Tutorial  Updated

Region Changing the Wii U

The way I used to do it was tedious and was quite complex, however with the v2.0 release of the wafel_setup_mlc plugin, region changing has become much simpler.

It is identical to just rebuilding the MLC, but this has region changing specific notes added.

This does not change the region of the Gamepad, however you can still use an out-of-region gamepad with Aroma, which can be loaded with a Stroopwafel plugin, so you don't need to worry about getting a gamepad from the region you are changing to.

Following this guide will wipe the MLC. You should back up any saves you care about before following. Its possible to do it without wiping the MLC, you just skip the Erase MLC and Delete scfm.img steps, but you will have to remove the old titles with this wupclient (Right Click -> Save As).

Keep an OTP and SEEPROM backup. Nothing should go wrong, but it is better to have the most important backups and not need them vs. need them and not have them.

I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU FAIL TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS PROPERLY.
If you need support, you can join my server and ask in #help

What you need

  • Install isfshax. This is a requirement. You cannot region change without it. (You can also use de_Fuse, but at that point you probably already know what you are doing.)
    • Stop at the "Booting" section.
  • The release of the MLCRestorerDownloader for your OS.
  • The latest release of the MLC setup plugin.
  • The latest release of the Payloader plugin.
  • The latest files for Aroma. (If you already have it, you do not need to recopy it)
    • Read and tick the 4 boxes -> Click on Download Payloads and Download Base Aroma

Downloading the MLC Titles

  1. Extract the MLCRestorerDownloader you downloaded.
  2. Copy the otp.bin into the extracted folder.
  3. Open a command prompt / terminal and run the application (ie .\MLCRestorerDownloader.exe for Windows users).
  4. Type in 1 the for MLC titles.
  5. Type in the number for the region you want to change to (ie 2 for USA).
  6. Wait for it to finish downloading. You can do part of the next section while you wait.

SD Setup

  1. Copy the wafel_setup_mlc.ipx to sd:/wiiu/ios_plugins.
  2. Copy the wafel_payloader.ipx to sd:/wiiu/ios_plugins.
  3. Copy the two wiiu folders from the Aroma .zip files to the root of the SD.
  4. Copy the root.rpx from sd:/wiiu/environments/aroma to sd:/wiiu.
  5. Make a folder called wafel_install on the root of the SD and copy all 52 MLC titles here.
Region Changing

  1. Boot the console.
    • If it does not automatically go into minute_minute, go install isfshax.
  2. Navigate to Backup and Restore.
  3. Select Erase MLC and then press EJECT to confirm.
    • If it tells you MLC Erase not allowed, go install isfshax.
  4. Select Delete scfm.img and press EJECT to confirm.
    • If it gives you a warning about bricking the console, do not continue and install isfshax. It's not playing around.
  5. Go back to the main menu and select Patch (sd) and boot IOS (slc).
  6. Wait for the LED to start blinking blue, this means the setup has started. Wait for it to stop blinking, that is when the setup has finished.
  7. Shut off the console and put the SD back into your PC.
  8. Check the wafel_setup_mlc.log file on the root and make sure there were no errors (everything should have 00000000, except for SetInitialLaunch, which will have a 1).
  9. If everything looks right, delete the wafel_setup_mlc.ipx file from sd:/wiiu/ios_plugins.
  10. Boot the console again, select Patch (sd) and boot IOS (slc), and you should be greeted with initial setup. Success!
Manually fixing the sys_prod

