List of Wii drivechips
Wii modchips are electronic devices that modify or disable the built-in restrictions of the Wii. At present, all modchips operate by modifying the Wii’s DVD drive physically. As a result, they are often referred to as drive chips. Most modchips are capable of circumventing region coding and copy protection, which allows users to play games created in different regions and load burned discs. This opens up the opportunity for the use of third-party homebrew software and questionably legal backup copies, as well. Development of many of the homebrew applications began on the GameCube and, with the Wii’s legacy support for the GameCube, continue to work on the Wii.
Software Modding
While often associated with physically modifying the hardware of a device, modding can also be achieved with software. Released in early 2008, Datel’s Freeloader for the Wii was capable of circumventing region restrictions. Its release was met with skepticism in the modding community, as many "soft" mods in the past were defeated when the manufacturer released new firmware for the device. In June of 2008, Nintendo’s 3.3 firmware successfully prevented Datel’s method of "soft" modding.
On 25th October 2008, a Backup Launcher 0.3 beta released by WiiGator makes it possible that DVD-R disks burned from backup iso files can be played on an unmodded Wii. While most games are playable, some will not run due to compatibility issues. Disc read speed is not 100% which leads to many games having video playback stutters and slightly longer load times. These issues are usually minor and don't affect the actual gameplay. To complete the installation process one must use the Bannerbomb Hack.
Solderless Modding
There are available Wii-Clips for some of the listed D2C modding solutions below (Argon Wii, D2CKey/D2Pro, Wasabi). These simplify the installation process and prevent inexperienced users from damaging the console board due to improper soldering. Frequently called solderless modding, this is technically incorrect since soldering will still be required. The number and location of solder points on the drive chip is "automatically" accounted for through the use of chip-clips, and such clips extend the range of future possible solutions. However, many vendors now presolder the chip to the clip, making it into a true solderless kit.
Drivekey Issues
There have been reports of bricking (rendering the unit inoperable due to an incompatible firmware update) of a small number of Wii consoles after the installation of firmware update 3.0, released on 7 August 2007, in which Nintendo warned explicitly that modded consoles could be rendered inoperable after installation.
Due to later hardware revisions, most older modchips do not support newly manufactured Wii systems with a D2C drive chipset or newer. As of February 2008, only a handful of modchips support the D2C or newer drive chipsets, and all require a more difficult installation than older modchips. The current modchips with D2C support are the D2CKey, D2Pro, Argon, Infectus, and WiiKey2. The Wasabi chip is capable of modifying consoles of all drive chipsets.
As of May 2008, Nintendo has released a new batch of Wii systems with drive chipsets (D2C2) that look identical to D2C drives but require updated chips for support.. As of early June 2008, D2C2 compatible modchips include Argon, Infectus, D2Pro, Wasabi 2, and D2sun2.
According to their website in December 2008 Wiikey 2 works with ALL versions of Wii.
List of Modchips
Name |
Availability |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
Argon Wii |
Available |
The InFeCtuS Argon Wii is based on an 350 MHz Actel A3P-125 FPGA, which is programmable through a JTAG connector - in conjunction with either an InFeCtuS 2 device or an Injectus programmer. It has features similar to the D2CKey, and as of firmware v1.3 supports region-free play. The InFeCtuS team have said a soon to be released firmware will lower the wire count from 16 to 10 for the D2C chipset as a result of the new competition from the Wasabi modchip. It will also introduce support for all the current Wii chipsets rather than just the D2C chipset (wire count for non-D2C chipsets will be 6). Also the update will grant the ability to upgrade the modchips firmware via DVD - despite InFeCtuS recommending the JTAG connector as the preferred upgrade method. |
Chiip |
Available |
A modchip created by Cadex, the first free Wii modchip to be released. The latest firmware, v0.9.1, supports features such as original game playback (Wii and GameCube), backups from the same and different regions (Wii and GameCube), GameCube homebrew, DVD+R/DVD-R/DVD+RW ability without the need for bit-setting, DMS/D2A/D2B chipset ability. The firmware is designed to run on ATmega8L-8 and ATmega8-16 AVR chips. Although the project claimed open source from the beginning and a code release has been announced, so far no source code has been released. With none of the announced updates to the web site and project data in several months, the project is likely to be considered abandoned, even though its last version remains available and operational. |
CycloWiz |
Available |
