing with downloading Wii VC/WiiWare software off the Wii Mode Wii Shop, as well as hard locks coming out of Bit.Trip Runner 2.  That's on top of the massive loading times to get ANYWHERE on the Wii U. Back when the Wii U first released, quite a few podcasts would mention firmware install times so long they actually thought their console had crashed, which led to the Power Offs that led to the hard drive corruption Oblivion mentioned.  The console's OS is just spectacularly poorly written, so that big Wii U firmware update Iwata promised back in January can't come soon enough.

I've never had any problems except before i manually configured my Wii U to connect to my router. Initial install was 1 hour, fully downloaded and installed, which is pretty long for a 1gb update but how people are so impatient they turned it off baffles me. The OS was quite slow, and had quite a few freezings getting in an out of games. Once it took 2 and a half minutes from the time i clicked on the NSMBU icon, to the game actually loading. Once i connected it manually to my router, it sped up about 10x. The difference was night and day. I think the auto-detection of networks was a bit stuffed, and because of the Miiverse and everything else, the console is constantly doing things online, which would slow everything down. As soon as it was manually configured as per the instructions on the Nintendo website, absolutely perfect. And since then updates have made the already fast OS even faster, so it makes me wonder how its going to be improved.

And you've had problem with VC/WiiWare games on the Wii Channel? I only last week finally got around to redownloading all of my purchases (about 25 total) and testing them all individually, with no problems, freezes or crashes at all.

AdrockMarch 05, 2013

I had a couple hard locks on launch day and then maybe another couple spread out here and there since so about five total. I didn't think it was a problem though zero hard locks obviously would have been preferable. I'll download the update tonight. I haven't been playing the Wii U much. Then again, I got three PS3 games this year and I've barely played that. If you're on my PS3 friend list, you probably only see me watching Netflix.

CericMarch 05, 2013

Quote from: Adrock

...If you're on my PS3 friend list, you probably only see me watching Netflix.

lol, same and occasionally Ni No Kuni.

BlkPaladinMarch 05, 2013

After the December patch I haven't had problems with hard locking. The update had me a little hopefully, but when to the support site. The next big patch that will have the VC is next month. Sigh, have to hold onto the money burning a hole in my pocket a little longer.

pokepal148Spencer Johnson, Contributing WriterMarch 05, 2013

Quote from: Oblivion

Quote from: Kytim89

The initial out of the box firmware update has me a little hesitant to buy a Wii U. Wasn't it hard locking systems and people had to send them into Nintendo?

T_T


It's because those idiots were turning off their systems mid-update. Which, by the way, is true for any gaming console. Thats why every modern video game has a warning where if you turn off the system while it is accessing the hard drive, it can corrupt your data.


In layman's terms, don't be a fucking nimrod, and you should be fine.

it's true for freaking everything
make sure your phones plugged in when you update... tbh i question if nintendo should have catered to stupidity like that

Most phones have a way to recover even if something does happen such that the firmware gets corrupted. Nintendo doesn't. Hardware should always reserve a spot with non-writable memory and a recovery mechanism.

LouieturkeyMarch 06, 2013

Quote from: MegaByte

Most phones have a way to recover even if something does happen such that the firmware gets corrupted. Nintendo doesn't. Hardware should always reserve a spot with non-writable memory and a recovery mechanism.

This I agree with so much.

CericMarch 07, 2013

Quote from: Louieturkey

Quote from: MegaByte

Most phones have a way to recover even if something does happen such that the firmware gets corrupted. Nintendo doesn't. Hardware should always reserve a spot with non-writable memory and a recovery mechanism.

This I agree with so much.

Seconded.

pokepal148Spencer Johnson, Contributing WriterMarch 07, 2013

phones have a lot more that can go wrong(data speeds/limits battery, etc)
the Wii u only has to worry about a constant power source and an internet connection
i agree there should be something but i don't think that Nintendo should have to accommodate for stupid. a nice warning explaining these things and maybe even measuring the stability of your current wireless connection is all we should need

CericMarch 07, 2013

Its not so much accomadating stupid its more that its a close device with no way for a consumer to rebuild from raw metal.

If any computer goes down you curse your like, replace the part, and reinstall the OS, etc.  Any console go down well your SOL in doing anything on your own unless they put in a way to reset to factory.

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