You only need to do this section if the MCP_SetSysProdSettings returned error FFFBFFEE, if it returned a 0, then you can skip this section.
  1. Install Python on your PC.
  2. Download this wupclient.py. (Right Click -> Save as..)
  3. Edit the IP Address on line 140 with the Wii Us IP. Do not change the port.
    • You can get the IP by looking at your router settings.
  4. Make sure the console is booting into Aroma and is on the AutobootMenu.
    • Hold + on the Gamepad while booting to get to the AutobootMenu.
    • Aroma should automatically load with the wafel_payloader plugin.
  5. Open a terminal where the wupclient.py is.
  6. Run python -i wupclient.py.
  7. When it successfully connects (should have a 0x0), run w.dl("/vol/system/config/sys_prod.xml").
  8. Open the sys_prod.xml in a text editor, and change product_area and game_region to the new region.
    • JPN - 1. USA - 2. EUR - 4.
  9. Save the file, and then run w.up("sys_prod.xml", "/vol/system/config/sys_prod.xml").
  10. Run exit() on the wupclient window, and then reboot the Wii U.
  11. If you did everything right, loading the Mii Maker in the User creation should not crash.
After Region Changing

You can keep isfshax installed, or you can uninstall it. I would keep it, so you can load Aroma on boot without needing to install PayloadLoader, or as some form of 'brick protection'.

You can region change the Gamepad with DRXutil, but no instructions will be given here. Use at your own risk!

Credits


@SDIO: isfshax setup guides, the wafel_setup_mlc plugin, help get the PoC to work, cleaning up my code, making the region fixer more sane...
@GaryOderNichts: Also help me get the PoC working
@rw-r-r_0644: Finding isfshax and implementing it
 
Last edited by Lazr1026,
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AlexCasual

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I have a problem like this. I did everything according to your instructions and installed isfshax before doing anything. But after I installed, the LED stopped blinking and I clicked "Patch (sd) and boot IOS (slc)" the very last step, it started giving me this. What did I do wrong, can you advise me what should I do please? Btw I have Japanese region Wii U and 8 gb Samsung storage.
 

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Did you delete the setup plugin after the setup was completed?
Show the setup log on the SD card.
In minute go to the backup and restore menu and dump the logs there and then upload the whole logs folder
 
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AlexCasual

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Yes I've deleted the setup plugin
Thats the setup log and I've also attached sys crash logs.
OpenDir /vol/sdcard/wafel_install: 0
OpenMCP /vol/sdcard/wafel_install: 0
InstallInfo 0005001b10042300: 00000000
Install 0005001b10042300: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b10042400: 00000000
Install 0005001b10042400: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b10050000: 00000000
Install 0005001b10050000: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b10051000: 00000000
Install 0005001b10051000: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b10052000: 00000000
Install 0005001b10052000: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b10053000: 00000000
Install 0005001b10053000: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b10054000: 00000000
Install 0005001b10054000: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b10056000: 00000000
Install 0005001b10056000: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b10057000: 00000000
Install 0005001b10057000: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b10058000: 00000000
Install 0005001b10058000: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b10059200: 00000000
Install 0005001b10059200: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b10063000: 00000000
Install 0005001b10063000: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b10065000: 00000000
Install 0005001b10065000: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b10067200: 00000000
Install 0005001b10067200: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b10068000: 00000000
Install 0005001b10068000: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b10069200: 00000000
Install 0005001b10069200: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500101004a200: 00000000
Install 000500101004a200: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500101004b200: 00000000
Install 000500101004b200: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500101004c200: 00000000
Install 000500101004c200: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500101004d200: 00000000
Install 000500101004d200: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500101004e200: 00000000
Install 000500101004e200: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500101005a200: 00000000
Install 000500101005a200: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500301001a10a: 00000000
Install 000500301001a10a: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500301006d20a: 00000000
Install 000500301006d20a: 00000000
InstallInfo 00050030100112ff: 00000000
Install 00050030100112ff: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500301001020a: 00000000
Install 000500301001020a: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500301001120a: 00000000
Install 000500301001120a: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500301001220a: 00000000
Install 000500301001220a: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500301001320a: 00000000
Install 000500301001320a: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500301001420a: 00000000
Install 000500301001420a: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500301001520a: 00000000
Install 000500301001520a: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500301001620a: 00000000
Install 000500301001620a: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500301001720a: 00000000
Install 000500301001720a: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500301001820a: 00000000
Install 000500301001820a: 00000000
InstallInfo 000500301001920a: 00000000
Install 000500301001920a: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001010040200: 00000000
Install 0005001010040200: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001010041200: 00000000
Install 0005001010041200: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001010043200: 00000000
Install 0005001010043200: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001010044200: 00000000
Install 0005001010044200: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001010045200: 00000000
Install 0005001010045200: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001010047200: 00000000
Install 0005001010047200: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001010048200: 00000000
Install 0005001010048200: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001010049200: 00000000
Install 0005001010049200: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001010062200: 00000000
Install 0005001010062200: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001010066000: 00000000
Install 0005001010066000: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005003010010209: 00000000
Install 0005003010010209: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005003010011209: 00000000
Install 0005003010011209: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005003010017209: 00000000
Install 0005003010017209: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b1004f000: 00000000
Install 0005001b1004f000: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b1005c000: 00000000
Install 0005001b1005c000: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b1005f000: 00000000
Install 0005001b1005f000: 00000000
InstallInfo 0005001b1006c000: 00000000
Install 0005001b1006c000: 00000000
Flush MLC: 0
Set region to 4:, 0
SetInitialLaunch 0: 1
Flush SLC: 0