The second Wii modchip to be released. This chip is able to play not only backups of its own region, but it also partially supports playback of backups from a different region (for example PAL discs on an NTSC Wii). The CycloWiz's firmware can be updated via DVD, so more options will become available in the future. |
D2CKey |
Available |
One of the few modchips that work on a Wii with the D2C chipset. The D2CKey modchip is specially designed for D2C and newer drive chipsets and as such it will NOT work on other models of Wii. Due to the number and types of soldering that the D2CKey requires (over 30 fine solder points), the team behind it advise that only people with considerable soldering experience install the chip. It also has region free support. |
D2Pro |
Available |
An upgrade over the D2CKey, coming from the same manufacturer. The D2Pro originally required 15 wires to be connected (19 for region-free support), however it can now function with only 9 (or even 5 on a D2B). As such, it is much easier to install than the D2CKey. The new D2Pro9 is compatible with the newer D2C2 drive chips as of late May 2008. Solderless clip is available. A third version D2Pro9 v3 has just been release as of late July 2008 to support D2E chipsets. |
Drivekey |
Available |
The Drivekey is a solderless modchip that connects between the dvd drive and the wii. With the exception of scrubbed games it plays all backups including trucha-signed backups, plays games from any region, plays original games(non backup)and GC backups (no streaming audio). No loader needed, automatically boots the games. Compatible with all Wii drives good for Wii's that have the epoxy on the chip. The Drivekey is update able via JTAG or DVD. |
InFeCtuS 2 |
Available |
The InFeCtuS 2 is a universal modchip that is compatible with Wii D2C chipsets through a special firmware. The Wii firmware, WIIKTUS, originally required 13-wires (or 16 for region-free support) for D2C hardware, however it has since been reduced to 9 with the new firmware. An InFeCtuS 2 with Wii firmware is very similar to the Argon Wii, except that it can be flashed to modify other consoles as well (currently the Argon chip only supports Wii and Playstation 2). |
OpenWii |
Available |
The first GPL-licensed (as of 2.01) open source modchip. Written in C. Source released before or along with binaries. OpenWii is the first open source modchip to support firmware updates via DVD, as well as the first open source chip to support Super Mario Galaxy. Currently (as of 2/29/08 and firmware revision 2.4), the chip supports DVD9 (Dual-Layer) discs and the Gamecube audiofix. |
Wasabi |
Available |
The Wasabi promises to be the first Wii modchip to support all chipset revisions, from DMS to the latest D2C drives. It also boasts 128kB of flash memory for future firmware updates, a massive upgrade from other chips available on the market. The chip is advertised as being more stable compared to other D2C modchips. It requires only 9 wires to solder for D2C (and 5 for older chipsets), a sizable step down from current modchips. The website also notes that there are a few kilobytes of data stored on Wii optical discs that are not present in backups of Wii games. They claim that this data can be used by Nintendo to build a new copy protection, and that Wasabi can defend against this because the extra data can be stored in its high capacity flash memory. In early 2009 the Wasabi Zero modchip was released. This chip uses a clip-on style connector and requires zero soldering. |
Wi-ic |
Available |
The Wi-ic is capable of Wii and GameCube backup play, supports multi-disc games, GameCube import play with swapping, GameCube homebrew play. Wii import and homebrew play is unconfirmed. It has 5 wires that can be installed with a quick solder or gold-plated solder pads. Contains a failsafe update mechanism allowing it to recover from a failed update using the Disc Channel or Photo Channel which requires an extra wire to be soldered. An extra wire on the chip allows for a disabling of the chip to be used. It is also a DVD-upgradeable chip however currently there's only one upgrade program has been released. From the ERROR-001 problem appeared when Super Mario Galaxy was released, the Wi-ic group disappeared unexpectedly and both its Chinese and English forum was closed after many users asked them to release a new upgrade to fix the error. (i.e. a chip without any support now.) Although a PC program called Trucha can fix the error by editing the .iso file of the game, but the latest 3.3 version firmwire for Wii could detect this change so that the copy of ERROR-001 games (Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart Wii, etc.) won't work anymore. Therefore, Wi-ic has become a useless chip for new games. |
Wii-Boss |
Available |
The Wii-Boss is a quick solder compatible modchip based on the PIC 12F629 and includes a programmer kit. It is compatible with any modchip code that supports the 12F629, including YAOSM, Wiinja, WiiFree, and OpenWii. |
WiiD |
Unavailable |
The Wii Drive Modchip or simply WiiD shares many similarities with the commercial modchips that preceded it. The WiiD, like its competitors, can also have its internal firmware updated via DVD. The upgrade process is rather primitive where the only indication of a complete firmware flash is a disc read error (DRE) screen. The WiiD supports all Wii and GameCube backups of the same region of the console and as of firmware v02 has become region-free with most titles. V03 has recently been released adding support for Super Mario Galaxy.Wiid does not support D2C. |
