Hacking How to change the system menu region for your Wii!

[antonkan]

First of all, I would like to say 'hello world!' for my 300th post. Thank you to all, people at GBAtemp!

This topic shows a guide on how to change the system menu region for your Wii. For example, 4.1J (NTSC-J or Japan) changed to 4.1U (American or NTSC-U) or 4.1E (Europe or PAL), or vice versa. You must have a American, Japanese or European Wii. To look to your Wii serial number is found on the below side on your Wii if it is verticial, left or right side if it is horizontal. If you have a Wii that has serial number LU64 and above, click here.

Disclaimer: AnyRegionChanger and Waninkoko's Wii Region Changer has no warranty at all. Changing the region may be dangerous, so it will brick your Wii (ex. unplugging the Wii, console region not the same as system menu region). So you use it at your own risk.

Here's the steps:

Getting started:[*] Click here to download [*]Click 'Save', when prompting to begin the download, to your Desktop.[*]Extract the contents by using a program that use .ZIP.[*]Click the extracted folder on your Desktop ('WiiRegionMod' folder)[*]Insert your SD card on your computer.[*]In your SD card directory, create the 'apps' folder on your SD card (without quotes) if you don't have one.[*]Copy everything that's included in the WiiRegionMod folder to the apps folder on your SD card.[*]Copy the 'wad' folder (without quotes) to the root of your SD card.[*]Take out your SD card on your computer then put it on your Wii.On your Wii:[*]Turn on your Wii.[*]On the Wii Menu (system menu), navigate to The Homebrew Channel.[*]To avoid an '-1017; error, while you're in The Homebrew Channel, go to WAD Manager.[*]In WAD Manger, install IOS-36-64-v1042.wad first, then IOS-16-64-v257.wad and finally the cIOSfix.wad. After that, press the HOME button to return to The Homebrew Channel.[*]Go to cIOS rev08. In cIOS rev08, choose 'Network Installation' (without quotes).[*]It reboots to the system menu. On the Wii Menu (system menu), navigate to The Homebrew Channel.[*]While you're in The Homebrew Channel, go to AnyRegionChanger.[*]Change your console region and your system menu region to Japan, USA or Europe. (For example, console region must be Japan and your system menu region must be Japan.)

NOT MATCHING YOUR CONSOLE REGION AND YOUR SYSTEM MENU REGION WILL CAUSE A SEMI-BRICK FOR YOUR WII!!

[*](Optional)Changing the game region allows you to launch USA game discs and channels (including Virtual Console and WiiWare) if you set to USA in AnyRegionChanger, and it won't brick your Wii. Change your game's region to USA, Europe or Japan. Otherwise leave it.[*]Navigate to 'Go' (without quotes) then navigate 'Yes' (without quotes) using your Wii Remote while in AnyRegionChanger.[*]Be patient while installing system menu 3.2.[*]After finishing installing system menu 3.2, while you're in AnyRegionChanger, navigate to 'Exit to The Homebrew Channel' (without quotes) to return to The Homebrew Channel. [*]Go to Wii Region Changer (application made by Waninkoko).[*]Press the A button first, then change using the left or right directional pad (a.k.a Control Pad) to your system menu region (Europe, North America or Japan) (for example, 3.2J (Japanese system menu region) = Japan). Then press the A button to continue. [*]Now it restarts. On the Wii Menu (system menu), click the Wii button (located on the bottom left), go to 'Wii Settings' (without quotes, located in the right), press the plus (+) button three times and go to Update. This will update your system menu from 3.2 to 4.1.[*](Optional) If you want to change your Wii Shop Channel country code (ex. from American Wii Shopping Channel to Japanese Wii Shopping Channel), you'll have to remove your Wii Shop Account in Wii Shopping Channel. Before removing your Wii Shop Account, be sure to check and enter your serial number on your Wii, found below of your console (without vertical stand). Now go to The Homebrew Channel while in Wii Menu. In The Homebrew Channel, go to WAD Manger to install IOS-36-64-v1042.wad first, then IOS-16-64-v257.wad and finally the cIOSfix.wad (this will avoid the '-1017' error. Then press the HOME button to return to The Homebrew Channel. Now go to AnyRegionChanger, change your Wii Shop country code. Before that, here's a list of country codes:

