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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 the wafel_payloader Stroopwafel plugin, so you don't need to worry about getting a Gamepad from the region you are changing to. If you do want to change the Gamepad region, there is a section at the end of the guide with instructions.

It also does not change the vWii region. If you want to region change the vWii as well, use vWii Decaffeinator on Light Mode to region change. I think you also need to regenerate the setting.txt.

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, but you're on your own should you ta

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.

DO NOT UNINSTALL ISFSHAX AFTER ERASING THE MLC AND DELETING THE SCFM UNTIL YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY REBUILT THE MLC AND CONFIRMED EVERYTHING IS WORKING.
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.
    • Get the 5payldr.ipx.
  • The latest Aroma files (If you have Aroma already, ignore this.)
    • 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.
    1721326901000.png
  3. Open a command prompt / terminal (Linux/Mac only).
  4. cd into the directory with the MLCRestorerDownloader (ie. cd /Downloads/MLCRestorerDownloader) (Linux/Mac only).
  5. Run the application (ie .\MLCRestorerDownloader for Linux/Mac users). Windows users can just double click the .exe
  6. Type in 1 the for MLC titles.
  7. Type in the number for the region you want to change to (ie 2 for USA).
    1721326853774.png
  8. 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 5payldr.ipx to sd:/wiiu/ios_plugins.
    1747859617670.png
  3. Copy the two wiiu folders from the Aroma .zip files to the root of the SD.
  4. 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 tells you SCFM delete not allowed!, install isfshax and quit trying with no safety measures.
  5. Go back to the main menu and select Patch (sd) and boot IOS (slc).
    • During the setup you won't use the screen and stay at the GO GO GO minute message. You have to go by the power led.
  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.
    • Almost everything should have returned 00000000.
    • SetInitialLaunch will have returned 1.
    • If Set Region to X returned error FFFBFFEE, ask for help. That should not happen.
    • Otherwise boot the console again (select Patch (sd) and boot IOS (slc)), and you should be greeted with initial setup. Success!

Region Changing the Gamepad


  1. Download the latest release of DRXUtil and copy it to sd:/wiiu/apps.
  2. Launch DRXUtil from the Wii U Menu.
    • If it doesn't show up, press L + DPAD Down + Select on the Gamepad and set the "Hide all .rpx" configuration in the "Homebrew on Wii U Menu Plugin" to false.
  3. Select Flash firmware.
  4. Select Built-in Firmware Patches. Read the warning, then select Continue.
  5. Read the second warning, then select Continue.
    • With the patched firmware, the Gamepad will now show "Modified Firmware" while booting up.
  6. Select Set region and select the target region.
    • Note that Japan/Americas/Europe are the only regions that are actually used.
  7. Press A to confirm. Press B to go back to the main screen.
  8. Select Show DRC/DRH information and verify that the region under DRC info has been set to the one you selected.
  9. Press B to go back to the main screen and select Flash firmware.
  10. Select Original Firmware. Read the warning then select Continue.
  11. Read the second warning, then select Continue.
  12. Wait for the firmware to flash. Press B once finished and go back to the Wii U Menu.
  13. Launch System Settings, select Console Information (Icon with a red Console/Gamepad), select Set System Language, and select the target language. This will change the Gamepad language.
  14. Once it's finished, you're done!

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 set up autobooting in minute to have it automatically load IOSU. Instructions for that are on the isfshax guide.

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...
@shinyquagsire23: de_Fuse, minute_minute, and stroopwafel
@GaryOderNichts: Also help me get the PoC working, DRXUtil
@rw-r-r_0644: Finding isfshax and implementing it
 
Last edited by Lazr1026,
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Click to expand...
SDIO said:
You are missing the isfshax plugin on the slc...
And yes that looks like for some reason your SD card doesn't work properly in minute. I guess that has something to do that minute is now loaded from slc so the SD card wasn't initialized by ISFShax. Normally it should work, but the SD stuff is always a little finicky.
You should be able to use the Patch ISFShax and boot IOS (slc) to boot with minimal patches. You can then load Aroma either from the browser exploit or from the H&S app if you had the Payloadloader installed.
Then you can use FTP to add the isfshax_patch plugin to the slc.

