Both the YouTube and Crunchyroll apps for the WiiU are scheduled to end support by March of 2023.
However, their availability might end much sooner, since according to an update note on Google's site, the YouTube app will no longer be available on WiiU devices by October of 2022 (most likely referring to availability on the WiiU's eShop), advising users to instead use the YouTube app for Nintendo Switch.

At the same time, Crunchyroll rolled out several emails with the announcement that their app will no longer be available starting on August 29th, 2022.
It's been 10 years since the release of the WiiU back in 2012, and more services are ending support for it as time goes on.

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[huma_dawii]

Maybe someone can mod the app to make it actually work better?

 

[Deleted member 546149]

It's worth pointing out tho that browsing YouTube through the WiiU browser is still a possibility, more so by playing around with the different browser agents through its settings.

You'd probably have to use LiteTube instead though because basic YouTube doesn't work with the Wii U browser (well it does but not well) Also considering that the Wii U browser is based on the 2017 pre-quantum engine
https://yt.dorper.me/
This is LiteTube btw

 

[SuperDan]

Aye this be true Netflix & Hulu stopped working a while back... But still Black Ops 2 still works online & Mario Kart.. I never could get Splatoon to work online & I always wanted to try it..... Still tho the WIIU still get played in our house... Mostly for wii 1 games...

 

[SuperDan]

It's worth pointing out tho that browsing YouTube through the WiiU browser is still a possibility, more so by playing around with the different browser agents through its settings.

Do any like dodgy movie sites work.... I tried a few ages ago with no luck...

 

[ShadowOne333]

Do any like dodgy movie sites work.... I tried a few ages ago with no luck...

Some sites you can still have access to by using some kind of proxy, for example, I use www.proxysite.com to bypass some of the pages that give out the 1035 error.
With this I can still browse some of them, not completely, but that certainly helps.

Also, I don't know what people refer to when they say YouTube is unwatchable through the browser, I'm still using the browser with the Android agent and mobile version and works wonderfully for me, logged in and all to my YT account to watch everything from my subscription feed, to recommended, shorts, searches and all.

 

[SuperDan]

Some sites you can still have access to by using some kind of proxy, for example, I use www.proxysite.com to bypass some of the pages that give out the 1035 error.
With this I can still browse some of them, not completely, but that certainly helps.

Also, I don't know what people refer to when they say YouTube is unwatchable through the browser, I'm still using the browser with the Android agent and mobile version and works wonderfully for me, logged in and all to my YT account to watch everything from my subscription feed, to recommended, shorts, searches and all.

I used to use the WIIU YouTube app but it was very slow. ( maybe my internet I live in deep Louisiana net speeds suck) but I didn't ever use the browser for YouTube.. Or really anything else. It just seemed so restricted... At the time... I always wanted movie player app or a way to watch movies like Netflix which worked well for me even with my bad internet... It's still a shame there isn't Netflix on Switch.. It has Hulu which isn't bad... But still a few apps like Tubi or Pluto TV... Would suit me

 

[targz]

You'd probably have to use LiteTube instead though because basic YouTube doesn't work with the Wii U browser (well it does but not well) Also considering that the Wii U browser is based on the 2017 pre-quantum engine

As the owner of LiteTube I can confirm LiteTube is great. How well does it work on the Wii U?

 

[Bladexdsl]

amazed it lasted this long

 

[Marc_LFD]

I have a PS3 and PS4 with the YouTube app, but more recently I just use my Android phone to watch YouTube (via YouTube Vanced so no ads).

If YouTube Vanced was on consoles it'd be awesome.

 

[Digital_Cheese]

Have you even tried to load YouTube through the Wii U browser lately? Let me just sum it up for you - lots of lag, with some pages not loading at all. It's really a hit and miss.

Use the mobile site. Much better than that. You'll finally be able to watch weird videos like the one below on WiiU easily again.

 

[KeeperCP1]

Wait, you can change the user agent on Wii U's browser? How do you do that?

 

[ShadowOne333]

Wait, you can change the user agent on Wii U's browser? How do you do that?

