System update
- Not to be confused with System Menu.
A system update is a collection of updated titles installed via the “Wii System Update” feature, either from a disc or over the network. The System Menu is typically updated, along with certain IOSes, and sometimes some channels.
While system updates are generally referred to by version, the Wii does not store a firmware version anywhere, besides the System Menu version, although not all system updates come with a System Menu (for example, the Oct. 23 Update).
The first title to be updated in each update is boot2, whose contents are instead passed to ES_ImportBoot, in an attempt to safely update both copies of boot2. After this, the System Menu IOS is installed, followed by the System Menu itself. The rest of the updated titles are simply updated in the order they are found.
Online updates
The most common method of installing an update is by pressing the update button in the settings. When doing this, the System Menu takes the version number of boot2, the System Menu, and a single IOS, and uploads them to NUS. NUS then returns the latest version of al title.
From here, the System Menu downloads each ticket and TMD from NUS that has a later version than the version installed, or is not installed, as well as the contents listed in the TMD. These are fed to ES and installed.
Disc updates
When a disc is inserted, one thing the System Menu checks is whether any titles in the update partition have a version higher than the one on the NAND; if so, the "Wii System Update" banner is displayed on the Disc Channel instead of the normal banner (only on 3.2 and higher).
When the Disc Channel is clicked, a prompt to update appears. For each title with a version number higher than that on the NAND, and each title that does not already exist on the NAND, the title contents are fed to ES's title installation ioctls.
vWii updates
On the vWii, updates are done together with Wii U updates. The upper bits of the title IDs are modified to distinguish from Wii titles, which prevents things like BC-NAND from appearing on the normal Wii. This mapping is only done on NUS; the actual titles are still installed into the normal locations in the vWii.
| NUS ID | vWii ID |
|---|---|
| 00000007 | 00000001 |
| 00070002 | 00010002 |
| 00070008 | 00010008 |
Update history
| Version | NUS post date | Release date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | N/A | November 19, 2006 | Launch set of titles. Contains boot2v2, System Menu 1.0, IOS4v3, IOS9v516, BC, MIOS, Photo Channel, Mii Channel, Forecast Channel dummy, and News Channel dummy. Some consoles shipped with a functioning Wii Shop Channel, while others had a dummy version. |
| 2.0 | November 17/18, 2006 | November 19, 2006 | Removed setup features intended for initial setup prior to formatting. Activated online features; added release IOSes ([[IOS11], IOS12, IOS13). Updated BC and MIOS. |
| 2.0rev02 | November 17/18, 2006 | November 19, 2006 | Installed a functional Wii Shop Channel on Wiis that didn’t have it; updated several channels to use IOS13. Changed Forecast Channel dummy and News Channel dummy to say "You cannot use this channel until service begins." Added EULA, which the Wii Shop Channel now requires agreement to. |
| 2.0rev03 | November 30, 2006 | November 30, 2006 | Wii Shop Channel now uses HTTPS, and uses the newly released IOS15. |
| 2.0rev04 | December 19, 2006 | December 19, 2006 | Released the Forecast Channel |
| 2.0rev05 | January 26, 2007 | January 26, 2007 | Released the News Channel |
| 2.1 | January 10, 2007 | January 10, 2007 | PAL-exclusive RGB-SCART fix. |
| 2.1rev02 | January 26, 2007 | January 26, 2007 | Identical to 2.0rev05; released News Channel in PAL consoles. |
| 2.2 | April 12, 2007 | April 11, 2007[check] | Fixed some internet issues. Released IOS20 and IOS21. |
| 3.0 | August 7, 2007 | August 6, 2007[check] | Contains various minor updates such as a clock and using + and - to navigate the settings menu. Blocked the GameCube Action Replay with an updated MIOS. Released IOS30 and IOS31, which have the code needed for games to detect drivechips and show error 001. Updated the Internet Channel using a NAND Boot Program update in IOS15 and IOS21. Added a switch to detect whether to use Photo Channel or Photo Channel 1.1 instead of displaying both. |
| 3.0rev02 | August 13, 2007 | August 13, 2007 | Reverted the Internet Channel patch; updated IOS30 and IOS31. |