Japan:
[*]1: Japan
Americas:
[*]8: Anguila
[*]9: Antigua and Barbuda
[*]10: Argentina
[*]11: Aruba
[*]12: Bahamas
[*]13: Barbados
[*]14: Belize
[*]15: Bolivia
[*]16: Brazil
[*]17: British Virgin Islands
[*]18: Canada
[*]19: Cayman Islands
[*]20: Chile
[*]21: Colombia
[*]22: Costa Rica
[*]23: Dominica
[*]24: Dominican Republic
[*]25: Ecuador
[*]26: El Salvador
[*]27: French Guiana
[*]28: Grenada
[*]29: Guadeloupe
[*]30: Guatemala
[*]31: Guyana
[*]32: Haiti
[*]33: Honduras
[*]34: Jamaica
[*]35: Martinique
[*]36: Mexico
[*]37: Monsterrat
[*]38: Netherlands Antilles
[*]39: Nicaragua
[*]40: Panama
[*]41: Paraguay
[*]42: Peru
[*]43: St. Kitts and Nevis
[*]44: St. Lucia
[*]45: St. Vincent and the Grenadines
[*]46: Suriname
[*]47: Trinidad and Tobago
[*]48: Turks and Caicos Islands
[*]49: United States
[*]50: Uruguay
[*]51: US Virgin Islands
[*]52: Venezuela
Europe:
[*]64: Albania
[*]65: Australia
[*]66: Austria
[*]67: Belgium
[*]68: Bosnia and Herzegovina
[*]69: Botswana
[*]70: Bulgaria
[*]71: Croatia
[*]72: Cyprus
[*]73: Czech Republic
[*]74: Denmark
[*]75: Estonia
[*]76: Finland
[*]77: France
[*]78: Germany
[*]79: Greece
[*]80: Hungary
[*]81: Iceland
[*]82: Ireland
[*]83: Italy
[*]84: Latvia
[*]85: Lesotho
[*]86: Lichtenstein
[*]87: Lithuania
[*]88: Luxembourg
[*]89: F.Y.R of Macedonia
[*]90: Malta
[*]91: Montenegro
[*]92: Mozambique
[*]93: Namibia
[*]94: Netherlands
[*]95: New Zealand
[*]96: Norway
[*]97: Poland
[*]98: Portugal
[*]99: Romania
[*]100: Russia
[*]101: Serbia
[*]102: Slovakia
[*]103: Slovenia
[*]104: South Africa
[*]105: Spain
[*]106: Swaziland
[*]107: Sweden
[*]108: Switzerland
[*]109: Turkey
[*]110: United Kingdom
[*]111: Zambia
[*]112: Zimbabwe

[*]Now you may change your game region if you want to. Then navigate 'Reboot System Menu' (without quotes) to return to the Wii Menu (system menu). Now go to the Wii Shopping Channel, and... voila! Now your Wii Shopping Channel's country have been changed.Now, your Wii successfully changed your system menu region!

Tested from 4.1U (NTSC-U or American) to 3.2J (Japan or NTSC-J) then 4.1J.

Discuss this topic if you want to, even you have problems.

 

[Stokesy]

Cool guide.

I did this a while ago, changing a canadian wii to an australian wii.
I got a bunch of errors while installing 3.2E and when it came back to AnyRegion Changer, it has the "System Menu Installed" as "." and it was giving me the brick warning no matter what I changed the region to. I couldn't do anything but reboot it, and I was freaking out thinking I had bricked it, but it rebooted fine and everything seemed to work.

I updated to 4.1E and everything is running. Although whenever I go into AnyTitle Deleter, it comes up with an error about not being able to find my system menu version, and an error "ret -1017" (but still works fine). I did everything correctly initially (bannerbomb - bootmii & hbc - trucha restorer - cIOS) but it was certainly scary.

 

[antonkan]

I updated to 4.1E and everything is running. Although whenever I go into AnyTitle Deleter, it comes up with an error about not being able to find my system menu version, and an error "ret -1017" (but still works fine).

How to avoid an '-1017' error [*]On the Wii Menu (system menu), navigate to The Homebrew Channel.[*]While you're in The Homebrew Channel, go to WAD Manager.[*]In WAD Manger, install IOS-36-64-v1042.wad first, then IOS-16-64-v257.wad and finally the cIOSfix.wad. After that, press the HOME button to return to The Homebrew Channel.[*]Go to cIOS rev08. In cIOS rev08, choose 'Network Installation' (without quotes).That's the solution to you, Stokesy.

 

[PettingZoo]

Nice guide, though I don't think I will have to change my Wii's region unless I'm going to live in another country for a while.

