Tearing Down & Cleaning the Nintendo Wii

In this video, we're going to completely disassemble this Nintendo Wii and give it a good clean on the inside. This Wii is covered in dust and scuff marks and is in general pretty dirty.
I picked up this Wii in a lot of "broken" consoles. This Wii works just fine, but from what I can tell it was just not in a good enough state to sell. Let's fix that and clean it up.

[@GameCyborgCh]

nintendo engineer 1: "how many screws of varying sizes can we fit?" nintendo engineer 2: "yes"

[@gioeliusblack]

I just discovered new species of screws after trying to take my wii apart.

[@tulio829]

I've got a kit with 50 different types of screwdrives and still couldn't proceed to open or I'd strip one of the screw. What the hell Nintendo...

[@stevedavanzati5855]

@@tulio829exactly how I feel at the moment lol. Now it’s “do I risk stripping them using tools I already own or do I order a $20 kit I’ll use once in my life?”

[@joebelleymusic]

😂😂😂

[@joba7064]

That's an insane amount of screws. I'm glad I am watching the whole video before jumping in because my kid would have those scattered and lost lol

[@joba7064]

It's been 3 months since I started this journey. Not gonna lie this is something i should have just paid to have done for me

[@joba7064]

Nevermond yall! It's really possible! I finally fixed it just search up a video of how to reassemble. Makes all the difference

[@Mr-Mcgreg]

@@joba7064 I open stuff like this all th time, in the future, take pictures of it and highlight what and we're the screws are in your photo editing app of choice

[@ruddiestmanx5116]

@@Mr-Mcgreg I do this it’s very helpful.

[@snufftherooster93]

​@@joba7064 - Or just go back through the video, reversing the process? 😅

[@CM_Glide]

My son thought it would be a good idea to put coins in the wii so this was very helpful

[@BlondeStash]

Same, I accidentally stuck the SD card in the disc slot 🤦

[@anotherbobafett6238]

My brother did that back in 2012

[@impCPU]

thank you for making this! i ended up using this video as reference to take apart my childhood wii and clean it up and i was able to do so with relative ease!

[@NottJoeyOfficial]

I really have to do this at some point. My eject button has been broken for over a decade at this point and only works if I wiggle it, so maybe I could fix that as well at some point in the future.

[@Matt-kl7qc]

@@NottJoeyOfficial same

[@Br3ezyTV]

@@NottJoeyOfficial don’t take it apart if you don’t know what your doing, you will ruin it WAY more trust me I know because I use to SUCK at taking things apart and knowing where they went back and fixing stuff

[@MorphBaller388]

Makes crushing rocks seem like a breeze

[@1stand2ndtimearound67]

@@MorphBaller388 no shit! I was thinking the same. It was a lot easier taking my computer apart to clean.

[@enfieldjohn101]

I got my Wii apart following your directions. Worked very well to do that. I discovered in the process that my Wii has bigger problems than just dust. Turns out that the motherboard is fried too. It was still educational to take it apart and see what all is inside.

[@TheManOfMuscle]

Did you ever have any display issues/artifacts?

[@enfieldjohn101]

@@TheManOfMuscle The problem I had was that it started making horrible grinding noises like it was trying to grind coffee beans or something. After that, it started shutting itself off in the middle of games. Then after that, it quit turning on at all.

[@TheManOfMuscle]

@@enfieldjohn101 So that was a motherboard issue? Sounds more like a drive but I could be wrong.

[@enfieldjohn101]

@@TheManOfMuscle It was probably both. It had leaking capacitors by the time I threw it away.

[@Goner2]

@@enfieldjohn101 shit. I wonder if that’s happening to my Wii too.

[@derekfcc]

Used this video to swap the shell of my black wii without Gamecube ports onto an older white wii. Now I have the best of both worlds; a blacked out wii with the logos displayed for horizontal orientation WITH gamecube controller ports AND memory card support. The in-depth tear down is much appreciated!!

