How to prevent Wii U bricking?

[WigglyStuf]

Heyo,

My family has a Wii U that's been collecting dust, and to revitalize it I want to try my hand at modding the thing, like I did with my 2ds XL.
However, if the thing bricked, I would feel terrible because we've had it for years and all of our save data and stuff like that would go down the drain with it.
I know the risk of bricking is low, but what can I do to make the risk even lower? Also, anything that can permanently harm my Wii U, not just mod related, would be nice to know too (Like how it bricks after a while without use?).

I have no experience in Wii U modding, just 3ds homebrew, so explain in dummy terms.

Thank You!

Edit: I'm new to the forum, and this is my first post, so if I did anything wrong lmk

 

[core2lee91]

If you're new to Wii U modding I think the best place for you to start would be here.

All you need is a full size SD card and a way to get files from your PC. Part of the above guide will also explain how to do a NAND dump which will mean should the onboard flash memory ever fail then you have many options to recover.

I went full send with this installing a hard mod (de_fuse), replacing boot1, bypassing the onboard MLC flash with a 256GB MicroSD card.etc but this is really unnecessary for most people.

For you I think Aroma, and a NAND backup.

NAND corruption is a combination of many things, but honestly I wouldn't worry too much about it. Once you have the backups then if at any point the onboard memory does corrupt (and brick the console) then you have numerous options to recover it again.

 

[Drake_o]

TLDR, bricks come from two things:

- Users poking around on the internal storage and moving around, deleting, tweaking, and replacing files, or:
- Hynix failure, which can be remedied simply by installing ISFSHax (+ minute) prior to the drive's failure (which is *technically* not inevitable, but considering how infamous those drives are, it is better to err on the side of caution if you want life to be easy on yourself), or, if your console is already 160-0103'ing, then you can probably still save it with UDPIH

Most bricks are recoverable granted you have otp and seeprom, and aren't really any real concern if you aren't on a Hynix console (and can follow directions through the guides) otherwise

 

[WigglyStuf]

If you're new to Wii U modding I think the best place for you to start would be here.

All you need is a full size SD card and a way to get files from your PC. Part of the above guide will also explain how to do a NAND dump which will mean should the onboard flash memory ever fail then you have many options to recover.

I went full send with this installing a hard mod (de_fuse), replacing boot1, bypassing the onboard MLC flash with a 256GB MicroSD card.etc but this is really unnecessary for most people.

For you I think Aroma, and a NAND backup.

NAND corruption is a combination of many things, but honestly I wouldn't worry too much about it. Once you have the backups then if at any point the onboard memory does corrupt (and brick the console) then you have numerous options to recover it again.

Thanks! I'll keep this in mind. What's the easiest method for someone who has absolutely no experience with messing with hardware? (I'm more experienced with the software/digital realm)

Post automatically merged: Sep 2, 2024

TLDR, bricks come from two things:

- Users poking around on the internal storage and moving around, deleting, tweaking, and replacing files, or:
- Hynix failure, which can be remedied simply by installing ISFSHax (+ minute) prior to the drive's failure (which is *technically* not inevitable, but considering how infamous those drives are, it is better to err on the side of caution if you want life to be easy on yourself), or, if your console is already 160-0103'ing, then you can probably still save it with UDPIH

Most bricks are recoverable granted you have otp and seeprom, and aren't really any real concern if you aren't on a Hynix console (and can follow directions through the guides) otherwise

What's the whole thing about Hynix? I'm clueless as to what that all means. Also how do I know when I shouldn't mess around with a file?

 

[core2lee91]

Thanks! I'll keep this in mind. What's the easiest method for someone who has absolutely no experience with messing with hardware? (I'm more experienced with the software/digital realm)

Post automatically merged: Sep 2, 2024

What's the whole thing about Hynix? I'm clueless as to what that all means. Also how do I know when I shouldn't mess around with a file?

The NAND (MLC) flash memory on the Wii U in general is of poor quality and known to fail, there was a few different suppliers such as Toshiba, but the Hynix branded flash memory is the one which is most likely to fail (especially when not used in a long time), thus bricking your console.

You can use WiiUIdent to find out which one you have.

If you're unsure if you should be messing with a file, honestly, I would just not mess with the file

 

[Drake_o]

Also how do I know when I shouldn't mess around with a file?

Well, the safest way is to simply assume that to be the case in every instance (for files on the internal storage) except for the ones outlined for you to modify in any guides you are following - you really shouldn't be going to random directories and messing with random files unless you truly know what you are doing

 

[KirbyBot]

Just by having Aroma/Tiramisu you'll be able to recover from banner bricks (one of the most common types) and many others; then, with a NAND backup (extremely recommended too), you'll be able to recover from a corrupt NAND (uncommon, but it's always good to have a backup in case anything happens); and you can also install ISFShax (software) or solder a de_Fuse (hardware), but I wouldn't recommend doing any of these last two (even more de_Fuse), as most people will probably never have a problem that specific to require those (although if your NAND is Hynix [check core2lee91's and Drake_o's posts] it's good having at least ISFShax).

Thanks! I'll keep this in mind. What's the easiest method for someone who has absolutely no experience with messing with hardware? (I'm more experienced with the software/digital realm)

You'll probably never have to deal with hardware, you should focus right now on creating NAND backup and installing Aroma.