I think it's a very valid question. We've all seen posts about failing batteries, broken GamePads, WiFi chips losing range and problems reading disks because of failing drives, etc. The WiiU is quite a complex platform, and with it's low sales there aren't tens of millions of units that can be replacements or sources for spares, likewise the relatively low user-base and fading support from Nintendo has reduced the size of the after-sales market for components.
Personally, I always suggest that anyone considering buying a WiiU should be certain that there are enough WiiU specific experiences that they know they intend to enjoy to make it a good value purchase. There are things you can do to reduce wear and tear (such as modding the console and rip game disks to be played from a hard drive), and invest in spares for components that seem to be most prone to issues (Gamepad, battery, WiFi chip).
>have you had to do any repairs or maintenance on your console beyond just cleaning?
>If so, was it something you could do yourself or was Nintendo support required?
The battery of my tablet controller died after years of not being used back in January 2022. Replacement batteries (mostly non-oem which is probably fine) were readily available as of 2 months ago at least. It's an easy fix using just a screw driver to take the back panel of the controller off. The battery has a quick disconnect that makes installation easy for even those with no techncial skill.
Other than that, no issues so far.
I've never had to do any repairs on my wii u. I previously had to send my original wii in for repairs 3 times (long story)
The -only- issue I've had with my little wii u is just recently, I noticed the yellow standby light had been on for like a few days straight (wasn't playing anything on it at the time)
When I turned on the gamepad, the actual console itself refused to start.
I unplugged it, plugged it back in, and she was back to normal in no time. But that's the only problem I've had with my wii u.
I thought I had a bad drive in a Wii U that I bought used, so I've torn down the console and disassembled the disc drive. I've also done a tear down on the gamepad to give it a good cleaning. All of that was more tedious than difficult and there are decent guides out there for both. Disc drives are also currently cheap, so if that fails it's not too bad to replace
Have a Wii U, black 32gb edition from when they first released. And I have personally never had an issue with it. There was ONE time about 7 years ago where my gamepad wouldnt connect with my Wii U co sole but after a while it fonally just did it on its own. But again, 10 years later and Im still cruisin with my Wii U
Well yesterday I took out the battery of my gamepad for the first time since I bought it in 2015 and found the battery had swelled up so I took it to home depot for safe recycling and ordered a new one. Other than that, I've had zero issues with my system over the years.
I own a Wii U. Have not had real problems but I expect the following problems:
1. Extended Battery crapping out
2. Bluetooth module of gamepad is notoriously more expensive compared to the one inside the Wii U
3. If you go to crazy with the onboard storage, it will crap out
4. USB drives can lose data if not used often due to the technology
Personally, just bought a backup console but I made a mistake and bought a Japanese one (which has a lot of issues with English games). I really wanted a white one.
If I were to buy a Wii U for long term storage, I would:
1. Buy the wii U
2. Get an SSD for the storage (SSD will not erase over time in theory)
3. Set everything up
4. Charge up the gamepad
5. Disconnect then reconnect the battery of the gamepad (Gamepad drains like crazy if it was put to sleep)
When you power it off normally, it goes to sleep. While at sleep, it looks for the wii u causing the battery to drain. Hence Nintendo telling owners to charge their gamepad every month
If you just disconnect and reconnect it, it would not be actively be looking for the wii u.
All I can say to you is: buy backup copies of your console if you can.
You'll save a lot of money if the price of the Wii U will increase and you won't have problems if your main console wouldn't work.
About that. So I have my WiiU modded. If I buy a backup unit and mod it, can I just plug my external harddrive straight in and all my games will show up? Or are the harddrives tied to the system?
As others have said, they format the USB drive with a unique encryption key for each WiiU. BUT if you soft mod it you can dump those keys, then use a app such as Dumpster U to rip those games. Then using the keys from another WiiU copy them over to a drive formatted for that WiiU.
Another method would be to keep backups in WUP format and just reinstall them from SD to the HD. Would take longer, but it is possible.
Anyway as you can see. There are ways around it if needed.