Edit:
Should I select "Test SLC and Restore SLC.RAW"? Maybe It could help?
 

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SDIO said:
no, don't restore the slc.
Maybe just start over by erasing and doing the setup again
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'll do that now. Maybe this will help. If something goes wrong again, I'll post.
Post automatically merged:

No it shows me this Error again. I don't know what to do
 
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AlexCasual

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ok
SDIO said:
Also install the SLC titles
Click to expand...
Post automatically merged:

SDIO said:
Also install the SLC titles
Click to expand...
I've installed the SLC, how do I drag and drop it next? As with the MLC, all the files into one "wafel_install" folder?
Post automatically merged:

Still the error 160-2203 does not go away, tried 3 different SD cards. Tried to run European and Japanese firmware, with and without SLC files. Nothing helped. It seems to me that I am the first to encounter this problem. Guys, I'm asking you, can you help me, please?
 
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TopKek2

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did everything, and once aroma loads the wii u menu, it just freezes at the loading screen for the wii u menu
installed isfshax just fine and was working, and didnt get any major issues during region changing other than the python error which I was actually able to fix at the wii u menu freeze, but nothing is happening now

UPDATE: There was an issue downloading the system mlc files on my PC, it closed early and I didn't notice. Re-downloaded, re-erased, re-setup and all good it seems
 
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I got a WiiU USA as gift from a friend, without the Gamepad. The problem is that I would like to convert it to EUR / PAL Region because I live in Europe and I wana play Wii & WiiU PAL games, also I can buy EUR Gamepad but USA Gamepad is very very hard to get. Is it possible to region change my WiiU from USA / NTSC to EUR / PAL without the Gamepad Tablet using this guide or do I need to make some changes? Thanks guys
 
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I think you need a gamepad to finish the inital setup. Getting a EU one probably is better anyway, if you want to change the region to EU.
If the console already has tiramisu/aroma, we can use that without a gamepad to install ISFShax. If it doesnÄt have any hacks installed yet, you might need a raspberry pi pico for UDPIH to install ISFShax without an in reagion gamepad.
 
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mihai_crazy

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SDIO said:
I think you need a gamepad to finish the inital setup. Getting a EU one probably is better anyway, if you want to change the region to EU.
If the console already has tiramisu/aroma, we can use that without a gamepad to install ISFShax. If it doesnÄt have any hacks installed yet, you might need a raspberry pi pico for UDPIH to install ISFShax without an in reagion gamepad.
Click to expand...
It has stock firmware. I have a Pi Zero W at home, I will try it today with UDPIH and if it doesn't work I will buy a Pi Pico. After I install the ISFShax, than can I change the region of my WiiU? and pair it with a EUR Gamepad? Can I upgrade the firmware (from official nintendo servers) and make it stock again after region change?
LE: I can't make UDPIH boot recovery menu from PI Zero W...I did put recovery menu on a 32 GB SDHC card formated FAT32, but my WiiU always boot as Pi Zero is not connected and it asks for gamepad / tablet to pair.
 
