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guide.md

Last update: 8/15/20

This is a very basic guide on hacking the Wii U. It's meant as a backup in case the ones I linked in the pastebin are unavailable. If you're looking for a more exhaustive guide, try this one.

0. Preliminary questions

What can I do with a hacked Wii U?

Running Custom Firmware (CFW) will allow you to do stuff with your Wii U that you wouldn't be able to normally, e.g. play games regardless of region, emulate old games that aren't available on the eShop, dump your Wii U game discs and install them to your hard drive and of course, play games that you did not acquire legally. There's also tons of other kickass homebrew that you can do all kinds of stupid shit with.

Are there any risks involved?

Most of the stuff covered in this guide won't make any permanent changes to your Wii U, so even in the worst case you can easily undo whatever mistakes you've made. However, there is one CFW method (Coldboot Haxchi) that can easily brick your console if you don't know what you're doing and you should probably avoid that method if there are other people using your Wii U without your supervision. This method will be explained in detail later. For everything else, having basic common sense should eliminate most risks. All methods also include an explanation on how to make a backup of your NAND, but flashing it back to your console is not as simple as it is for the 3DS/Switch.

Do I keep everything I had before hacking my Wii U? Can I still play online?

Yes and yes.

Does all of this work on the newest Wii U firmware (5.5.X)?

Sure.

Can I get banned for playing online with a hacked Wii U?

As long as you don't do anything stupid like cheating or modding, you won't even get banned for playing pirated games online. Nintendo doesn't really care about the Wii U if you haven't noticed yet.

(Question not covered in this FAQ)

Go to /hbg/, GBAtemp, the guide I linked in the pastebin or just google it.

1. CFW methods

Mocha

  • Free
  • Has to be launched through the Internet Browser (non-permanent)
  • Recommended for testing

Haxchi

  • Not free (requires a legit DS Virtual Console game to be installed on your console)
  • Allows you to launch CFW directly from the Wii U Menu (non-permanent)
  • Your DS VC game can be restored afterwards (this will replace Haxchi)

Coldboot Haxchi (CBHC)

  • Not free (requires Haxchi)
  • Allows you to boot your Wii U directly into CFW (essentially permanent)
  • Can be replaced with the original Haxchi afterwards
  • Can brick your Wii U (see below)

Note: All three methods require you to connect your console to the internet at least once. The outcome for all three is pretty much the same, no CFW is better than the others. Also note that you do not need to run CFW in order to play (disc-based) pirated games (or your own backups) as long as you don't have eShop content such as DLC installed for them.

If you have chosen a CFW method, all that's left now is to update your Wii U to the newest firmware. Then you can proceed to either Section 2 or 3.

2. Mocha

SD preparation

Required software:

Initial browser exploit

  1. Launch the Internet Browser and navigate to wiiuexploit.xyz (alternative: u.wiidb.de)
  2. Click on Run Homebrew Launcher!
  3. If your Wii U gets stuck on a white or otherwise frozen screen, wait a few seconds. If nothing happens, reboot the console, reset the browser’s save data and try again.

If you can see the Homebrew Launcher, that means your console is now running CFW. You need to repeat this process every time you reboot your Wii U. With the Homebrew Launcher up and running, you can now proceed with the steps below.

NAND backup

  1. Navigate through the Homebrew Launcher and launch the Wii U NAND Dumper app.
  2. Enter the following configuration:
    • Dump SLC: yes
    • Dump SLCCMPT: yes
    • Dump MLC: optional (contains save files and game data)
    • Dump OTP: yes
    • Dump SEEPROM: yes
  3. Press the A button to start the dumping process.
  4. The critical backup files are slc.bin, slccmpt.bin, seeprom.bin, otp.bin and if you chose to go with a full backup, every mlc.bin.part file. Make sure to store them in a safe place.

Note: Restoring your backup requires soldering skills. You'll have to either follow this guide on GBAtemp if you want to do it yourself or have a professional do it for you.