 

[illinialex24]

Amazing guide, should be put in the list of stickies but I won't be using this for at least 4 years.

 

[tony727]

Hi can any one confirm this will change a Jap wii menu to a USA one IE the language is in English not Japanese as it is now .also I don,t want to upgrade to 4X but stay at 3.2 Thanks

 

[antonkan]

Hi can any one confirm this will change a Jap wii menu to a USA one IE the language is in English not Japanese as it is now .also I don,t want to upgrade to 4X but stay at 3.2 Thanks

@tony727: Go to AnyRegionChanger from The Homebrew Channel and navigate to 'Language' (without quotes), then change to Japanese. Your system menu is still English, but when you press the HOME button, it's Japanese. Why not you change from 3.2U (NTSC-U or American) to 3.2J (Japan or NTSC-J)?

 

[-pb-]

I updated to 4.1E and everything is running. Although whenever I go into AnyTitle Deleter, it comes up with an error about not being able to find my system menu version, and an error "ret -1017" (but still works fine).

How to avoid an '-1017' error [*]On the Wii Menu (system menu), navigate to The Homebrew Channel.[*]While you're in The Homebrew Channel, go to WAD Manager.[*]In WAD Manger, install IOS-36-64-v1042.wad first, then IOS-16-64-v257.wad and finally the cIOSfix.wad. After that, press the HOME button to return to The Homebrew Channel.[*]Go to cIOS rev08. In cIOS rev08, choose 'Network Installation' (without quotes).That's the solution to you, Stokesy.

...[removed]

 

[tony727]

hi, I did not make myself clear I have a chipped 3.2 Jap wii with Japanese language system menu I wish to change the language to English is this possible ?? Thanks

 

[antonkan]

hi, I did not make myself clear I have a chipped 3.2 Jap wii with Japanese language system menu I wish to change the language to English is this possible ?? Thanks

Read my first post, tony727. Try changing your 3.2J (Japanese system menu) to 3.2U (American system menu) or 3.2E (European system menu). Click here!

And of course, there is no way to change to English while in the Japanese system menu.

 

[Screemer]

it is possible. but it could happen that your modchip isn't working anymore after you changed your region. a couple of modchips need to be soldered differently for each region. most of the time the region-free wires have to be soldered to different points. backup loading works in most cases.

 

[thomaslu973]

Hi I think that this guide is great, however I have trouble getting it to actually work.

I don't really know much about IOS so i'm sorry if this sounds dumb but when start up WAD Manager it asks me what IOS version I want to use and since I have no idea i just click 'A' (IOS36). How do I find out what IOS version I need to use?
Then when I proceed to install IOS36-64-v1042.wad I get an error like this >>iInistalling title... ERROR! (ret = -1035)

what am i doing wrong and could you help me?

oh and btw I am using a v4.1J wii

thanks

 

[tanis698]

might want to add this won't work on lu64 or higher wii's..going to 3.2 on those wiis =brick

 

[TheShadowRunner]

Maybe you should put a disclaimer somewhere to ABSOLUTELY NOT do this on a LU64+ machine.

 

[tony727]

Hi I have tried the steps but get error message when trying to load the cIOSfix.wad " 4.In WAD Manger, install IOS-36-64-v1042.wad first, then IOS-16-64-v257.wad and finally the cIOSfix.wad. After that, press the HOME button to return to The Homebrew Channel " please help Thanks

 

[rockstar99]

thanks antonkan you just helped me a lot

a mod should stick this topic now!

 

[tony727]

ANTONKAN.. Thanks very much I now have a 3.2 u Wii with ENGLISH Menus Great I had to uninstall Cios 37 to get the other,s to Install properly Thanks again


How do I change my weather and news channel's not that important really....

 

[G0dLiKe]

Yeah, very nice find here.

I gonna try to download some games from the jap shop channel^^

Thanks alot!

 

[ceana]

Awesome, thanks. It worked almost like a charm. I also got the -1017 error while AnyRegion Changer was doing its work, even though I followed the instructions. The firmware showed up as "." afterwards, but it was fine after a reboot. Also had to install cIOS 36 in order for the USB loader to work again. Again thanks, running 3.2J now (formerly 4.0E).

 

[G0dLiKe]

Nice guide!

Question: Will it be necessary to install all the IOS and cIOS files because I have installed cIOSCORP...

Just wondering about it...

Please let me know.

Thanks!