Hardware Wii U 1080P Static Lines & Dots on TV !!!

[satel]

hi,
my Wii U started displaying some strange static lines & tiny black dots on the tv screen,i tried a different hdmi cable & different hdmi port but the issue is still comes back,i have now changed the resolution to 1080i & it seems to have fixed the issue . any idea what is happening here ? is the Wii U GPU on it's way out or something ?

 

[Danker301090]

Maybe the GPU but could also be either your hdmi port cable.

 

[satel]

Maybe the GPU but could also be either your hdmi port cable.

if it's the hdmi port don't you think the static lines & dots will remain even when changing the screen resolution ?? if it's the GPU then going for lower resolution means less stress on it hence why the issue has gone !!

is there anything i can do fix the gpu ?

 

[Deleted User]

if it's the hdmi port don't you think the static lines & dots will remain even when changing the screen resolution ?? if it's the GPU then going for lower resolution means less stress on it hence why the issue has gone !!

is there anything i can do fix the gpu ?

No. Except replacing it. and that`s a thing which"normal guys" can´t do since you lack the necessary equipment.

Also notice: The GPU of WiIU cannot be ordered seperately. WiiU has 2 GPUs.

So when does it happen? in WiiU-mode?

or when you run Wii-games or are in vWii-menu?


If it happens in any WiiU-menu/games it means your main-GPU is damaged.

If it happens in Wii-mode only or when you play Wii-games/run the vWii-menu, then it´s just the Wii-GPU which is damaged.

 

[satel]

No. Except replacing it. and that`s a thing which"normal guys" can´t do since you lack the necessary equipment.

Also notice: The GPU of WiIU cannot be ordered seperately. WiiU has 2 GPUs.

So when does it happen? in WiiU-mode?

or when you run Wii-games or are in vWii-menu?


If it happens in any WiiU-menu/games it means your main-GPU is damaged.

If it happens in Wii-mode only or when you play Wii-games/run the vWii-menu, then it´s just the Wii-GPU which is damaged.

in Wii U mode. i will just keep it on 1080i

 

[Deleted User]

in Wii U mode. i will just keep it on 1080i

Can you post a picture of it? Or desribe how these lines look like exactly?

Or how these dots look like?

Do you notice a chess-pattern of the pixels on-screen?

If you´re lucky and it´s a chess-typical-pattern that means it´s just the RAM of the WiiU. SInce WiiU uses DDR 3 Ram after all.

And if that gets faulty (which may happen after all), then you might as well get a poor display-quality on-screen since that´s also WiiUs VRAM guys.

So yeah.

In THIS case a REPAIr is definitely possible!

You would have to just replace some standard- DRAM-chips on the WiiU´s motherboards (there are 4 RAM-chips á 512 Mbytes = 2 Gbytes combined) in order to fix this issue then.
Or even just one (but of course you better first find out WHICH one is the dead/dying one, you can do that by using cold-spray!)
THAT IS a very possible repair.

However not that easy and i rather recommend some professional doing it for you. Not even i could do it currently since i have a very shaky hand (which isn´t good when you want to solder a chip as you know).


So yeah. I´m pretty convinced:


your GPU might not be dead. But the GPU`s Ram is dying. Typical signs are the things you describe for DEAD VRAM on PC-VRAM as well.

So all you need is a GOOD solder-iron, replacement chips (you can even use them from dead/old WiiUs you get for like 20$ on Ebay! But you may as well order a few new ones from Aliexpress etc), a ton of FLUX (very important)...and well: You better not have shaky-sweaty hands (my hands tend to sweat very fast and a TON whenever i have to solder something so i´m not your guy which can do it).


So now that you have your diagnose: Get some guy which can do it (or ask some shop-owner from some electronics-market if they can repair it for you!). Just tell em "You gotta replace a faulty DRAM-chip" (which means you need a hot-air-station). They know what´s to do then. Of course you gotta hand them the necessary replacement-parts. Or you will pay a bonus on-top because they would have to order them on their own.


Whatever you do next: Good luck!

 

[satel]

Can you post a picture of it? Or desribe how these lines look like exactly?

thanks for the advice,i will see how it goes on 1080i as the resolution is good enough but if it doesn't last i will try to find someone who can repair it or maybe get another one if Haxchi is still a thing

 

[Deleted User]

thanks for the advice,i will see how it goes on 1080i as the resolution is good enough but if it doesn't last i will try to find someone who can repair it or maybe get another one if Haxchi is still a thing

I would say this is a typical sign of the begin of VRAM`s death.

And yes: These problems tend to get MUCH MUCH WORSE over time. So it won`t be staying like this. Looking so harmless like here where you at least can still see 95% of the screen´s content.

Faulty/dying DRAMS typically have simple errors at the start and when they are finally done, they produce only "chess-board"-looking like graphics.

That means you won´t be able to even do anything with your device any longer. Many Graphics-cards die because of faulty/dying Vram, not only because of the GPU itself.


Well. There is another thing you could try.

And that is the bake-oven-method. You ever heard about that? But chances aren´t big i assume. And you might kill your WiiU by using that. So i would not risk it.

Since normally that method is used for faulty GPUs and only for graphics-cards and motherboards.

Nobody knows what would happen if you put a WiiU-motherboard into an oven.

If i were you, i better would start looking for a) a replacement-WiiU (your best method, remember you can transfer ALL DATA on your new WiiU, but only if your old model still works good enough (this is good enough as it´s just some random-GPU-output errors). Cost about 100$ for a replacement WiiU-console-unit.
b) or for the necessary Samsung DDR 3-Ram-chips. And a good repair-guy which can do the soldering. First you gotta solder out your faulty chips from your console and then you gotta solder in new ones or at least WORKING ones (you may as well buy a defective WiiU where the Ram is still working and use those, costs 20$).

But replacement Ram-chips of WiiU are pricy. And a repair-guy takes 50$/hour!

So yeah. it´s your decision. The question is: HOW MANY $$$$ do you have?

And how much time do you have, in which you could live with a non-working WiiU?

Repairs can take some time dude. I heard some Ebay-guys sold working WiiU-replacement console-units only for something like 50$. So yeah. Like i said: Hard decision. It´s up to you what you gotta do now.

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Wait. Please make sure (before trying to repair your WiiU) that it´s not a faulty cable. Take another cable, plug that into WiiU and your TV and watch what happens. if the error is gone then it´s just a faulty cable. HDMI-cables can be easily damaged after all. I heard lots of horror-storys about faulty and or suddenly no more working HDMI-cables as well.

 

[satel]

@TheChosen it wasn't the GPU or vRam i think it was the HDMI port as once i changed from HDMI to Component all the dots & lines disappeared !

by the way i did try 3 different HDMI cables & it did nothing so now i know it's the port itself.

 

[Deleted User]

So it´s a dead hdmi-port?

Did you handle too many hdmi-connections in the console´s lifetime? I never had an hdmi-port die on my devices.

 

[Deleted User]

It's possible that the lower resolution makes the lines impossible to see

 

[satel]

So it´s a dead hdmi-port?

Did you handle too many hdmi-connections in the console´s lifetime? I never had an hdmi-port die on my devices.

not really ,i have used the same hdmi cable to connect a PS4 about 6 times. this is the 1st time i have had hdmi port die on me. lucky though the Wii U has Component port which handles 720p just fine

 

[hemi426]

not really ,i have used the same hdmi cable to connect a PS4 about 6 times. this is the 1st time i have had hdmi port die on me. lucky though the Wii U has Component port which handles 720p just fine

Could just be a filter coil or a output diode going bad