Shack PSA: Let your Wii U firmware update finish

The Wii U console requires a day one patch to use the Nintendo Network functions, but interrupting the process could have consequences.

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A day one patch for the Wii U adds many elements of its online functionality through the Nintendo Network, including the Miiverse that serves as the heart of its social features. The prompt comes up automatically during the set-up process, but be careful: interrupting it could turn your shiny new Wii U into a very expensive paperweight.

Ars Technica reports that consoles that lose power during the install have been bricked. Most users are reporting that a power interruption is to blame, though some claim that the problem can be caused by an Internet outage as well.

The download is reportedly 5 GB and, depending on your connection speed, can take roughly an hour to download and install. Obviously, you shouldn't yank the plug in the middle of the download, but if something happens beyond your control you can contact Nintendo's customer service. Affected consoles should be covered by the warranty.

For more details on the Wii U, check out our review.

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  • reply
    November 19, 2012 10:15 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Shack PSA: Let your Wii U firmware update finish.

    The Wii U console requires a day one patch to use the Nintendo Network functions, but interrupting the process could have consequences.

    • reply
      November 19, 2012 10:18 AM

      [deleted]

    • reply
      November 19, 2012 10:21 AM

      I don't know how this connections got 5gb in 50 minutes. Actually less because that counts install time.

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        November 19, 2012 10:27 AM

        I really doubt it's 5GB. I've heard other estimates of 1.1 or so. My router logs the traffic for the day at 6.76GB, which is about 3GB more than the days around it, but I also streamed a lot of video testing out the netflix client and whatnot, so I can't really say myself.

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        November 19, 2012 10:28 AM

        Someone said the "5 Gig download" was actually 1 Gig expanding to 4. Dramatic frontpage link text aside.

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        November 19, 2012 11:28 AM

        Even if it was 5 GB, why is 50 minutes surprising? I downloaded the 11 GB Hitman pre-load last night in less than 30 minutes.

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          November 19, 2012 12:18 PM

          I've never gotten close to that.

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          November 19, 2012 6:42 PM

          Living in Australia, hearing about people downloading 11 gigs in under a day makes me very sad. :(

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            November 19, 2012 7:04 PM

            If it makes you feel better...I live in central West Virginia and my internet is likely slower than yours (and we only recently got real broadband out here where I live and I can't complain...3MB isn't bad when your only other options are satellite or 26.4k dial up).

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      November 19, 2012 10:32 AM

      The download is not 5gb, it never was... stop making numbers up.

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      November 19, 2012 11:50 AM

      using random tweets as a source is not very good for a news website... just saying

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        November 19, 2012 12:30 PM

        Might as well just not report it at all and let people brick their new systems, right?

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      November 19, 2012 6:55 PM

      [deleted]

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        November 19, 2012 8:25 PM

        Universally known amongst people like us. Your average Joe who powers off his Wii when he goes to work and comes home to a broken system might be a little miffed at Nintendo.

        Really stupid move by Nintendo. They should have just broken up the update into smaller parts and spread it out over a few weeks. They are going to have to fix tons of bricked systems.

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          November 29, 2012 11:03 AM

          No they really aren't.

          You can only brick if your power goes out while INSTALLING the update, which doesn't happen mid download. It's absolutely irrelevant if your power goes out mid download. Splitting it into more packages would just mean more installation time, which would mean more chance of a brick.

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          December 1, 2012 8:41 PM

          I agree with the first statement. I didn't even know that could happen to a console during a download. I have to say though, they DO give a warning not to turn it off during a download nearly every time.

    • reply
      November 19, 2012 8:28 PM

      [deleted]

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