Topic: How to keep your Wii lens clean

Anyone who owns a Wii knows that the Wii lens cleaning kit is only available in a few spots online and the cost is absolutely ridiculous. So, how does everyone keep their Wii lens clean then? Any solutions?

@juliejustice Because the Wii is an ooooold console. And the only cleaning kits left are probably sold as collector's items.

I've never cleaned mine, and it still works fine.

Really? So, what can we do to make our wii last longer? Any maintenance I should be doing? I always thought when you start getting discs that don't read, it means the lens may be dirty. So far, I haven't had a problem, but my system is getting pretty old.

@juliejustice If you haven't had a problem, there's nothing to worry about yet. If it refuses to read discs, it could also mean your discs are dirty or broken, so always make sure to test several of them.

Anyway, you can probably use any disc drive cleaning kit. The Nintendo or Wii branded ones were most likely overpriced anyway.

You can't use the regular cleaning discs. I've tried and the wii won't read the disc. Guess I'll just leave it alone for now.

@juliejustice I remember trying to clean mine with a lollipop stick and something stuck on it, following a suggestion I found online.

It didn't work for me, but I suspect I may have worn the laser out prematurely by running a few illegitimate copies in it, which I've since read can accelerate laser deteriation.

Don't know if you still can, but I bought a replacement laser online, intending to follow a guide on ifixit, but I've never gotten round to it because I tend to play all my Wii games off a hdd using USBLoaderGX on my Wii U.

@gcunit Where did you get that information from? I highly doubt it. The laser can't 'tell' what's in the disc drive.

@Octane I can't remember, just remember reading that the laser has to work harder to read discs you've burnt yourself compared to legit retail copies. I was happy to believe it because it did seem to fail prematurely.

@gcunit Well, that's like saying, err, let's say you're practicing your bow and arrow skills, and someone tells you your bowstring will wear out faster if you use cheap targets.

You were just unlucky. Broken lasers weren't uncommon.

How I keep my Wii lens clean is nobody else's business but my own.