Wii U Controller - 10,000mAh Internal Battery Mod

core2lee91 · Jan 17, 2022

So recently I decided I would have a go at modifying my Wii U game controller with a (comically) large battery. I have seen a few different ways of going about this, everything from just buying some dubious China version of the original "high-capacity" battery which Nintendo sold, all the way to 3D printing some 18650 battery holder to bolt onto the back of the controller.

For anyone interested in the exact battery I used, I can't share links yet, but search for this:
“Makerfocus 3.7V Lipo Battery 10000mAh Lithium Rechargeable Battery 9065115”

The main criteria for me doing this was to ensure that:

The controller looks completely unmodified from the outside
The battery indicator/LED/general functionality all work properly
Can still use the original charger dock/cable

First of all, this probably isn't a mod for the faint hearted as it involves cutting away quite a lot of the internal case to allow such a large battery to even fit, plus you're going to need to solder directly to the new battery leads which could mean fire if you aren't careful!

This adds around an extra 100g of weight, however the battery life goes from around 2 -3 hours to easily 18+ hours at medium brightness and low/medium volume.

Below is the end result

Below are a few photo's of the actual modifications to the case, I only had wire cutters and a sharp blade to hand... this would look much cleaner with a Dremel.

Every time I've seen someone else do this type of mod, they solder the "red and black" wires from the LiPO battery they bought direct to the red and black wires on the Wii U's original battery control PCB, this will explain why the battery indicator doesn't work properly and runs into other issues such as not being able to power up the system. The BCM PCB from your original Wii U battery should replace the one on whichever battery you use.

danny19901 · Jan 17, 2022

core2lee91 said:
So recently I decided I would have a go at modifying my Wii U game controller with a (comically) large battery. I have seen a few different ways of going about this, everything from just buying some dubious China version of the original "high-capacity" battery which Nintendo sold, all the way to 3D printing some 18650 battery holder to bolt onto the back of the controller.

For anyone interested in the exact battery I used, I can't share links yet, but search for this:
“Makerfocus 3.7V Lipo Battery 10000mAh Lithium Rechargeable Battery 9065115”

The main criteria for me doing this was to ensure that:

The controller looks completely unmodified from the outside

The battery indicator/LED/general functionality all work properly

Can still use the original charger dock/cable

First of all, this probably isn't a mod for the faint hearted as it involves cutting away quite a lot of the internal case to allow such a large battery to even fit, plus you're going to need to solder directly to the new battery leads which could mean fire if you aren't careful!

This adds around an extra 100g of weight, however the battery life goes from around 2 -3 hours to easily 18+ hours at medium brightness and low/medium volume.

Below is the end result
View attachment 294019 View attachment 294023

Below are a few photo's of the actual modifications to the case, I only had wire cutters and a sharp blade to hand... this would look much cleaner with a Dremel.

Every time I've seen someone else do this type of mod, they solder the "red and black" wires from the LiPO battery they bought direct to the red and black wires on the Wii U's original battery control PCB, this will explain why the battery indicator doesn't work properly and runs into other issues such as not being able to power up the system. The BCM PCB from your original Wii U battery should replace the one on whichever battery you use.

View attachment 294024 View attachment 294025 View attachment 294026 View attachment 294027

This is pretty cool do you have a link for the battery?

Sent from my M2011K2G using Tapatalk

core2lee91 · Jan 17, 2022

danny19901 said:
This is pretty cool do you have a link for the battery?

Sent from my M2011K2G using Tapatalk

Thanks, I can’t share links yet. Search for “Makerfocus 3.7V Lipo Battery 10000mAh Lithium Rechargeable Battery 9065115” and you’ll find it.

The main thing is making sure the battery is suitable for “low current applications” like a Raspberry Pi UPS and not one for drones/RC cars.etc

danny19901 · Jan 17, 2022

core2lee91 said:
Thanks, I can’t share links yet. Search for “Makerfocus 3.7V Lipo Battery 10000mAh Lithium Rechargeable Battery 9065115” and you’ll find it.

The main thing is making sure the battery is suitable for “low current applications” like a Raspberry Pi UPS and not one for drones/RC cars.etc

Think I found it thank you did you get from eBay as found a few different places also you will have to let me know how good it is usage wise

Sent from my M2011K2G using Tapatalk

core2lee91 · Jan 17, 2022

danny19901 said:
Think I found it thank you did you get from eBay as found a few different places also you will have to let me know how good it is usage wise

Sent from my M2011K2G using Tapatalk

Yeah its available internationally on both Amazon and eBay, I got this one from Amazon UK.

KleinesSinchen · Jan 17, 2022

Looking a bit overkill. The WUP-013 is enough for me (while the standard battery is a joke). Considering the official bigger battery being not available anymore this is a good idea for the future.
With the design flaw of the Gamepad in mind (always standby when not in use) even a huge battery will get drained relatively quick if not disconnected before having the console+Gamepad unused for some time.

Thanks for sharing this.

The Real Jdbye · Jan 17, 2022

KleinesSinchen said:
Looking a bit overkill. The WUP-013 is enough for me (while the standard battery is a joke). Considering the official bigger battery being not available anymore this is a good idea for the future.
With the design flaw of the Gamepad in mind (always standby when not in use) even a huge battery will get drained relatively quick if not disconnected before having the console+Gamepad unused for some time.

Thanks for sharing this.