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Lazr1026 said:
The way I used to do it was tedious and was quite complex, however with the v2.0 release of the wafel_setup_mlc plugin, region changing has become much simpler.

It is identical to just rebuilding the MLC, but this has region changing specific notes added.

This does not change the region of the Gamepad, however you can still use an out-of-region gamepad with Aroma, which can be loaded with a Stroopwafel plugin, so you don't need to worry about getting a gamepad from the region you are changing to.

Following this guide will wipe the MLC. You should back up any saves you care about before following. Its possible to do it without wiping the MLC, you just skip the Erase MLC and Delete scfm.img steps, but you will have to remove the old titles with this wupclient (Right Click -> Save As).

Keep an OTP and SEEPROM backup. Nothing should go wrong, but it is better to have the most important backups and not need them vs. need them and not have them.

What you need

  • Install isfshax. This is a requirement. You cannot region change without it. (You can also use de_Fuse, but at that point you probably already know what you are doing.)
    • Stop at the "Booting" section.
  • The release of the MLCRestorerDownloader for your OS.
  • The latest release of the MLC setup plugin.
  • The latest release of the Payloader plugin.
  • The latest files for Aroma. (If you already have it, you do not need to recopy it)
    • Read and tick the 4 boxes -> Click on Download Payloads and Download Base Aroma

Downloading the MLC Titles

  1. Extract the MLCRestorerDownloader you downloaded.
  2. Copy the otp.bin into the extracted folder.
  3. Open a command prompt / terminal and run the application (ie .\MLCRestorerDownloader.exe for Windows users).
  4. Type in 1 the for MLC titles.
  5. Type in the number for the region you want to change to (ie 2 for USA).
  6. Wait for it to finish downloading. You can do part of the next section while you wait.

SD Setup

  1. Copy the wafel_setup_mlc.ipx to sd:/wiiu/ios_plugins.
  2. Copy the wafel_payloader.ipx to sd:/wiiu/ios_plugins.
  3. Copy the two wiiu folders from the Aroma .zip files to the root of the SD.
  4. Copy the root.rpx from sd:/wiiu/environments/aroma to sd:/wiiu.
  5. Make a folder called wafel_install on the root of the SD and copy all 52 MLC titles here.
Region Changing

  1. Boot the console.
    • If it does not automatically go into minute_minute, go install isfshax.
  2. Navigate to Backup and Restore.
  3. Select Erase MLC and then press EJECT to confirm.
    • If it tells you MLC Erase not allowed, go install isfshax.
  4. Select Delete scfm.img and press EJECT to confirm.
    • If it gives you a warning about bricking the console, do not continue and install isfshax. It's not playing around.
  5. Go back to the main menu and select Patch (sd) and boot IOS (slc).
  6. Wait for the LED to start blinking blue, this means the setup has started. Wait for it to stop blinking, that is when the setup has finished.
  7. Shut off the console and put the SD back into your PC.
  8. Check the wafel_setup_mlc.log file on the root and make sure there were no errors (everything should have 00000000, except for SetInitialLaunch, which will have a 1).
  9. If everything looks right, delete the wafel_setup_mlc.ipx file from sd:/wiiu/ios_plugins.
  10. Boot the console again, select Patch (sd) and boot IOS (slc), and you should be greeted with initial setup. Success!
Manually fixing the sys_prod

You only need to do this section if the MCP_SetSysProdSettings returned error FFFBFFEE, if it returned a 0, then you can skip this section.
  1. Install Python on your PC.
  2. Download this wupclient.py. (Right Click -> Save as..)
  3. Edit the IP Address on line 140 with the Wii Us IP. Do not change the port.
    • You can get the IP by looking at your router settings.
  4. Make sure the console is booting into Aroma (it should with the wafel_payloader)
  5. Open a terminal where the wupclient.py is.
  6. Run python -i wupclient.py.
  7. When it successfully connects (should have a 0x0), run w.dl("/vol/system/config/sys_prod.xml").
  8. Open the sys_prod.xml in a text editor, and change product_area and game_region to the new region.
    • JPN - 1. USA - 2. EUR - 4.
  9. Save the file, and then run w.up("sys_prod.xml", "/vol/system/config/sys_prod.xml").
  10. Run exit() on the wupclient window, and then reboot the Wii U.
  11. If you did everything right, loading the Mii Maker in the User creation should not crash.