When you open a new tab, or on a clean page, you can see an option that says "Settings".
The one in the upper right in this image:

Spoiler

Then, scroll down until you see an option called "Set User Agent".
Selecting that option will give you a list of agents you can choose from.
The default one is set to "Wii U", but the one I recommend is the "Android" user agent.
That one and perhaps the Chrome or Firefox agents can give decent results on some sites, but not all, I usually stick to the Android one for everything, if a page doesn't open with the Android agent, it most likely won't work with any of the others.

For YouTube, setting the agent to Android and then entering on the URL the link "m.youtube.com" should redirect you to the mobile version of YouTube, which works incredibly well with the WiiU's browser at the moment. You can even login and see your feed without issues.

Additionally, if you open any external YouTube links that have been embed in forums or so, they usually redirect you to the "www.youtube.com" link.
Simply edit the "www" portion with "m" and remove the part near the end of the link that forces it to desktop, and that should open it just fine as well.

Hope this helps!

 

[HarveyHouston]

When you open a new tab, or on a clean page, you can see an option that says "Settings".
The one in the upper right in this image:

Spoiler

Then, scroll down until you see an option called "Set User Agent".
Selecting that option will give you a list of agents you can choose from.
The default one is set to "Wii U", but the one I recommend is the "Android" user agent.
That one and perhaps the Chrome or Firefox agents can give decent results on some sites, but not all, I usually stick to the Android one for everything, if a page doesn't open with the Android agent, it most likely won't work with any of the others.

For YouTube, setting the agent to Android and then entering on the URL the link "m.youtube.com" should redirect you to the mobile version of YouTube, which works incredibly well with the WiiU's browser at the moment. You can even login and see your feed without issues.

Additionally, if you open any external YouTube links that have been embed in forums or so, they usually redirect you to the "www.youtube.com" link.
Simply edit the "www" portion with "m" and remove the part near the end of the link that forces it to desktop, and that should open it just fine as well.

Hope this helps!

IIRC, it's powered by the Opera browser engine. If only it was Vivaldi...

 

[Metoroid0]

i never understood these youtube comments about 'ending support'... its just a streaming app that hosts videos that you can watch on a potato if it has a way to watch videos online.
i mean i know official youtube app artificially kills ability to play videos on some devices when you , obviously, still can (proof of that is alternative youtube players like vanced) but they just wont let you for some random or logical, but greedy reason.

So ending support always felt stupid for me. i mean why disabling the ability to watch youtube on 10 years old phone with yt app on it.
I have actually 10 yo phone but youtube just doesnt work on it, but vanced does work perfectly.
i mean not that i would want youtube add infested app but still, just stupid....

 

[Technicmaster0]

i never understood these youtube comments about 'ending support'... its just a streaming app that hosts videos that you can watch on a potato if it has a way to watch videos online.
i mean i know official youtube app artificially kills ability to play videos on some devices when you , obviously, still can (proof of that is alternative youtube players like vanced) but they just wont let you for some random or logical, but greedy reason.

So ending support always felt stupid for me. i mean why disabling the ability to watch youtube on 10 years old phone with yt app on it.
I have actually 10 yo phone but youtube just doesnt work on it, but vanced does work perfectly.
i mean not that i would want youtube add infested app but still, just stupid....

I think that it's about them not releasing updates if they change the server structure that they use or the codecs or similar things.

 

[sombrerosonic]

You'd probably have to use LiteTube instead though because basic YouTube doesn't work with the Wii U browser (well it does but not well) Also considering that the Wii U browser is based on the 2017 pre-quantum engine
https://yt.dorper.me/
This is LiteTube btw

The fact that Scratch games are on there is funni.

 

[Firexploit]

You can also open this link: http://m.youtube.com/?persist_app=1&app=m
on the Wii U to permanently use the mobile site. The Wii U browser from now on will always default to load the mobile site no matter which user agent you set.

 

[Deleted member 585853]

You'd probably have to use LiteTube instead though because basic YouTube doesn't work with the Wii U browser (well it does but not well) Also considering that the Wii U browser is based on the 2017 pre-quantum engine
https://yt.dorper.me/
This is LiteTube btw

I get error 112-1035 when trying to use that site

 

[Deleted member 546149]

I get error 112-1035 when trying to use that site

Have you tried the other domains?