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Tutorial How to hack / softmod the Wii in 2019

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Easiest way to softmod your Wii in 2019

Intro
This is the easiest method you will find out there. This guide will help you mod your Wii without a game, get the most up to date files, brick protection, and best compatibility to play any game released.

Requirements
  • LetterBomb files - will go into this later.
  • SD card - I believe the max is 4gb that the Wii will recognize. Here's an example of one that should work.
  • ModMii [Download] - Grab the newest version zip file from that page. Unzip this once you download it.
  • SysCheck [Download] - You will need this to determine what needs updating.
Tutorial
Getting LetterBomb files
  1. Start up your Wii and go to the Wii settings > 2nd page > Internet > Console Information and write down your Mac Address.
  2. Go to this site and input your Mac Address. Make sure the "Bundle the Hackmii installer for me" is checked.
  3. Click either button "cut blue / red wire". It doesn't matter. Download the file.
  4. Unzip Letterbomb.zip
  5. Copy the private folder and the boot.elf to the SD card (the root of the SD card, don't put in apps).
  6. Don't remove the SD card yet. We are going to add more to the SD card to streamline the process.
Getting System Check files onto your SD card
  1. Create a folder called Apps on your SD card
  2. Move the SysCheckHDE folder to the Apps folder on your SD card
  3. Safely remove your SD card and put it into your Wii
Hacking / Modding your Wii, adding Homebrew Channel, installing Bootmii
  1. Boot up your Wii with the SD card in the slot.
  2. Go to your Message icon in the bottom right.
  3. You should get a Letter Bomb message either that day or the day before. If you don't have it, shut down, put the SD card back in your computer and make sure that private and boot.elf are in the root of your SD card and not in the Apps folder.
  4. Click on the message. It will then take you to an install page. Click 1 to continue.
  5. Click "Install Homebrew Channel" and click "Yes to continue"
  6. Click "Bootmii..." > "Install Bootmii as IOS"
  7. Now you can Exit
Backing up your NAND
This will help you in the event something goes wrong, you will have the files to restore.
  1. Once you exited, it should take you to the HBC. If it didn't, navigate your Wii channels and find the Homebrew Channel and click it.
  2. Click your "Home" button on your remote. You should see a Launch Bootmii option. Click it.
  3. From here, you will need to use the Power and Reset buttons on your Wii to navigate the options.
  4. Press Power to move over to the 3rd option and click Reset to select it.
  5. The first option should look like a microchip pointing/dumping to the SD card. Click Reset to select it. It will begin backing up your NAND.
    Note: Don't worry about the bad sectors, most NANDs were shipped with bad sectors.
  6. This process will take about 10 minutes iirc. Once it is done, go back to your HBC as we want to do one more thing before we actually remove the SD card.
System Check to figure out which files are missing
This will help you install the most up to date files for the best compatibility.
  1. In the HBC, you should see an app called System Check, click it.
  2. It will say "Press A to continue", press it.
  3. Once it is done, shut down the Wii, remove the SD card and put it into your computer.
Using SysCheck file to get the most current files from Modmii
  1. Open your Modmii folder. You should see ModMii.exe. Don't click it.
  2. Open up your SD card. Inside the root of the card, you should see "sysCheck.csv". Drag sysCheck.csv and put it on the ModMii.exe (not ModMiiSkin.exe).
  3. ModMii should now launch. It will tell you to type "I agree" and hit enter
  4. You will now see a list of IOS's and wads that need updating. Type "Y" and click enter.
  5. ModMii will now download all the files that you need and store them in a folder called COPY_TO_SD.
  6. Back out to the Main Menu in Modmii.
  7. Type '2' and click enter
  8. Type "pri", click enter
  9. Type "hax", click enter
  10. Type "d" click enter
  11. Type "y" click enter
  12. Double check to make sure Priiloader was added to the Apps folder in COPY_TO_SD, and make sure the hacks.ini file(s) are added within the Priiloader folder.
  13. Copy all those files to the root of your SD card.
  14. Safely eject your SD card and return it to your Wii and boot up the Wii.
Updating your system to the most current IOS's
  1. When you typed "Y" to download the IOS's, it should also pop up a CUSTOM guide to follow. So just follow it and you will be golden. But I'll outline a few steps for clarification.
  2. Go to HBC > Multi Mod Manager
  3. Make sure MMM has IOS236 loaded. If it's not currently on IOS236, change it.
    • If you can't change it to IOS236, you will have to back out to the Homebrew channel and run the IOS236 installer.
  4. Scroll down to WAD Manager and click it.
  5. Scroll to your WAD folder if it isn't already up.
  6. Hold the "+" button for 2 seconds to select all. Once selected, press A.
  7. It will now install all the proper IOS's for you. When you are finished, click A to continue and when you are back to the WAD folder, scroll down through it to make sure there aren't any WADs that are still marked for install. If there are, then run the installer again (by pressing A).
  8. Exit back to your HBC
Installing Priiloader and enabling options to protect from bricking your Wii
Priiloader is an application that launches before your Wii, allowing you to make modifications to how the Wii performs.
  1. In the HBC, click the Priiloader app.
  2. Run the installer. I'm not 100% sure on these steps but it should be similar to the rest. Just continue through the installer.
  3. Turn off your Wii.
  4. To gain access to the Priiloader settings, press the power button and immediately hold the Reset button.
  5. Scroll down to System Menu Hacks
  6. Enable the following
    • Replace Health Screen with Backmenu
    • Region Free EVERYTHING
    • Block Disc Updates
    • Region Free GC Games (No VM Patch)
    • Region Free Wii Games
    • Region Free Channels
    • Auto-Press A at Health Screen
    • Move Disc Channel
    • Block Online Updates
    • Scroll through some of the options to see if you'd like other settings enabled.
You've officially hacked/modded your Nintendo Wii! Now you probably want to learn some cool things so try these tutorials:
How to play your Wii and GC from a USB device/external hard drive
How to play retro games on your Wii
 
