Wiid Review

Wiid Review
Written by Deynet / Translated by Jones23
November 2007

[ read the original review on modcontrol.com (german) ]

Features

Non Swap/Direct Boot for Wii backups.
Non Swap/Direct Boot for GC backups
Non Swap/Direct Boot for Homebrew in GC mode
Non Swap/Direct Boot for NTSC region Wii games/backups on US and JAP consoles
Boots PAL Backups/Originals on NTSC WII consoles (partially without swapping)
Boots NTSC Backups/Originals on PAL WII consoles (partially without swapping)
Boots different region GC Games Original/Backups Imports (partially without swapping)
EUROPE/USA/JAPAN Wii Console Supported
Double soldering option, 6 wires or Quicksolder (No wires Required)!
Compatible with all the WII Console Versions/Drive currently available
Full D2B Drive Support
Built-in audio fix
Full support for DVD-R/DVD+R and DVD+RW/DVD-RW without Booktype
Supports Multi-Disc games for both Wii and Gamecube
Recovery Mode for incomplete/Bad Upgrades
Stealth mode
Firmware fully Upgradable by DVD!

Contents

The chip is shipped in an ESD bag, without any additional equipment, but some resellers include cables and installation diagram.

Quality

The WiiD is a chip with quick-solder-interface, like the WiiKey or the CycloWiz. It's been designed by the famos Matrix Team (PS2: Matrix Infinity) and has a good production quality. It's chip ((PIC-controller with flashrom, Manufacturer: Microchip) is perfectly positioned on the circut board and the solder pads are nice and clean. The Wiid itself is pretty small (2,3x1,4cm), so you almost need a magnifying glass to find it.

Details about the installed PIC-controller:
Manufacturer: Microchip
Identification: 12F863-I/SN
Case: SO-8
Program memory: 2048x14
RAM bytes: 128
Max. MHz: 20
I/O-Pins: 6
Additional Features: 256B Eeprom; 4 Ka. 10-Bit ADC; 1 Comp.; Timer 1-8/1-16bit/1-WDT

Installation

Before installing the chip you have to disable "WiiConnect24" in the Wii menu! Disassembling the Wii should be no problem, you just need a triwing screwdriver size 0. You can choose between the easy quick-solder method and the usual cable installation (more challenging, but easier to remove). You have to solder only 5 spots/cables. To be able to use the "Restore/Disable-Function" of the Wiid, used to completely disable the chip, or to restore it after a failed firmware update, you have to solder an additional cable. I normally prefer a cable based installation, so I also installed the WiiD with cables. The quick-solder method is not , cause the solder pads of the WiiD do not perfectly fit the Wii board and the chip is 1.5mm thick, which makes soldering more difficult. Because of the small size of the WiiD you need a keen eye and fine feeling!

To place the WiiD on the mainboard and create an isolation, I used double faced adhesive tape and placed the WiiD on the metal sheet next to the drive motor. You have plenty of space there, so soldering the cables is no problem at all. After that I soldered the spot "D" cable (Restore/Disable), for which I had to remove th remaining metal sheets, to reach the spot on the Wii board. The solder pads on the WiiD are big enough and the solder spots on the Wii board are also acceptably big. Finally I masked the Wiid to protect it.

Usage

For testing I made a backup of my Wii Sports with RawDump and burned it with Nero. It was working perfectly right from the start, the PAL game Zelda Twilight Princess also worked fine, I noticed neither Disk Read Errors (DRE's), nor conspicuous sound from the DVD drive. Imports can only be played after installing WIID Firmware 02, which adds Region Free capability and corrects any issues with "GCOS SELFBOOT MULTIVER" v2 and v3 and audio streaming games. You can find the update in our forum (Modcontrol.com) or on the WiiD homepage. Burn the firmware upgrade iso image to DVD, turn on the Wii console without any disc inside, go to the Disc Channel and then insert the firmware upgrade disc. The disc will spin for a few seconds while the firmware is being upgraded and will finally stop. A message on the screen will say "Unable to read the disc". This is completely normal and signals that the firmware update operation has been completed. However if something went wrong, you can use the recovery mode:

- Press and hold the RESET button on your Wii.
- Turn on the Wii by pressing the power button either on the Wii console or on the Wii remote while keeping the RESET button pressed.
- Wait 15 seconds and release the RESET button.

Now You've restored your Wiid to the default factory configuration. The WiiKey also has a recovery mode, the CycloWiz lacks that feature. If you want to completely disable the WiiD follow the same steps as for recovery mode, but release the RESET button after 3 seconds. Both WiiKey and CycloWiz don't have this function.

Conclusion

The WiiD is another successful chip from the Matrix Team. It has the same features (that are all possible features ATM) as the higher priced WiiKey, which has a higher production quality and is the most popular Wii chip. But still, the WiiD is more than just an alternative among all Wii chips.

Negatives

doesn't boot all NTSC games on PAL consoles

Positives

compatible with all Wii models
boots Wii/GC backups and GC homebrew, even multidiscs
boots Imports
updateable via DVD
Recovery and Stealth Mode

Links

www.wiidmod.com - Official Website
Original Review at ModControl.com (German)

-=[ Wiid Review Discussion Thread ]=-