Topic: Wii U console freezing up

[thedefalcos]

On launch day I was playing AC 3 and the console froze. As in, literally had to unplug the power cord and plug it back in to get it to reboot.  Several people on Miiverse noticed the same thing happening to them playing different games. And I did all the required updates.


Anyone else have this happened? Have you tried contacting Nintendo and what kind of response have they given?

[BlkPaladin]

It more than likely an OS snafu. It will be ironed out. I had problems with corrupted data, final figured out my HD was dying, so I have to buy a new one. I have freezing problems with my game even in the friends list. So it sounds like it a common problem.

[leahsdad]

That's how my Wii U bricked.  I had already applied that huge update, bought, downloaded, and installed Mario, played Nintendo Land for a few hours, played a level of Mario, went back to the eshop to download ZombiU and Trine 2, then went to the download manager to watch the progress of those downloads. 

Hard lock on the Download Manager loading screen.   Unplugged the power.  Waited.  Plugged it back in.  Brick.  Red light of death.

[Shorty McNostril]

I must say I'm quite pleased I didn't pre order. Hopefully they will have things ironed out for the overseas launch.

[thedefalcos]

That's how my Wii U bricked.  I had already applied that huge update, bought, downloaded, and installed Mario, played Nintendo Land for a few hours, played a level of Mario, went back to the eshop to download ZombiU and Trine 2, then went to the download manager to watch the progress of those downloads. 

Hard lock on the Download Manager loading screen.   Unplugged the power.  Waited.  Plugged it back in.  Brick.  Red light of death.

Damn. I'm sorry that happened to you. Of course the warranty covers it, but it still sucks. I really really hope they fix this SOON. I don't want this happening to me or anyone else. Just know that your situation will help force Nintendo to address it so it doesn't happen again.

[Drizzt]

Same thing happened to me on AC3. After the opening cutscene I took a step away from where the game wanted me to go and the Wii U froze. I played it later that day and haven't had any problems since.

[leahsdad]

That's how my Wii U bricked.  I had already applied that huge update, bought, downloaded, and installed Mario, played Nintendo Land for a few hours, played a level of Mario, went back to the eshop to download ZombiU and Trine 2, then went to the download manager to watch the progress of those downloads. 

Hard lock on the Download Manager loading screen.   Unplugged the power.  Waited.  Plugged it back in.  Brick.  Red light of death.

Damn. I'm sorry that happened to you. Of course the warranty covers it, but it still sucks. I really really hope they fix this SOON. I don't want this happening to me or anyone else. Just know that your situation will help force Nintendo to address it so it doesn't happen again.

Oh, no worries.   Nintendo is taking care of it, they were very gracious and apologetic, and my customer service experience was probably the best I've ever had, definitely far better than my experiences dealing with Microsoft, HP, Cisco, my internet provider, Amazon, etc..   I never got transferred or "escalated," was never on hold for more than a 2 minutes, I was obviously speaking with someone who was in my country (US), most likely up in Redmond WA.  Just when you call the NOA help line, you can speak to an actual human being in less than 2 minutes, with just 3 button presses.   It's pretty amazing.

And hey, I got to try Nintendo Land, which is mind-blowing IMHO, and I wasn't as much hung up on not being able to play on launch day as much as having the console to play during the winter break from school, when I don't have to wake up at 5AM every morning to get breakfast ready and pack my kid's lunch.   

And while I know that my experience has been mirrored by many other people, it seems that the vast majority of people who bought on launch day have had smooth experiences.   

[Caterkiller]

Well I got a couple freezes today. One during Mario and the other while online in COD. Hopefully this isn't a regular occurrence.

[Luigi Dude]

This is why I didn't buy the system at launch.  I don't care how good Nintendo's record has been, the launch consoles are always the most likely to have problems.

It's always best to wait a few months so all the problems at launch can be fixed by then.

[MegaByte]

The Wii had the same problem at launch. They (mostly) fixed it after several firmware updates.

For me, it locked up in MiiVerse a couple times.

[Adrock]

The only issue I've encountered was that Miiverse froze up a few times. I'm okay with it because my experience with Wii U so far has been great. The console itself has its cons, but they're far, far outweighed by the pros.

Personally, I don't think holding off on buying hardware for the sole purpose of waiting for X or Y to be fixed is worth it. With software updates these days, if you keep waiting for something to be patched, you're going to wait forever. Think about how many times an operating system (any of them) gets updated and patched. It's just an ongoing cycle. If it isn't a launch issue, it'll be something else. On top of that, some things can't and/or won't be fixed (i.e. The PSP was always a pain in the groin to update). I have my doubts that the Wii Transfer will ever be not annoying, even if Nintendo makes it less annoying somehow. For the most part, the major snafus seem to be mostly isolated incidences or people being ridiculous (unplugging the console during a firmware update? Come on...).

