Topic: Has anybody else had the dreaded RED FLASHING LIGHT on their WII U?

Im gutted no sooner had i downloaded the Bayonetta demo my WII U (i got on day 1) has started crashing and the red light on the front flashes at me, taunting me ! Ive called nintendo and gone through all the checks they asked but still nothing.
So they said send it in. But it will cost me, its either £69 or £129 to fix! Now i was shocked as id never heard of this happening but it seems they have a procedure in place for this problem, so they know it happens a lot !
I wish they would have said that in 2 years after purchase theres a chance this might happen so maybe i could have an emergency budget in place to fix it. Now ill have to wait until after Christmas to pay for it. IM GONNA MISS SO MANY GOOD GAMES!!! Has anyone else had this problem and is there any solutions that have worked?
I will get it fixed but im just upset that in a short space of time this could happen .

If its going to costs £129 and im guessing thats not with shipping you might as well buy a new basic model for £160 well if you dont have digital purchases as we all know what a pain in the donkey it is to get those transfered to a new console......please Nintendo just do an account system like everyone else.....

Did you try cleaning out all the air vents? If they are clogged the wii will shut down to prevent overheating.

Ok now it seems like nintendo helpline was wrong!
I fixed it myself, now if any body has the same problem, just try carefully with a pin prod through all the holes in the air vents on the side, and vacuum the vents after. It seems like it was just a bit dusty! Not worth £129 at all really is it nintendo. Anyway i can finally play bayonetta Happy gamer again

I've got the same problem. Just got the Mario Kart 8 bundle for Xmas and got blinking red light today
Happens after roughly 10 minutes playtime. It can't be dust it's only been out the box a few days.
To make matters worse it was a gift from the UK and I'm in Australia.

Geesh, what are you guys doing to your Wii Us? I have been using my Wii U for an average of 100-200 hours per month (about 4-6 per day) for the past two years and have never come across an issue. The only problem that I had was a glitch where, if your NNID has your registered as a minor, you can purchase and download M-rated games, but you can't re-download them. (I don't want to tell them since I don't want to give up the sales!)

The fact that they even do that is exceedingly stupid. They don't have any liability in terms of what someone gets off the eshop. Not that I care, I just made a sock account. But still.

I remember when that kept happening to my Wii U until I checked the air vents. Its scary.

You guys should place the Wii U horizontally, instead of vertically. Also, place the system in such a way that it is well ventilated, even in clogged up spaces. I've never had any blinking light problem

So, I found the new solution to this... I cannot guarantee, that it will 100% work for you, though. Just try it out for yourself. NOTE: All of the steps are IMPORTANT! Be sure not to miss anything. Step 1: You need to unplug everything from your Wii U Console, and wait for 1-2 minutes; Step 2: Plug everything back, except the HDMI Cable; Step 3: Now, you will need a hair dryer. But, before turning it on, unplug the AC Adapter from the Wii U. Then, turn on the hair dryer. Set it up, so it blows COLD!!! air, and also set it on maximum power; Step 4: Position the hair dryer, Wii U and the AC Adapter Cable, so that you can plug in the cable and turn on the console, while the hair dryer rotates the fan, at the same time; Step 5: Now, try to rotate the fan of the Wii U using the hair dryer, and, when you did this for about 5-10 seconds, plug in the AC adapter, and then turn on the Wii U at the earliest opportunity. That's it! It should boot up now! NOTE: If this doesn't work, try this again and again, because it should eventually work. Just don't give up!

Run for your lives it's a zombie AHHHHHH!!!!

Not really.

...This is new....oh...no it's not...well first time I've heard this.

Just clean the air vents. That's how I fixed my Wii U blinking problem.

I've never cleaned the air vents on my Wii U. This thread has me worried. I hope I never get this problem.

@Rexcalibr: Just use a toothpick to gently clean the air vents.

Or use a vacuum cleaner

I got the red lights one time when I put my WiiU against the wall and accidentally blocked the fan, so I think they are only caused by overheating.

Has someone actually had an issue standing it vertically? I've been having my WiiU that way since I got it (since it has the little feet for it) and I've never had an issue. However I'm sure everyone remembers when the Xbox 360 was shown in adverts and such to be standing vertically for a while but that turned out to be a deadly way to display it, even in the short run. Obviously I'd like to prevent oddities.