Looks like it's not just the PS3. Mine happened on 2 occasions. First time, I thought it was a fluke so I let it go. Anyways, today I was playing Wii Sports about 2-3 hours with my GF and next thing you know the screen froze and no operation. Had to power cycle the entire unit to reboot. I guess it will be going back to BB soon for replacement. Anyone experienced this issue?

I don't have a Wii, but what game were you playing and what was happening?

My Wii freezes frequently. About 15% of the time when I'm inserting a game disk or trying to launch a game disk. Freezes about 25% of the time when I try to get into the online store to download retro games.

when it freezes online wait a bit and see if works things out. sometimes it takes a while for nintendo's servers to send back an error message.

freezing is very common though. it might be from buggy firmware so don't go replacing it yet. hopefully nintendo fixes things by the next firmware upgrade.

If every computer owner returned a PC that locked up occassionally, we would all be returning our PC's for replacement. Freezing I think is inherent part of modern day consumer electronics. It may not be optimal but I think we have to learn to live with it. If all it takes is a cold boot (unplug, count to five, replug) to fix it, I wouldn't worry about it. As previous poster said, hopefully a firmware update will fix it.

I am glad I neurotically save often on Zelda. I sure wouldnt want to repeat somehting form a screen freeze mishap.

I remember on MM in the GC version everyone said it would freeze, but luckily I got through it with 0 freezes for that game. :)

Looks like it's not just the PS3. Mine happened on 2 occasions. First time, I thought it was a fluke so I let it go. Anyways, today I was playing Wii Sports about 2-3 hours with my GF and next thing you know the screen froze and no operation. Had to power cycle the entire unit to reboot. I guess it will be going back to BB soon for replacement. Anyone experienced this issue?

You have a better chance of replacing it with Nintendo direct. I had a minor pixel issue and sent it in...i should have it back within the next few business days (total turn around time is 1.5 weeks) BB will be hard to exchange it and even if that, they will probally tell you to deal with nintendo anyway as its probally passed 30 days if you got it on launch

As for freezing, i have never froze with the system (sports, zelda, excite truck, gc games)

My Wii freezes frequently. About 15% of the time when I'm inserting a game disk or trying to launch a game disk. Freezes about 25% of the time when I try to get into the online store to download retro games.

My buddies Wii freezes every day, and he has it in a ventilated area. He doesn't play it that often either so I don't think it has to do with overheating. My PS3 froze twice on me but only playing Motorstorm Demo which I know has some bugs in it. Another friends PS3 freezes more often than mine as well. I guess with all these first run consoles, we are to find bad ones and good ones. Or ones that are OK and even worse ones. If it freezes more often than not, then perhaps you would want Nintnedo to take a look at it. Just note down when it happens and what you were doing.

I also want to mention that I have a launch Gamecube, and it only froze once on me in all the years I've had it and only on one game. "Star Wars Rogue Squadron III" and in one level of that game Geonosis... I played the Zelda game all the way thru on the Gamecube and it didn't freeze once. Not a single time..

If every computer owner returned a PC that locked up occassionally, we would all be returning our PC's for replacement. Freezing I think is inherent part of modern day consumer electronics. It may not be optimal but I think we have to learn to live with it. If all it takes is a cold boot (unplug, count to five, replug) to fix it, I wouldn't worry about it. As previous poster said, hopefully a firmware update will fix it.


If every computer owner returned a PC that locked up occasionally, computer manufacturers would have no choice but to produce more robust equipment. I don't see what the benefit is of having cheap electronics because the benefits disappear when you add in the hassle of returning defective products, researching online for workarounds, babying components to coax them to work, and sitting around empty handed while the item is being repaired. This 2-3% defect rate manufacturers is BS. It's clearly more along the lines of 10-15%, if not even more than that. I hate bad craftsmanship and my philosophy is that shoddy craftsmanship should be the company's problem, not mine!

I even returned my copy of Metroid Prime to Nintendo because of the bug it has where the game will freeze when using a certain elevator. I knew there was nothing they could do about it at that point (it was clearly a bug in the software and not a defective disc), but by sending it back I at least wasted some of Nintendo's resources.

Companies have no incentive to produce reliable product when consumers play the role of apologist.

Odd... I haven't had a single freeze yet (in about 15 hours of Wii Sports, 28 hours of Zelda, and 5-6 hours of Channels/Mii Creation).

Either I'm lucky, or I just don't know... I hadn't heard anything about freezing until this thread.

My system did freeze twice when it was in standby mode - couldn't get it to power up using the remote. I was also getting connection errors on the shopping channel. Since I changed my wireless router to channel 11 (as recommended by Nintendo) I haven't had a single problem, and my internet connection is flawless now.

If that doesn't work, call Nintendo. They have great customer support over the phone (in my experience). Your system shouldn't freeze so you shouldn't hesitate to call.

We've had ours for more than 3 weeks and haven't seen any freezes. So I doubt it's a firmware bug. It's more likely a hardware problem.

Freezes about 25% of the time when I try to get into the online store to download retro games.

