Wii Artifacting Problem

kj01

I've read some stories of people having problems with little irregular pixels hindering the picture on their Wii games, and I've now come to accept that my Wii has the same problem. It happens on varying levels of severity -- for instance, the Wii channels, like Forecast, News, Mii and Everybody Votes have little to no artifacting at all. Virtual Console games have some to many. And just recently, I borrowed a friend's Rayman Raving Rabbids, and the problem is quite severe.

My question is, has anyone sent their Wii in to be repaired because of this? Do they actually repair it or send a new Wii entirely?

Finally, I've noticed some audio glitches when playing games on the Wii... does anyone else? It could just be a faulty speaker cable... or bad connection... I don't know.

thepassenger

I sent in my Wii for artifacting issues. I believe they send you a "new" Wii since my replacement has a different serial number on it. They were nice enough to transfer all the data from the old Wii to the "new" Wii. All I had to do was re-download all my VC downloads. Only saying "new" because it could be refurbished for all I know.

ZackSchilling

I'd ask you to be more specific about what you mean by "artifacting", but since it's more severe in games than on menus, it's safe to say that the Wii is toast. I've not heard of sound problems but if it has been overheating chronically, the audio chip could have been affected, who knows. I'd suggest sending the Wii back to Nintendo. They'll replace it for free and transfer all your data.

Some people will come in here and say that on your new Wii, you should leave WiiConnect24 off in the future as a preventative measure. I will contradict that advice and say that on a properly functioning console, WiiConnect24 should only leave the console slightly warm, not with any level of heat that could possibly damage components. I will advise you, however, to put the Wii in its vertical stand. The left/underside seems to have some sort of heat sink attached to the case there and increased airflow on that surface from keeping it vertical is probably a good thing when the console is on or in standby.

h8b1llg8ts

I personally can account that I can't imagine it being WiiConnect either. I have had my Wii since Day 1 and WiiConnect has been on since then too. I have had no issues what so ever but it could also be due to people maybe moving their Wii's from room to room.

Lord Jezo

Are you using component cables or composite / svideo cables?

AbsoluteZero

ZackSchilling wrote: »

I'd ask you to be more specific about what you mean by "artifacting", but since it's more severe in games than on menus, it's safe to say that the Wii is toast. I've not heard of sound problems but if it has been overheating chronically, the audio chip could have been affected, who knows. I'd suggest sending the Wii back to Nintendo. They'll replace it for free and transfer all your data.

Some people will come in here and say that on your new Wii, you should leave WiiConnect24 off in the future as a preventative measure. I will contradict that advice and say that on a properly functioning console, WiiConnect24 should only leave the console slightly warm, not with any level of heat that could possibly damage components. I will advise you, however, to put the Wii in its vertical stand. The left/underside seems to have some sort of heat sink attached to the case there and increased airflow on that surface from keeping it vertical is probably a good thing when the console is on or in standby.

Lime'd for truth.

I've had my Wii with WiiConnect24 enabled for months now, and not a single problem. It does get a little warm, but certainly not warm enough to damage anything.

Do run it vertical, however. There is not enough clearance under the Wii in it's horizontal position for proper cooling.

slash000

Why is it that running horizontal leaves less room for cooling?

I mean, the vents are on the back and bottom, right, so running horizontally leaves those open to the fresh air, whereas running vertically has the bottom vent shooting down and out through the console stand, as opposed to straight out into the open air..?


Well, whatever the case, a person with artifacting could at least try turning off WC24 and see if it helps. Or just call N and have them replace it.

Back when I used to run WC24, my system got reasonably warm, but certainly not hot. I turned it off just in case.

HadjiQuest

How warm is "a little warm"?

My new console gets up to around 100F. The old one got around there, too.

AbsoluteZero

slash000 wrote: »

Why is it that running horizontal leaves less room for cooling?

I mean, the vents are on the back and bottom, right, so running horizontally leaves those open to the fresh air, whereas running vertically has the bottom vent shooting down and out through the console stand, as opposed to straight out into the open air..?


Well, whatever the case, a person with artifacting could at least try turning off WC24 and see if it helps. Or just call N and have them replace it.

Back when I used to run WC24, my system got reasonably warm, but certainly not hot. I turned it off just in case.

Because the clearance on the bottom of the console when running horizontally is like 1mm, the fans aren't enough to counteract that.

Mashalot

slash000 wrote: »

Why is it that running horizontal leaves less room for cooling?

Because the side against the floor/counter/whatever gets way less air circulation, further insulating the Wii. Good point about the vent though.

I had had wiiconnect on for several months but now I usually power down to red via holding in the face button, just in case.

