Hardware Bypassing Gamepad region lock

[Gren22]

Hey guys,

I was just curious if there is any better info on bypassing region locks on the gamepad in 2020. I was able to find a plethora of threads about this from the past, but most of them just said "look at the information on this one site" (the anus trade one) which seems to be taken down now. From what I am able to tell, the only real way is to obtain the system config tool that Nintendo provides developers and then install it and use it to sync a gamepad instead of using the default syncing stuff.

I have managed to find a download of the system config tool via iAqua, but I have heard in a lot of threads that there is a large chance of bricking your WiiU with it. I am currently using Haxchii for homebrew on my WiiU, and to be honest I'm fairly unfamiliar with how stuff works in the WiiU scene (most of my homebrew familiarity is the Switch scene). If anyone has some pointers on what to look out for or what I need to do to prevent bricking my switch, that would be fantastic!

 

[Ryccardo]

I have heard in a lot of threads that there is a large chance of bricking your WiiU with it.

A chainsaw is safe to ordinarily operate, as long as it's decently built (ie you get the properly converted version by Punderino);
once that is sorted you can still use it in a stupid way, but then it's not the chainsaw's fault

 

[Madridi]

A chainsaw is safe to ordinarily operate, as long as it's decently built (ie you get the properly converted version by Punderino);
once that is sorted you can still use it in a stupid way, but then it's not the chainsaw's fault

Basically this. Assuming it's the correctly converted one, and you only use it for the task of pairing the gamepad, then you are fine. It's playing around with options that you don't know their side effects that might lead to bad stuff.

 

[Gren22]

A chainsaw is safe to ordinarily operate, as long as it's decently built (ie you get the properly converted version by Punderino);
once that is sorted you can still use it in a stupid way, but then it's not the chainsaw's fault

Thanks for the info. From my reading, most of the suggestions from 2 years ago suggested using either Mocha and/or RedNAND. I am very unfamiliar with WiiU CFW variants: will Haxchi work just as well?
Also, I was not able to find Punderino's direct version of it as their site seems to be down. Do you know if the one from iAqua is the same? (I found out about iAqua's download link for it via this thread: https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-how-to-install-sysconfigtool-on-mocha.464830/)

 

[Ryccardo]

Mocha and/or RedNAND. I am very unfamiliar with WiiU CFW variants: will Haxchi work just as well?

Short summary: the first WiiU CFWs were in fact precompiled custom firmwares, ie using the $ony scene's definition of CFW: some just had signature patches, others copied the internal storage to SD (inaccurately) and ran that copy, called rednand (so "rednand" isn't a cfw)
Then came homebrews that patched the kernel in memory, ie the Nintendo scene definition of CFW: the first and most-featured (that you won't need) one is Mocha (which does support rednand), but also the "sigpatch2*" homebrews, and the "minicfw" built into Haxchi (if using a button assigned to "sysmenu") and CBHC (if using the option "boot system menu")

All of those have signature patches (what you'll need to install and run unsigned titles)


I'm not 100% sure that's the right one, but tomorrow I could compare it with the known good copy I have!

 

[Madridi]

To simplify What @Ryccardo is saying, the only requirement to run it is sigpatch. Everything, including Haxchi and CBHC, has sigpatch. Just enable that, install the title, and run it.

I also can't confirm whether that's the right one or not atm. I'll let @Ryccardo do that.

 

[Gren22]

Short summary: the first WiiU CFWs were in fact precompiled custom firmwares, ie using the $ony scene's definition of CFW: some just had signature patches, others copied the internal storage to SD (inaccurately) and ran that copy, called rednand (so "rednand" isn't a cfw)
Then came homebrews that patched the kernel in memory, ie the Nintendo scene definition of CFW: the first and most-featured (that you won't need) one is Mocha (which does support rednand), but also the "sigpatch2*" homebrews, and the "minicfw" built into Haxchi (if using a button assigned to "sysmenu") and CBHC (if using the option "boot system menu")

All of those have signature patches (what you'll need to install and run unsigned titles)


I'm not 100% sure that's the right one, but tomorrow I could compare it with the known good copy I have!