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MakeshiftJ

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Straightforward tutorial

Followed and worked but had trouble with a HBC app wiiflow with a ntc-j title

it's freezing and looking for a method that doesn't risk bricking via priimod, any app that on here that can help?

also i hear my menuify is risking do you recommend
 
AzzidReign

AzzidReign

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Straightforward tutorial

Followed and worked but had trouble with a HBC app wiiflow with a ntc-j title

it's freezing and looking for a method that doesn't risk bricking via priimod, any app that on here that can help?

also i hear my menuify is risking do you recommend
With priimod, did you enable the regional options? I'm assuming by the tag, it's a Japan game? Since it's a different region, you have to enable the option to play other regions iirc. On top of that, is it freezing on a black screen before the game even loads? Or does the game load and then it freezes while you are playing? If it's a black screen, you will likely want to manually change the IOS from 249 to 250 or vice versa depending on your default preset for the IOS to be used.

Never used or heard of Menuify tbh so idk.
 
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MakeshiftJ

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With priimod, did you enable the regional options? I'm assuming by the tag, it's a Japan game? Since it's a different region, you have to enable the option to play other regions iirc. On top of that, is it freezing on a black screen before the game even loads? Or does the game load and then it freezes while you are playing? If it's a black screen, you will likely want to manually change the IOS from 249 to 250 or vice versa depending on your default preset for the IOS to be used.

Never used or heard of Menuify tbh so idk.


okay right I did that to hard mod it for backups

and yes it's a Japanese title but the loader I have crashes immediately forcing me to load via usb any kind of work around or should I just change regions completely for that one game?
 
AzzidReign

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okay right I did that to hard mod it for backups
What do you mean by this?
and yes it's a Japanese title but the loader I have crashes immediately forcing me to load via usb any kind of work around or should I just change regions completely for that one game?
Forcing you to load via USB? Wait, do you have the disc? Is it a downloaded game? Or do you actually have it loading from a USB harddrive? I would have to look through the settings to see if there is an option on a per game basis to see if there is a way to change the region to know for sure, but you can try while we are typing and trying to work this out since I don't have the Wii near me at this point in time.
 
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Thank you so much for your tutorial I now have a bunch of wads, MMM, and IOS files as well as applications. One problem, I cannot for the life of me get wii sports to load. Just a black screen through the the loader GX when I select wii sports to start. Any ideas?
 
