Help! Our Wii stopped working

[TupperMom7]

My son went out and bought the new WWE game for Wii today. He was all excited to be playing it for the first time. Puts the game in the Wii and nothing happened. The TV screen says "unable to read disc", so we tried other games thinking that something might be wrong with the new one. No dice, got the same message. My son called customer service. They asked him for the serial number and then told him that the disc drive needed repair and it would cost $85 and we'd have to send it in. $85! That's almost half of the cost of a new one.

Has anyone ever gotten this message before on their Wii? Was it really broken or should we just let it rest for a while and try again. Any other tricks that might get it going again? Ugh.

 

[theeisens]

We have had that message come up on ours a few times. Usually though our discs need cleaned. Sometimes we just reset it or turn it off and back on and it works! Good luck!!!!

 

[kalliyan1]

I've never gotten that message but I can tell you we just had to send our Wii in under the $85 fix it option. It included shipping both ways and fixing the wii or replacing it no matter what. It turned out that ours was an expensive repair. They fixed it, shipped it back with all new cables, sensor bar, etc in less than 2wks!!!
I know it's expensive but for us, it sure beats having to buy a new on

Good Luck!!!!

 

[alexandmaddie]

Yes, we got the message. We tried cleaning the discs, but I'm sorry to say it did not work. We bought a new Wii.

Kristi

 

[StephMK]

We got some type of error message - it had something to do with a disc read error but can't be certain exactly what it said but it would "see" any discs. Anyway, we turned everything off, unplugged everything - that is key - and waited a bit. When we turned it back on, it worked & has been fine the last few months since it happened.

 

[phins_jazy]

I'm embarassed to say that we've gotten that message too.......when we put the disk in backwards! I don't know if it's as simple as that for you but try putting the disk in the other way and see what happens.

 

[HeatherC]

Something was wrong with ours as well, so dh called Nintendo and for less than $20 they fixed it within a week. We had to pay with a credit card and they sent us a box to ship it in along with pre-paid fedex.

Works great and we got it back in about 7 days.

 

[torinsmom]

I would try the reset thing first like a PP said. Take game out, turn everything off and unplug everything. Also unplug all the cords from the Wii, so it is just the Wii "box". Leave it overnight and see if that resets it.

You also may need to get a DVD cleaner disc and run it through.

Marsha

 

[heartsy77]

When ours did this 2 weeks before the manufactured warranty ran out Nintendo said it was the card reader and replaced it.

 

[mommyof2princesses]

We had it happen once. I can't remember if we tried to put in 2 discs or put the disc in backwards. We turned it off, took all cables off and reset it up and it worked.

 

[Nicsmom]

We also get the occassional "unable to read disc" error. We need to uplug the power cord from the unit and that usually does the trick.

Different games, different times. We did call support once and they suggested a software update which we did. Not sure that it fixed the issue but we have not seen any errors since.

 

[Gi19]

We've had that happen and just unplugged, left for awhile and all was ok. Hope it works for you!!!

 

[Dani C]

We have been having this issue with my DD's Wii as well. Unplugging, resetting, etc. did nothing to assist in the functioning of the machine however. The manual said to try cleaning the lens of the system first. We bought the Wii lens cleaner kit for $10. (I would not use a regular lens cleaner for DVDs though as it could damage the system and most are clearly marked that they are not for use on gaming systems.) For us, even after the two times being cleaned (recommended) it is still not functioning so we will be sending it in for repairs shortly.

Note: There were issues also with a particular game having issues in the past with such error messages, but if it is consistent regardless of the game it may need cleaned or the drive or lens could need to be replaced.

 

[NMW]

try running a lens cleaning disc made for game systems through it, unplug everything and set it all back up again. If that doesn't work your options are pay to get it fixed or buy a new one.

We sent one of my sons XBOX 360 back to microsoft 2 times to fix that "rings of death" thing. The first time was free-under warranty, second time we paid. The 3rd time it happened, we bought him a new XBOX. My friend bought the service plan on her sons through Circuit City. I guess that's worthless now. Anyway, good luck.

 

[DisneyDizzy]

My brother's family had the same trouble with their Wii. Called Nintendo and they had them send it in. They fixed it and had it back in two weeks. I think the cost was around $20.

Nintendo customer service is very good, in my opinion. We had to send my son's DSi in for some warranty work. They are very easy to work with.

 

[TupperMom7]

Thanks. We tried unplugging it all and reconnecting it, but nothing changed. So we are sending it in. My husband called and they are offereing a $40 special to repair it. I guess that's not too bad if they fix it.

 

[Jules123]

Ours is doing the same thing. We called a couple weeks ago and they told us to send it and the $85 to fix it. Hopefully we can get in on that $40 special too!

 

[DLW8]

I had issues with my wii balance board (it wasn't even a year old) and they wanted $50 or so to fix it and it would take 6 - 8 weeks. I hesitated when they said, is that okay? I said, not not really. That is half the price of a new one and this isn't even a year old!

The CSR then said, what if we would fit it for FREE? I said, that I would be interested in. He sent me a prepaid UPS label and I shipped it back to them. I got a BRAND NEW ONE back in about 2 weeks.

So, hesitate when you talk to them or ask if there is any better rate....I was ready to just throw mine away and buy a new one rather than spend 1/2 the money for them to fix mine. But, in the end, I got a brand new board for no money, just 2 weeks without the balance board.

 

[Blue.Fairy2]

Thanks. We tried unplugging it all and reconnecting it, but nothing changed. So we are sending it in. My husband called and they are offereing a $40 special to repair it. I guess that's not too bad if they fix it.

I guess the price dropped because the console priced dropped. when ours did this same thing it cost us the $89 I happily paid that being we kept our console ( if possible) and all memory stored on it like AC and they extend the warranty for 1 year just like it was a brand new system.

Ours is doing the same thing. We called a couple weeks ago and they told us to send it and the $85 to fix it. Hopefully we can get in on that $40 special too!

did you?

 

[Dani C]

When I called a few days ago (delayed as I was out of town and couldn't give them the serial number) the price was $85. I was told that there were two different error messages however for it not being able to read the discs, so maybe it depends on which one you are getting.