Hacking Buying a pre-owned Wii U and I know nothing...

[ThaKarra]

Hi all,

So when it comes to Nintendo consoles I basically am as "noobish" as they come. I'm thinking about buying a pre-owned Wii U for a friend but I have some questions before I go through with it.

I guess the biggest question I have is, are all Wii U consoles "hackable"? I know there are a whole HEAP of guides out there but before I start to sift through them and find recent ones that are relevant, I thought I would just straight up ask. Obviously since I'm buying it pre-owned from a store, I wont be able to tell which firmware the console is on, hence my question of "are all consoles are hackable?". --

I guess my second question is, if they are hackable, then is the process pretty straight forward? Is it complicating? I remember back in the day I hacked my original Wii and I had to take a whole bunch of steps. From memory the process had a heap of steps and it was always risky of getting it bricked. I'm telling you this because I do know a little about console hacking, for example my PS3 is currently running CFW and I thought that was a simple process at the time.

I'm not really after anything too complex like homebrew etc.. I just want to be able to load it with games so when I pass the console on as a gift they have something to play. I'm not really even interested in being able to play the games online, however if its possible (without getting banned) then I guess thats a bonus.

Cheers!

 

[AkikoKumagara]

You have to be on 5.5.0, 5.5.1, or 5.5.2. 5.5.2 also happens to be the latest firmware version. Any Wii U updated to at least one of those versions can be exploited.

Edit: To answer your second question, just use https://wiiu.hacks.guide/get-started
It's simple enough and pretty straightforward. The only cost is purchasing a DS Virtual Console game from the list if you want the coldboot exploit. Otherwise, you have to run a browser exploit every boot.

 

[ThaKarra]

You have to be on 5.5.0, 5.5.1, or 5.5.2. 5.5.2 also happens to be the latest firmware version. Any Wii U updated to at least one of those versions can be exploited.

So basically I just need to update the Wii U to the latest 5.5.2 firmware and then I can hack it?

What do you recommend? The browser exploit seems like a soft mod, which I guess could be a better thing because you're not messing with the firmware. Are there any pros/cons, side from needing to do it every boot?

 

[Hayato213]

So basically I just need to update the Wii U to the latest 5.5.2 firmware and then I can hack it?

What do you recommend? The browser exploit seems like a soft mod, which I guess could be a better thing because you're not messing with the firmware. Are there any pros/cons, side from needing to do it every boot?

If you follow the guide without making mistake, cold boot is much worth it, only con with haxchi is that you need to load it everytime it boot as oppose to CBHC.

 

[AkikoKumagara]

So basically I just need to update the Wii U to the latest 5.5.2 firmware and then I can hack it?

What do you recommend? The browser exploit seems like a soft mod, which I guess could be a better thing because you're not messing with the firmware. Are there any pros/cons, side from needing to do it every boot?

I went with the DS VC method as to not have to be inconvenienced on every boot. If it's worth the price of Brain Age to you for that convenience, go for it. Updating to the latest firmware will make any Wii U capable of being exploited, correct.
The pros/cons are just whether or not you need to manually enable the exploit after boot or not. Nothing else.

 

[ThaKarra]

If you follow the guide without making mistake, cold boot is much worth it, only con with haxchi is that you need to load it everytime it boot as oppose to CBHC.

I went with the DS VC method as to not have to be inconvenienced on every boot. If it's worth the price of Brain Age to you for that convenience, go for it. Updating to the latest firmware will make any Wii U capable of being exploited, correct.
The pros/cons are just whether or not you need to manually enable the exploit after boot or not. Nothing else.

Thanks for the help guys!

What about playing online? Not that I care.. But I guess I should ask.. Is it safe or will I instantly be hit with a console ban?

 

[Hayato213]

Thanks for the help guys!

What about playing online? Not that I care.. But I guess I should ask.. Is it safe or will I instantly be hit with a console ban?

You should be fine using the two DNS in the guide, Nintendo no longer supports the Wii U anyway, haven't really heard of anyone getting banned in the last few months.

 

[TheMrIron2]

It's an incredibly useful system once hacked. Plays every Nintendo home console game from NES to Wii U (and a lot of Switch games with that said), and every handheld Nintendo game up to 2010/11. (DS). If that's not a great collection I don't know what is

I recommend Coldboot Haxchi because as some others said, if you follow the guide, you can't go wrong.