However the downstairs in my house, especially the living room, stays pretty fuckin cool for some reason, even in the heat. And incredibly cold in cold weather. Got a big ol leafy tree keeping the sun from ever hitting that side of the house. Plus I have a big fan/air filter thing on the floor near the A/V stuff so the room air circulates well.

Rami

I've had mine since Christmas, I run it horizontal and Connect24 has always been on.

I put my hand on it just now and it's not even warm, let alone hot.

AbsoluteZero

Touch the bottom

Rami

Slightly warm, but still cooler than my PC.

AbsoluteZero

Also, I do believe the bluetooth and wifi antennas are located on the top rear of the console (when vertical). The wifi hardware is what makes it get warm, no?

Either way, much more of the console is exposed to open air when run vertically. The vent on the bottom isn't completely plugged up either, as there's a nice big hole on the stand for it to blow through.

ArcSyn

AbsoluteZero wrote: »

Also, I do believe the bluetooth and wifi antennas are located on the top rear of the console (when vertical). The wifi hardware is what makes it get warm, no?

Either way, much more of the console is exposed to open air when run vertically. The vent on the bottom isn't completely plugged up either, as there's a nice big hole on the stand for it to blow through.

The included stand anyway. I've seen quite a few third-party stands that have no hole.

slash000

ArcSyn wrote: »

AbsoluteZero wrote: »

Also, I do believe the bluetooth and wifi antennas are located on the top rear of the console (when vertical). The wifi hardware is what makes it get warm, no?

Either way, much more of the console is exposed to open air when run vertically. The vent on the bottom isn't completely plugged up either, as there's a nice big hole on the stand for it to blow through.

The included stand anyway. I've seen quite a few third-party stands that have no hole.

Those idiots. Not only are they selling an accessory that comes with the console, but they can't even get the basic feature of an air vent into it!


Speaking of that.. I got a Naki G-Pak carrying case for my Wii. It's a fantastic case, and I recommend it to anyone. I just don't recommend playing the system while it's in the case, despite the fact that this is an advertised 'feature.' The reason, is because the vents are partially covered up by the strap that holds in the system. Good job Naki.

cooljammer00

thepassenger wrote: »

I sent in my Wii for artifacting issues. I believe they send you a "new" Wii since my replacement has a different serial number on it. They were nice enough to transfer all the data from the old Wii to the "new" Wii. All I had to do was re-download all my VC downloads. Only saying "new" because it could be refurbished for all I know.

you had to rebuy all your VC games?

Legacy

cooljammer00 wrote: »

thepassenger wrote: »

I sent in my Wii for artifacting issues. I believe they send you a "new" Wii since my replacement has a different serial number on it. They were nice enough to transfer all the data from the old Wii to the "new" Wii. All I had to do was re-download all my VC downloads. Only saying "new" because it could be refurbished for all I know.

you had to rebuy all your VC games?

Redownload. Not buy.

Zek

Yeah, supposedly the artifacting is an overheating malfunction as a result of leaving it on standby. I don't know how many systems it affects though, it definitely isn't all of them.

Daedalus

Legacy wrote: »

cooljammer00 wrote: »

thepassenger wrote: »

I sent in my Wii for artifacting issues. I believe they send you a "new" Wii since my replacement has a different serial number on it. They were nice enough to transfer all the data from the old Wii to the "new" Wii. All I had to do was re-download all my VC downloads. Only saying "new" because it could be refurbished for all I know.

you had to rebuy all your VC games?

Redownload. Not buy.

It's not like we're dealing with Apple here. You can re-download any game you delete, ever, on the same Wii, and if you send it in for warranty service, they'll transfer that data.

AggroChan

My wii has the same problem but I'm loving RE4 too much to take it back.

Legacy

AggroChan wrote: »

My wii has the same problem but I'm loving RE4 too much to take it back.

Same here.

BTP

Is it possible to see pictures of little->severe ranges of this problem? I'd like to know specifically what this really looks like so I know if I ever face it, I can be somewhat prepared for it.

slash000

Some website had some images of it. so it's out there. Just don't have the link.

ZackSchilling

Zek wrote: »

Yeah, supposedly the artifacting is an overheating malfunction as a result of leaving it on standby. I don't know how many systems it affects though, it definitely isn't all of them.

I don't think this is true. I'd bet it's two symptoms of the same problem, not some sort of cause and effect. I can't imagine the CPU or whatever is getting hot is getting hot enough to transfer a damaging amount of heat to the GPU/VRAM without damaging its self. I'm pretty sure it's an improperly manufactured/assembled set of heat sinks that cause the system to become too hot in standby and allow the GPU to overheat when running.

polarblue

Rami wrote: »

I've had mine since Christmas, I run it horizontal and Connect24 has always been on.