The fix for the retro games is to turn the unit off and blow into the disc slot.

The fix for the retro games is to turn the unit off and blow into the disc slot.

that made me chuckle...

If every computer owner returned a PC that locked up occassionally, we would all be returning our PC's for replacement. Freezing I think is inherent part of modern day consumer electronics. It may not be optimal but I think we have to learn to live with it. If all it takes is a cold boot (unplug, count to five, replug) to fix it, I wouldn't worry about it. As previous poster said, hopefully a firmware update will fix it.

understandable but this is a mini-pc designed for one purpose. it supposed to play games and connect to the internet occasionally. pc's are designed to run different programs and multitask at the same time. maybe more of a reason why they freeze up due to imcompatibility or limited resources. nintendo can't expect users to "just deal with it" when their gameconsole freezes. i'm sure they would like to know about it and have consumers report the problem. in all my gaming days, i have not had a console freeze due to "regular" use. this is the first console that did. certainly, quality nowadays is being compromised due to mass production but mfg's certainly aren't lowering their prices much. oh the sacrifice..

so i urge most users to make the complaint. we are the quality control and ask not to put out buggy products in the first place.

The fix for the retro games is to turn the unit off and blow into the disc slot.

Heh... ;-)

SWEET!

We just bought Zelda and now have the freezing issue. Never had an issue with Wii sports and we played that all day yesterday. Now however, every few minutes...Freeze!..is there an firmware update yet?

Hi have two wii's in the house mine and my daughters.Mine has froze once in the mii channel had to pull plug to get it going again my daughter's has froze a couple times playing zelda as well.

This might be related: my wii freezes most when trying to load Rayman game. Lately with wii sports. I also notice that if you're wii is in standby mode for several days, and there is a game disc inside, upon ejecting it the disc is REALLY hot. After not playing for several days, Wii Sports froze up and could not read the disc mid game. After ejecting disc, and reinserting it the game continued to play. So who knows? Could this be a related issue? And why are my discs so darn hot...

Game consoles should freeze only very very rarely. The argument that computers freeze often is invalid. The reason computers freeze so often is because of all the software we juggle around and all the junk we put into the operating system. It's because every PC is different in some way. There are thousands, if not millions of possible hardware combinations between video cards, sound cards, processors, memory brands, motherboards, and then there's all the different drivers to run on all these.

This is why Macs rarely freeze. Their system is so proprietary that they don't have to worry about all that many hardware combinations. But the downside is more expensive hardware, and less options due to it's proprietary nature. (which is why I stick with PC)

This is also why game consoles up until now rarely freeze. The software only has to work on ONE combination of hardware. Of course now there are two possible PS3 hardware combinations, but as far as the games are concerned, both are identical.

The freezing seems to be due to the fact that we are now at a point where processing power is so high that the units are now much more sensitive to heat buildup.

I have a Wii and a PS3 which have never locked on me. They are both in the open, and my apartment is nice and cool inside, with the temperature rarely exceeding 70. And so, for those of you experiencing lockup problems, I'd recommend first ensuring that the vents on the sides are not obstructed. Next, ensure that they aren't in an enclosed cabinet. Finally, what is the temperature in your gaming room?

If all these check out, then you probably do have a defective system. But if you're running your Wii/PS3 inside an enclosed cabinet, what do you expect? Either install some fans on the cabinet to circulate the air, or move the systems out in the open. And if your room is heating up, try to find a way to get the temperature back down.

Mine still hasn't frozen.

I am baffled at how long it takes to load screens in Zelda and Madden though. I would say itt akes longer than gamecube games took to load!

I exchanged Zelda just to be sure I didn't have a bad disc, but it froze too. So I called up Nintendo and they graciously agreed to send out a new system lickety-split. In 3 to 4 days! WoW! Now that is some good customer service. When it started freezing the first thing i checked was for heat, very little was apparent and the discs were warm but not more than a normal playing dvd or cd. I guess I just got a lemon. It happens with anything as complicated as a gaming console. But Nintendo is definitely impressing me with their customer service. And Damn is Wii Sports a blast :)

I exchanged Zelda just to be sure I didn't have a bad disc, but it froze too. So I called up Nintendo and they graciously agreed to send out a new system lickety-split. In 3 to 4 days! WoW! Now that is some good customer service. When it started freezing the first thing i checked was for heat, very little was apparent and the discs were warm but not more than a normal playing dvd or cd. I guess I just got a lemon. It happens with anything as complicated as a gaming console. But Nintendo is definitely impressing me with their customer service. And Damn is Wii Sports a blast :)

For me, Rayman started freezing, then Wii Sports. Need to unplug for an hour or so to get reliably working again. Freezes appear to be occuring in shorter intervals as time goes on - may be degenerative. FWIW, I can play Wii Sports for a much longer time than Rayman without a freeze.

I called Nintendo and also have a replacement unit on the way (secured with a credit card until the original unit is returned, which is standard procedure and OK with me).

UPDATE: Received replacement unit on Thursday. Played for many hours without freezing on Thursday and Friday. Same disks, controllers, power supply, sensor bar, software updates, etc. Nice job by Nintendo to resolve so quickly.

