Thread: Warning!!!!! Read!!!!! It bricks if turned off during initial download

Hey everyone be carefull, brand new reports in on news sites, people who acidentaly turn off console during first software downloads, their system bricks, useless dead, corrupted unusable. They are saying when you do your first software updates do not mess with it, it must finished , DO NOT TURN OFF!!!! Some people have already experienced a dead machine after interupting first initial system update.


read just came in 1/2 hour ago http://vr-zone.com/articles/nintendo...ate/17932.html

if few unlucky ones
http://venturebeat.com/2012/11/19/br...do-for-repair/

Originally Posted by Princedavid

Hey everyone be carefull, brand new reports in on news sites, people who acidentaly turn off console during first software downloads, their system bricks, useless dead, corrupted unusable. They are saying when you do your first software updates do not mess with it, it must finished , DO NOT TURN OFF!!!! Some people have already experienced a dead machine after interupting first initial update downloads.

seeing as it probably flashes the bios its kind of obvious it would do that. a bios flash should never be interrupted or that will happen, sad to see they did not double up the bios (or make a backup in case of fault). i can hardly blame Nintendo for player ignorance, but it should be a free fix for anyone affected. its a simple fix, just would need to be taken in for repair

ouch. I wonder what the count will be from nintendo on how many people happen to do this. But yes i am not surprised this happened.

wait a minute. That article says it takes two hours to update the console. Is this true?

Originally Posted by Elite

wait a minute. That article says it takes two hours to update the console. Is this true?

ive been getting mixed reports ranging from 60 - 90 minutes with a 25Mbit connection. at that speed a single 5 gig file would take around half an hour, but as a launch system there could be congestion, and on top of which its probably not a single file download but multiple files which generally is a bane to most download methods. finally the screen does not probably show the difference between downloading and installing/flashing

If this occurs for whatever reason on mine during my Christmas update, (which will most likely be the next packed up update after the 30th) seriously I will flip out. My emotions will be of the charts in upset and anger and I would be wanting a refund.

Still, for those who are in this situation, all I can say is good luck trying to get a replacement system, and sorry for the glitch. (I'm going to have to remember about the automatic shutdown feature for the update and turn it off. :P)

Interesting stuff. Again it shows that my opinion about cheap and weak developers from Nintendo is true. First HUGE update which just means that they have one of worst kind of developers around the globe, secondly bricking console during update Which means that one of the most basic usability goals for any good developer which is safety were breached...

Maybe they should invest a little more into salaries for dev team so they will provide better quality and safety to the end users...

Originally Posted by mike1986

Interesting stuff. Again it shows that my opinion about cheap and weak developers from Nintendo is true. First HUGE update which just means that they have one of worst kind of developers around the globe, secondly bricking console during update Which means that one of the most basic usability goals for any good developer which is safety were breached...

Maybe they should invest a little more into salaries for dev team so they will provide better quality and safety to the end users...

the hell are you talking about? go flash ANY hardware halfway though and tell me it is not bricked. Its just what happens when you interupt the flash process

Useful info right there. Not that I turn off anything whilst a download is running.

just like every update on the 3ds states (as it presumes that the bios may be flashed) keep your device plugged in and do not shut it off during an update.

Oh, so sad for everyone who got a bricked console now .. I hope Nintendo will help them!

But what if my internet connection suddenly, explodes or something like that, can I still try again without getting locked out from the console?

Originally Posted by Trompen

Oh, so sad for everyone who got a bricked console now .. I hope Nintendo will help them!

But what if my internet connection suddenly, explodes or something like that, can I still try again without getting locked out from the console?

If the update is still downloading from the Net then it's not installing on the system, the system will report a lost connection issue and restart, and once you get your internet connection back up you will be able to continue the download, the problem is occurring with people switching off the console or losing power while the update is installing onto the console itself.

THANK YOU!!! great sir

yeah, you have to be a total noob to turn it off while its installing. I cant think of one reason why you would do that anyway....Now, if you just so happen to lose power, then thats an unfortunate situation and im sure the limiited warranty from Nintendo will replace the console, even if you have to pay a small surcharge.

How unfortunate for those that had to experience this.

Sooner or later I am going to end up thinking more what not to do on the U than what to do.

Originally Posted by Cloudkill87

If the update is still downloading from the Net then it's not installing on the system, the system will report a lost connection issue and restart, and once you get your internet connection back up you will be able to continue the download, the problem is occurring with people switching off the console or losing power while the update is installing onto the console itself.

You sir, saved my day. Was awfully worried.

(Yeah, I'm not so technical of me - but I do know how to make things turn on and turn off!)

Originally Posted by LocoSublime

What? The guy can't say his honest opinions anymore?