I put my hand on it just now and it's not even warm, let alone hot.

yea me too, i dont see how leaving the wii horizontal will make it that hot, it runs very luke warm when im playin games

Ultarune

I've been experiencing white fuzzy lines appearing on my Wii, but only on chapter 2 of resident evil 4, the section of the village at night with rain. I don't really see severe problems on any other game or section of re4, but its really distracting. I use a standard definition tv and the video/audio cables that came with the Wii. I bought it about 2 weeks after launch, can I still just call them up and get this fixed, or is it too late?

slash000

You can still get it fixed. Is it in a hot place? A place without much ventilation? Are you running horiz or vert?

Ultarune

Vertical, stays around 68-70 degrees, and well ventilated.

Edit: I had wiiconnect24 or whatever its called on for the first 2-3 months, but turned it off when I heard about the problems associated with it, and now unplug the wii when it isn't in use.

slash000

I don't think unplugging the Wii is necessary for anyone. Just turning off WC24 should suffice for anyone afraid of thermal issues.

if it were me, I'd have it fixed. I wouldn't be able to cope with artifacting..

kj01

I have had the Wii standing vertical ever since I got it, and in an average-to-cool temperature room... I do use component cables. At first, I thought it was the 3rd party cables (as 1st party ones weren't available at the time) that were causing these dead-pixel-like problem. But upon reading this forum and hearing about it, I'm fearful to say that it is more permanent than that... And I guess a firmware update (if they ever decide to do those) would never cause the problem, as it's a physical wear.

Looks like I'll be sending it in... which causes some more questions: can I contact Nintendo via e-mail? How much does it cost to ship? How long will it take before I get it back? Etc., etc.

RonTheDM

Despite the fact that my computer has 3 case fans, I have a ps2 running vertical and a Wii running horizontal in the same area, I just got one of those 20 dollar honeywell house fans and stuck it right next to all of them. None of them ever even get warm.

slash000

I would suggest calling rather than emailing Nintendo.

scootch

don't worry, they can't hurt you over the phone.

Lord Jezo

kj01 wrote: »

Looks like I'll be sending it in... which causes some more questions: can I contact Nintendo via e-mail? How much does it cost to ship? How long will it take before I get it back? Etc., etc.

Free.

Just call them, tell them you are having artifacting problems, mention stuff about the cables, and say you have tested it every was possible. They will send you a pre paid UPS shipping label. You put that on a box, the Wii in the box, then drop it off at Staples or some other UPS drop off location. They'll then get the Wii, fix the Wii, and send it back to you for free. They will offer you a second option of taking your credit card info, shipping you out a replacement Wii and a pre paid label, and then have you just ship back your broken one. I didn't take that option because I wanted them to copy all of my data for me.

My Wii is currently on the UPS truck coming back to my house. The whole process was painless and takes about two weeks total from me calling them to me getting it back.

thepassenger

Or I was offered a third option since I happened to live like 2.5 hours away from their nearest repair hub. Which was to drop it off in the morning, then pick it up at the end of the day. But there was no way I was going to drive 2.5 hours and then hang out in Syracuse NY all freaking day.

JPS3

Here is a couple pictures of what the problem looks like. It was form someone who had the problem very early on, I bookmarked the page to reference in case anything weird popped up on my Wii.

tralev

I leave my Wii on Standby With 24 Connect on all the time. Why? Because if it is going to break I want it to break within its warranty.

Mblackwell

Well.... it happened. Nintendo is sending me a box. They say it will take about 4 days and the whole process should take about 12.

I was playing Harry Potter when I noticed it. I also noticed that the DVD player my system is next to was on and very hot. I think that combined with WiiConnect24 and the fact that I have a launch console all contributed to the problem. I broke my own rule really. I almost never buy the first production line of a product.

HadjiQuest

Mblackwell wrote: »

Well.... it happened. Nintendo is sending me a box. They say it will take about 4 days and the whole process should take about 12.

I was playing Harry Potter when I noticed it. I also noticed that the DVD player my system is next to was on and very hot. I think that combined with WiiConnect24 and the fact that I have a launch console all contributed to the problem. I broke my own rule really. I almost never buy the first production line of a product.

When it happened to me, Nintendo wouldn't send me a box.

It cost $15 to buy a box and ship it out.

Mblackwell

Did you call customer service and have them set up a ticket? And was it still under warranty?

Much to my happiness, speaking of, they said they'd extend the warranty by another year when I got the new one.

When I called I told them my serial number and they looked me up and set up a ticket and the whole works.