After Region Changing

You can keep isfshax installed, or you can uninstall it. I would keep it, so you can load Aroma on boot without needing to install PayloadLoader, or as some form of 'brick protection'.

Credits


@SDIO: isfshax setup guides, the wafel_setup_mlc plugin, help get the PoC to work, cleaning up my code, making the region fixer more sane...
@GaryOderNichts: Also help me get the PoC working
@rw-r-r_0644: Finding isfshax and implementing it
Click to expand...
Everything went fine for me, the log showed no errors at the end, but it seems like I missed something, as I can't start from aroma or the Wii U menu, I only get the black screen of the 'minutes' app, what can I do to start the aroma? thanks.
 
EchoesofEra

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I got it to work on my Japanese Wiiu. The vWii is still in Japanese, so I tried a light mode decaffination. Nothing changed. I would like to know if a aggressive decaffination would change the language.
Thanks,
Echoesofera
 
Lazr1026

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EchoesofEra said:
I got it to work on my Japanese Wiiu. The vWii is still in Japanese, so I tried a light mode decaffination. Nothing changed. I would like to know if a aggressive decaffination would change the language.
Thanks,
Echoesofera
Click to expand...
aggressive should work, someone in Garys server did it and it worked. You also need to regenerate the setting.txt.
Post automatically merged:

Paulo_Suzuki said:
Everything went fine for me, the log showed no errors at the end, but it seems like I missed something, as I can't start from aroma or the Wii U menu, I only get the black screen of the 'minutes' app, what can I do to start the aroma? thanks.
Click to expand...
it keeps rebooting into minute when you boot?
Post automatically merged:

mihai_crazy said:
After I changed the USB cable, It booted from Pi Zero.
Click to expand...
Install isfshax with this gude, and then just do the region change. You want to do the UDPIH steps on the install guide.
 
Last edited by Lazr1026,
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mihai_crazy

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Lazr1026 said:
Install isfshax with this gude, and then just do the region change. You want to do the UDPIH steps on the install guide.
Click to expand...
My EUR Gamepad didn't arrive yet. After I do the region change can I delete all the custom stuff and make it virgin again?
PS. My WiiU is NTSC\ US, sys_info is below and my goal is to make it full EUR\PAL stock and I bought a EUR GamePad that should arrive until friday.
 

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EchoesofEra said:
I got it to work on my Japanese Wiiu. The vWii is still in Japanese, so I tried a light mode decaffination. Nothing changed. I would like to know if a aggressive decaffination would change the language.
Thanks,
Echoesofera
Click to expand...
If you only want to change vWii's language from Japanese into English, then just change the setting.txt with SettingEdit.

Backup and load setting.txt and change it as below, DO NOT touch MPCH and Serno otherwise you WILL BRICK vWii.

setting.png


Tested myself on a Japanese Wii U. Everything will be in English for vWii, including Mii channel and system settings, though the Date format is a bit weird, and E-manual will fail to load and hung. You will find out yourself. Note this will prevent non-US Wii disc games to load without using a USB loader, of course.
 
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Lazr1026 said:
Ativamente deve funcionar, alguém no servidor de Gary fez isso e trabalhou. Você também precisa gerar novamente o setting.txt.
Post automatically merged:


ele continua reiniciando em minutos quando você inicializa?
Post automatically merged:


Instale isfshax com este gude e depois faça a mudança de região. Você deseja executar as etapas do UDPIH no guia de instalação.
Click to expand...
Sim, continua em minutos, devo alterar algum arquivo no cartão SD?
 

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