Hardware Just got a WiiU, two quick questions

[zeello]

1) Is there a way to charge the gamepad from the WiiU system instead of the wall?

2) Can a 3DS charger be used to charge the WiiU gamepad or will it not fit? If not then I will probably be buying a WiiU USB charger from ebay.

 

[VinsCool]

1- As far as I know, no.
2- No, I tried, it doesn't fit.

 

[LysergCooltyp]

Might misunderstood the first one, but you can directly use the ac adapter to charge the pad.

If you are looking for a cheap one, get the snakebite charge it.

 

[stomp_442]

1) Is there a way to charge the gamepad from the WiiU system instead of the wall?

2) Can a 3DS charger be used to charge the WiiU gamepad or will it not fit? If not then I will probably be buying a WiiU USB charger from ebay.

You can buy a usb charging wire for the gamepad, but if you connect it to the Wii U usb port the Wii U must be turned on for it to charge. The Wii U usb ports do not supply power when it is turned off. The 3DS charger has a different charging port.

You can buy new or refurbished from Nintendo
https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/brow...?categoryId=cat10007&navAction=pop&navCount=0

 

[zeello]

You can buy a usb charging wire for the gamepad, but if you connect it to the Wii U usb port the Wii U must be turned on for it to charge. The Wii U usb ports do not supply power when it is turned off.

Thanks for the info. I guess I might as well charge it in the wall instead, instead of having to keep remembering to power the WiiU off when it's done charging. (that or leave the WiiU running 24/7 which seems crazy)

You can buy new or refurbished from Nintendo
https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/brow...?categoryId=cat10007&navAction=pop&navCount=0

I already have an AC cable for the gamepad! But I'm not going to use it.
For a second there I thought the link will have a Nintendo-made USB cable. xD

 

[zeello]

I want a really short cable. I could settle on a 6 foot, but then I saw this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-DATA-SY...RD-WII-U-GAMEPAD-CONTROLLER-1M-/201312094031f
Really, this is 1M? Seems like it's longer.. but it's hard to say, maybe I'm just dumb and it really is 1M.
It's cheap but I'd have to wait a month for delivery. -__-

This charging dock comes with a cable that looks really short:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Charge-Dock...Cord-for-Nintendo-Wii-U-Gamepad-/201176555606
But I have no idea how it works. The dock has charging pins on it, so what's the cable for? The cable connects to the dock instead of the gamepad? Can I not use the cable instead of the dock? argh

EDIT: I purchased a 6 foot cable.

 

[thorasgar]

According to AVS forum the Wii u USB ports output at 500ma and it looks like the Nintendo GP power brick outputs at 1.6 amps. So it will take 3x as long to charge the GP with the Wii U, and I don't know if that is enough to power it while using it. I also can't find the maximum amps the GP will accept.

Example the iPhone 6 comes with a 1 amp power brick but will accept 1.5 amps so if you plug I into an iPad brick that outputs at 2 amps it will accept 1.6 of those and charge 50% faster.

I am not an EE, this is just my understanding of how it works from my research dealing with the cable and charging hell of a 4 member household.

 

[zeello]

Thanks. Fortunately I don't mind if it takes longer to charge, and I have no intention of using anything while plugged in.

One thing I'm confused about is USB wall chargers, from what I finally understand they come in two types. 1.0a and 2.0/2.1a.

Do I have to worry about using the wrong one though? I charge my PSP and 3DS XL using 1.0, I'm afraid of charging using 2.1 in case that might degrade the battery or something. (or melt the 3DS XL)
I will charge the WiiU gamepad using 2.0/2.1, since it's obviously a more power hungry device.

 

[WiiCube_2013]

If your GamePad has the original battery you mind as well keep it wired for the whole time since it'll go red not too long afterwards, I'll say that the Higher Capacity Battery does improve though not a whole lot.

I could purchase this one @ http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1M-USB-DA...202?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item541bfa57ea but thing is, the charger isn't taking any space more so than the rest so I don't mind using the charging cable it came with. Although, there's the charging cradle but never used that, 'cause it's just a piece of plastic that you place the GamePad on the top which makes it sorta useless till it's charged.

Anyway, I can't use the charging cradle because I've got a silicone cover on it so it doesn't fit either way. lol

 

[stomp_442]

According to AVS forum the Wii u USB ports output at 500ma and it looks like the Nintendo GP power brick outputs at 1.6 amps. So it will take 3x as long to charge the GP with the Wii U, and I don't know if that is enough to power it while using it. I also can't find the maximum amps the GP will accept.

