Our Wii died - now what?

[tyniknate]

My youngest son's big Christmas gift was the Skylanders game and some figures. Last night our Wii died. Dead, dead, dead.

This is a major big deal because we have no cable/satellite TV in our home, nor do we have internet in our home. The Wii was his major source of entertainment. Any idea where I can get a very low-budget replacement? We have had it long enough that the warranty is expired long ago. Would you call Nintendo and see if it can be repaired, or is too cost-prohibitive considering the age of our console? My DH has very bad work hours in Jan-Feb-March, so money is a huge problem. It's also going to be a huge problem if DS now has no form of entertainment.

 

[pyrxtc]

I would call and find out about repair and maybe they can see why it died. I can't imagine having it die this early in the game. We've had game consoles for 15 years and they still work. The Wii shouldn't die so young.

 

[amy-momofthree]

Are you sure it's dead?? Ours appeared to be dead last year and I looked up the problem online and fixed it. I don't remember exactly what i did but I remember unplugging everything from the wii for 20 minutes or so and Maybe hitting the reset button?? I don't remember exactly but try googling it. It's worth a shot. I know how important those wiis are . Good luck!!

 

[girli565]

I'd try to see if it can be repaired. Our Wii died and we called Nintendo and they told us where to take it and it was a quick $25 fix. I was glad I called because a new wii was way more than that.

Sometimes the fix can even be done over the phone, they will walk you through what needs to be done. It doesn't hurt to call.

 

[tyniknate]

Yep, dead. The disk reader died. It just says "unable to read disk" no matter what we put into it.

This was a first-edition Wii. Do you think that matters? We got it for the boys the first year the Wii came out and it has been played daily since. I think it's just worn out!

I will call Nintendo when I get home this afternoon and see what they say.

 

[GillieRose]

you can get a used one from game stop for about 90. Also sometimes they will give you credit for a broken consoles when you take them in. I know they did for are PS3 it's not much but it would help with the cost.

 

[HM]

A agree that a used one from Gamestop might be the best bet for low cost.

You might also put out a plea to any friends or family that might have one that they aren't using. You could borrow until you have the funds to replace yours.

 

[gracie1]

Ours died on christmas eve Had to run out and exchange the games and get the ds games instead. I had an error code come up on our tv. I called nintendo and talked to them and they wanted $80 to fix it plus $10 shipping and handling each way. It's cheaper to go to a gamestop and get one refurbished than pay that much to repair one.

 

[tyniknate]

Ours died on christmas eve Had to run out and exchange the games and get the ds games instead. I had an error code come up on our tv. I called nintendo and talked to them and they wanted $80 to fix it plus $10 shipping and handling each way. It's cheaper to go to a gamestop and get one refurbished than pay that much to repair one.

This is what I was worried about. At $100 to repair and ship, its only $129.99 for a new one under warranty. Uggghhhh!

 

[OHVolunteer]

After a quick google search, I found this troubleshooting fix from someone who was having constant disc reading errors on their first-gen Wii as well, maybe take a look and give it a try.

http://www.techdodo.com/?p=706

 

[KNJWDW]

Ours recently died, too. We ended up getting a new one for $149. It included the new Super Mario game, a music cd, and two different controllers. This seemed to be the going price at Best Buy, Walmart and Target.

 

[eolian]

We have a local chain of game stores that repairs game systems and it cost me $65 to have the laser in the disk reader replaced. It took about 2 weeks. Check and see if you might have any local gaming stores that could help you.

 

[NotUrsula]

You don't by any change own the Super Smash Brothers Brawl game, do you? There was a flaw in the disk of that game that sometimes caused the laser in the console to die. If so, Nintendo will repair it for free and replace the game disk. (It doesn't matter if that is the actual reason your console died; it is a known problem and if you have the game and a dead console, you get the fix.)

If you have the game, go the Nintendo Wii website and search for Brawl. It will lead you to a form that is good for a free factory repair. When we sent ours in it took about a week to come back.

 

[Feckless]

If it is within a year, there's a chance that Nintendo will fix it for free. Call them - we had the same error, and yes, it cost about $100 including shipping to fix it, but all the game progress that my kids had stored on it made it worthwhile to do that rather than repair. They said that if it had happened within a year it would be in the warranty period when I called though.

HTH

 

[tinkerbell9227]

we just bought one at sams club for $99 if you have a membership. it didnt come with any games, but it sounds like you should have plenty anyway !

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

If it is within a year, there's a chance that Nintendo will fix it for free.

OP has stated that this is a first edition Wii - long out of warranty.

I would probably just spring for a new Wii, especially if it is a major source of entertainment. They aren't that expensive.

 

[LJSquishy]

New Wiis are pretty inexpensive now, especially compare to any other game system.

Your "cheapest" option would be to buy a used one off of Craigslist but it can be risky and there is no warranty. I would either buy a brand new one, or get a used one from GameStop as i think they offer a 90 day warranty on used systems but the price difference is so minimal so if you can spring for a new one I would because the warranty will be longer and you know it is a new edition, etc.

 

[tyniknate]

You don't by any change own the Super Smash Brothers Brawl game, do you? There was a flaw in the disk of that game that sometimes caused the laser in the console to die. If so, Nintendo will repair it for free and replace the game disk. (It doesn't matter if that is the actual reason your console died; it is a known problem and if you have the game and a dead console, you get the fix.)

If you have the game, go the Nintendo Wii website and search for Brawl. It will lead you to a form that is good for a free factory repair. When we sent ours in it took about a week to come back.

Yes, as a matter of fact we do. Will go check that out now. They just got that game for Christmas.

 

[MaleficentRN]

Our first edition Wii died last year. It had the same error. When I heard it would cost $100 to fix it, I considered that it would extend the life by maybe two years. Or I could get a new one for $40 more and would last maybe five years. I bought the new one and sold the old one, as is, on eBay for $20. (I guess people use it for parts?)
Since your son uses it almost daily, I would think you'd be better off getting a new one.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I'd go get a used one from gamestop.

My DD12 said he could read books instead. LOL