Ah ok. I might have found the download link from a cached version of Punderino's site from 2019. This should be fine right?

Edit: I tried installing the version I found linked from Punderino's site and I get an error "Install failed. Verify WUP files are correct & complete. DLC/E-Shop require Sig Patch". Any ideas? (I've double checked I am properly enabling sig patches and tried verifying by installing something else which worked)

 

[Madridi]

Ah ok. I might have found the download link from a cached version of Punderino's site from 2019. This should be fine right?

Edit: I tried installing the version I found linked from Punderino's site and I get an error "Install failed. Verify WUP files are correct & complete. DLC/E-Shop require Sig Patch". Any ideas? (I've double checked I am properly enabling sig patches and tried verifying by installing something else which worked)

Post the hashes of the zip you found. I'll confirm when I wake up that it's the same one I have.

As for your error, installing something else doesnt mean that sigpatch is enabled. So tell us, how do you think you enabled sigpatch, so we can take it from there?

 

[Gren22]

Post the hashes of the zip you found. I'll confirm when I wake up that it's the same one I have.

As for your error, installing something else doesnt mean that sigpatch is enabled. So tell us, how do you think you enabled sigpatch, so we can take it from there?

For enabling sig patch, I just launched Haxchi. From what I am aware, Haxchi includes sig patches.

The zip I got from the cache of Punderino's site had a SHA1 of: e5f201e9ec482cf68c6e5a08aa740aa5ab1ea40f
The rar I got from iAqua's pastebin had a SHA1 of: 3bdddf4b35c8735fd277ccfcf7b4058f43ce2bcf

 

[Ryccardo]

Haxchi includes sig patches.

Includes: whether you run them (by running it while holding a button, or no button, configured to run "sysmenu" instead of some homebrew directly) is another thing

 

[Gren22]

Includes: whether you run them (by running it while holding a button, or no button, configured to run "sysmenu" instead of some homebrew directly) is another thing

When I run it I do not hold a button. It returns me to the system menu, at which point I can run other stuff that was installed to my system menu (i.e. homebrew channel, WUP GX2 installer, other games, etc)

 

[Madridi]

For enabling sig patch, I just launched Haxchi. From what I am aware, Haxchi includes sig patches.

The zip I got from the cache of Punderino's site had a SHA1 of: e5f201e9ec482cf68c6e5a08aa740aa5ab1ea40f
The rar I got from iAqua's pastebin had a SHA1 of: 3bdddf4b35c8735fd277ccfcf7b4058f43ce2bcf

Use the rar from iAqua's pastebin. That's the one I have, and that's the one working fine on my end

Haxchi has sigpatch but it's not just launching it (I assume by launching it, you mean launch HBL).
You have to launch haxchi to return to systemmenu first, and then use it to launch HBL (all using the buttons you defined in your haxchi config file) to launch the install manager afterwards

When I run it I do not hold a button. It returns me to the system menu, at which point I can run other stuff that was installed to my system menu (i.e. homebrew channel, WUP GX2 installer, other games, etc)

So you do that, and afterwards launch HBL and wup installed and it doesnt work?

 

[Gren22]

Use the rar from iAqua's pastebin. That's the one I have, and that's the one working fine on my end

Haxchi has sigpatch but it's not just launching it (I assume by launching it, you mean launch HBL).
You have to launch haxchi to return to systemmenu first, and then use it to launch HBL (all using the buttons you defined in your haxchi config file) to launch the install manager afterwards


So you do that, and afterwards launch HBL and wup installed and it doesnt work?

I'm not sure what was up with the version I found from the cached anus trade site. I installed the iAqua one and got my other gamepad paired! Thanks a ton for all the help

 

[SimonL91]

never heard of it