Installing Indexiine

Having Indexiine installed on your system will trigger the exploit automatically every time you launch your console's internet browser, even without an internet connection. This step is optional but may save you some time.

  1. Make sure the payload.elf from the SD preparation step is still located inside the /wiiu directory on your SD card.
  2. Run the browser exploit to bring up the Homebrew Launcher.
  3. Launch the Indexiine Installer app (see SD preparation) from here and press A to install Indexiine.

You can uninstall Indexiine from your console by relaunching the Indexiine Installer app and pressing B.

3a. Haxchi

You will need one of the following DS Virtual Console games installed on the system drive of your Wii U. Please note that this has to be a legit purchased game or otherwise you'll brick. Region doesn't matter.

  • Animal Crossing: Wild World
  • Big Brain Academy
  • Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! (usually the cheapest)
  • Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber
  • Kirby: Canvas Curse / Kirby: Power Paintbrush
  • Kirby: Squeak Squad / Kirby: Mouse Attack
  • The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
  • The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
  • Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
  • Mario Kart DS
  • New Super Mario Bros.
  • Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky
  • Star Fox Command
  • Super Mario 64 DS
  • Wario: Master of Disguise
  • WarioWare: Touched!
  • Yoshi’s Island DS
  • Yoshi Touch & Go

SD preparation

Required software:

Initial browser exploit

  1. Launch the Internet Browser and navigate to wiiuexploit.xyz (alternative: u.wiidb.de)
  2. Click on Run Homebrew Launcher!
  3. If your Wii U gets stuck on a white or otherwise frozen screen, wait a few seconds. If nothing happens, reboot the console, reset the browser’s save data and try again.

NAND backup

  1. Navigate through the Homebrew Launcher and launch the Wii U NAND Dumper app.
  2. Enter the following configuration:
    • Dump SLC: yes
    • Dump SLCCMPT: yes
    • Dump MLC: optional (contains save files and game data)
    • Dump OTP: yes
    • Dump SEEPROM: yes
  3. Press the A button to start the dumping process.
  4. The critical backup files are slc.bin, slccmpt.bin, seeprom.bin, otp.bin and if you chose to go with a full backup, every mlc.bin.part file. Make sure to store them in a safe place.

Note: Restoring your backup requires soldering skills. You'll have to either follow this guide on GBAtemp if you want to do it yourself or have a professional do it for you.

Installing Haxchi

  1. Navigate to the Homebrew Launcher via the browser exploit and open the Haxchi app.
  2. Use the D-Pad to select a compatible DS VC game that is currently installed on your system. Press A to start the installation.
  3. If successful, your DS VC game has now been replaced by a Haxchi icon which is capable of launching CFW with the press of a button. As this is a non-permanent CFW method, turning your Wii U off will return the console to its original state, but the Haxchi app will still be there. You'll have to launch it again to boot CFW. For a permanent CFW solution, read the following section.

Installing the Homebrew Launcher

This is an optional but recommended step that will install the Homebrew Launcher app to your Wii U Menu. You can't launch it without running CFW beforehand, obviously.

  1. Download WUP Installer GX2 from http://wiiubru.com/appstore/zips/wup_installer_gx2.zip and copy the wiiu (and its contents) folder to the root of your SD card.
  2. Download homebrew_launcher_channel.v2.1_fix.zip from https://github.com/GaryOderNichts/homebrew_launcher/releases/tag/v2.1_fix and move its contents to a (newly created) folder named install in the root of your SD card.
  3. Launch Haxchi from the Wii U Menu (or through the browser exploit) to run CFW, then launch it again while holding down the A button. This should bring up the Homebrew Launcher menu again.
  4. Open WUP Installer GX2. From the menu, select Homebrew Launcher Channel (or install) and confirm with Yes. Select NAND as the installation destination.
  5. After the installation has completed, press the Home button to return to the Wii U Menu.