| 3.1 | October 10, 2007 | October 10, 2007 | Added USB Keyboard support; added back the Internet Channel patch. Reverted setup back to a 1.0-like setup process to allow this menu to be preinstalled at the factory. Added IOS33, IOS34, and IOS35, the first IOSes used by error 001 games. |
| 3.1rev02 | December 7, 2007 | December 10, 2007 | Added Photo Channel 1.1 and added the gift feature to the Wii Shop Channel. |
| 3.2 | February 26, 2008 | February 25, 2008[check] | The Disc Channel now says "Wii System Update" if an update is needed; something about slot LED blinking was also changed. |
| 3.2rev02 | March 20, 2008 | March 20, 2008 | The Wii Shop Channel now supports WiiWare. |
| 3.2rev03 | March 21, 2008 | March 22, 2008 | Added IOS37, used by early WiiWare games. This IOS fixed the signing bug, but this did not have much of an impact. |
| 3.2rev04 | June 13, 2008 | June 16, 2008 | Released an updated IOS30 with the signing bug fixed. |
| 3.3 | June 13, 2008 | June 16, 2008 | Copied the IOS30 signing bug fix to IOS31; fixed the signing bug in BC. Fixed the Tweezer Attack and attempted to fix the Twilight Hack. |
| 3.3rev02 | July 17, 2008 | July 22, 2008 | Updated Photo Channel and Photo Channel 1.1 for a Japan-exclusive service |
| 3.3rev03 | October 22, 2008 | October 23, 2008 | Stubbed IOS4, IOS10, IOS11, and IOS20. Fixed signing bug, /dev/flash hack, and ES_Identify in all IOSes except IOS16, IOS30, IOS31, IOS37, and IOS254. Released IOS51 with a new Wii Shop Channel. |
| 3.4 | November 17, 2008 | November 17, 2008 | System Menu now uses IOS50; IOS30 has been stubbed. Fixed ES_Identify and /dev/flash hack in IOS31, IOS37, and IOS254. IOS37 now has new ES functions. Supposedly has disc and SD reading improvements as well. Second attempt to fix the Twilight Hack. Mii Channel now has USB Keyboard support. |
| 3.4rev02 | March 25, 2009 | March 25, 2009 | Fixed STM Release Exploit in all IOSes. Stubbed IOS16; released IOS60 and IOS61. |
| 3.5 | March 2, 2009 | March 3, 2009 | Korean equivalent of 3.4, and the first update to Korean consoles. Stubbed IOS4 and IOS40. System Menu now uses IOS52. Released IOS51. |
| 3.5rev02 | March 25, 2009 | March 25, 2009 | Korean equivalent of 3.4rev02. |
| 3.5rev03 | March 25, 2009 | March 25, 2009 | Korean equivalent of 4.0; System Menu was never released in Korea. |
| 4.0 | March 25, 2009 | March 25, 2009 | Fixed the Twilight Hack. Added an SD card menu, as well as SDHC support in system channels. Made various improvements to initial setup. Rephrased the warning about homebrew when updating. Removed unused symbols from main.sel. |
| 4.1 | July 16, 2009 | July 15, 2009[check] | Fixed a bug where using the SD Card Menu would force users to rewatch the MotionPlus introduction. Released Photo Channel 1.1 in Korea. |
| 4.1rev02K | July 30, 2009 | July 30, 2009 | Korea only; stubbed IOS16 and IOS52. |
| 4.2 | September 29, 2009 | September 30, 2009 | Updated to boot2v4; contains an unknown batch IOS update, including BC and MIOS. System Menu now uses IOS70. Attempted to fix Bannerbomb. Added code to delete the Homebrew Channel and DVDX on every boot. |
| 4.2rev02 | September 29, 2009 | September 30, 2009 | Stubbed IOS60. |
| 4.2rev03 | October 20, 2009 | October 21, 2009 | Updated the Wii Shop Channel to add the "One Free Title" button for users that purchased the Internet Channel. |
| 4.2rev04 | June 21, 2010 | June 22, 2010 | Batch IOS update to fix the HackMii Installer exploit and the /tmp/title.tmd bug. Released IOS80. IOS9 now has a build tag. Removed the NAND Boot Program from IOS15. |
| 4.3 | June 21, 2010 | June 22, 2010 | Successfully fixed Bannerbomb. Updated the title deletion code for the new title IDs used by homebrew. Initial setup date now defaults to 1/1/2010 instead of 1/1/2009. |
| 4.3rev02 | June 22, 2010 | June 22, 2010 | Stubbed IOS70 and IOS254. |
| 4.3rev03 | September 7, 2010 | September 8, 2010 | Updated WL in all IOSes except IOS9. Korean IOSes have now been released in all regions. Wii Shop Channel now uses IOS56 instead of IOS61. |
| 4.3rev04 | November 7, 2012 | November 6, 2012[check] | Added IOS62 for Wii U Transfer Tool support. |
| 4.3rev05J | November 26, 2013 | November 26, 2013 | Updated IOS59 for a new Dragon Quest X update. |
| 4.3rev06J | February 25, 2014 | February 25, 2014 | Updated IOS59 for USB Flash Optimization support. |
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