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Bad Wii-mod causing connection disfunction? or just 3.3U +?
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Shain776
Junior Member
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23. December 2008 @ 10:03 |
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In a nutshell:
I recently had my Wii modded with a chip by some guy advertising online but I also had him make other adjustments and now I'm having some problems with my Wii that are unique to me as they relate to my health (more on that below). I updated my Wii somehow to 3.3U either right before or right after this (can't remember). So now I'm not sure if the problems are because of the modifications or the update and need feed-back to help me figure out what's causing what...here's the details , it's a long story so sorry if this too much crap to dump at once on these forums.
All the details:
My health problem:
I'm one of a very small percent of the population that's sensitive to Wi-fi fields..I can just feel that it's there and it has sort of a draining effect..( I can't feel any other type of electrical signal on a conscious level) .With a wi-fi router this effect is very strong so I have a wired router. However even with a wired router I could still feel an emission of some sort coming from the Wii (pre-mod) which, although it felt much more pronounced then when I was using Wi-fi, it was still there. But the solution was simple: I just kept "wiiconect24" turner off most the time and only turned it on to download stuff and play Mario Kart. As long as those settings were turned off I was fine...and I kept stanby mode off too obviously. Because even that gave out a small wave. It was strongest when the online was active during play or browsing but even when the online wasn't being actively used, just turned on, I could feel a small wave. Which is relevant cause I wonder if it's version 3.3U keeping standby on but I'll get to that in a second. (please don't post just to tell me you think this sensitivity is not real, people with this get enough skepticism thanks)
Going to the Modder:
So I went to a modder to have a chip put in and while I was at his house asked him if there was anything he could do to disable the wifi signal's I was getting when going online. I was confused as to why I would even have this problem if I was using a wired router. He explained to me that even when the wi-fi antennae isn't being used something in there will still emit 4-6 feet (i think that's what he said) He said he could try and remove the antenna (or the connection to it?) it and see if it makes a difference as the wired connection should still work without it. He also said if there was a problem he could just change it back to "factory default standards".
So i got this email form him:
"I removed the wireless cable on it, but then the remotes no longer worked, so I had to reconnect it. The wireless should be disabled when using the usb lan adapter though."
I got the Wii back and within a few days realized that I was getting a wave of some sort even when my "Wii connect24" was turned off. I called the modder back and he got all shifty on me...first he denied doing anything saying he had thought about cutting something it but decided not to ...I had to remind him of his email, then he said he only tinkered with the connection for the controllers that had nothing to do with the internet..that he didn't touch the antenae for Wi-fi . Which is what he said he would do when i had dropped it off. He said he did the wrong thing, like he didn't know what was what, like he wasn't some big expert all of a sudden, and that he just didn't remember what he did for me at first 'cause he has "so many clients". I thought he was lying 'cause his story kept changing. Also because I later realized he lied about other things...he gave me a list a games...[that could be backed up] (my quot not his) when I was deciding on whether to get the chip and they all had gamespot review scores attached to them, but allot of the scores we're higher then they were on the site.
I emailed him later:
Allot of the gamespot ratings on your list are not accurate. For example Price of Persia is listed as having a 9 but actually has a 71.
His response:
"Oh, all the ratings I have on there are from the Gamespot.com site (which uses ratings out of 10). I think IGN might use out of 100. I also use the average of the three on the sight (between the website review, the other critics, and user ratings), to reflect better of a general rating (rather than a biased one person rating, which most sites are based)".
He also told me I could [back up] Smash Bros but then later said he had lost the file after he had my money. I read later that Smash Bros doesn't work on some chips 'cause it's a duel layer DVD. So he lied about what games I could [back up] and how good they were."
The point of which is now I'm not sure exactly what was done to my Wii 'cause of the different stories. So I'm not sure what the problem is.
What's wrong with my system now:
Now I'm getting a signal from my Wii even when the connection is turned off. Other changes that might help figure out what's going on: At first I couldn't transmit DS demos at all and then couldn't even access the Nintendo channel all together, even though I could get to the internet channel and other online things. Also weird, even when my "wii connect24" was turned off, Mario kart would not give me a "connect to the internet" prompt when choosing online from it's menu like it used to , it would just act like I was already connected and go online, same with the Internet channel (can't tell if that means it auto-connects or already is connected even with the setting turned off) . The shop channel would also immediately go to a "connecting" animation where it used to say "your not connected" if i wasn't. However other channels such as weather,news, everybody votes would say "Wii conect24 is not turned off" if i tried to use them with the connection off. None of those weird things happen when I clear the connect settings altogether.
