Nintendo of America

Wii Console General Maintenance

In order to keep your Wii console's performance in tip-top shape, we recommend the following tips for general maintenance.

(If you are experiencing problems with your console, games, or accessories, the steps below likely will not resolve the issue. Please check our troubleshooting information for possible solutions to the problem you are experiencing.)

Occasional Game Disc Errors
If you experience the occasional game disc error, such as "The Disc Could Not Be Read," you may want to try the following:

• Game Disc Cleaning
  Keeping your game discs clean can help prevent disc read errors and other problems. If you would like to clean your game discs, click here to read our instructions on properly cleaning a game disc. It is important that you clean the game discs as described.
• Wii Lens Cleaning Kit
  Contamination of optical lenses in any device that reads data from a disc - such as DVD players and game consoles - is common and can be caused by anything from dust to cigarette smoke. The official disc lens cleaner is specially-designed for Wii by Nintendo and can help keep the lens clear of contamination. Please note that the cleaning kit is meant to be used for maintenance. It may not solve existing issues and will not affect errors caused by damage to the Wii console or game discs. For more information on the Wii Lens Cleaning Kit (including where to purchase one), click here.

 

Cleaning the system
If you are interested in keeping the exterior of your Wii console looking its best, you can try the following:

• Housing and Exterior
  Spray a dry cloth with Windex or Simple Green then wipe the system down. Be careful not to get the cloth too wet, because you don't want liquid dripping down into the system.
• Vents:
  Use some type of dusting tool, including a dusting attachment for a vacuum. You should never use liquid of any type to clean the vents.
• Sticky buttons or ports
  Our experience shows that this problem is caused by contamination of foreign material inside the buttons, and the system will need to be repaired. Please click here to set up a repair.

• "Residue" left by vinyl stickers
  Some vinyl stickers that can be applied to the outer housing of the Wii console may leave behind a sticky residue when removed. We have found that the following procedure can be used to remove the residue:
  1. Place the fingers of one hand together and wrap a long strip of masking tape around the tips, so that the sticky part is facing outward. Other tape may be used, but we found masking tape to be the most effective.
  2. Dab at the sticky areas of the console with the tape to remove the sticky residue.

  If you are unable to remove the residue, and it is interfering with your enjoyment of the Wii console, then the system will need to be repaired. Because this type of damage is not covered under Nintendo's warranty, there will be a charge for the repair. Please click here to set up a repair.