[@Imjustbeatboy]

Duuude!! Just bought a Black Wii with Gamecube Compatibilty 2 days ago, the guy said that didn't read discs and he sell it for parts. I turn it on and put it a disk and it works fine!! It's full of lint and dust (And some tiny bugs, i don't know why) and I paid 10 bucks for the console and the cables. Your tutorial helped me to clean the Wii!! You deserve more than 350 subscribers :o

[@delilh325]

I just subbed (which I don't ever do) because thanks to your comment I realized he just has 800 subs... Way too low. Even I have more than 100 and I don't even do anything

[@TheDelta001]

Two years later, and this video helped me today, thank you for your help. Your Wii disk drive video also helped, too.

[@esk8jaimes]

5:51 A video on the heatsink screw locations would be nice, can get confusing with all the holes; interesting to note the arrows, squares and crosses on the heatsink for guidance.

[@OhiosJesus]

what do you mean by with all the holes?

[@esk8jaimes]

@@OhiosJesus holes, where all the tiny screws go on various places around the Nintendo Wii internals. Must be at least 15 to keep track of.

[@Bendix83]

Thanks for watching? Thanks for creating! With this Video and the "Fixing a Wii Disk Drive...Somehow?" i managed to repair my Wii. After Years of just staying around and collecting dust, my Wii could not read Double Layer DVDs anymore. So i opened it and cleaned the lens with ISO and since the Wii was open, the rest too.

[@shadowisen]

Thanks for the upload! Was able to clean and refresh a used Wii I acquired with your help.

[@iggysixx]

Thanks, man. Very clear and concisely. Found a first gen (with the GameCube ports) Wii in the trash yesterday. Been meaning to test it, but want to check for dirt and damage first - this helps a lot

[@halllow]

13 screws. The GameCube legacy lives on

[@a_random_muslim]

2:47 this was the hardest part because the screws were long down and I had a hard time getting them up but anyways thank you for making this it was so helpful

[@armedstudent8271]

just refurbished my old Wii that was in about the same condition as the one u did and ur guide was perfect

[@joshmcgootermier2301]

Use one of my Wii’s in a CRT for virtual console games and honestly use it more than my Wii U. Glad to see this. I knew it was difficult compared to systems like the PS3 which I’ve repasted before. This has always terrified me.

[@bithacker3679]

For the amount of editing and detail you put in this you deserve more subscribers.

[@s2kkyle404]

I hope his channel blows up! I just found him and expected a few hundred thousand.

[@ethansprojects7399]

I agree this is the first video I’ve seen if him and it has very good quality

[@FluttershyIsAGoddess]

THANK YOU! I kept finding videos of people "disassembling" Nintendo Wii's only to have them take one side off.

[@myretroworld1121]

This looks a lil complicated. I've torn down the og xbox and replaced thermal compound in it. Ive torn down ps2's,Gamecubes. But this looks like a different monster!

[@FranksShitBoxCollection]

It doesn't look hard but there's so many freaking screws in this one.

[@fearxgods1474]

@@FranksShitBoxCollection but tbh I’d rather screws than plastic clips

[@FranksShitBoxCollection]

@@fearxgods1474 I mean you're not wrong.

[@yuhjeice7186]

I'm kinda worried about taking mines apart

[@derekfcc]

Most comprehensive tear down though. Other videos stop short and dont show you how to completely take this bad boy down.

[@dans7731]

This helped me replace my disc drive! No more “cannot read disc” issue. Thanks a lot

[@gavwrecker]

I had a old wii that had a broken drive but as a dumb kid I didn't know how to fix it so me and my cousin tore it apart for fun. Glad to know how to do it properly now!

[@RamosSupra]

The Wii's internal clock battery is a CR 2032 for those that want to know or replace it.

[@TedProtasiewicz]

Great instructions. I have a clear case Wii now!

[@milou-named1441]

Thanks a lot mate, other videos of wii teardown were so dirty, terrible light, missing steps, shitty quality. That's a relief.

[@jakcett]

I used this to take apart the old family wii from a decade ago and clean it out. It was sitting in the attic for a long time and it was full of dust. When I finally plugged it in, I realized the controller was busted and all the old disks as well. I can't believe mario still goes for $60.,,

[@perryiscool]

Good games on there that's why

[@LUISCHAVZ100]

you should mod it if you haven't already

[@izakomandaz2895]

@@LUISCHAVZ100 what mods can you do to a wii?

