crwdns2915892:0crwdne2915892:0
This guide will help you to remove the Wi-Fi board from the Nintendo Wii U Gamepad.
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Place Gamepad face down and remove the two 4.7 mm screws with a Phillips size #00 screwdriver.
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With your finger, press down and pull back on the battery connector plug.
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Remove the battery from the battery case.
Battery lifts up from the bottom not the top like the photo shows.
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Remove 10 9mm screws with Tri-Wing size Y1 screwdriver around the outer case.
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Lift up on the back of case.
I used a small blade tip to life up on the black squares that covered the screw holes. Replacing them after.. I skipped that as it seemed impossible they would even stick back down.
I am having trouble getting the two screws on the hand grips as the screws are too deep. What should I use to get them?
I ended up having to buy some cheap amazon screwdrivers and are very disappointed
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Unplug outer case rumble motor connector from the motherboard with your fingers.
Do not pull by the wires! If you do, you better be pretty good at soldering.
I agree. A circle over the plug would have been better as the picture looks like you just pull on the wires lol.
Chris -
Thanks for the comment. I did get a set of tweezers and the negative cable broke anyway. They really could have done a better job at using a different connector for that.
Great. Didn't pull on cord. Whole thing ripped off.
Why in the world is this thing so tightly connected?
Thanks for the comment. I did get a set of tweezers to try to pull it out but still ended up breaking the negative cable. They really could have used a better set of cables and connectors for this.
You don’t have to do this step!!!! Just open the switch while keeping this wire intact!!!!!
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crwdns2935267:0crwdne2935267:0Tweezers$4.99
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Open the top and bottom clasp that connects the white flex cable to the motherboard with the tweezer.
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Remove the white flex cable with the tweezers.
Attention! You have to flip up gently the small plastic cap on top of the ribbon connector. Do not try to slide the plastic cap horizontally. This method holds for all ribbon connectors.
Why is it necessary? The white flex cable doesn’t seem to block the way to the Bluetooth unit.
It is a easy step and makes dealing with everything else a little easier.
Chris -
Isn’t it WiFi?
This step is unnecessary, there is no reason to go through it.
Why would you do this? It’s not blocking anything. Not even near the wifi module.
I’m just curious, as a technician gamer, you say it makes it easier, but I don’t see how it would affect the Bluetooth, sure the motherboard or the touch screen, but the Bluetooth chip is out of the way. I’m not trying to be critical, just want to understand.
Pointless step for this task.
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With your fingers, lift and remove Wi-Fi board.
These little boards (Bluetooth and NFC) have a small connector but also have double sided tape holding them down. So you may need to apply more force than expected to remove these due to the tape.
Isn’t it Wi-Fi?
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Disconnect the black and white wires off of the back of the Wi-Fi module.
One important thing to note here is how the black and white wires are routed to the board. You should take a picture since if you do not route these the same way, the wires can interfere with the button or get trapped when you assemble the case back possible blocking a screw hole.
Isn’t it Wi-Fi?
Any idea what the name of the white wire is? I accidentally broke through mine.. having trouble finding a replacement
how do i route the bluetooth anntenas
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Lift and remove the Wi-Fi module.
Isn’t it Wi-Fi?
Does it really matter?
Thanks a lot for the guide. I just fixed my gamepad and it appears to be working good. Just one question: why do you include the step in which you remove the flatflex cable to the other pcb? It seems unnecesary
Do you happen to know where you can find replacement wires for the back and white wires?
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
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I just completed this repair on our Game Pad, and it worked perfectly!
There were two things that I noted that may be of use to anyone else completing this repair. First, the 9mm screws on the back may be located under small stickers used to conceal the screw holes. If you take them up carefully with a knife or other flat blade, you can reuse them if desired. Second, I didn’t see the need to remove the white ribbon cable in step #6. I successfully completed the repair without that step.
I just completed this repair on our Game Pad, and the guide worked perfectly!
There were two things that I noticed that may be of help to someone else completing this repair. First, note that the 9mm screws holding the back on may be located under small black stickers used to hide the screw holes. If you take them up carefully with a knife or other flat blade, you should be able to reuse them if you desire. Second, I didn’t see a need to remove the white ribbon cable in Step #6. I successfully completed the repair without that step.
Cheers!
This fix worked perfectly - our Wii U was virtually unusable because of the severely limited range of the gamepad. My kids are thrilled that they can comfortably play again!
Worked perfectly, gamepad only worked within 2 ft of the console and now works 15ft away.
Instructions were concise, well illustrated and easy to complete.
Thanks a lot!
I went to do this - already have another chip - but I discovered there are no wires attached! The white and black wires shown are not in my gamepad at all. I’m amazed I can connect in the first place. Any idea how I can replace the wires that attach to the chip? Or work around it?
If you’re still looking 2 years later…
I replaced my laptop bluetooth antennae with a short one that I got from Amazon (I had damaged the connector on the original). Just crammed it into some empty space, left the original hanging attached to nothing.
Something like this is what you want: https://www.amazon.com/Hilitand-Internal...
Mine didn’t even have the sticky piece on the end; they were literally just 6 inches of wire with the connector. I’d be willing to gamble $5 it’ll work on a Wii U also.
tried to unscrew the 10 Tri-Wing size Y1 screw with my iFixit toolkit
unfortunately the tool is too “fat” and short, it cannot reach 4 screws on the corners of the gamepad.
having the iFixit toolkit and having to purchase an additional “slim” screwdriver it’s really a shame…
Where could I find a good Bluetooth chip?
does anyone know where i can buy the replacement part? everywhere i look it is out of stock…
You can order them from china
Qweghj -
If I perform this operation will the internet be ruined? How's about the WiFi?
The Internet connection is on the Wii U console. It uses WiFi 5ghz to transmit and receive to and from the GamePad. If the GamePad's WiFi chip is damaged, the GamePad will no longer work.
hello my plan is to make the oem wii u wifi card into external usb wireless card is that possible ?
tried to unscrew the 10 Tri-Wing size Y1 screw with my iFixIt toolkit
unfortunately the tool is too “fat” and short, it cannot reach 4 screws on the corners of the gamepad.
having the iFixIt toolkit and needing to purchase an additional slim screwdriver it’s a shame…
AJtriple - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0