Hello, I'm new here so please excuse any formatting errors.
I picked up a Wii U recently on the cheap, sold as untested, and of course it has the famous gamepad wifi card failure. The console connects to wiimotes and the internet but the gamepad will not connect. After researching the issue, I have seen that the wifi card issue is fairly prevalent. Here is what my research has come up with and what I believe to be a potential solution that I am going to attempt on my dead card.
First off, there seems to be two part numbers available. 2878D-MICA2 and DWM-W081. iFixit provides a look at the MICA2 board without the emi shield, and after removing it from my DWM-W081, I have confirmed that the two boards are absolutely identical - same exact layout, same exact parts. I'm guessing the two part numbers may be from different production lines, but this is unconfirmed.
As for my theory on why it is dying, I believe it may be the SiGe SE5008L 5ghz amplifier chip. Based on reports I've read on symptoms of the failure before it's entirely failed, it seems that the gamepad will start by having a shorter and shorter range, eventually requiring it being within a foot or two of the console, before not being able to connect at all. To me, that sounds like a signal amplification issue rather than the main Broadcom BCM4319 chip failing.
Of course this is all just theory right now, and I need to order some SE5008L packages to test it. I also only have my one dead module, which I believe I may have damaged in the process of pulling the shield off (some of the solder mask came up while attempting to desolder it).
So that being said, if anyone knows a source where I could purchase a few dead MICA2 or DWM-W081 modules, I'd greatly appreciate it. I have all the tools to do the work, just a bit rusty.
I picked up a Wii U recently on the cheap, sold as untested, and of course it has the famous gamepad wifi card failure. The console connects to wiimotes and the internet but the gamepad will not connect. After researching the issue, I have seen that the wifi card issue is fairly prevalent. Here is what my research has come up with and what I believe to be a potential solution that I am going to attempt on my dead card.
First off, there seems to be two part numbers available. 2878D-MICA2 and DWM-W081. iFixit provides a look at the MICA2 board without the emi shield, and after removing it from my DWM-W081, I have confirmed that the two boards are absolutely identical - same exact layout, same exact parts. I'm guessing the two part numbers may be from different production lines, but this is unconfirmed.
As for my theory on why it is dying, I believe it may be the SiGe SE5008L 5ghz amplifier chip. Based on reports I've read on symptoms of the failure before it's entirely failed, it seems that the gamepad will start by having a shorter and shorter range, eventually requiring it being within a foot or two of the console, before not being able to connect at all. To me, that sounds like a signal amplification issue rather than the main Broadcom BCM4319 chip failing.
Of course this is all just theory right now, and I need to order some SE5008L packages to test it. I also only have my one dead module, which I believe I may have damaged in the process of pulling the shield off (some of the solder mask came up while attempting to desolder it).
So that being said, if anyone knows a source where I could purchase a few dead MICA2 or DWM-W081 modules, I'd greatly appreciate it. I have all the tools to do the work, just a bit rusty.
