The Nintendo Wii is one of Nintendo's most successful offerings of all time. Boasting innovative (for the time) motility controls, backwards compatibility with GameCube games, and tons of family-friendly games, it'due south no wonder the Wii console was a smash hit.

Notably, the Wii was also Nintendo's outset domicile console with full online support. In this commodity, we'll show you how to connect your Wii to the internet and what you can still do with the console online.

Does the Wii Have Wi-Fi?

Before nosotros start, you might wonder if the Wii console can connect to Wi-Fi. The answer is Yes, the Wii has Wi-Fi support. The merely exception is the Wii Mini, a smaller revision that Nintendo released in 2022-2013. This model does not have whatever online capabilities.

Check the below image to see if you lot accept a Wii Mini; compared to the original model, information technology'south both much smaller and loads discs via the top.

Wii Mini Console

While you tin connect the Wii to the internet, don't forget that the console is more than than a decade old. Because of this, its online functionality is quite limited.

The Wii once had many online functions, including sending messages to friends, playing games with others, and downloading from the Wii Shop Channel. Unfortunately, Nintendo has retired most of these services. And then while y'all can connect the Wii to Wi-Fi, what this enables is adequately underwhelming nowadays.

Nonetheless, let'south take a look at how to connect your Wii to Wi-Fi. Nosotros'll wait at what features are no longer available afterwards.

How to Connect Your Wii Console to the Net

The processing of connecting a Wii to Wi-Fi is simple, and should be familiar to anyone who's connected a laptop, telephone, or other device to Wi-Fi before.

Start past turning on your Wii. If you haven't turned on your console in a while, you lot might demand to review the ways to connect your Wii to a Television first.

On the Wii Bill of fare, select the Wii button in the lower-left corner of the screen.

Wii Menu

Choose Wii Settings from the resulting carte du jour.

Wii Settings

Click the pointer on the right side of the screen to move to the second folio of options. Here, choose Internet.

Wii Internet Settings

On the resulting folio, select Connectedness Settings.

Connection Settings

You lot'll see three connections here labeled Connection 1, Connectedness 2, and Connection 3. If you've never utilized the Wii's cyberspace connection features earlier, these will all say None. Select one to set up a new connection.

Wii Connection List

If you already take three connections set up upwardly, choose i and select Articulate settings to erase it.

Connecting Your Wii via Ethernet

Wii Network Connection Type

Next, you lot'll need to decide if you desire to connect your Wii to the cyberspace using Wi-Fi or a wired connection. If you want to use a wired connection, connect an Ethernet cable, and then select Wired Connection and the test should complete successfully.

The Wii doesn't take an Ethernet port built-in, so yous'll need to buy the Wii LAN adapter if you lot want to use a wired connectedness.

This device connects to the Wii via its USB port, assuasive yous to connect your console to your router via an Ethernet cable. You'll detect many cheap USB Ethernet adapters on the marketplace, but Nintendo states that 3rd-political party units might not work with the Wii.

Yous'll probably have the best luck looking for a used official Wii LAN adapter on eBay or like site if you want to use a wired connection to become your Wii online.

Connecting Your Wii via Wi-Fi

To go along with a wireless connection instead, choose Wireless Connection. Next, select Search for an Access Point to look for nearby Wi-Fi networks.

Wii Search Access Point

Later on the browse completes, select OK to show all wireless networks.

Wii List Networks

Select your network from the list. You'll next need to enter your Wi-Fi password then you can get your Wii console online. Additionally, exist sure that the security type in the top-left corner is the same as what your router has. If it's non the aforementioned, choose Change Security Settings and pick the right ane.

Wii Enter Security Key

Not sure? And so take a look at our guide to network security types to observe out.

Once this is done, select OK several times to save your settings and test the connexion. If you see The connection test was successful, you're done connecting your Wii to Wi-Fi. Error codes 51330 and 52130 mean that your password was incorrect, so make sure you typed it correctly.