[@LUISCHAVZ100]

@@izakomandaz2895 you can mod to run emulators of a sd or usb. You can also backup games. its easy give it the old youtube search and youll find lots of tutorials. I modded a wii i found on the trash and gave a second life

[@nyanpasu64]

Isn't it more likely your Wii's laser is busted?

[@ScriptKiddy23]

dude. thank you so much. needed to take mine apart to clean it as it was having issues taking disks.

[@1stand2ndtimearound67]

Holy MOTHER!!!! here I was thinking it was going to be EASY! but I will give it a try. Thank you!

[@paint_it_purple4269]

What company did you use for the replacement cover doors? Those look like perfect fits, but everyone I can find is either off-color or seems to not fit quite right.

[@Zinksk8er]

Thanks, there are zero guides around for putting on custom shells. So I'm using this breakdown guide.

[@99sports64]

Another juicy vid from the man himself

[@LastHeartGames]

Trying to get one out every other Sunday. This one was fun, but so many darn screws!

[@schoppi6095]

I just want to say how much I appreciate this video :D You really helped me out a LOT, now I can play Smash Bro Brawl again xD

[@calshamsi2797]

Thank you for this. The rebuild was a bit fast though. I hope i can follow it once the tools arrive.

[@josephwintermute8599]

Thanks dude this was super helpful

[@CaptMuricaa]

just bought a dirty wii & plan on doing the same thing, great video!

[@Allen-sz7jz]

i need to clean mine. played it since it came out then put it in storage.

[@jom3194]

@@Allen-sz7jz same for me, needed some instructions lol

[@FranksShitBoxCollection]

Just bought a dirty as hell working Wii for $10, planning on tearing it down and using my spray gun to paint it a different color.

[@ext93]

@@FranksShitBoxCollection are you a painter?? Make sure to prep and prime so it doesn't peel 😄

[@FranksShitBoxCollection]

@@ext93 I do automotive paint and recently got into air brushing.

[@evelynlewis122]

Oh man. My childhood wii doesn't have much wrong with it except the fan/dust that makes it scream... but this looks tough! More difficult than the 360 anyway. Would you maybe be able to post a list of the different screwdrivers needed and their names?

[@M19u3L1]

great video.. little disappointed of the speed that was to fast but nice job :) a clear case would be cool to see

[@your_stepdad]

just got a clear case in the mail today i cant wait to install it theyre on aliexpress for dirt cheap

[@nintendonintendont]

@@your_stepdad How did it go with your shell replacement? Did you run into any issues? I also have a clear shell on its way and plan to use this video as a guide.

[@your_stepdad]

@@nintendonintendont it was alright, kinda sketchy tho since i got a cheap one off aliexpress so assembling it was a pain in the ass, also BE CAREFUL WITH THE BLACK AND RED WIRES IN THE FRONT PLATE, i had to solder them back on like 3 times cuz they kept coming off

[@cadaeic]

you helped me soooo much, i didn't know what to unscrew first and damn those hidden screws annoy me, tysm❣️❣️

[@18thMattinc.]

I need to do this to my Wii as well if I had motivation as I found it in my parents dresser in 2020 replaced the disc drive and played Wii sports for a bit

[@milligano1235]

What screwdriver did you use for the tri screws at 1:23

[@floralpoboop]

I opened up my never opened wii, and found a popcorn kernal inside the front face in a spot impossible to get there. It looks like its from 2006. Someone at nintendo's manufactoring plant must have been eating pop corn on the job.

[@AdrienneofFleur]

Thank you for this video❤ > was able to clean my wii and it is clean like I brought it back in 2007. Thank You!😊

[@ajheck3429]

Hopefully this video will help me save my childhood wii! I keep getting a disc read error and I’m hoping it just needs a good clean 🤞🤞

[@Curtailed]

Thanks! I used the first part of this video to rip down my Wii and successfully replace the optical drive! Cheers!

[@edwardthomas8558]

I got to the stage where you took out the 4 screws that held down some plastic and aluminium. Unfortunately the 2 right screws were not turning at all and ended become unthreaded. So I pose a question; What do you do when screws particularly small fiddly ones become thread bare? is there anyway to get them out still or are the destined to remain where they are for eternity?

[@reydgukthewjw8349]

bunch up tape on the screw and use a LOT of force

[@robh880]

Great video! Thanks for the help

[@esk8jaimes]

4:14 It's really hard to make out exactly how you unclip the antenna...