Going in a Nintendo forum and provoking a response from the members is trolling calling Nintendo cheap and being misinformed also hasn't helped his cause.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It sucks that people are doing this, but this is kind of obvious. If it's doing a 2 hour update, and you turn it off before it's done, of course it's going to jack up your system. Hopefully Nintendo does them right, though. I'll bet they'll be without a system for a while, though.

Just imagine how long the update would take if they would have gotten TVii into it.

Ouch. I feel bad for them. Hopefully they got the warranty.

I just want to know what sparks this kind of thinking.

"Oh my console is doing a major, 2 hour launch update. Hey, I'm bored. Let's turn it off and see what happens!"

It would suck if your power went off during the update, though. Not much you can do about that.

Originally Posted by savinghyrule

I just want to know what sparks this kind of thinking.

"Oh my console is doing a major, 2 hour launch update. Hey, I'm bored. Let's turn it off and see what happens!"

Basicly I have to sit through stuff like this everyday at work, but if you dare say user error you better be able to run like usain bolt!

Power cuts can be blamed too!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Drawin

If this occurs for whatever reason on mine during my Christmas update, (which will most likely be the next packed up update after the 30th) seriously I will flip out. My emotions will be of the charts in upset and anger and I would be wanting a refund.Still, for those who are in this situation, all I can say is good luck trying to get a replacement system, and sorry for the glitch. (I'm going to have to remember about the automatic shutdown feature for the update and turn it off. :P)

The system automatically turns of the auto shutdown during updates

Originally Posted by cloud8521

ive been getting mixed reports ranging from 60 - 90 minutes with a 25Mbit connection. at that speed a single 5 gig file would take around half an hour, but as a launch system there could be congestion, and on top of which its probably not a single file download but multiple files which generally is a bane to most download methods. finally the screen does not probably show the difference between downloading and installing/flashing

The update took about an hour on my system. That's including both the download of the update and the installation. Totally worth it tho! It's so much fun!!!

Originally Posted by the ancient gamer

It would suck if your power went off during the update, though. Not much you can do about that.

Exactly what I was thinking.

Originally Posted by Br.Sbagel

The update took about an hour on my system. That's including both the download of the update and the installation. Totally worth it tho! It's so much fun!!!

My update is almost finished right now. When it's done, it will have been right at an hour. I only get about 15mbps. It must have been slower yesterday because everyone was trying to update at once. I guess there was a benefit to not being able to get to it until today.

There's always that dumb idiot out there....

I have 1 MB/s Internet at home, at college I have around 10 MB/s.

You can imagine how long it'll take me to download the update when I get it over Christmas break.

Read as: I'm waiting until Christmas break is over for the update because I'm scared of a power outage bricking my Wii U.

Well I am one lucky bastard then!When I was downloading the 1st update it got comprised about 3/4 of the way.When it stopped I was sent to the dashboard and I immediately went to settings and clicked on the console update and it continued where it left off.

Originally Posted by Colton O'Weekly

I have 1 MB/s Internet at home, at college I have around 10 MB/s.

You can imagine how long it'll take me to download the update when I get it over Christmas break.

I can't imagine it taking too long actually. I have a 5 MB/s connection and it took me roughly two hours. Keep in mind this was on launch night, so I'm sure it'll be slightly faster when everyone isn't downloading it at once.

Properly designed, they should have 2 areas for bios, plus a fail safe. Running bios is never over written until the new bios is written and tested. Once you verify you have a good copy of the new bios, you write a few bytes to flip the switch and issue a reboot. Of course these days, they are way, way more worried someone might break their encryption that they deliberately brick systems rather than risk it is someone trying to hack them.

Originally Posted by Amherst

I can't imagine it taking too long actually. I have a 5 MB/s connection and it took me roughly two hours. Keep in mind this was on launch night, so I'm sure it'll be slightly faster when everyone isn't downloading it at once.

So I'm 1/5th your speed, so... 10 hours for me?

That's still pretty dang long on Christmas day, haha. What's in the update anyways? I have download limits at home too, so that's a bit of something I would like to know.

I don't think I will keep the shutoff feature on when this update happens...

Originally Posted by MelMartinezFan

I don't think I will keep the shutoff feature on when this update happens...

It won't shut down either way, because most likley it will shut down if it's not doing anything.

If it works like DirecTV's new "four hour shut off" thing, it's user input that determines if it's doing anything or not. So I'd shut it off if you have slow Internet - it might read the lack of you pushing buttons as a cue to turn off.

Makes me wonder how many people that it happened to that way...

I thought I was screwed when the battery in my game pad died down. Luckily once I plugged it back in, the update resumed.

And this would take so long for me..ugg...