3b. Coldboot Haxchi (CBHC)

This (optional) part of the guide assumes that you have already installed Haxchi in the previous step.

WARNING: Before installing CBHC, please ensure that you (and every other person who may be using your Wii U in the future) will always follow these rules:

  • Do NOT uninstall the DS VC/Haxchi title from your Wii U while CBHC is active.
  • Do NOT format the system while CBHC is active.
  • Do NOT install Haxchi over CBHC.
  • Do NOT delete the user account that purchased the DS VC game.
  • Do NOT move the DS VC/Haxchi title to a USB drive.
  • Do NOT reinstall the same DS VC game using WUP Installer or from the eShop.
  • Make sure to read the "Blocking updates" section in the pastebin.

Instructions

  1. Download the latest CBHC release from https://github.com/FIX94/haxchi/releases and extract both folders to your SD card.
  2. Access the Homebrew Launcher either through the browser exploit or by launching the Haxchi app from the Wii U Menu and holding down the A button.
  3. Open the CBHC app and select the DS VC game you previously installed Haxchi over. Press A to start the installation.
  4. Upon rebooting your console, you should see the CBHC boot menu. Select Autoboot: System Menu here if you want CBHC to directly boot into CFW each time you turn on your console.

Pressing the Home button during the "Autobooting..." process will bring up the boot menu again.

What will NOT brick your Wii U when running CBHC:

  • Removing/swapping SD cards and/or USB drives
  • Using Quick Start
  • Updating CBHC by running the installer again and overwriting the current version (do not use the Haxchi installer!)
  • Launching the "DONT TOUCH ME" icon, moving it or putting it into a folder
  • Games crashing, getting your account banned, downloading a lot of games and never playing them, etc.

Uninstalling CBHC

  1. Open the Homebrew Launcher and launch the CBHC app.
  2. Select the DS VC game you originally installed Haxchi over, confirm.
  3. Read the warnings, then press the B button.
  4. If your console doesn't autoboot to CBHC anymore, you can now safely uninstall the "DON'T TOUCH ME' app.

4. vWii modding

Very short guide on how to mod the vWii (the Wii inside your Wii U). Download these files:

If you haven't modded your Wii U to run CFW yet, you'll need these files as well:

In case you haven't made a NAND backup yet, follow the "NAND backup" sections of either the Haxchi or Mocha guides to do so.

Instructions

  1. Launch the Homebrew Launcher (either through the browser exploit - see above - or the channel if you have it installed).
  2. Launch the Wuphax app, press A and wait until it says Successfully injected wuphax!
  3. Launch vWii (the Wii icon) and open the Mii Channel. If you see a scam warning screen, the wuphax injection was successful.
  4. Select continue, Install The Homebrew Channel and Yes, continue.
  5. To restore the Mii Channel (this won't remove the softmod), launch the Wuphax app from the Wii U Homebrew Launcher again and press B, then wait until it says Mii Channel restored!
  6. Now launch the Homebrew Channel inside your freshly modded vWii.
  7. Launch the d2x cIOS Installer and install the following three cIOS:
    • cIOS v10 d2x-v10-beta52-vWii, cIOS base: 56, cIOS slot: 249
    • cIOS v10 d2x-v10-beta52-vWii, cIOS base: 57, cIOS slot: 250
    • cIOS v10 d2x-v10-beta52-vWii, cIOS base: 58, cIOS slot: 251
  8. Launch the Patched IOS 80 Installer, wait 30 seconds and start the installation.

If something goes wrong and you need to restore a certain vWii IOS (or your vWii in general), try using this tool or restore your NAND backup. Installing custom wads or IOS made for the original Wii will brick your vWii, as will installing Priiloader.

Credits

Large parts of this guide were directly or indirectly taken from https://wiiu.hacks.guide.

@BeanMKW
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BeanMKW commented Jul 21, 2021

among us

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