Brian's Brain

Despite what some might think, I really do like my Nintendo Wii. However, as I noted back in March, it seems to be really finicky about what 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi channels it reliably works with. The particular access point that my console connects to, a generic Belkin F5D7130 in 802.11b+g 'mixed' mode and about 5 feet away from the Wii, was until earlier today broadcasting on channel 6 and solidly worked with every piece of wireless-capable gear I threw at it....that is, save for the Wii.

Earlier today, I attempted at least a dozen times to update my console to the latest firmware release, without success. Downloads, as measured by the on-screen progress bar, would crawl....which didn't make sense given the 50 Mbps WAN pipe that my LAN's fed with. Eventually, after many minutes had passed, the download would abort with a cryptic error code. This problem occurred even though a preceding Internet connection test done via the console's setup screens completed with flying colors.

Eventually remembering my March comments, I switched the access point over to channel 1, making no other changes to its configuration. What a difference….the firmware upgrade downloaded and successfully installed in a matter of a few seconds. Interestingly, Nintendo's support page notes:

If there are other wireless devices in the area, they can interfere with the signal so much that the Wii console will not be able to connect to the router. Changing the wireless channel on your router may help. Most wireless routers have a channel range of 1 through 11. The best channels to try are usually 1, and 11, as they do not overlap with other channels. Typically, the channel settings for your router will be found in the router's main "Wireless" tab.

This all conceptually makes sense, as my recent hands-on cover story discusses in greater detail. The problem is, though, that the only channels inhabited by my wireless LAN are 1, 6 and 11, which I specifically chose because they don't overlap with each other. Channel 6 should be fine, especially considering that a NetStumbler sweep identifies no other Wi-Fi broadcasters on or overlapping with channel 6 in my vicinity, and there's no Bluetooth gear (aside from, perhaps, the Wii's remote control) or other ISM band equipment operating in this frequency range, either.

Pardon my conspiracy theorizing, but Ron Wilson's writeup, combined with the cryptic wording of Nintendo's tech support verbage, has me wondering if the 'other wireless devices in the area' that Nintendo's referring to are its own Wiimotes. Folks, what have your Wii network connectivity experiences been? In your response, make sure you specify which Wi-Fi channel your console and its mating router or access point are employing. Thanks!