[Kwolf]

I have gotten one lock up so far.  It was when trying to launch my friends list the first time.   So far that's been it, but I haven't exactly spent a lot of hours on the console yet.  Mostly about 2 hours in Nintendo Land.

[DarthKoopa]

I had only one system freeze. I was switching around between menus and it locked up on me.

[Ceric]

The closes thing I've gotten to a lock is the first day Miiverse wouldn't load.  I just went and did something else in the console.

[stevey]

Damn it, Nintendo Land just complete froze on me and I needed to do a hard reset to get out of it.

The WiiU should have been delayed if this is happening left and right...

[NWR_insanolord]

For what it's worth, it hasn't happened to me even once.

[Caterkiller]

If a patch fixes it then its all good. When we get mass RRODs then we should worry.

I had 2 freezes but so far I am loving the heck out of this machine. It's too bad so many are discounting it. This thing is awesome! To the max!!!

[BranDonk Kong]

I would love to find out if mine freezes or not...been updating for 40 minutes...about half way done.

[ShyGuy]

I haven't had a single lockup.

[Myxtika1 Azn]

I had it freeze on me twice. First was when I tried to access the system menu. Second was when I powered off my external hdd. I figured it wasn't being used, so I just turned it off. The system said that it was disconnected and told me to power off the system. I couldn't do anything, however, because it locked up on me. I ended up having to do a hard reset.

[UncleBob]

This is why I didn't buy the system at launch.  I don't care how good Nintendo's record has been, the launch consoles are always the most likely to have problems.

It's always best to wait a few months so all the problems at launch can be fixed by then.

So... because there's a risk of not being able to play your system for a few minutes while it reboots or a few days while you wait for a replacement, it's best to not be able to play the system for a few months while you wait to buy it?

[marty]

This is why I didn't buy the system at launch.  I don't care how good Nintendo's record has been, the launch consoles are always the most likely to have problems.

It's always best to wait a few months so all the problems at launch can be fixed by then.

So... because there's a risk of not being able to play your system for a few minutes while it reboots or a few days while you wait for a replacement, it's best to not be able to play the system for a few months while you wait to buy it?

Or it's worth your time and money to not buy things that are likely to be broken in 1 day, regardless of how easily replaced they are.

[UncleBob]

"likely"?

[nickmitch]

I'm still unsure of hour a few hours of down time is worth months of not playing.

The risk of the system actually breaking is pretty low.

[Eyothrie]

Looks like we may be getting a patch soon
http://www.nowgamer.com/news/1688913/wii_u_freezing_update_coming_next_week.html

I admittedly know nothing about that site, so take it with a grain of salt

[marty]

"likely"?

seeing how common freezes are on day 1, i'd hardly call that unlikely.  what's so hard for you to understand? everything?

[TJ Spyke]

They do not appear to be common, it is just that those who get them are more likely to say something than those who don't. It's like people in customer service will almost never hear from anybody who is not having a problem.

[UncleBob]

"likely"?

seeing how common freezes are on day 1, i'd hardly call that unlikely.  what's so hard for you to understand? everything?

Can you provide me with a percentage of the total number of times people played their Wii on Day 1 vs. the total number of times people experienced a freezing of their console on Day 1?

I know I booted my console several times (after sooo... many... downloads....) and didn't get a single crash on Day 1.  So, right now we have Zero crashes out of, what, five boots?

We're at zero percent.

There, I gave you one freebie.  Now you do the leg work, go ask every other person who bought one Day 1 and come back with some actual stats to back up your claim if you want to throw it out as fact and insult people who question your claims.

[BranDonk Kong]

No freezes here either, booted several times.

[BlackNMild2k1]

They do not appear to be common, it is just that those who get them are more likely to say something than those who don't. It's like people in customer service will almost never hear from anybody who is not having a problem.

It's called the "Vocal Minority"

and I'm glad a fix is coming, because I had to do another hard reset yesterday.

[marty]

"likely"?

seeing how common freezes are on day 1, i'd hardly call that unlikely.  what's so hard for you to understand? everything?

Can you provide me with a percentage of the total number of times people played their Wii on Day 1 vs. the total number of times people experienced a freezing of their console on Day 1?

I know I booted my console several times (after sooo... many... downloads....) and didn't get a single crash on Day 1.  So, right now we have Zero crashes out of, what, five boots?

We're at zero percent.

There, I gave you one freebie.  Now you do the leg work, go ask every other person who bought one Day 1 and come back with some actual stats to back up your claim if you want to throw it out as fact and insult people who question your claims.

