Common key

Using a Common Key (Wii U)

What is a Common Key for?

The common key is a key in hexadecimal that is the main way of decrypting things. Every Wii U has a unique one that can't be changed or modified in any way. It is located in the OTP.bin you are supposed to save once you've made the backup to all your important files.

How come it is that important?

Well, as said before, it is one of the many keys used to decrypt console files. If you find any way to modify it, you're basically locked out with the wrong key to decrypt your console's contents which means you got a hard brick. That can't be recovered. The OTP is a 1024B file that contains all the keys to your Wii U console.

Where is that key located on the motherboard?

The OTP (One Time Programmable key) is located in the SoC (System on a Chip) of the console which somehow is easily replaceable but you can't write to it... Thanks, Nintendo.

Any other things I should be aware of?

In a short way, yes. In a long way, there are multiple other part of the SoC like the SEEPROM, SLC, SLCCMPT and things like that.

In my knowledge, the SLC, SLCCMPT and maybe SEEPROM is writable. There's also the MLC but it is not part of the SoC. It is part of the NAND.

Why would I need this key?

Why? Because, for some tools that don't already have a self extracting tool to get your Common Key when redownloading for exemple, System Files (I'm watching you JNUSTool), it can be useful to have it!

Here's non-exhaustive list of all the software that uses the Common Key:

• UWUVCI - Useful for making Wii Virtual Consoles Injects
• JNUSTool - Useful for redownloading system files

(yes I only got 2 in mind)

But, I don't know how to extract/get it!

Calm down. There are 3 main ways for you to get the Common Key.

1. Use GaryOderNicht's tool (Windows only)
2. Use Acer51's tool (Windows, macOS and Linux)
3. Manually.