It is a good option for those that missed out on the official extended battery. Of course you don't have to use a 10000 mAh battery, you can use something smaller, but this battery is only $15 and if you don't use the Wii U gamepad frequently, it's always dead when you want to use it because of the high power usage in standby, maybe this battery can solve that (instead of a few weeks, it will take a few months to discharge)

KleinesSinchen · Jan 17, 2022

The Real Jdbye said:
It is a good option for those that missed out on the official extended battery. Of course you don't have to use a 10000 mAh battery, you can use something smaller, but this battery is only $15 and if you don't use the Wii U gamepad frequently, it's always dead when you want to use it because of the high power usage in standby, maybe this battery can solve that (instead of a few weeks, it will take a few months to discharge)

Only $15? That shows how badly overpriced specialized batteries are.
Might consider this modification when I get my hands on another Wii U + Gamepad.

core2lee91 · Jan 17, 2022

KleinesSinchen said:
Looking a bit overkill. The WUP-013 is enough for me (while the standard battery is a joke). Considering the official bigger battery being not available anymore this is a good idea for the future.
With the design flaw of the Gamepad in mind (always standby when not in use) even a huge battery will get drained relatively quick if not disconnected before having the console+Gamepad unused for some time.

Thanks for sharing this.

Oh yeah this is massively overkill, if all you literally want is a better battery than the original then save yourself the hassle and just go buy one of the Chinese high-capacity ones from eBay/Amazon/iFixit.etc

The irony is I tend to just use Bloopair and my Switch Pro controller anyway most of the time, I just wanted to see if this was possible.

It will be a while before I know what battery life is like when the controller isn't powered on, but like others have said i'm pretty sure it will take months.

core2lee91 · Jan 17, 2022

KleinesSinchen said:
Only $15? That shows how badly overprices specialized batteries are.
Might consider this modification when I get my hands on another Wii U + Gamepad.

Yup.. I managed to get it delivered the same day, on a Saturday by Amazon for £18 ($24). It looks very high quality as well.

maximecool92 · Jan 17, 2022

i want buy this but not find in ebay

W00fer · Jan 17, 2022

It looks cool but I don't want to trim my shell unfortunately

core2lee91 · Jan 17, 2022

maximecool92 said:
i want buy this but not find in ebay

I don’t think this same battery is on the US eBay, only the UK site. This is the suppliers website and I think they ship globally:

https://www.makerfocus.com/products...h-micro-ph2-0-plug-for-raspberry-pi-ups-board

QuarkTheAwesome · Jan 17, 2022

Rad mod! I'm suprised the original battery controller plays nice with such a large pack. Can you show what connections you made between the battery pack and the control board, or is that all taped up now?

I seriously doubt that battery is 10000mAh for $15, but hey, it is still better so can't complain! This could be a good way to keep GamePads running even after the original batteries have all died, perhaps with some more sensibly-sized cells.

core2lee91 · Jan 19, 2022

QuarkTheAwesome said:
Rad mod! I'm suprised the original battery controller plays nice with such a large pack. Can you show what connections you made between the battery pack and the control board, or is that all taped up now?

I seriously doubt that battery is 10000mAh for $15, but hey, it is still better so can't complain! This could be a good way to keep GamePads running even after the original batteries have all died, perhaps with some more sensibly-sized cells.

Thanks! the 3rd photo shows the Wii U battery PCB soldered to the new battery pack with the one it came with removed, once this is attached the battery will pretty much plug and play into the gamepad. I really do think this is 10,000mAh as it weighs almost 150g on its own, and just feels very dense.

Sypherone · Jan 19, 2022

The bigger batterypack is a nice solution. To stop the WiiU Gamepad from draining of the battery in standby mode u can buildin a DIY Powerbutton or switch into the battery plate. Wich cuts the Power to the Gamepad. I got once a Batterypack that has a buildin Powerswitch included

KleinesSinchen · Jan 19, 2022

Desraptor said:
The bigger batterypack is a nice solution. To stop the WiiU Gamepad from draining of the battery in standby mode u can buildin a DIY Powerbutton or switch into the battery plate. Wich cuts the Power to the Gamepad. I got once a Batterypack that has a buildin Powerswitch included

That is not a powerswitch (if it is the same I have seen before). What I've seen before is a thing that pulls the plug out of the connector and pushes it back in. Doing this frequently could wear out the connector (wouldn't like this). Unbelievable why Nintendo didn't include a switch for turning the pad off (or simply have it really off instead of standby when pressing the power button – the DS systems do not drain their battery in months when shutting them down).

DinohScene · Jan 19, 2022

I actually might do this on the Wii U tablet I got.
Fuck that original battery life is pathetic.

How well does it hold up with charging?
Any residual battery percentage left? does the Wii U see the full 10k mAh?

HotSnack · Jan 19, 2022

Can you do a detailed guide about modding this for people who haven't touch the solder like me

I'm really interested in this kind of battery mod cuz i had to charge the gamepad twice a day although i don't play that much and it sucks.
Also in my country people sell the 1260110 battery mostly, can i buy that instead?

Sypherone · Jan 19, 2022

KleinesSinchen said:
That is not a powerswitch (if it is the same I have seen before). What I've seen before is a thing that pulls the plug out of the connector and pushes it back in.

This one pulls the plug in and off from the connector. If u dont use it quit often it because the pad lays more around then it is used, its acceptable. For sure, for frequently using a normal Powerswitch is needed. By time iam looking forward to build in a Pushpowerbutton that fits in there. So it should be good option to build one in there at this position. And ya its annoying if everytime u turn on the WiiU the Pad starts too or the battery is dead because of drawing Power all the time. Its not understandable why no full shut down is possible from the site of Nintendo.

Wii U Controller - 10,000mAh Internal Battery Mod

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