Topic: Well, I ended up getting a Wii U early

@Knux
I'm not defending Nintendo. I ALWAYS get my internet running well on my Nintendo systems.

Apparently updating the firmware in routers is an absolute "killjoy" or something? Seriously, go chech your router's firnware status and let me know if it's the latest. My guess is that it's not if it continues not to work.

You do update it, though, correct?

Its updated as updated as its going to get, not even supported anymore but I have 0 issues. Also the router is not near any large brick walls or active microwaves

I'm guessing you have a fast connection to begin with.

I just want to make it clear that updating the router is basically guaranteed to fix any issues anyone is having woth their Wii U's wi-fi, unless your connection speed is rubbish in the first place.

There have been times where my DS, 3DS, or Wii couldn't connect online from one day to the next. I update my router and everything connects again. Fixed.

I ran into issues before when I had Wii and it was ALWAYS with the router assigning IP's and creating a conflict but thats has nothing to do with poor signal strength or connection speed.

My suggestion for those who have problems(with speed, not connecting): see if you have conflicting signals anywhere(if you have a smart phone download Wifi analyzer) ;make sure your router nor your Wii U is surrounded or blocked by thick walls or for some reason by a Microwave; Update your router; and make sure no one is hogging internet (FYI Hulu is an absurd bandwith hog).

@Warruz
Ya. That's a different subject, kinda. I'm not saying updating the router is guaranteed to fix every issue people may have, just that it's one of the most common causes for internet problems.

When I give the advice to update the router, everyone ridicules me like I don't know what I'm talking about. I know @knux was joking about my "Nintendo Defense" if his little wink face is anything to go by, but he probably still won't go update his router. Oh well.

My Wii U's wifi is perfectly fine its the internet itself that's causing issues. Something on the computer could be slowing the Wii U down for instance. And its speed is also fine, though for you its most likely because you haven't finished updating those big updates that were supposed to fix all of that stuff.

The wifi problems are always about the firmware updates, not Netflix, Youtube, etc.

This means Nintendo's servers are slow, not that the Wii U sucks are receiving wifi signals.

Our router already has the latest firmware.
Every other wireless device we own (except the Wii U) works just fine from the same location.
We don't have the option to run a wired connection, and have very limited options with respect to moving the location of our router.
We've spent time and effort making every possible tweak, with more than one person with a CS degree and professional experience in the networking field giving it their best effort . None of that mattered.
A range extender is on the way as a last resort purchase... but if that doesn't work then I'm out of ideas beyond buying a new router and crossing my fingers, or sending the console in to Nintendo and hoping they can do something to fix* the issue. (*Fix is a funny word though: wifi does work, it's just slow and incredibly sensitive to any interference.)

Not everyone will have the same issue depending on the environment where their Wii U is setup - so if you don't have any complaints then hey, great for you! But we've spent a considerable amount of time and effort to get this to work with no result. We're now spending extra money to get something that should work out of the box..Judging from posts online, we aren't the only ones experiencing these problems either. My take is that Nintendo used a below average network adapter in the Wii U knowing that it would be "good enough" for most people. Anyone who doesn't fit into that "most people" descriptor are flat out of luck though.

Lucky for you there are fixes for most your problems. WiFi will always lack to the superiority of a wired connection. That being said you can buy the USB Wii Ethernet dongle for like 20 bucks and never have to worry about WiFi drop out.

There is a battery that you can buy that doubles the hrs you can play on the gamepad. Its got a kickstand and even works with the charging Cradle. Worth it.

Buy an external hard drive. You'll see faster speeds if you DL the full game to it. (eShop).

Stop looking everywhere to find an excuse to jump on Nintendo. I've only had three instances of problems with my Wii U and WiFi.

The first issue was resolved by changing the DNS settings or something and then everything was perfect.
The second issue was something happened weird with the router and no WiFi device in my room worked. I unplugged it and plugged it back in and it was fine.
The third issue was my University WiFi. It cuts off the WiFi every 8 or 12 hours and you have to agree to the terms of service again. If I'm playing online and that magical time hits, I go offline with an error message, reconnect, and I'm golden.

The only Nintendo system I had issues with on WiFi was the DS because Nintendo was actually in the "Stone Age" as you put it and that was because the thing only used WEP when everyone else on the planet went over to WPA. On that rare occasion I could play online, however, it was a blast. Metroid Prime Hunters played quite smooth and Black Ops (even though the rest of the game is a mess) had alright framerate in multiplayer.

[em]And by the way, if you have four devices that don't work on your WiFi, you probably do need a new router or an update.

@kyuubikid213
Exactly. Whenever one of my devices doesn't connect to the internet properly, I look for a fix instead of complaining about said device.

Not saying everyone complains, but it does seem to be a popular gesture.

Good news and bad news.

*Yes, it's not excellent, a gigabit ethernet port as well would have been preferable and more reliable anyway.
*That can be fixed with updates, used to be worse.
*Yes it is, though the battery can be replaced with a better one
*Yeah

Hello everyone. Just wanna say thanks for the recommendations and positive replies. I got to spend so more in depth time with my Wii U(Miiverse,eShop,etc.)

So here are a few more impressions from me:

• eShop is WAY better than the 3DS eShop in terms of both aesthetics and navigation. Good job, Ninty
• Miiverse is great for both getting help and the drawings I see all the time
• Once again, Nintendo games in HD
• YouTube is great on the pad. I ended using it more than my iPod
• Wireless signal for the pad is somewhat short but acceptable

So anyway those are some more impressions. Thanks!

@Ejamer Was your Wii U the last item to get hooked up with the Router?

No. We've had other devices hook up successfully since the Wii U arrived - including an iPad and a laptop.
Maybe it's just that the Wii U we got is faulty. I called Nintendo customer support about the issue and they weren't keen on helping.
Again, I don't dislike the Wii U at all - but not having the wifi work for us is a huge drawback and really affects how we can use the console.

@ejamer
I would do a bit more research on it. I recommend resetting the router back to the factory default, updating, then trying to reconnect.

If that still doesn't work, you may want to port forward the router for your Wii U. Nintendo customer service knows the exact numbers you need to type into your router to make sure your Wii U connects. If this is the first time you've gone into your router settings(if you choose to take this advice), then you shouldn't be surprised about why your Wii U doesn't connect to the internet at max performance. This is not an insult.

I know you can get it working if you try...

Back on topic:
Your mom loves you. Get Smash Bros, Mario Kart, etc.

Unfortunately, no. It's not a matter of how much I try. The Wii U wireless features aren't going to just start working.

After hours research, many attempts, and contact with customer service there has been (edit: no) change. At this point in time, we're pretty confident that the issue is Wii U hardware not being up to spec compared to every other device we own. Resetting the router, changing channels, updating firmware, or port forwarding hasn't fixed that - we've tried all of those tricks and many more. Worth noting that I'm not a fan of our current router either, but since it does the job with every other piece of hardware in our house I have a hard time laying all the fault there.

@ejamer
Good luck, then.