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Wii Overview

First off, here's some general information that might be useful.

  • Converting a Japanese Wii to UK settings is possible.  This means the system menu is in English, the shop channel is UK, the firmware is European and UK games will be played on it.  Updates via games or the internet will load European firmware on it.  This is all achieved by the AnyRegion Changer, but it's recommended that you install the Homebrew channel first (in case things go wrong - this can help resolve issues).
  • Installing custom software on the Wii starts with what's known as the Twilight Hack.  This is so-named because it uses Zelda: The Twilight Princess to work.  By loading a specially written save-game for this the Wii can be re-booted and hacked into.  This hack is generally used to either load the Homebrew channel on the Wii or run the Anyregion changer.
  • There's specific firmware for each region.  The wrong firmware on your Wii will semi-brick it (that is, you can't access the settings).  Assuming your Wii isn't semi-bricked, the firmware version is indicated in the upper-right of the settings screen.  You'll see a number and a letter.  The letter indicates the region (U=USA, E=Europe, J=Japan).  Firmware 3.4 is the latest as of this writing, and causes some things to break in the Homebrew channel.  It also includes background updating, so that Nintendo can automatically update your Wii without you knowing about it.  This can only happen if it's attached to the internet, of course, and can be disabled in the settings.  Finally, 3.4 will remove the Twilight hack after the Wii is rebooted so if you wish to use it more than once you need to copy it back to your Wii (via an SD card) each time.  For this reason, versions <3.4 are recommended.
  • It's highly recommended that the first thing you do to your Wii is to install the Homebrew channel.  If things go wrong, this can be used to help fix it (provided you haven't fully bricked your Wii).
  • The Anyregion Changer can be run via the Homebrew channel or the Twilight Hack.  This hack requires running the Zelda game, so if you alter your Wii to load games from a different region then you won't be able to run the hack a second time.  If you want to revert the changes you'll need to use the Homebrew channel.  If you don't have the Homebrew channel, you'll need to buy zelda for the correct region.
  • Note that changes made by the Anyregion Changer are permanent!
  • An SD card is required in order to use the Twilight Hack (and therefore also for installing the Homebrew channel).
  • In order to change the firmware (downgrade, for instance) your Wii must be connected to the internet.