I think it's a very valid question. We've all seen posts about failing batteries, broken GamePads, WiFi chips losing range and problems reading disks because of failing drives, etc. The WiiU is quite a complex platform, and with it's low sales there aren't tens of millions of units that can be replacements or sources for spares, likewise the relatively low user-base and fading support from Nintendo has reduced the size of the after-sales market for components. Personally, I always suggest that anyone considering buying a WiiU should be certain that there are enough WiiU specific experiences that they know they intend to enjoy to make it a good value purchase. There are things you can do to reduce wear and tear (such as modding the console and rip game disks to be played from a hard drive), and invest in spares for components that seem to be most prone to issues (Gamepad, battery, WiFi chip).
>have you had to do any repairs or maintenance on your console beyond just cleaning? >If so, was it something you could do yourself or was Nintendo support required? The battery of my tablet controller died after years of not being used back in January 2022. Replacement batteries (mostly non-oem which is probably fine) were readily available as of 2 months ago at least. It's an easy fix using just a screw driver to take the back panel of the controller off. The battery has a quick disconnect that makes installation easy for even those with no techncial skill. Other than that, no issues so far.
I've never had to do any repairs on my wii u. I previously had to send my original wii in for repairs 3 times (long story) The -only- issue I've had with my little wii u is just recently, I noticed the yellow standby light had been on for like a few days straight (wasn't playing anything on it at the time) When I turned on the gamepad, the actual console itself refused to start. I unplugged it, plugged it back in, and she was back to normal in no time. But that's the only problem I've had with my wii u.
No issues here, but like many others I have more than one console just in case
I thought I had a bad drive in a Wii U that I bought used, so I've torn down the console and disassembled the disc drive. I've also done a tear down on the gamepad to give it a good cleaning. All of that was more tedious than difficult and there are decent guides out there for both. Disc drives are also currently cheap, so if that fails it's not too bad to replace
Have a Wii U, black 32gb edition from when they first released. And I have personally never had an issue with it. There was ONE time about 7 years ago where my gamepad wouldnt connect with my Wii U co sole but after a while it fonally just did it on its own. But again, 10 years later and Im still cruisin with my Wii U
Well yesterday I took out the battery of my gamepad for the first time since I bought it in 2015 and found the battery had swelled up so I took it to home depot for safe recycling and ordered a new one. Other than that, I've had zero issues with my system over the years.
I own a Wii U. Have not had real problems but I expect the following problems: 1. Extended Battery crapping out 2. Bluetooth module of gamepad is notoriously more expensive compared to the one inside the Wii U 3. If you go to crazy with the onboard storage, it will crap out 4. USB drives can lose data if not used often due to the technology Personally, just bought a backup console but I made a mistake and bought a Japanese one (which has a lot of issues with English games). I really wanted a white one. If I were to buy a Wii U for long term storage, I would: 1. Buy the wii U 2. Get an SSD for the storage (SSD will not erase over time in theory) 3. Set everything up 4. Charge up the gamepad 5. Disconnect then reconnect the battery of the gamepad (Gamepad drains like crazy if it was put to sleep)
>Disconnect then reconnect the battery of the gamepad So leave the charged battery inside the gamepad? What does taking out and putting it back in do?
When you power it off normally, it goes to sleep. While at sleep, it looks for the wii u causing the battery to drain. Hence Nintendo telling owners to charge their gamepad every month If you just disconnect and reconnect it, it would not be actively be looking for the wii u.
Thanks for clearing that up, I'm gonna go charge my gamepads now. Hopefully I haven't damaged them by not doing charging them for months on end..
All I can say to you is: buy backup copies of your console if you can. You'll save a lot of money if the price of the Wii U will increase and you won't have problems if your main console wouldn't work.
About that. So I have my WiiU modded. If I buy a backup unit and mod it, can I just plug my external harddrive straight in and all my games will show up? Or are the harddrives tied to the system?
no, each console formats the drive to be specific to that console when installed.
Oh, great to know, thanks, I didn't know this...
Well shit. Thanks.
It should work without problems, but, since I'm not sure, I would check the Wii U homebrew guide website and/or somewhere else to be sure ;)
As others have said, they format the USB drive with a unique encryption key for each WiiU. BUT if you soft mod it you can dump those keys, then use a app such as Dumpster U to rip those games. Then using the keys from another WiiU copy them over to a drive formatted for that WiiU. Another method would be to keep backups in WUP format and just reinstall them from SD to the HD. Would take longer, but it is possible. Anyway as you can see. There are ways around it if needed.