[@pedrojavierish]

Good job Sr, the Wii is an amazing console.

[@paulywogtheburnin8r364]

Great video, helped so much with cleaning up my dumpster Wii! Thanks :)

[@kegheihga3374]

Very good video, thank you Sir!

[@Chimera_P]

im actually really glad i found out that the clock battery is SO easy to take out on the original wii. unfortunately i wish fixing the disc drive was that simple.

[@faustorigoni]

Gracias!!! Me ayudaste mucho para reparar mi wii. Le reemplacé el módulo bluetooth y ahora funciona perfectamente!

[@Cipher42069]

hi, i've been trying to get my wii taken apart for cleaning (it sounds like a jet engine taking off) and the shops say they don't need to be cleaned. I'm trying my best to follow along but I don't have the right tools. do you have a list of what kind of screwdrivers and such you use anywhere? thank you so much!

[@davidsmith2650]

Nice video. Wow, that's a lot of screws !!

[@jared6234]

Very helpful video

[@lilguygamingandmore]

Yeesh. I had no idea a wii was so complicated to disassemble and reassemble. Guess I won't be doing this myself anytime soon

[@kozi1971]

Dziękuję za profesjonalny film.

[@kieranriordan1908]

Hi, great video, thanks very much. Im soon going to take apart and clean an old wii i have. Disassembly was perfect speed, narration, and concise, but reassembly was FF'ed. Would love to see a normal speed on reassembly next time! Thanks!

[@RealGalaxyGamers]

You do know you can slow it down with the little gear in the corner, right?

[@christopher1197]

Amazing video 👏

[@melissagreen714]

Thanks this helped so much. I ended up with 5 screws not even screwed back bcuz nothing would fit bt atleast my system running again

[@nooneknowsthisguy2324]

Thanks dude! I fixed my Wii!

[@kaiju4702]

I have to disassemble my wii cause I got something stuck inside the disc drive. My wii is old and will probable be dusty inside.

[@aaronruiz7392]

Great tutorial wish you could put a reassemble video as well.

[@anthonynave9505]

real helpful untill you showed up how to reassemble. couldnt even make out what you were doing. basically had to figure out how to do it myself

[@thisisnotyourdecision]

BRO!! THAT WII LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE MY OLD WII!!!

[@DragonProtector]

I just got wii on ebay for $15 just opened it and a gc disc inside. They said disc drive wasn't working. A washer fell out and idk where it went

[@cartergamegeek]

I need to do this to replace a few things to get component working on my Wii.

[@aravitz857]

Oh my god thank you I took apart my Wii to at a HDMI mod and I could not feel the life of me find where one of those mental shrouds went turns out it went under the fan

[@lv99gamingwiz]

thanks for this video. I have a Wii that is not reading discs and considering taking it apart myself. The disc will go in but I don't hear the drive engage. I'm not sure if its the lens or a mechanical failure of the drive... It read a GameCube disc (Super Mario Sunshine) though.

[@chelsey2711]

What kind of screw driver is used for the three pronged screws by the GameCube connections?

[@buccaneerbob11]

Did u ever find out what type of screwdriver that is?

[@reviewithme9913]

Yeah I’m throwing mine away

[@thechrissguy]

Nice video bro.

[@ICONdeluxeimports]

its necessary to change the thermal paste on this one? or uses some ferrite to the cpu?

[@derbinopepakagi8268]

nice restore !!

[@risepop6133]

Thx you very much!

[@halo368]

Replace the CMOS battery while you're at it too 👍🏻

[@youdontreallybelievethat]

Thanks gonna take mine apart clean it paint and reassemble

[@SP00PZ]

is there a number to how many different types of screws their are? kinda dont wanna keep getting up and down to get more containers

[@destinyhowell5245]

i know this is a year old video, but I've got a question. my tweezers slipped disconnecting the led wires taking the front face plate off and snapped the two little wires right at the connector. how should I fix that? strip the wires and connect them to the pins somehow? get another micro connector (no idea how to go about that) and strip/connect the wii wires to the new one and plug in?

[@v_-yb4so]

nice video, thanks for sharing

[@CatTheKitten]

I was following the absolutely useless ifixit guide earlier with my Wii, and now my console doesn't turn on right. I'm gonna be using this teardown to fix whatever went wrong.

