My wife, who is far better than I deserve, bought me a Wii as an anniversary gift. I’ve noticed though that the console stays warm even when I haven’t been using it. Is this normal?
*awaits inevitable body temperature and wank jokes 
*
Do you have WiiConnect24 turned on? If that’s on, the damned thing connects to the internet about every 3 minutes, 24/7, keeping it blazing hot. I finally turned off that feature because I was worried about it always sitting there baking.
And yes, mine is in the stand, and it’s well-ventilated.
I do as a matter of fact. I’m going to try turning it off right now.
Hoping some other Wii owners will pop in here…
I left WiiConnect24 running for quite some time before I realized that I was starting to have some graphics problems. It’s visible in any game where there’s heavy shading, or light shifting…it looks like a cast of vertical green pixels. It shows up to some extent on the Wii Menu (in the little “screens”) too. I finally turned WiiConnect24 off; the problem isn’t as bad as I’ve seen in online video captures, but something definitely isn’t right.
Anyone else having this problem? (I haven’t called Nintendo yet, though I understand they’ve got great service for things like this.)
I’ve noticed my Wii has been getting hotter and hotter lately. Also, I am noticing some video problems, mainly stuttering or pausing. I thought it was just me but now not so sure.
All Wiis have a one-year warranty, and you guys are describing some common problems that systems have been having due to overheating. Apparently it’s a problem with the heatsink or something, but many people are tying it to using Wiiconnect24/leaving their systems in standby mode.
Get it in under warranty!
I always wondered why my Wii was so frigging hot. I haven’t experienced any video problems, but I have had a few lockups when playing for 3 or more hours, which I attributed to it being on the verge of spontaneous combustion.
On a lighter note, I finished Godfather: Blackhand over the weekend. Good game.
goes to turn off WiiConnect
Update: WiiConnect24 was definitely the culprit. The system was a lot cooler in just 15 minutes. It was stone cold this morning when I checked it.
Seems like an odd design decision to have the thing connect every three minutes rather than on demand.
Yeah, I’m hoping/assuming that whenever Nintendo releases the first major software/firmware update for the Wii, one of the things that they’ll fix is WiiConnect24; it should be variable rather than connecting every three freaking minutes. I wouldn’t mind setting it up to connect once a day or once every 12 hours.
The Wii won’t let you use certain channels if WiiConnect24 is off.
Solution: Hold down the power button on the console for several seconds until you see a red light. This will shut off WiiConnect24.
I used to baby my Wii until I realized that the geniuses at Nintendo wouldn’t release a system with such an obvious and critical flaw, especially considering their non-system savvy target audience.
I’m being a rebel and leaving it on. No more living in fear. It’s been a month and the system is pretty warm. I’ll let you know if it catches fire.
If anything, you’ll uncover the flaw while it’s still within its warranty period. In fact, I’m almost inclined to turn mine on so that if it goes tits-up, I can get it fixed while it’s still covered. 
Just out of curiosity, what’s the difference between having WiiConnect24 on and going further to turning Standby on? If Standby is off but WiiConnect24 is on, is it more like WiiConnectOnDemandWhenYouUseAChannelThatMightCareAboutIt?
What Wii channels are you using that you might want WiiConnect24 on for? I only get a couple of crappy channels I never pay any attention to. The weather channel maybe, Everybody Votes? please…
I had my WiiConnect24 on for almost 3 straight months before I finally put it on standby last night. No ill effects from all the heat. It is noticeably cooler today.