connection of US wii to the web in HK

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience with the connection of the american wii to the web in HK? I am talking about unmodified one.

Hong Kong is not on the list of countries in the setup part of the wii.

Will it work? is there any point trying?

I'm not a Wii expert but wireless network card standards are the same in the whole world. That is, a card from the US (like the one inside your Wii) will connect with a HK bought wireless router since the hardware and firmware in the router and in the card are the same.


Once it is on the Internet (AFAIK a Wii does not load pages from the World Wide Web) the communications packets will be routed to the country you select. You may experience higher latency than you did in the US if you choose the US in the setup.


It should work fine.

Thanks for the answer axptguy, I am more concerned about the location issue.

I am sure that once I log on the web with it, their system will surely notice that my IP is not American hence maybe a problem or worse? I know they have a way to identify modified consoles and locking them once you log for game updates etc.

I used to have Japanese wii and when enquiring about something with them I got a very stupid reply which was surely a template from their legal dept. So, I sold it and got a US one and saw that HK or China do not exist on the console's list of countries. Wondering if my console will be 'damaged' if I log into their system because of my "lie" about location.

Disclaimer: I am not a Wii owner or a real subject matter expert so I can't guarantee anything, but after 18 years in the IT industry I may have picked up a thing or two. ;)



Before we start, I am assuming you know that your unit is 110-120V and power in HK is 220-240V. You will need a converter. The Wii uses 18W so I would get a 50W converter. You can find one in any number of electronics stores, for example in the WCCC. Another option is to buy an Asian Wii power brick to replace your US one.



"I am sure that once I log on the web with it, their system will surely notice that my IP is not American hence maybe a problem or worse?"


Why would they do anything? You're not breaking the terms of service so they shouldn't be concerned. The worst thing that will happen is no connection. Nintendo doesn't care. You bought the console, you didn't mod it and you will pay for services. If it's on the Moon or in Nebraska is all the same to them.



"Wondering if my console will be 'damaged' if I log into their system because of my "lie" about location."


I seriously doubt that. The most they would do is deny service to a modded console. Actually damaging it would just be begging for lawsuits since you actually own the device. It's as if you repainted your BMW and BMW would then send a hit team with keys to scrape the paint in retaliation. (With things like Windows it's different since you don't own the operating system and thus Microsoft can do what they like. And even in that case it's limited to not activating the OS.)



This FAQ about US Wiis in the UK seems well informed and pertitent: http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/showthread.php?t=66741. The only slight issue seems to be buying Wii points, and there is a workaround detailed.


If you look at the WiiConnect Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiiConnect24 it even tells you how to circumvent the "not offered in this locale" error by changing the locale.



Also, I know it's semantics but the Wii connects to the Internet, not specifically to the Web.

Thanks for the insight :)

I already got the special adapter desighned for the wii.


"Why would they do anything? You're not breaking the terms of service ..."

Have you ever read throughly and fully understood all their terms and conditions? hehehe

I remmeber reading over the web(or is that 'internet'? :p ) that one of the big 3 is thought to identify modified consoles which connects to the internet and automatically locking it so it will not be able to play copied games, so I don't know what is their policy regarding consoles in countries where they do not officially distributing them.


"The most they would do is deny service to a modded console. Actually damaging it would just be begging for lawsuits since you actually own the device."

If you modify your console and they do something to it, it will be very hard to prove it's them who damaged it, since the "unprofessional modification" can result in permanent damege by itself. Though you are correct, if there will be a "whistle blower". Nothing illegal in modifing console to play ones' backed up games.

OK, as an owner of a modded US Wii I can confirm that you can connect to the internet here in HK (straight onto my wireless network with no problems whatsoever) and it does not get locked up because it is modded.

Thanks evildeeds. Great insight. I did suspect that but since I didn't have hard info I didn't want to say it.


I need to get a Wii when my daughter is a bit older (good excuse). ;)

Well actually when I bought it I really didn't care about the internet, I just wanted to play! Obviously when I first set it up I ran through the internet settings and was as easy as pie, even on a secured wireless network.


One thing, if you try to use a Japanese version Wii Fit it will ask to download files which will render the Wii (modded) unusable. Pay the extra for a US version if you want one.

evildeeds, thanks for the insight.

I'll get my act together and will see which parts of wii world it will take me ;)

So I see I was right about nintendo doing something to modified consoles. I doubt it will work in the US or Europe.