cadensdad

Went to play my wii tonight and noticed a bunch of very small pixels flickering all around the screen. I thought maybe it was my tv because it is getting a bit old, so I took the wii down and hooked it into my 90" projector. The pixels were still there and in the same spots. They were also easier to see on the bigger screen. (Of Course). Has anyone else had this problem? Should I contact nintendo or just try and take it back to bestbuy. I bought the 2 year no haggle warranty. The problem is they probably won't have any, but I have a friend who works there who usually gives me a heads up when they are coming in. Thanks.

wii maniac

It may be the cables just see if they are dusty,breaks or anything on the cord if not it cant hurt to take it back to Best Buy.Im not sure but it sounds like the cord to me but what do I know lol.

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Twiik

Are the flickering pixels green? I've read a few accounts of people having problems with green flashing pixels likely caused by an overheated GPU.

Evi1d33d

You'll get flickering if you are running off interlacing mode(480i). Get a component cable and run in progressive mode(480p) and see it the flicking still persist.

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cadensdad

I have both types of cables. Makes no difference. The pixels are still there. I got in touch with nintendo about it and they are sending me a postage paid ups sticker to dend it back to them. They said its most likely an overheated gpu.

This is exactly what my wii is doing. Just someone elses video with the same problem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbOY5...d.php?t=681693

mario2mc

I just turned on my Wii today and noticed the same problem. Funny thing is, I haven't played my Wii in weeks!

Guess I will be contacting Nintendo as well.

cadensdad

Seems as though I've read in several places that the wii runs as hot if not hotter in stand by mode. So you don't really have to be playing it for it to overheat. Brilliant, HUH... I recieved my postage paid UPS sticker so mine is headed for repairs.

wingflex

Ive just sent my wii in for repair,yesterday to be precise.It had developed shimmering vertical lines right across the screen.I used the online form to report the issue and i was sent a prepaid UPS label.It was delivered to the Nintendo agent this morning so i will see what happens next and let you know how long it takes to get it returned.

Kiryllos

I only had my Wii two weeks and I started to notice some flickering pixels while playing Golf. Eventually these moved onto the main menu - it's obviously a heat issue as it's very similar to the types of graphical artifacts one gets when overclocking a PC graphics card.

I contacted Nintendo to get my packing slip, but tried a few things to see whether I could solve it (since the issue wasn't too bad, but getting worse). I totally unplugged my Wii for a few hours to let it cool, that didn't help. I even bought one of those Radiator coolers for the back of it, but no go. I'll keep the cooler for after its repaired since it runs while in Standby, but looks like either the chip is damaged from the heat or there just is no way to keep it cool.

I've never taken my Wii apart, but does anyone know what is on the graphics chip? Is there a heatsink or anything on it?

Also, those who shipped your Wii off, any advice on how to package it safely? I never realized how much I really love this thing until now I know I have to be without it.

wingflex

UPS just returned my wii.Really quick turnaround,no explanation as to what was wrong just a note saying parts were replaced.

zapasant93

this is quite the dilema, ide like to know when you go your wii

becuase there wedre cases of people who got their wii round launch of this problem and its a very serious problem in the long run, the pixels are just signs of whats to come, it is said this problem is very noticiable while playing strikers.

if you got your wii ,i would highly suggest you call nintendo NOW, and if you didnt, still call them to figure out whats going on

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Dorkfish

lol at Bob

Just send it in

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Bentendo

ARGH.

My wii is sporting some new pixel artifacts, hardcore. I guess I'll be sending this guy back in for repairs. I was really hoping it was just cable fix issue. Overheating sucks. Perhaps an update to require the fans run while in standby mode?

I'm Canadian, have any other Canadians sent in for a Wii repair yet? I'm curious how long I can expect to be Wii-less. I want it back in time for SSB Brawl. :S

Kiryllos

I'm a Canuck as well, but I haven't received my shipping label yet, so I'm not sure what the actual turnaround is - but the website says we should expect 14-21 days return from the time they receive it. Depending on what province you're in, of course. I think they do all the repairs in Burnaby BC.

I wonder if after the repairs are done if they make sure the heatsink is better attached to the graphics chip? My theory (though only a theory) is that the thermal goo isn't very good or well placed and the chip overheats.

Kryten

Man, this topic is a bummer. I just bought a Wii. I don't want to disable standby mode because I like the news channel and "Wiimail" notification.

Is this problem only happening to older Wiis or is it happening to brand new ones too?

The Wii is the last thing on Earth I would have expected to have heat-related failures.

Kiryllos

Mine was exactly two weeks old (I bought it February 1st) when I called Nintendo for a repair. I actually noticed the problem three days earlier, but it wasn't consistent and thought it was just the game I was playing.

I bought myself one of those Intec radiators for my Wii when it comes back from repair so I can leave Connect24 on but still have a fan pulling air through it.

duke_fan13

Im just going to play throught it and hope it doesn't get much worse...I don't want to send mine in so I probably won't. I haven't seen reports on anything worse happening from letting it continue, so we shall see.

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Patiently waiting for The Conduit, the holy grail of the wii!

Kryten

Thanks for the info. Got mine on death watch now.
That sounds like a great idea but I would hope that Nintendo is making some sort of improvement so that the problem doesn't keep recurring.

What are we going to call this? Flickering Pixels of Death (FPoD)? That's probably a bit of an overstatement since the console doesn't actually die like the 360.

Kiryllos

Heh I think it just comes down to a design that relies heavily on proper cooling, but due to the method of production (factory workers, basically, who are probably paid higher wages for the more Wiis they put through the door), improper or lazy application of cooling grease etc... are used. For me, the Radiator is actually quite noisy, but it's a small price to pay to keep my 'hopefully soon' to be repaired Wii in working order.

I know mine is beyond simple cooling, though, since even at cold temps it shows bad textures now. Had I known when I first bought it, though, I would have slapped the radiator on as soon as I hooked it up or risked my warranty and gone inside to provide a higher level of cooling.

**EDIT**

Okay, I don't want to count my chickens before they've hatched, but I just went to look at my Wii (which I haven't touched in a couple days due to not wanting to exacerbate the problem) and the pixels aren't there. I played an entire round of golf and they didn't show up.

The only thing that's changed is I moved it to a different place (it was sitting on a warm spot on top of my PVR) and I turned it horizontal because I noticed that the air intake is on the bottom, and rather than suck the hotter air from below where the PVR was, I thought I would suck cooler air in from the side instead.

Oddly, though, I had tried cooling the damn thing and it didn't seem to make a difference, which is why I think my bad pixels will probably show up again, but it does seem to suggest a heat problem. If the Intec radiator can keep it cool, maybe I won't have to ship it. And if I get the balls, I might pull it apart (though my wife will kill me if she finds out I did).

**EDIT 2**

Okay, so they were back just now, but with the cooler in while playing, the pixels actually faded over time as opposed to getting worse. I'm getting very (probably too) interested in pulling the Wii apart and checking the heat sink. If only I could be sure I could take it apart and not tip Nintendo off that I've been mucking around inside.

Bentendo

Turns out the repairs are done in Richmond, and I live down town Vancouver. According to the Nintendo rep, I can drive up to this place, and hand them my Wii and they should have it back to me in about an hour. I'm pretty excited about that. I'm hoping this won't be something that has me taking the Wii back in for repairs in another couple months. I use the news channel and the weather channel all the time so I don't like the idea of having to turn off