We already saw that once in the past, maybe I make a minute later, that allows us to see where it fails.
You could also try another SD card just to see if that makes a difference.
Click to expand...
Really appreciate all your time and effort. I had another sd card laying around, so I quickly formatted that to fat32 and copied everything over. I ran the option 3 (patch sd). I managed to initialize wii u at least. As you mentioned, I'll quickly attempt adding the isfshax_patch plugin to the slc and see what happens with the next restart
It feels more laggy with the new sd for some reason but that troubleshooting can come later :lol:
Thank once again for all your help SDIO, danke sehr
Post automatically merged:

It seems I messed up more than I thought. Both the (1) slc and (3) sd launches are giving the error 160-0101, I think I bricked it.
Same result with Patch ISFShax option :(
 
Last edited by sysdr,
is that the wafel_setup_mlc.ipx under ios_plugins? Yeah I did that after the initialization was complete. Now that you said that and I put it back on the sd card and try booting it up. (3) sd option boots up fine :S
 
No it should be deleted, else it will reinstall everything on every boot and that could cause that error
 
I am getting a blinking yellow light and then a solid one after doing the step: "Region Changing". I have read the posts of others who have had the same problem but my log is way shorter compared to theirs. Here is the log if it helps:

OpenDir /vol/sdcard/wafel_install: FFFCFFE9
Flush MLC: 0
SetInitialLaunch 0: 1
Flush SLC: 0
 
Like the error says it looks like the wafel_install folder is missing. Check for typos
 
SDIO said:
Like the error says it looks like the wafel_install folder is missing. Check for typos
Click to expand...
This wasn't even a problem with the folder or something. I was an idiot and put the wafel_install folder inside of the wiiu folder instead of the root directory lol. I realized this while waiting for my account to get approved, but thank you for helping anyhow.
 
Probably not related to this, but does anyone know if there's a way to change the langauge of the TV controller on the Wii U gamepad? I know that you can do this via region changing the gamepad but I'd rather not jump through the hoops of doing that if possible.
 
SD-CD said:
Probably not related to this, but does anyone know if there's a way to change the langauge of the TV controller on the Wii U gamepad? I know that you can do this via region changing the gamepad but I'd rather not jump through the hoops of doing that if possible.
Click to expand...
Take a look at this thread:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/sync-di...d-to-console-method-work.608970/post-10194047

U don't need region change the gamepad, just change the TV remote app language, though u still need the "infamous" system config tool.

I tried it and it worked.
 
So far the guide has been good, but when I download the sysconfigtool online (assuming I got the right link) where do I place it on the sd card? I couldn't find it said on the archive.org site or the actual guide. The folder I got was called sctout and it has various .app files (would send a screenshot but I am unable to as of yet). Also, does it work on Aroma?

EDIT: I got the wrong one. I have found the right one now.
 
Last edited by SD-CD,
Im trying to get the MLC files but when i copy them over i get a error code saying the files are corrupted and unreadable does anyone know how to fix this please?
Post automatically merged:

Im trying to get the MLC files but when i copy them over i get a error code saying the files are corrupted and unreadable does anyone know how to fix this please?
 
The thing is i can get 90% of the files in but the rest say its corrupted so im not sure if its my computer or sd card
 
Try redownloading them and check the SD card with h2wtest.
Also can you show a picture of the error?
 
I got it working
Post automatically merged:

but now on the 5th step at the end it says GO GO GO but I havent seen any blue light
Post automatically merged:

This is what I’m stuck on
Post automatically merged:

i forgot to mention the way i got the mlc in my sd card is by copying over the usa folder from the downloader then renaming it
 

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Last edited by kavan,
I already erased the scfm.img before so it won’t allow me to erase it again it usually gives me a -1 error. And eMMC im not sure what that is
Post automatically merged:

Hopefully I can fix this issue
Post automatically merged:

This is my sd card, am i missing something?
 

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Last edited by kavan,
Make sure the download is complete. e.g. for USA firmware, make sure there are 779 files and 52 folders.
Maybe just move the files, start another brand new download and compare.
 
SDIO said:
eMMC is the MLC. Make sure to use the latest version of minute
Click to expand...
I alredy am using the latest version of minute maybe its my sd card?
Post automatically merged:

neverendsDull said:
Make sure the download is complete. e.g. for USA firmware, make sure there are 779 files and 52 folders.
Maybe just move the files, start another brand new download and compare.
Click to expand...
I can confirm its 779 files and 52 folders and i alredy did a brand new download
Post automatically merged:

What else is their for me to do :(
Post automatically merged:

I might try it with another sd card because i remember when i tried modding my 3ds the sd card wasnt working untill i got a new one
 
Last edited by kavan,

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