From /. games:
Now, Nintendo has pushed a boot2 update to all Wii users, and the results are what was expected: users are reporting bricks after installing 4.2 on unmodified consoles. Nintendo is currently attempting to censor posts and remove references to homebrew. It is worth noting that the new boot2 does not attempt to block anything or offer any additional protection or functionality. Its sole purpose is to simply replace current versions which may or may not have been modified with BootMii. Another interesting tidbit is that Nintendo is not believed to have any method to repair this kind of brick at a factory, short of replacing the entire motherboard."
So in their haste to combat those .01% Wii users (my guesstimate of homebrew users), they are releasing code that could brick a Wii AND they may not have anyway other than sending in the system to get it fixed?
Why is it all right for regular users to suffer to combat a very small percentage of the users that do things with their console that Nintendo doesn’t approve of? We all know, even Nintendo knows, that you can’t stop piracy/homebrew/etc with mere software updates. The pirates are crafty and will just release a new version of their software. So why does Nintendo spend so much time working against them, at the expense of their bigger customer base?
I don’t know. I hope Nintendo knows. Because this is irresponsible at best.
What Would Matt Do: Wonder why Nintendo is so headstrong to get pirates when they represent such a small part of their console owners… I mean, I know companies don’t like it when people steal their shit. That’s a given. But is this course worth it? What next, Nintendo will start releasing updates that make your promise you’re not a pirate before you use console? Because that’s about how effective these updates are, except regular paying customers are also being hit with the flack.
I bit the bullet and installed the 4.2 update. It did take a while to get started, and it took a long time to finish, too. I don’t know how long (I didn’t time it) but it took long enough that I was starting to get concerned, and every now & then I’d find myself compelled to stare at the progress bar until it advanced a little bit. Phew. Still going. Okay then.
I think the bricking of unmodded systems probably occurred when people freaked out because the update took several minutes to start, or just took so long to complete, and they foolishly pulled the plug on their system midway through the update. Oops.
I do agree with your main point though. Given that this update was designed with no purpose other than to take out the people who’ve modified their Wii, it was not only a blatant waste of time, it was bad publicity (yes, there is such a thing).
Modding a Wii (or any console for that matter) is not an easy process and your average Joe Plumber is not going to do it. The average modder has his finger on the pulse of the warez & modz community so when a patch comes out which is targeting the modders, he knows about it long before Joe Plumber does. So while Joe Plumber starts the anti-modder patch then shuts his Wii down because it seems to be taking too long, the Modders sit tight and wait, and before too long someone in the Modder community comes through with a fix that defeats 4.2, because they’re that damn good.
Meanwhile, back on the ranch, Joe Plumber and his brethren are staring at their bricked Wiis wondering why they’re not working. Eventually, maybe, they’ll call Nintendo, who’ll repair the damage they’ve done, for free of course, which really means it’s costing Nintendo even more money to fix the problems they caused when they waged and lost a war against the Modders.
Nope. This patch was not a good idea.
the wii 4.2 update bricked my wii!!!! and i dont even run homebrew!!!!!! no i’ve got no clue why it fucked up! … the update was completed…
and now my wii wont boot… thank god i could get the game out of the wii
[...] Wii update 4.2 may brick your console. Is it worth it? « What … [...]
Now I’m not saying what kind of Wii I own, other than Nintendo brand, obviously! But were someone so inclined, they’d just keep their stupid wi-fi turned off and never update their Wii. If they had updates they needed to make, they could do it through usb or sd card direct to the memory install. Just saying.
I feel bad when Wii’s die. I wonder if this has since been resolved?
Okay. So my kid’s friend did this update on his system, not understanding that it was going to brick his system, which is not modded in any way. I got volunteered, through my son, to sort it out. Here’s what I’m thinking, and please let me know if I’m limping down the wrong path. This firmware is probably on an eeprom type chip that is in a socket or hard soldered straight to the mainboard. Has anyone looked into methods of re-flashing the chip with an eeprom reader/writer?
Greetings… has anyone tried the savemii dongle?
Try to google it and see if works! :)
i love my Nintendo wii, i almost use it everyday because i am a video game addict. love the nice features.-;”