Topic: Wii U external hard drive issue

My Wii U collection is almost complete and upon hearing about the unfortunate closures of the Wii U and 3DS eShops, I decided to get the remaining games I want before they are discontinued. I realised pretty quickly that I needed to expand my Wii U internal storage to download the updates and games that I want and I decided to go for a 1TB Seagate expansion external hard drive, as really similar hard drives (that are now unavailable) are listed as compatible on Nintendo's website. I got it the other day and connected it to the USB port on the back of the console and on the 'format USB device' section of the System Settings, the system spent forever trying to register it, to the point where I waited 15 minutes, with just the loading icon spinning and nothing happening.

After a bit of digging, I heard it might be because the hard drive uses a USB 3.0 cable which isn't compatible with the Wii U because it uses USB 2.0, so it might be a case of getting a 2.0 cable instead. Also, I've heard it might not work because one USB port doesn't provide enough power for the drive to work, so I might need a USB-Y cable that plugs into two ports on the front of the console. Either way, I'm confused and would appreciate some advice.

I’ve used an external drive on the Wii U for years. It needs either an independent power source or a y cable (which is what I use) as like you said, one USB port on its own doesn’t supply enough power for the drive.

Hope this helps!

I also used a Y cable. It’s worked great. I’ve had my WiiU since launch with zero issues.

Same here.

I use one with a mains power cable. That also works fine.

You can power an SSD from a single USB cable, just not most mechanical drives.

I bet we got the same sxact seagate drive. I am still waiting on my y cable to arrive to make sure it all checks out with my hard drive. It should be here on Wednesday so I can test the seagate

@Gamecuber @faint @Eel @Matt_Barber @NintendoByNature Thanks to everyone for the advice. I think I might go for a separate power source/adapter, maybe a USB-Y cable, but I’m not sure how safe the latter would be. Does anyone have any recommendations about what power adapter/source would be ideal (as the hard drive has a single port) or will a Y-Cable risk overloading anything using two ports?

I have an external harddrive with its own power supply, and its been working great since I got it back in like 2014 or something. So I would recommend an external harddrive that has a power supply.

@NintendoWiiDS on Wii U it’s necessary to use a y cable. It’s because the Wii U has low power USB ports, so you need to use both ports. I hope this helps, good luck 😁

On Wii u u need to use both USB ports for power. Y cable or seperate usb to power hard drive.

Happy Mario day

I have noticed my wii u has been a little sluggish since switching to the external hard drive. I finally got the y cable in yesterday and DLed everything to it. It just feels a little slower than normal.

@OcarinaHolder52 @1UP _MARIO @NintendoByNature Thanks for the tips. I’m going to buy a Y-Cable and see if it the hard drive works.

@NintendoWiiDS it's been fine for me thus far. The system feels a tad slower than normal, but maybe I'm imagining it.

@NintendoWiiDS let us know how he goes

@1UP _MARIO I got the USB-Y cable in today and it’s worked! Thanks for the help mate 👍🏻.