WiiFree |
Available |
Another open source modchip for PIC 12F629, 12F675, 12F683, 16F628, and 16F628A chips. It is written in JalV2 and the source code is always released with the binary. It has all the functions of a regular commercial modchips but it's free. To update WiiFree the chip needs to be reprogramed with a Pic Programmer. Development of WiiFree has been discontinued. The developers recommend using YAOSM for a comparable solution. |
WiiJii PIC 12F629 Test Kit |
Available |
A PIC-based kit made for easy install into any project requiring a PIC 12F629. The kit includes a PIC 12F629 chip mounted on circuit board, an external header that gets wired in, and a JDM programer. Programming software is available on the site and works with any JDM programer that supports the 12F629. |
WiiKey |
Available |
The Wiikey, released February 2007, was one of the first DVD-upgradeable modchips to be released for the Wii. It is a first generation chip, and can only be installed on systems with chipset revisions of D2B and older (including systems with “cut” IC legs). The Wiikey has six points to solder on to the DVD drive. This can be done either via wires or through the "quick solder" method. The Wiikey’s firmware works by a process of funneling through the debug serial port. This effectively tricks the DVD drive into believing that the backup is in fact genuine, much like current Xbox 360 chips do. Periodic firmware updates are released from the Wiikey development team, as well as configuration discs used to change the Wiikey settings. Both can be found on the Wiikey website. In addition to complete original Wii functionality, including system updates and online game play, the Wiikey packs an impressive list of features. According to the Wiikey website, this is the official feature list as of the March 26 2008 1.9s update:
|
WiiKey 2 |
Available |
The 2nd generation Wiikey model, released October 2008. It is compatible with DMS, D2A, D2B, D2C, D2C-2 and D2E chipsets, a huge upgrade over the original Wiikey's compatibility. It uses a 5-6 wire installation (5-9 if the sticker on the back of the Wiikey 2 is white). According to the Wiikey website, this is the official feature list as of the October release:
|
Wiinja |
Available |
The first announced modchip for the Wii. Supports playback of backup discs but only in the format of its own region. The Wiinja Deluxe, released on February 26 2007, can upgrade and play imports. The original Wiinja, however, lacks this function and cannot bypass the newer Super Mario Galaxy copy protection. |
Wiip |
Unavailable |
Open source, OpenWii AVR-based modchip design. Gerber files available. Note: All Wiip material is currently unvailable from official site as of September 17, 2007 with the explanation: "All content has been removed pending a copyright review." |
Wiip2 |
Unavailable |
In June 2007, Team Xecuter announced the "Wiip2" modchip to remedy several hardware related shortcomings of the original "Wiip" project. Their web site featured a thorough description, discussions and prototype pictures, however, by now all Wiip2-related material and forum threads as well as the pre-order possibility have been removed from their web site. |
WiiRez |
Available |
Another drive chip for the Wii. The installation of this chip is moderately different as the chip is grounded on two points, and requires a separate wire to be soldered for the update function. Also, it requires an additional wire to be installed if the user desires to play multi-disc games. This is the first modchip to have a quick solder option, but require wires to be installed for multi-disc functionality. The installation is difficult, and the functions are less than par. |
YAOSM |
Available |
A free PIC-based modchip written in Great Cow Basic. It started as a rewrite of the popular WiiFree and it is the first modchip to use automatic region configuration, as well as the first open source modchip to let users set the DVD Drive's speed via Setup Disc. It's always released with source code and pre-compiled hex files for a wide range of suitable PIC chips (12F629, 12F635, 12F675, 12F683, 16F627, 16F627A, 16F628, 16F628A, 16F630, 16F636, 16F639, 16F648A, 16F676, 16F684, 16F87 and 16F88.) From v2.0 and on, it also supports audiofix for GameCube games, as well as Super Mario Galaxy backup (from v1.9) and DVD-9. |
Yowii |
Available |
A modchip for the Wii that can be reprogrammed with any precompiled hex file that supports the PIC 12F683. Since it isn't limited to a particular modchip hex, the feature list will be based on the hex the user decides to program it with. It does, however, come pre-programmed with YAOSM hex. Because the Yowii chip uses the larger PIC 12F683, the full version of YAOSM fits on the chip without the need to remove features. It also supports the Super Mario Galaxy fix (SMG fix). It offers quick solder install or 5-wire install. The 5 wires are attached to a plug which then plugs into a connector on the chip. The same connector is also used for programming the chip and the wire is long enough to attach the chip externally. |
References
pt:Anexo:Lista de modchips do Wii