 

[ThaKarra]

It's an incredibly useful system once hacked. Plays every Nintendo home console game from NES to Wii U (and a lot of Switch games with that said), and every handheld Nintendo game up to 2010/11. (DS). If that's not a great collection I don't know what is

I recommend Coldboot Haxchi because as some others said, if you follow the guide, you can't go wrong.

Thanks for the input! I really appreciate it.

That is quite a large collection haha. What do you mean "and a lot of Switch games"? Obviously you mean the ones that were released on both Wii U and Switch right? Like BotW for example...

 

[ry755]

The only problem with the browser exploit is that it's pretty unreliable, and it can take a few tries for it to work.

I think Haxchi (the normal one, not coldboot) is the best since it's quick, and doesn't have the (small) chance to brick your system like Coldboot Haxchi does.

 

[TheMrIron2]

Thanks for the input! I really appreciate it.

That is quite a large collection haha. What do you mean "and a lot of Switch games"? Obviously you mean the ones that were released on both Wii U and Switch right? Like BotW for example...

Yeah, I'm referring to the fact that a lot of the games Nintendo are releasing on Switch are in fact just Wii U games with a tweak or two. Sorry if that caused any confusion!

 

[ThaKarra]

The only problem with the browser exploit is that it's pretty unreliable, and it can take a few tries for it to work.

I think Haxchi (the normal one, not coldboot) is the best since it's quick, and doesn't have the (small) chance to brick your system like Coldboot Haxchi does.

So you're saying that your preference is the browser exploit because there is no small chance of bricking your system?

 

[FierceDeityLinkMask]

You won't get banned online with the wii u at all. I used mods in the online mode of smash and used Mii fighters (even though it doesn't work for too long) no ban ever. I didn't even think you could get banned on the Wii U, guess I was wrong. Also, CBHC is what I use. It was really easy to use if you follow the tutorials. One time setup, never had to worry about anything either. No messing with the online method anymore.

 

[ThaKarra]

Yeah, I'm referring to the fact that a lot of the games Nintendo are releasing on Switch are in fact just Wii U games with a tweak or two. Sorry if that caused any confusion!

No no, I'm following Thank you for your input!

 

[Hayato213]

So you're saying that your preference is the browser exploit because there is no small chance of bricking your system?

Haxchi or CBHC it doesn't matter too much when it come to brick, if it brick it brick, you still needs to solder some wires and a SD adapter on to the system that would allow you to write NAND onto the system. Remember to do the full NAND backup.

 

[ry755]

So you're saying that your preference is the browser exploit because there is no small chance of bricking your system?

There's 2 types of Haxchi: normal Haxchi, and Coldboot Haxchi.
What I meant to say is that I prefer the normal Haxchi, since Coldboot Haxchi can brick your system if the VC game ever gets deleted or the user account that purchased it gets deleted.

 

[ThaKarra]

There's 2 types of Haxchi: normal Haxchi, and Coldboot Haxchi.
What I meant to say is that I prefer the normal Haxchi, since Coldboot Haxchi can brick your system if the VC game ever gets deleted or the user account that purchased it gets deleted.

Am I correct in assuming...

Normal Haxchi: Uses the browser exploit to hack the system
Haxchi Coldboot: Uses a VC game exploit to hack the system

 

[ry755]

Am I correct in assuming...

Normal Haxchi: Uses the browser exploit to hack the system
Hacxhi Coldboot: Uses a VC game exploit to hack the system

No, they both use a VC game, but Coldboot Haxchi runs that game immediately on startup, before the home menu loads.
So if something ever happens to the game, Coldboot Haxchi will be trying to run something that got deleted, and you'll end up with a brick.

Edit: sorry if I'm being confusing, I'm not very good at explaining stuff

 

[ThaKarra]

No, they both use a VC game, but Coldboot Haxchi runs that game immediately on startup, before the home menu loads.
So if something ever happens to the game, Coldboot Haxchi will be trying to run something that got deleted, and you'll end up with a brick.

Okay and what does "normal" do?

 

[godreborn]

haxchi and coldboot haxchi are a bit like henkaku and enso respectively, if you've ever hacked a vita that is.