Hacking bluetooth eeprom programming

[mauifrog]

Would it be possible to reprogram the eeprom in the bluetooth module from a wii app? If it was it would be nice to have an app that could fix all these dead bt modules instead of replacing them.I know you can remove the eeprom and reprogram then with an eeprom programmer, but that sucks. Is it possible to read/write to the eeprom on bt module from wii? Is it possible for some homebrew bug to kill a bt module?

 

[obcd]

As a wii isn't booting when the BT module is defective, how are you suposed to launch the program to fix it? eeprom's are usually IIC devices, so if you can read the chip, you can normally write to it as well. I assume however it just contains the Bluetooth id. So, it might not be necessairy for the wii to have access to that chip. It can be a memory device solely for the bluetooth chip.

 

[DeadlyFoez]

Theres always the possibility to hotswap the bluetooth module. I've had to do similar things with BIOS chips before to fix some older pc's. Of course, this is different, but it would be great to be able to write to the eeprom from the wii. In fact, I have a bluetooth module here that had crapped out on me and I was wanting to reprogram it but I don't own anything here that I can program it with.

 

[mauifrog]

As a wii isn't booting when the BT module is defective, how are you suposed to launch the program to fix it? eeprom's are usually IIC devices, so if you can read the chip, you can normally write to it as well. I assume however it just contains the Bluetooth id. So, it might not be necessairy for the wii to have access to that chip. It can be a memory device solely for the bluetooth chip.

If you had priiloader installed you could just load priiloader, then load the eeprom programmer. Or you could load it from RM, or as DeadlyFoez said, another wii.

 

[obcd]

To my knowledge, a wii with a defective BT module doesn't boot into priiloader anymore.
Is the BT module hotswappable?
Has this ever been tested?
I remember a free program called ponyprog that could program IIC eeprom chips and was used to read and program those on the xbox 1.
The interface between the pc and the chip was only 2 diodes and 2 resistors.
Maybe the device isn't a physical chip but is embedded in another chip.
Is there prove that defective BT modules usually can be fixed by reprogramming the eeprom? There could be something else wrong I supose?

 

[techboy]

To my knowledge, a wii with a defective BT module doesn't boot into priiloader anymore.

But IIRC, these consoles will still boot into bootmii/boot2 if they have it. Maybe a MINI-based solution makes more sense? (Of course, we'd have to somehow access the BT from MINI...)

This way, those with older consoles don't even need to touch the hardware, and hotswapping (which AFAIK we don't even know works), can be avoided.

 

[mauifrog]

When the bluetooth module goes bad the system menu will not load, wii games will not load.
Priiloader will load, boot2 bootmii will load, homebrew channel and apps can be used with a gc controller.

 

[obcd]

I wasn't aware of that.

Is there any prove that most defects are caused by the eeprom containing bad information?

 

[mauifrog]

Repairing a broken bluetooth module


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2 Comments

by
erikie, 01-21-2011 at 05:40 AM (1126 Views)

Today I revived 6 broken bluetooth modules. Turned out the serial eeprom needed to be reprogrammed.
So I took a working module, read the eeprom and programmed the eeprom of the not functioning bluetooth module and bingo it worked again.
The catch is you have to remove the eeprom to read and write to it correctly and you need an eeprom programmer that supports the m24c32-s eeprom (that is what I am using on my vp-190 programmer.)
It works like a charm although I managed to ruin already 2 bluetooth cards with my hot air station by blowing away my bluetooth chip

I am going to revive about 20 more of those modules soon​

wes11ph[/b]

]

you can fix the module using a eeprom programmer. it's the 8 pin m24c32 eeprom that's causing it to malfunction...