My Questions
The possible causes of all this I'm wondering about are...all Noob theories of course:
Could soldering the connection to Wi-fi attenae interfere with how well the OS controls if it is or isn't turned on. Or if soldering effects how well the OS controls if it's gets electrical power and such, like if the systems turned on it will just get powered. Same thing whether you detach and then re-solder the 'wireless' cable' that relate to the controllers. Or anything with tinkering with parts that effect the net connection, I have no idea what was done so it's hard say what's what. Is it true the "wireless cables"
control both the Wi-fi and the controllers or are those separate and the modder was making excuses?
Could be related to the chip? Because as I said I get a signal when the connection settings are clear and I'm playing games. Which makes me wonder if it's related to electrical power in the system being weird with the chip.
The other possible cause is if it's just the update to 3.3U:
Does version 3,3U and higher constantly keep the wiiconect24 activated? Or try to? Even if you wipe the connections settings all together? I'm suspicious of this because I've noticed that when there are connection settings loaded and I have Wiiconect24 on, the "standby" mode keeps turning itself on. Does this happen with everyone else's new versions?
So yeah, that's my dilemma on what's going on. I need to decide if i just need to learn how to downgrade the OS version from 3.3U on the modded Wii or if I need a new Wii with no hardware mods and try to figure out how to do a soft-mod for my back-ups and/or downgraded also. I got my hands on a new Wii, in box, and need to decide if i should take it back before the return expires. I've already been told by penguin98 on a separate thread that the new console will have the new 3.4 OS so i already know that's going to be a problem with the new one too if that's the cause.
Thanks or your time, any advice is much appreciated.
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penguin98
AfterDawn Addict
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23. December 2008 @ 13:13 |
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I said that the new wii would probably have 3.3, not 3.4. 3.4 is still very new and probably is not on the wii's on shelves yet. Its possible that new wii's could have 3.4 now, but I'd guess that its fairly unlikely at this time.
Anyway, working down the list from top to bottom with things that jump out at me.
Assuming that he clipped the wires to the wifi antenna and then reconnected them when the wiimotes stopped working, which I don't know is the case or not but I can see as being possible, it shouldn't have done anything to cause the sort of problems you're talking about.
The 'list of games that can be backed up' is some sort of scam unless it includes every wii and gamecube game ever made, because theres no game that cant be backed up.
Smash bros does work on nearly all chips now. Only some of the very earliest modchips still have trouble with it. All the rest either supported it naively or were fixed with updates.
3.3 will autoconnect when you try using online services instead of asking if you want to connect. But since wiiconnect24 is turned off the news and weather channels will not work.
Now for your ideas
I cant see how disconnecting and reconnecting could possabily effect how the wii handles wifi. It would be like disconnecting and reconnecting your monitor from a computer and then the computer keeps turning itself on randomly. As for the same antenna controlling the wifi and remotes. I dont think they do, but I suppose it is possible and dont know anyone else who has ever tried disconnecting the antennas so I cant really say for sure.
I dont see how it could possabily be the chip either. Modchips are basically a small EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) and some wiring connecting it to the wii's DVD drive. Theres no antenna or anything else that could be giving out wifi signals.
3.3 does not keep wiiconnect24 turned on. I know this for certain because I have 3.3 and it does not turn wiiconnect back on. I did have problems with wiiconnect24 turning itself on randomly back when my wii was on 2.1 (or some other 2.X firmware) but I suspect that it was my brother turning it on as I was still living at home at the time and it stopped doing it as soon as I moved out.
Ok, now on to what I have to say.
Unfortunately, I have to say this. The only evidence you have of the wii giving off wifi is the waves that you're 'feeling' from it. I'm not calling you a liar and I'm sure that you're feeling something, but there have been double-blind studies on people claiming to be sensitive to wifi and so far I havent heard of a confirmed case. What I'm saying is that I would like to see evidence from a handheld wifi meter or something similar. Anyway, thats off my chest and I'll suspend my skepticism for the remainder of this thread.
So, from here I would suggest one of two things to try:
1) Downgrade the wii. It's possible that 3.3, even without a wifi connection in the aria, will look for one. I've never heard of this but if its just looking for signals and not connecting anyone who wasn't sensitive to the signals would never know.