Oh you're so RIGHT, the WII U is far more likely to fail once the manufacturing process and firmware are improved.  YOU ARE SO SMART, DUDE.  such a genius to have figured that out.  go write a paper on it.  Also, in your apparent brilliance, you have discovered that the Wii U will appreciate in worth and that buying one now is a sound investment, because there's no way a piece of consumer electronics will rapidly decline in price.

[DarthKoopa]

Just had my second crash. Was playing NSMBU a Miiverse message popped up after I died. The console was frozen

[BranDonk Kong]

Wow marty, you're really shitting on this thread. This is the kind of crap we try to avoid here.

[Retro Deckades]

Well, day one is behind me, and I am happy to report that I didn't have a single problem. Fortunately, I was aware of the long system update and was prepared to keep myself entertained during the download process.


Historically, I've been very fortunate with the Wii in the past -- the only freezes I experienced while playing the system were during online matches of Goldeneye and Call of Duty.

[marty]

Wow marty, you're really shitting on this thread. This is the kind of crap we try to avoid here.

you got me all wrong, mistah.  I'm being nice to unkybobo even though he seems to have a problem with... well, a lot of things... almost. all. the. time. 


pray for poor unkybobo, he needs it.

[Fatty The Hutt]

You just keep going, marty, you're coming off swell. Evereyone likes you.
 
Anyway, I have had two freezes: once when on the home button menu and once while my kid was playing Nintendoland. I wasn't there for that one but the report was that it just froze. Both times required unplugging.
 
I am otherise happy to report that the system works great. I have no oncern with these little freeze glotches. They will be ironed out soon.
 
leahsdad's story is the most concerning and hopefully isolated. I haven't heard any others like that one so far.

[UncleBob]

Oh you're so RIGHT, the WII U is far more likely to fail once the manufacturing process and firmware are improved.  YOU ARE SO SMART, DUDE.  such a genius to have figured that out.  go write a paper on it.  Also, in your apparent brilliance, you have discovered that the Wii U will appreciate in worth and that buying one now is a sound investment, because there's no way a piece of consumer electronics will rapidly decline in price.

Oh, d-d-d-dear... where do I even begin with this troubled child?

A.) You're shifting goal posts.  Your original statement was that the Wii U was "likely to be broken Day 1".  Now, you're saying it's "more likely..."  The first statement implies that there is a high probability of the system not working at all, period.  The second statement implies that there is some quantifiable amount by which a "Day 1" system is going to have a higher probability of failing than later systems.  Those statements are in no way equivalent.

B.) At no point did I claim that the monetary worth of the system will increase.  The statement I made was simply questioning the idea of choosing not to play one for an extended period of time because one didn't want to risk not being able to play it in the short term.  If that's the decision one makes, then one is welcome to it.

[Caterkiller]

Still only 2 freezes in from that one day. Ever since everything has been fine.

Hey Marty, I'd like to hear your thoughts on another topic. Check it.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=35018.0

[marty]

@fatty, I contribute to the forum regularly and sometimes the lack of civility here effects how courteous I am in my writing.  I'm not here to make enemies and I generally like reading a lot of people's posts.  There's some stupidity and ugliness here, most of which I don't really engage in, but sometimes, i just react to it in an off the cuff manner that some people might take offense to.  Sorry if my response to the ugliness directed at me gets ugly and makes your time here less enjoyable.

@cat, I don't know if you're being curious or passive aggressive.  Just kidding.  I hope being curious works out for you.


@ubob, I hope you feel good about yourself for being an asshole to me for calling you out on being an asshole to luigi dude.

[UncleBob]

A.) Wasn't an asshole to Luigi dude - just don't understand the idea of waiting months *just* because of the remote chance of hardware failure.  If you want to wait for a price drop, wait to see if there are more games or just wait because you have a backlog and aren't in a hurry, that's all good.  But waiting months so you don't have to wait through a few reboots?

B.) Yes, I do feel good about responding to you in a less hostile manner than you've been using in your posts to me.  Quite good.  Thank you for your concern regarding my feelings.

[Adrock]

We had a really nice discussion going on here. This is why we can't have nice things.

No issues since Monday and I played Wii U pretty extensively yesterday (Sweet baby Jebus, Mighty Switch Force gets difficult...). I just downloaded the Youtube App. That could use some work. It doesn't use the GamePad effectively. I'm sure that will be patched eventually.