I have a usb cable for my gamepad, I also have a nyko charging dock that will allow the gamepad and two wiimotes on the dock. The dock will charge the gamepad via the usb cable connected to the Wii U, but if there is also a wiimote on the dock with the gamepad then nothing charges. So the Wii U just barely has enough usb juice to charge the gamepad.

 

[thorasgar]

Thanks. Fortunately I don't mind if it takes longer to charge, and I have no intention of using anything while plugged in.

One thing I'm confused about is USB wall chargers, from what I finally understand they come in two types. 1.0a and 2.0/2.1a.

Do I have to worry about using the wrong one though? I charge my PSP and 3DS XL using 1.0, I'm afraid of charging using 2.1 in case that might degrade the battery or something. (or melt the 3DS XL)
I will charge the WiiU gamepad using 2.0/2.1, since it's obviously a more power hungry device.

Modern electronics have circuits that prevent them from accepting more charge than they are designed for. So you are safe using the 2 amp port on your wall charger.

There is another type of wall charger now with "smart" circuitry that allows each port to output the amps the device accepts. I recently purchased this 6 port one for my boys charging table to accommodate 2 3DSs, 2 iPhones, various portable batteries and occasionally an iPad.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LMIA9L4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00

Much better than this 4 port model I have that is cheaper but only has 2 1amp ports and 2 2 amp tablet ports.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MA213EI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01

I also picked up a gamepad extension cable that allows me to still use the Nintendo dock and then plug in this extension when the battery is low. It is very convienent to not have to mess with unplugging the dock and concerning myself with the length of cord available. This essentially is a y cable with one side about 8 feet long allowing the GP to be used anywhere in my game room. Not bad for $6
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D36H6G4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01

I have a usb cable for my gamepad, I also have a nyko charging dock that will allow the gamepad and two wiimotes on the dock. The dock will charge the gamepad via the usb cable connected to the Wii U, but if there is also a wiimote on the dock with the gamepad then nothing charges. So the Wii U just barely has enough usb juice to charge the gamepad.

Yeah, I see no point in having the USB ports on the Wii U charge anything. Especially since they don't provide power if the console is powered down. Modern USB 2.0 & 3.0 ports on PCs usually output up to 2 amps these days, but the original USB 2.0 spec called for 500ma so that's what Nintindo implemented.

If your GamePad has the original battery you mind as well keep it wired for the whole time since it'll go red not too long afterwards, I'll say that the Higher Capacity Battery does improve though not a whole lot.

I could purchase this one @ http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1M-USB-DA...202?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item541bfa57ea but thing is, the charger isn't taking any space more so than the rest so I don't mind using the charging cable it came with. Although, there's the charging cradle but never used that, 'cause it's just a piece of plastic that you place the GamePad on the top which makes it sorta useless till it's charged.

Anyway, I can't use the charging cradle because I've got a silicone cover on it so it doesn't fit either way. lol

What silicon sleeve are you using? I think I have the Hori one and it works fine in the cradle.

 

[WiiCube_2013]

Just some cheap cover which does the job, besides, don't reallysee the point of using the cradle when I can just plug the cable.

 

[Sonto340]

Just some cheap cover which does the job, besides, don't reallysee the point of using the cradle when I can just plug the cable.

Because you can just place it somewhere you walk by on the way to play and just pick it up with little to no wires exposed.

 

[september796]

is the cradle meant to be plugged to the wall forever ready to charge the gamepad anytime you need? if not.. then its useless

 

[thorasgar]

is the cradle meant to be plugged to the wall forever ready to charge the gamepad anytime you need? if not.. then its useless

Yes it is. I keep it on the end table and set it on there when not using the system or using WUPCs.

 

[september796]

Then it's not totally useless. Assuming that having the gamepad standing on it for a week won't damage its battery or something. It's very handy specially for those who have short (say normal) videogames sessions and don't need to charge the gamepad in the middle of it.
I have the basic set and might have considered getting one of these cradles but I just ordered the official high-capacity gamepad battery from play-asia and I think this is going to solve the battery issue

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Then it's not totally useless. Assuming that having the gamepad standing on it for a week won't damage its battery or something. It's very handy specially for those who have short (say normal) videogames sessions and don't need to charge the gamepad in the middle of it.
I have the basic set and might have considered getting one of these cradles but I just ordered the official high-capacity gamepad battery from play-asia and I think this is going to solve the battery issue

It might shorten battery life a little, but not enough to matter. If you go for a very long time without playing it would probably be best to take it off the charger though.
While it's left in, it will keep trickle charging the battery.