Topic: WiiConnect 24: What's going on?

[jnorason]

After playing Brawl on my Wii, I turn it off but leave the disc in. Hours later, even when it is "off", the blue glows and flashes and the disc is warm. It's WiiConnect 24, I know, but my family's getting paranoid. How do I explain what's going on in a good way and assure them that the Wii is not hacking the local network?

[BeautifulShy]

Call up Nintendo about it and then put it on speakerphone and have them listen to the response.

[Nick DiMola]

You could probably just turn it off. I'm not really sure if it's worth all the excess energy it uses. I got paranoid about my Wii being hot all the time so I turned it off.

[Stratos]

It's just like how Windows gives itself updates over time (and you really should have Windows set to auto update if yo don't). It will receive updates from Nintendo for games and also receive messages from other people. Like an email client.

It's not hacking the network, because that is illegal and not only would Nintendo be facing legal battles over it, but all of the homebrew/Wii hack communities across the internets would have let us all know it was doing that by now. Nintendo is a company that wants to retain it's customer base. They are not some shady group who wants to mine your data to sell. They are a big company whose stock is currently worth $280 a share.

[jnorason]

It's not hacking the network, because that is illegal and not only would Nintendo be facing legal battles over it, but all of the homebrew/Wii hack communities across the internets would have let us all know it was doing that by now. Nintendo is a company that wants to retain it's customer base. They are not some shady group who wants to mine your data to sell. They are a big company whose stock is currently worth $280 a share.

I know that, but I need to convince my family that's NOT happening. I doubt though that they seriously think its hacking it.

[Smash_Brother]

I'd say just go into the menu and turn the standby connection off.

Seriously, there's no good reason to use WiiConnect24. Even Animal Crossing, the game that could arguably make better use of the service than any other game, didn't use it to anywhere near what its intended potential was.

So yeah, just shut it off. Burns less power like that anyway.

[Stratos]

It's not hacking the network, because that is illegal and not only would Nintendo be facing legal battles over it, but all of the homebrew/Wii hack communities across the internets would have let us all know it was doing that by now. Nintendo is a company that wants to retain it's customer base. They are not some shady group who wants to mine your data to sell. They are a big company whose stock is currently worth $280 a share.

I know that, but I need to convince my family that's NOT happening. I doubt though that they seriously think its hacking it.

Just tell them what I said. This is a very reputable company that has been around for well over a century. It's not a mystery box, either. People not affiliated with Nintendo at all have torn the thing apart and understand how it works and ticks. It cannot hack your network. A PC in your network just left on stands a better chance of eventually hacking it because those can get hijacked by hackers.

Wiis are not like the Model 5 robots in the I Robot movie. Wiis cannot be changed like that. They are not like PCs with Windows. Your parents can always check the router and see what the Wii is doing online, I'm sure.

[that Baby guy]

I swear I've turned my WiiConnect24 off, and now it's back on.  No kidding.

[Stratos]

You might have unwittingly turned it back on. Aren't there multiple opportunities to turn it on if a game prompts you? Or is accepting Mario Kart Tourney not related to WC24?

[Plugabugz]

I don't see the point. It does none of the things that they said it would. Plus it doesn't auto-update, it merely auto-refreshes.

[Mop it up]

I would turn it off but for some reason my system doesn't receive messages - even official Nintendo ones - if it is turned off.

[that Baby guy]

You might have unwittingly turned it back on. Aren't there multiple opportunities to turn it on if a game prompts you? Or is accepting Mario Kart Tourney not related to WC24?

I definitely unwittingly turned it back on, because for a while it was off.  I think Animal Crossing has something to do with it, but I'm not certain.

[Pale]

I swear I've turned my WiiConnect24 off, and now it's back on.  No kidding.

I believe, though I'm not sure, that games have the power to turn your system setting for WiiConnect24 on if you tell the game you want to use WiiConnect24 features.

[that Baby guy]

Can't we just imagine the Wii is alive or something?  You're spoiling everyone's fun, Pale.

Welcome back.

[BwrJim!]

also lets not forget that with update 3.2 i believe that by accepting it, you are giving Nintendo the right to add updates whenever they feel like it.  It had become an automated feature.  To help block such things, you could always do a parental control on the internet settings, that way you would need to enter it in before anything can be done to your system.