Originally Posted by sWampyone

Properly designed, they should have 2 areas for bios, plus a fail safe. Running bios is never over written until the new bios is written and tested. Once you verify you have a good copy of the new bios, you write a few bytes to flip the switch and issue a reboot. Of course these days, they are way, way more worried someone might break their encryption that they deliberately brick systems rather than risk it is someone trying to hack them.

The Wii U doesn't have a BIOS it has a custom UEFI that is firmware based, you would have to have two copies of the UEFI and basic ver1 firmware, while not entirely impossible it is still a security flaw much like the one on the PS3 in fact exactly them same.

Originally Posted by MelMartinezFan

And this would take so long for me..ugg...

Take it to a friend's house with high speed internet. Act surprised when it starts to download, suggest grabbing a burger and once it's done, say it's getting late and you'll come back another day. Then you can head home with your newly updated Wii U and live like a king.

read, if one of the unlucky few a nintendo customer service # if bricked at bottom of news article
Bricked Wii U owners will have to send their consoles to Nintendo for repair | VentureBeat

So how fast is 50mbps mean when it comes to speed?

I can see it now. I finally get my Wii U from walmart.com in a week. I rush home, set it up and start the update. Just as the update is about to finish, ye old xbox troll climbs on the electrical wires outside of my house, electrocuting himself, and causing a 2 second period of time where the lights flicker off inside my house. I look at my Wii U with scared eyes and just as I see the light completely turned off, I let out a long, piercing scream of despair. But not with too much despair, a scream of despair that says somebody just ate my baby, not somebody just destroyed my entire family.

Originally Posted by Colton O'Weekly

If it works like DirecTV's new "four hour shut off" thing, it's user input that determines if it's doing anything or not. So I'd shut it off if you have slow Internet - it might read the lack of you pushing buttons as a cue to turn off.

Makes me wonder how many people that it happened to that way...

The automatic shutdown feature turns off while updating. (ign)

Originally Posted by Colton O'Weekly

I have 1 MB/s Internet at home, at college I have around 10 MB/s.

At least you don't have an old 56Kbps dial-up.

Originally Posted by Black Dynamite

Well I am one lucky bastard then!When I was downloading the 1st update it got comprised about 3/4 of the way.When it stopped I was sent to the dashboard and I immediately went to settings and clicked on the console update and it continued where it left off.

It wouldn't get bricked during the download process. That only happens after it starts installing the download. You are lucky that it picked it up where it left off, though.

Originally Posted by Colton O'Weekly

So I'm 1/5th your speed, so... 10 hours for me?

That's still pretty dang long on Christmas day, haha. What's in the update anyways? I have download limits at home too, so that's a bit of something I would like to know.

It's a 5GB download that basically downloads most of the functionality. Without the update, you don't have Miiverse, Wii compatibility, and other important stuff. When I set up my Wii U, I didn't even see that I had a choice to not install it. But like I said earlier, if your download gets cut off, you shouldn't brick your system. That only happens when it's installing the download.

Originally Posted by Colton O'Weekly

If it works like DirecTV's new "four hour shut off" thing, it's user input that determines if it's doing anything or not. So I'd shut it off if you have slow Internet - it might read the lack of you pushing buttons as a cue to turn off.

Makes me wonder how many people that it happened to that way...

Yeah, like Rythmmastr said, the Wii U automatically turns that feature off when it installs any update. So I'm afraid that all of the systems that got bricked either happened from people's ignorance, or from power outages. But I wouldn't worry too much about power outages. The installation is way quicker than the download.

If U turned off the power while a game was in there, while the system was updating, do U think that the game would be deleted?

Just to add to what people are saying about internet disconnect. If there is an internet disconnection just reconnect and it will resume where it left off. There are reports of the download timing out and reports of 4-5 hour downloads during peak hours. But as long as system is not turned off it will not ruin console.

As for internet speed, it does not matter as long as you have high speed internet, it depends on how busy nintendo's system is.

When I get it, I'm gonna guard this thing until the update is done so none of my family members turns it off or something......

Originally Posted by Princedavid

As for internet speed, it does not matter as long as you have high speed internet, it depends on how busy nintendo's system is.

Well, it is a 5GB download, so internet speed does matter. But what you're saying is true, too. If Nintendo's system is overloaded, it's gonna be slow no matter how fast your connection is. We saw problems with this when people were getting error after error while setting up a new Nintendo Network ID. It was all because they were overloaded. It took me a lot of tries over about 45 minutes to finally get through where I could set up a new ID.

I just read that anyone who bricked their Wii U should be covered by the 12 month warranty. It's not like they were trying to install a homebrew or anything. It would suck to have to go without a system while you're waiting, though.