There is something kinda fun about those early internet apps that landed on the Wii. They’re definitely not worth anything more than historical curiosity at this point, but I think they’re still worth having around for play with. Then again, I like to use a 40-year-old luggable to play games on because it’s interesting, so maybe I’m not the best judge of this.

Restore online services with RiiConnect24

First, hit up the RiiConnect24 GitHub and download the latest version of the WAD patcher. It’s a pretty straightforward endeavor from there to just run the batch or sh file (depending on your OS flavor preference). Just follow the directions and be patient.

Once the patcher has done its job, return your SD card to the Wii and launch Wii Mod Lite from the Homebrew Channel. Like we did with the USB Loader GX channel WAD, select the files you want to install, then press A twice to install the batch. One thing to note: there may be an update to one of the service channels listed in the batch with the base channel WAD. Do NOT attempt to install the update WAD with the batch as it will likely fail. Exclude the update, install the batch, then install the update WAD. If you forget, you’ll need to uninstall both the update and the base WAD, then install one at a time.

Patching Wii Mail

From the Homebrew Channel, launch the RiiConnect24 Mail Patcher. Follow the instructions on screen, then press HOME when it’s finished. You’ve got mail!

Connecting to the new servers

Just like we did for str2hax, we’ll need to change the Wii’s DNS servers. Go to Wii Settings, Internet, and Connection Settings, then scroll to the “Auto-Obtain DNS” page. Select “No” then “Advanced Options” and enter 164.132.44.106 as the primary DNS and 1.1.1.1 as the secondary DNS.

Click “Confirm” and “Save” then “OK” to perform the connection test. Of course, don’t update the Wii.

Return to the Settings menu, and select “WiiConnect24” to make sure that “WiiConnect24” and “Standby Connection” are both enabled.

Finally, return to the “Internet” section and read/agree to the User Agreement.

Enable Wiimmfi for online play

Since Nintendo shuttered the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, officially-sanctioned online play has been dead. However, thanks to dedicated fans of the system, robust online play still exists on Wiimmfi’s private servers. You’ll need to enable these in a few different places:

For disc-based games, you’ll need the Priiloader patch. Launch Priiloader by holding RESET and powering on the Wii. Select “System Menu Hacks” and enable “Wiimmfi Patch v4”. Save settings and exit.

For games loaded from hard drive, USB Loader GX has support for Wiimmfi built in. The global loader options will have a selection for “Private Server” that can be set to Wiimmfi. Save those settings and USB Loader GX will patch each game when it runs!

For WiiWare titles, you can use the RiiConnect24 WAD patcher as described above, then reinstall the patched WAD with Wii Mod Lite.