Got 2 annoying freezes today, once in the middle of Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, and the other time with the Monster 4x4 World Circuit. The only way to reset the console was by yanking out the power cord, as noted by ajstan99. This is p*ss-poor. Starting to remind me of the lame quality control on the Xbox 360, which broke down over the holidays, just like the Wii. These manufacturers are FUN-WRECKERS. Luckily, I got backup consoles for everything but the PS3. This sucks.

Good to hear that Nintendo is taking care of these flawed consoles. Had mine for about 6 days now, and it has frozen twice on me today in Wii Sports. I'll be calling Nintendo on Tuesday to see what they can do.

Have you guys updated the system? I had to go through two updates before I used the system.

Have you guys updated the system? I had to go through two updates before I used the system.
The original unit required updating. The replacement unit came with the most current software.

The original unit required updating. The replacement unit came with the most current software.

I can second that..

Hmm so mine has the potential to freeze. What else did Nintendo do to fix the freeze in the replacement?

Well my wii has been freezing ever since I got it and its been getting worse. On top of that my saved games have been going corrupt for zelda... so Im thinking that mabye the memory is bad. Looks like Ill have to go and get it replaced or something like that.

Well my wii has been freezing ever since I got it and its been getting worse. On top of that my saved games have been going corrupt for zelda... so Im thinking that mabye the memory is bad. Looks like Ill have to go and get it replaced or something like that.
Lockups can be caused by overheating. Do you have adequate ventilation, or is the Wii very warm or hot to the touch?

I've had my Wii since day 1 (Nov. 19, 2006) and it's locked up on me twice while using the web browser. It think it was the beta version and it was still buggy. I haven't had any trouble with the final version or any games since. If your Wii is locking up on a consistant basis (every 15 hours or so) then you have a problem. It may just need a cleaning. The fan on the back forces air accross the processor to cool it but it also forces dust accross it which clings to warmer objects. This dust inhibits heat from moving from the heat sinks to the moving air. Try a cleaning with some canned air first before you take it in for service.

IF you want to keep the Wii cool on a budget, I can recommend this:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Nexxtech-Intercooler-for-Nintendo-Wii-UGWINTFAN/sem/rpsm/oid/219166/catOid/-16761/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

A USB fan add-on that is cheap & works great. Snaps into BOTH USB ports & has 2 USB ins on the front (so you still keep both USB ins). Draws power via USB & does so even when in Standby mode.

Biggest Wii heat issue seems to come more from Standby mode than when simply on. The Wii's internal fan only operates when the console is on & running (green power light). Standby mode (yellow light) is required for WiiConnect 24. The main console components are off, but the WiFi/LAN section is still powered. It generates heat that the internal fan - being off - can do nothing about.

I had heard that this Standby "slow cook" was resulting in video issues for some Wii owners - mainly the weird occasional pixels popping up. I have seen them on mine on a couple of games (Madden09, REIV, CoD : WaW, title screen of SSBB), but only occasionally. My Wii, howver, was running hotter in Standby than when on. Since adding the Intercooler (which set me back a whopping $5), my Wii is a cool customer 24/7. And it may be my imagination, but the pixel issues seem to have diminished since then.

An Intercooler fan & a can of compressed air (to blow out the dust bunnies) should help extend the life of your Wii greatly.

And for me, the only freeze up I ever had was w/ GHIII: Legends of Rock. The Battle w/ Slash would freeze mid way. Only happened AFTER I had swapped the disc for the Dobly PLII version thru Activision. They ended up replacing that one, too - and it worked fine until I traded it for GH:WT.

Only happened AFTER I had swapped the disc for the Dobly PLII version thru Activision. They ended up replacing that one, too . . .

Hold the phone! GTIII for Wii was mono?!¿! I own it and I bought it the day it came out and I haven't noticed that it's mono. Maybe it's because I play it in 2 channel stereo mode. How do you contact Activision for a swap?

Hold the phone! GTIII for Wii was mono?!¿! I own it and I bought it the day it came out and I haven't noticed that it's mono. Maybe it's because I play it in 2 channel stereo mode. How do you contact Activision for a swap?

The actual tracks ended up mono due to an error during mastering, although the game was stickered as being Dolby PLII compatible. After a lawsuit (really!), the company remastered the Wii audio for DPLII & issued free discs that you could swap for your mono version. The properly mastered version of the game has a star above the Activision logo on the disc.

http://activision.custhelp.com/rnt/rnw/img/enduser/Re-Mastered%20Guitar%20Hero%20III%20Wii%20Disc.jpg

Activsion's free disc return (and most who cashed in also got a free faceplate for their Les Paul), IIRC, ended last August. I checked the old thread, but the link to the exchange is dead. You could try Activision Customer Support here:

http://www.activision.com/support

Don't know if it'll do you any good or not, but worth a shot, esp if you were simply not aware of the problem. But you will likely have to post a question in the Customer Support forum there - I don't think they have any specific GHIII Wii disc swap info anymore.