2) Open the console up and see exactly what was done to it. Find the wires leading to the wifi antennas and see if they have been cut and reconnected. If they have not then you'll know that your modder was talking out his a*s and (assuming you have or know someone with a soldering iron to reconnect it if something goes wrong) you could try disconnecting them yourself.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 23. December 2008 @ 13:18
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Shain776
Junior Member
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23. December 2008 @ 14:00 |
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thanks for your feed back penguin98.
Just to clarifie.. It's not the wiiconnect24 that keeps turning itself on it's the "standby" mode. There's a key for it just underneath "wiiconnect24" in the system menu.
I've double checked what's going on before posting and have noticed something new that's interesting. If I have the wiiconnect24 off with standby off too and then go on the internet channel, it not only auto-connects but also auto-activates wiiconnect24...that's the key difference I was getting at in my post. That it's auto-turning-on the online with Wiiconnect24 turned off in the menu. I will then go back into the system menue and find Wiiconnect24 still turned off, when I turn it on and then go under "standby mode" , standby is now turned on by itself.
But when i turn wiiconnect24 on myself manually and turn standby mode off and then go online and go back into the menu to check...standby mode then remains off. Weird? normal?
All of which is what makes me wonder if 3.3 is activating something net related under the hood. But i guess that's too subtle a difference for anyone to have checked before.
I will return my new Wii and take some time to figure out downgrading my modded Wii after X-mas. If that doesn't work i'll take it to another modder for a look inside and report back here later.
thanks.
P.S. I have to say this too...Those double blind tests don't take into account that how much you feel it varies on the strength of the signal, a subtle strength doesn't always go noticed, also the effect is cumulative, it builds up over time and takes at least 2-3 mins to notice to begin with. It's easy to trip up someone claiming to have this by turning a low signal on or off for a few seconds at a time. I feel people who run (or pay)those tests had a vested interest in disproving there where health risks for some people, if you can imagine the powers that be trying to keep this sort of thing under wraps. But thanks for posting despite not believing me! your the first so far:).
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penguin98
AfterDawn Addict
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23. December 2008 @ 14:11 |
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Well, I just checked on my 3.3 wii and can defiantly say I'm stumped. Lol
With my wii, it wont let me turn on standby mode or slot illumination unless wiiconnect24 is turned on. The options are grayed out and cant be touched. Also, using any online services does not effect the status of any of those options.
I cant find it now in your long post, but did you say that your wii was on a wired connection? Because if so thats the only difference I could think of between our consoles. Unfortunately I cant test this myself as theres no way for me to test my wii on a wired connection.
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Shain776
Junior Member
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23. December 2008 @ 15:11 |
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If you feel like trying that test one more time:
I have the grayed out thing too. To test it turn on Wiiconnect24 (wich I'll call '24' ) Then you can access the standby menu and turn it off. Then go back back into 24 and turn it off as well. Knowing that you left standby off last time you where in that menu go to the main WiiChannel menu and go on the internet chanel for a second and load at least one page. From what you've told me I assume your Wii will also auto-connect to the net even with 24 turned off in it's setting menu. From what you've told me 3.3+ does this and this is normal? Then return to the 24 setting menu and turn it on yourself to un-gray the standby menu and check to see if it has been changed from 'off' to 'on'.
If your system acts the same way mine does with stanby going from off to on by itself, then i'll know this is because of the system update and not the modding.
Thanks a lot for testing.
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penguin98
AfterDawn Addict
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23. December 2008 @ 16:00 |
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I did that and saw that standby mode is turned on when you turn on wiiconnect24, regardless of if I ran any online services or even left the wiiconnect24 menu.
I think switching 24 to the 'on' position just automatically switches standby to 'on' as well and it doesn't have anything to do with having used any online services. Everything seems to be normal for a 3.3 wii.
This is going to seem a little silly but maybe you should look into a project such as this: http://www.extensiontech.net/articles/howto/gs/wifiblock/
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Shain776
Junior Member
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23. December 2008 @ 16:46 |
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Thanks for the mesh thing I will certainly try it, anythings worth a shot.
If you say my 3.3 is acting normal then i'll have to try a downgrade to see if thats the problem of the Wi-fi. I guess if we both have that standby going on I would need to know if the earlier versions did the same thing too..like if this is something new.
I think I just need to open the new Wii to see if thats whats causing it and try and return it. Walmart has a pretty liberal return policy. I'm trying to save money but I think it's the only way i'll know for sure.
Thanks alot .
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