Wii

Wii

The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...

 drivechips

Modchip

A modchip is a small electronic device used to modify or disable built-in restrictions and limitations of computers, specifically videogame consoles...

are electronic devices

Printed circuit board

A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...

 that modify or disable the built-in restrictions of the Nintendo Wii

Wii

The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...

 video game console. At present, all modchips operate by physically modifying the Wii’s DVD drive. As a result, they are often referred to as drive chips. Most modchips are capable of circumventing region coding and copy protection, which allows users to play games created in different regions

Grey market

A grey market or gray market also known as parallel market is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels which, while legal, are unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended by the original manufacturer...

, load burned discs, and use third-party homebrew

Homebrew (video games)

Homebrew is a term frequently applied to video games or other software produced by consumers to target proprietary hardware platforms not typically user-programmable or that use proprietary storage methods...

 software.

Software modding

While often associated with physically modifying the hardware of a device, modding can also be achieved with software. Released in early 2008, Datel

Datel

Datel is a UK-based electronics and game console peripherals manufacturer. The company is best known for producing a wide range of hardware and peripherals for home computers in the 1980s, for example replacement keyboards for the ZX Spectrum, the PlusD disk interface and the Action Replay series...

’s Freeloader for the Wii was capable of circumventing region restrictions. Its release was met with skepticism in the modding community, as many "soft" mods in the past were defeated when the manufacturer released new firmware for the device. In June 2008, Nintendo

Nintendo

is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....

’s System Menu 3.3 update successfully prevented Datel’s method of "soft" modding.

On 25 October 2008, a Backup Launcher 0.3 beta was released by WiiGator which makes it possible for DVD-R disks burned from backup ISO files to be played on a soft-modded Wii. While most games are playable, some will not run due to compatibility issues. Disc read speed is limited to 3x (compared to 6x for normal games), which leads to many games having video playback stutters and slightly longer load times. These issues are usually minor and do not affect the actual gameplay. With the release of Neogamma by WiiPower (a modification of Backup Launcher), it has now become obsolete.

Solderless modding

The drivechip can be soldered onto a clip that replaces the wires that connect the disc drive to the drivechip, and connects onto the drive itself. These simplify the installation process and prevent inexperienced users from damaging the console board due to improper soldering. If the clip is removed too many times,it will no longer stay on the drive. Though it is frequently called solderless modding, this is technically incorrect since soldering will still be required. The number and location of solder points on the drive chip is "automatically" accounted for through the use of chip-clips, and such clips extend the range of future possible solutions. Many vendors now presolder the chip to the clip, making it a true solderless kit.

The newer fourth generation of drivechips do not require soldering; they sit between the connection to the Wii and the disc drive. Such chips are advertised as "plug and play" and include the FlatMod, FlatMii, Wasabi DX, WiiKey Fusion, DriveKey, and the WODE Jukebox.

Drivechip issues

There have been reports of bricking (rendering the unit inoperable due to an incompatible firmware update) of a small number of Wii consoles after the installation of an update to System Menu 3.0, released on 7 August 2007, in which Nintendo warned explicitly that modded consoles could be rendered inoperable after installation.

Due to hardware revisions, older drivechips may not work on newer Wii systems. When Nintendo released the D2C drive chipset

Chipset

A chipset, PC chipset, or chip set refers to a group of integrated circuits, or chips, that are designed to work together. They are usually marketed as a single product.- Computers :...

, it broke compatibility with every (at that time) Wii drivechip. The D2C drive chipset is now supported by numerous drivechips. In May 2008, Nintendo released a new batch of Wii systems with drive chipsets (D2C2) that look identical to D2C drives but require updated chips for support.
Near the end of 2008, a new drive chipset known as D2E started circulating which has about the same drivechip compatibility as D2C2 drive chipsets. Later, Nintendo covered part of the drive with epoxy to prevent drivechip installation. The epoxy can be removed, but doing so risks chipset damage.

A disc drive chipset called the D3 introduced a radical change, as the chip the drivechip clipped to was no longer on the PCB. Drivechip manufacturers chose to use a dongle method to trick the drive to use its built-in DVD mode, which was meant for a potential DVD player on the Wii. This is the same method that software-modded Wiis use.

Following the D3, a newer chipset known as the D3-2, was released. It looks identical to a D3 chipset apart from the board serial number (generally serial numbers starting E or below are D3, F or above are D3-2) but the DVD mode has been removed from the drive, frustrating attempts to load any discs not sanctioned by Nintendo. An alternative is to replace the D3-2 chipset with an older revision, or getting a D3-2 compatible drivechip which must load via USB or SD.

Nintendo's latest chipset is known as the D4. Originally referred to as the D3-mini it uses a smaller PCB, about half the size of its predecessors. Unlike earlier drives, on which the PCB could be easily swapped with one containing a different chipset (D3 -> D2B, for example), swapping the PCB also requires replacement of the laser mechanism due to a redesigned ribbon cable and the disc detection PCB on the top of the drive.

Nintendo also continues to employ anti-piracy methods on their games. New Super Mario Bros Wii, for example, will not play out of the box because the game checks the burst cutting area

Burst cutting area

In computing, the burst cutting area or narrow burst cutting area refers to the circular area near the center of a DVD, HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc, where a barcode can be written for additional information such as ID codes, manufacturing information, and serial numbers...

 for data not normally in a rip. The backup needs to be patched or modified first in order to work with certain drivechips. This modification was released the day after the game was released. There are also similar workarounds for software modifications.

List of drivechips

Note that all D3-compatible chips are "plug and play", limited to a 3x disc read speed, and most have issues with streaming GameCube audio. For any chip to work on a D3-2 or D4 drive, a source of external storage (i.e.- USB flash drive) is necessary.

Name	Availability	DMS/D2A Compatible	D2B Compatible	D2C Compatible	D2C2 Compatible	D2E Compatible	D3 Compatible	D3-2 / D4 Compatible	Notes
Argon/InFeCtuS									InFeCtuS chips are universal, can be flashed for other consoles.
Argon2
Chiip
CycloWiz
FlatMii									Fix for New Super Mario Bros. Wii is proprietary, and only supported by the FlatMii team.
FlatMod									Fix for New Super Mario Bros. Wii is proprietary, and only supported by the FlatMii team.
D2Sun
SunKey
SunDriver									Completely replaces the Wii's disc drive.
OpenWii
Wasabi DX									Can act as a Wasabi Zero after a firmware update and reinstallation.
Wasabi V1
Wasabi V2
Wasabi V3
Wasabi Zero									Identical to the Wasabi V3, but includes a JTAG port and the ability to go solderless.
Wi-ic									Error 001, which is in games as old as Super Smash Bros. Brawl Super Smash Bros. Brawl Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by... , is not automatically patched.
Wii-Boss
WiiD
WiiFree									Open-source drivechip.
WiiJii
WiiKey									"Quick solder" method will not work on D2B Wiis with a missing pad or cut legs. The latest firmware fixed "Error 001", but brought back issues with GameCube audio streaming.
D2CKey
D2Pro
D2Lite									Loading burned discs requires a special firmware. Units with a yellow sticker can be flashed with WiiKey 2 firmware.
WiiKey 2									Appearance is identical to D2Lite. Early chips even had a white PCB.
DriveKey
WiiKey Fusion									Appearance is identical to DriveKey.
Wiinja
Wiip
Wiip2
WiiRez
WODE Jukebox
YAOSM									Open-source drivechip.
Yowii									Open-source drivechip.
SureFire									Based on Flatmii, no external support needed, but only runs if wii menu is 4.0 or under (will not work on wii menu 3.3)