Other Wii Connection Methods

In addition to the above, Nintendo also in one case offered a device called the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector. This plugged into your computer via USB, and by wirelessly connecting your Wii to it, you could use your computer's internet connexion to get online. Nintendo discontinued this and a successor device, the Nintendo Wi-Fi Network Adapter, years ago.

They were intended for users who had an internet connectedness for their computer, simply didn't accept a wireless router. That applies to very few people present, since Wi-Fi is near-ubiquitous. In addition, drivers aren't available for Windows 7 or newer, so there's no reason to purchase 1 of these.

The Wii's Graveyard of Online Features

Wii Forecast Discontinued

Now that your Wii is online, yous might exist excited to run across everything information technology can practise with the power of the net. Only as mentioned before, at that place'southward not much left to see. Nintendo has shuttered about of the Wii'southward online functionality, including the following:

  • Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection: This was Nintendo's online play service that let you play games similar Mario Kart Wii and Super Boom Bros. Brawl with others online. It was close down in 2022, meaning you can't play games online at all.
  • WiiConnect24: An ever-online service that let y'all receive content updates even when your arrangement was in standby mode. Because it was discontinued in 2022, y'all can no longer access content like the News Channel, Forecast Aqueduct, and Everybody Votes Channel.
  • Video streaming: TV streaming apps for the Wii, including Netflix and Hulu, no longer piece of work.
  • Wii Store Channel: The last vestige of online support for the Wii lived in the Wii Shop Channel. Nevertheless, in Jan 2022, Nintendo finally pulled the plug on the Wii's digital storefront. This means you tin can no longer download Virtual Console titles, WiiWare games, and Wii channels.

If y'all've previously purchased games or downloaded channels from the Wii Shop Aqueduct, you lot tin can redownload them for the fourth dimension being.

What Can the Wii Do Online?

Because of the Wii's age, there's unfortunately non much left to do online. At this point, the only existent benefit in connecting your Wii to Wi-Fi is and so you tin update the console if you haven't already.

You'll probable see a prompt to exercise this when you first connect to the internet. If non, head to the Wii Settings menu over again and scroll over the third page. Cull Wii System Update here and accept the message.

Wii System Update

This won't add any new exciting features as the terminal system update was in 2022, but it's worth doing since you took the time to go online.

If yous downloaded the Internet Channel in the past, you can continue to use this to scan the cyberspace. However, this browser is extremely outdated, so y'all're better off accessing the web from some other device.

Wii Internet Channel

Aside from this, you'll withal discover two channels available on the Wii Store Channel. Ane fixes a game-breaking glitch in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The other is a transfer tool that allows yous to transfer your Wii data to a Wii U.

Modding Your Wii for Connected Admission

If you lot're disappointed that there's nothing more than to do with your Wii online, you lot can consider getting into the homebrew scene. This involves modding your Wii and so it tin run software and act in means Nintendo didn't intend. For instance, modding gives you access to emulators on your Wii.

It's a flake advanced, so casual gamers should probably steer articulate. But if you're a Wii enthusiast, check out fan services RiiConnect24 and Wiimmfi. The old is a replacement for WiiConnect24 that restores access to several of the same channels, while the latter allows you to play games online again.

Connecting Your Wii to Wi-Fi: Is It Worth It?

We've walked through the process of connecting your Wii to the internet. Equally long as you have Wi-Fi at habitation, it'southward as simple every bit connecting your telephone or laptop.

It's a shame that Nintendo no longer supports almost all Wii online functions, simply don't forget that the Wii did launch all the way dorsum in 2006. Thankfully, there are still plenty of great Wii titles to relish offline.

Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch is a smash hit of its own. Check out the best Nintendo Switch local multiplayer games for some great titles to play with friends.

Image Credit: Carlos Gutierrez/Flickr

We hope y'all like the items we recommend and discuss! MUO has affiliate and sponsored partnerships, so we receive a share of the revenue from some of your purchases. This won't affect the price y'all pay and helps u.s. offer the best product recommendations.

How to Use the Double Thumbs Up Characteristic on Netflix (And Why You Should)

Read Side by side

About The Author