[@Tiatitii]

Did it work

[@ChrisKewl]

I have a unit that I need to do the same but I have a black case for it. Should be a fun build.

[@LastHeartGames]

I enjoy working on Wiis. Once I finally got the screw order and storage down.

[@ChrisKewl]

@@LastHeartGames If you're in Dallas I can bring you all of my Wii units. ;)

[@jacobdover3273]

so my wii has something wrong with the player 1 control port. its glitchy on a lot of gamecube games. is there any way i can replace port 2 3 or 4 with port 1? i dont know if they are soldered in or not but im guessing more than likely they are

[@your_stepdad]

just got a clear case for my wii in the mail today and figured id give the console a clean on the inside while im at it... Update i installed it and it looks great!!! just the process was annoying as i got the case from aliexpress so it wasnt the best to work with but in the end it still worked out!!

[@BeesKneesMF]

Can you explain to me how to actually perform that task? I recently took apart one of my Wii’s and I can’t reassemble it and I don’t want to make the same mistake on my other Wii while trying to put the clear case on it

[@your_stepdad]

@@BeesKneesMF idek, im not too good with this stuff i just followed the video step by step

[@Muskoma]

Sir, I have a Wii, I accidentally stepped on it and I pressed a little hard. Did something happen. Is the outer casing made of a hard material that does not bend?

[@chaylaforte]

Your channel is underrated, fr!

[@iskate40]

i picked up a wii from goodwill for 12 dollars. No cables or anything came with it so not even sure if it works. But it was NASTY dirty, and wanted to open it up and clean the inside as there may have been.. critters.. as I found a bug's leg on the outer casing (disgusting, i know). So before I even put more money into getting the appropriate cables.. wanted to take a look and clean it.. not sure if my order of operations makes sense. anyway, this is definitely going to be a job with all these screws but nonetheless, good practice anyway :) thank you for this

[@domino6490]

My disc flaps started to scratch my discs I guess from age and I had to get them replaced. Thanks!

[@l.l133]

Tearing apart my childhood

[@chelseadonlay8361]

Can you tell me where the clearing white arm with a small metal piece goes? It fell out when I opened the disc area.

[@edwardkenway4659]

Never thought I'd use the Y bit in my ifixit kit until now lol

[@Dad_Shoes]

So it's disassembled now, but why did you need to speed up the reassembly? I can't keep up even with x0.25 speed.

[@ext93]

Is there any benefit to cleaning a wii? Obv if it's filthy it feels better knowing it's clean. But will dust actually affect the performance of the system? I just cleaned my GC controller last night so I'm not exactly excited to do more cleaning

[@MarkyD695]

The dust makes the fan louder, and in some cases breaks the console

[@take-aw1ldguezz590]

I wish your video didn't hit light speed at the important parts. It would really help out when we come back for the re installments.

[@ironspyder-db8fd]

Where can i find the knife you used in the video (where you were removing the stickers of the Wii)

[@LastHeartGames]

It is a basic Xacto knife. You can find a similar version at any craft store, occasionally at Walmart or Target in the craft section.

[@ironspyder-db8fd]

@@LastHeartGames ok thank you

[@chicaskas2]

Friend, is it possible for you to post the non sped up reassembly? That part is what i want to see the most. I dont care if the video is 3 hours, to see this all start to finish would be fantastic. Bless you for these videos

[@user-br7mm5zo6o]

Where do you get the screwdrivers as I haven't got the triangle one?

[@nrssp5785]

My little brother stuffed 3 discs into the Wii two years ago and it won't read the discs anymore, so HOPEFULLY I'll be able to fix it somehow through taking it apart

[@k9keo]

Didn’t think it was going to be that complicated, no thanks I’ll pass. 👻

[@CtrlAltBacks]

It's totally worth it if you want to keep your Wii running smoothly for years to come. I'd rather take a few hours to get the dust and bugs out of my childhood console rather than drop 100 on a new one.

[@CounterStriker013009]

I though it have the hard drive LOL, it can use as mini server?

[@laceyferrel8123]

I wish before jumping into this project it would have said one of the screw types is Y shaped. I don't have one like that and I just went and got a glasses screwdriver for the 1st screws 😮