[Fatty The Hutt]

@fatty, I contribute to the forum regularly and sometimes the lack of civility here effects how courteous I am in my writing.  I'm not here to make enemies and I generally like reading a lot of people's posts.  There's some stupidity and ugliness here, most of which I don't really engage in, but sometimes, i just react to it in an off the cuff manner that some people might take offense to.  Sorry if my response to the ugliness directed at me gets ugly and makes your time here less enjoyable.

Huh. Well that shut me up pretty good. Well done!
Let's all play Wii U! Which, by the way, is awesome (when not frozen    )

[marty]

Wasn't an asshole to Luigi dude - just don't understand the idea of waiting months *just* because of the remote chance of hardware failure.  If you want to wait for a price drop, wait to see if there are more games or just wait because you have a backlog and aren't in a hurry, that's all good.  But waiting months so you don't have to wait through a few reboots?

Dude said he didn't want to get a launch system until all the kinks are worked out.  No harm in that, that I can see.  If you think that that's his *only* reason, which was never stated, perhaps go about gathering more information in a respectful manner, next time.  Calling the guy out like he's an idiot didn't sit right with me, for sure.

[ShyGuy]

Marty, you're a joker!

[Eyothrie]

The Wii U hard lock air raid horn!

http://youtu.be/z2UhaepkdFI

[alegoicoe]

Mine just froze the first day, when i went to post in miiverse for the first time through NSMBU, after that it has not done it again.

[ShyGuy]

I heard almost all these lockups occur either in Miiverse or Nintendoland.

[Oblivion]

I've yet to have mine freeze up.

[Caterkiller]

people on miiverse are reporting how to avoid miiverse and nintendo land freezes. set language to english only. not sure where that is in nintendo land but people are jumping on it. Might as well before the patch.

replying from the wii u! will use caps next time.

[DrStiles]

My Wii U crashes every time I play Nintendo Land; the game is essentially unplayable for me.

[Rhoq]

Experienced my first Wii U system freeze last night. I was watching Hulu Plus. About a half hour in, commercial break and then the dreaded "black screen/vuvuzela of death". Power button was useless, I had to disconnect the Wii U from the power supply.

[Rhoq]

people on miiverse are reporting how to avoid miiverse and nintendo land freezes. set language to english only. not sure where that is in nintendo land but people are jumping on it. Might as well before the patch.

It's in the NintendoLand game setting menu. I actually stumbled onto it last night. I wasn't even aware that this option was a potential fix, but I had set it to English-only anyways.

[DrStiles]

I called Nintendo about the problem and they are replacing my Nintendo Land disk. This is weird, right? The problem is almost certainly not the Nintendo Land disk?

[leahsdad]

I called Nintendo about the problem and they are replacing my Nintendo Land disk. This is weird, right? The problem is almost certainly not the Nintendo Land disk?

Eh....I would take what NOA customer service has said with a grain of salt.   I've had to call NOA about 4 different times since the Wii U launch (because my Wii U bricked), and I sort of get the feeling that they've staffed up with some new, less-knowledgable, and newly trained employees recently.   

On launch day the guy I talked to was fine, but all of their computers crashed and I had to call back the next day.   

Call #2 was fine, except the kid apparently clicked the wrong button on his screen and physically mailed me a mailing label, instead of sending it electronically via email. 

Call #3 was when I found out what the kid from Call #2 did wrong, but this other kid told me that he couldn't undo the first kid's mistake.   

Call #4, with a woman who seemed far more knowledgable, told me the kid from Call #3 was wrong and she could totally undo the mistake that the kid from Call #2 made.  Which she did, and all was good.

[Eyothrie]

It's Miiverse integration (horrible net code) in Nintendo Land that is causing the issue.   Setting the game and system to English only will reduce your chances of getting the hard lock (less Miis), but disabling the internet from the console altogether will completely fix the issue.  Of course, you lose all online functionality if you choose the latter.   Hoping for a patch soon.

[Soren]

I've had only 2 freeze ups so far, but they've both been at the start screen of Fifa 13 when the game checks for an internet connection.

[DarthKoopa]

I had another freeze yeterday. I had to back out of a BLOPS 2 zombie game to take a call. So far all of my crashes have come from backing out of onlne games or switching around aps really fast.
 
I had to disconnedt the power

[DigitalGreenTea]

I didn't have any freezings at all so far, but I did investigate why this is happening. It's definitely not a hardware issue, the Wii U provides good performance with low heat. As I was searching, I found someone saying it might be a Miiverse integration problem - as the system is always connected to Miiverse (& Nintendo Network). How does this happen? It could be because of the internet speed, but I've seen more people say it's an interference between the Wii U and the router of the user.

Another thing, one of my buddies also had a lot of freezings, but he assigned static ip addresses for the Wii U and ever since then he hasn't been experiences any freezings anymore.