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Thank you so much for your tutorial I now have a bunch of wads, MMM, and IOS files as well as applications. One problem, I cannot for the life of me get wii sports to load. Just a black screen through the the loader GX when I select wii sports to start. Any ideas?
Have you tried changing the IOS from the default to load that game?
 
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Have you tried changing the IOS from the default to load that game?
Thanks for the reply AzzidReign - I have just this minute narrowed it down to the IOS as other games work through the loader,so at least I know the loader and USB drive is OK. How do I go about changing the default IOS please?
 
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same here, I cannot get wii sports to load.
how do I change default IOS? I tried using USB Loader GX and WiiFlow both just boots loop after select PLAY.
I have not tried any other game.
 
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same here, I cannot get wii sports to load.
how do I change default IOS? I tried using USB Loader GX and WiiFlow both just boots loop after select PLAY.
I have not tried any other game.
When you select the game, there is a button to click for settings. Depending on what app you are using will determine what the setting name is. I'm not in the country rn so I can't look but I thought I mention it in one of my Wii tutorials if it's not in this one.
 
Gman1255

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Any reason why you use LetterBomb here instead of str2hax or flashhax? They both don't require an sd card and just requires an internet connection.
 
AzzidReign

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Any reason why you use LetterBomb here instead of str2hax or flashhax? They both don't require an sd card and just requires an internet connection.
I thought it was easy enough tbh. And most other things needed the SD card anyway.
 
AzzidReign

AzzidReign

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Yeah that's a good point. Nice guide btw!
Thanks! Glad you like it. Any other input would be great if you have any! Not many are here for the Wii but I find it to be one of the best all around consoles! I still play it lol
 
Gman1255

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Yeah actually, I didn't see it there so I wasn't sure if I had just missed it but have you considered installing bootmii to boot2? Priiloader might be a bit more modern and It's been a while since I've actually used my Wii but (if you can) you should install bootmii to boot2. I believe the non-gamecube backcompat models don't allow for this but it's decent insurance. I read online about Priiloader and it seems it's almost the same except it doesn't allow for nand backups. The way I run my wii is like bootmii->homebrew channel->usb loader gx->game (for gamecube games, usb loader launches nintendont) and this way I don't ever have to plug in a wiimote since bootmii and the homebrew channel both support gamecube controllers. Idk if you can tell but I almost exclusively use my wii for gamecube games lol.

Does Priiloader offer this stuff? When I modded my wii I never heard of it so it's hard to through an opinion in.
 
AzzidReign

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I thought in recent years it was advised against that. I first modded back in like 08-09 (been so long I don't recall) and bootmii to boot2 was what was recommended. But when I wrote this, I thought there was a reason to not do it and I don't recall what that reason is anymore lol so I will have to try to look that up and if my guide is wrong then I'll change it.
 
Gman1255

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I'm not sure, I haven't stuck around the scene for a while. Kinda just hacked my console and got it all done and over with and didn't explore much besides finding that Nintendont was a thing. Who knows you may be right but as of the current year I have no issues with bootmii and in fact I would probably never get rid of it, I just looooove auto booting into homebrew channel. Let us know if you find anything about it though because I'd love to know. I mean, if the thing has a timebomb or something in it I will absolutely get rid of it ?
 
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if the thing has a timebomb or something in it I will absolutely get rid of it ?
Sure thing! Lol I'll let you know. Can't have modded Wiis blowing up inside of homes now lol
 
Mrbojangles671

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I can't believe there's a somewhat recent post on hacking a Wii! I was given a Wii a few weeks ago and didn't know what to do with it. Now I'm in quarantine and I have a mini-project! Yay!

Problem is, I've run into a snag using ModMii. I've followed the instructions verbatim up to the point where I drag my sysCheck.csv off the SD card onto ModMii.exe. When I do it, a small cmdprompt looking window pops up for a split second (not long enough to read or even see if there's anything written), then disappears. Nothing else happens. I tried messing with compatibility settings, running as admin, opening ModMii.exe on its own without sysCheck, downloaded a previous version, downloaded the ModMii installer and went that route...everything gives me the same result. What am I doing wrong?

In case it's unclear, I've never hacked a wii before and have no idea what I'm doing. Be gentle!

Update: I tried on my laptop and it worked. Weird.
 
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