Wii U:Region Changing

This guide will show you how to region change your Wii U. This process is the most effective way versus other old and tedious methods, but also requires you to read carefully as this can brick your MLC if you are not careful.

Usage

This will change only the region of the console. It does not change the Gamepad's region. However, you are able to use out of region Gamepads thanks to Aroma's DRC region free plugin. If you also want to change the vWii region, run vWii Decaffeinator on light mode then perform a system update (updates need to be unblocked).

This guide will require you to wipe the MLC. Backup any important saves you wish to preserve by using either SaveMii or dumpling. You can however region change without wiping it, you would just skip Erase MLC and Delete scfm.img, but keep in mind you'd need to delete old titles via wupclient.py (right click > Save Link As).

Keep a copy of your OTP and SEEPROM backups. It is just in case something goes wrong, which is unlikely but better to keep regardless.

Do not uninstall ISFShax after erasing the eMMC and deleting the SCFM until you have successfully rebuilt the MLC and confirmed everything is working. We are not responsible if you fail to follow directions.

SD Preparations

• You must first have ISFShax installed. This is a requirement to region change and is not optional. de_fuse can also be used, but that is for more advanced users (requires soldering).

• The latest release of MLCRestorerDownloader (With your preferred OS)
• The latest release of the MLC setup plugin
• The latest release of the wafel_payloader Plugin
• The latest Aroma files (If you have aroma already, ignore this.)
  • Check the boxes, then hit Download Base Aroma and Download Payloads.

Downloading the MLC files

1. Download and extract the MLCRestorerDownloader.
2. Copy your otp.bin from the nand backup to the directory of the program.
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3. Start the app in a terminal or command prompt (Type CMD in the file path bar at the top).
4. Type either MLCRestorerDownloader or ./MLCRestorerDownloader.exe then hit enter.
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5. Type 1 then hit enter.
6. Type the number for the region you want to be changed.
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7. The Downloading process will take a minute, from here on you can continue from below.

Setup plugins and MLC files

1. Copy the wafel_payloader.ipx to your wiiu/ios_plugins folder.
2. Copy the wafel_setup_mlc.ipx to your wii/ios_plugins folder.
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3. Copy the wiiu folders from the Aroma download to the root of the SD card. (better to merge both and move just one)
4. Once the MLC download is done, make a folder named wafel_install on the root of your SD card, and copy the 52 MLC files from the output folder to that folder.
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We can now move on to the actual region change.

Region Changing

1. Boot up the console.
   • If it doesn't put you into the minute menu, make sure ISFSHax is installed.
2. Navigate to Backup and Restore.
3. Select Erase MLC, then press EJECT to proceed.
   • If it tells you erasing the MLC isn't allowed, make sure ISFShax is installed.
4. Select Delete scfm.img then press EJECT to proceed.
   • If it gives you a warning that it may brick the console, do not continue and install ISFShax. This is a serious issue.
5. Go back to the main menu, then select Patch (sd) and Boot IOS (slc).
6. If the LED is blinking blue, the setup has begun. It will complete when the LED is solid blue again.
7. Power off and move your SD card back to your PC.
8. Make sure there are no errors in the wafel_setup_mlc.log. They should all have 7 0's except for the SetInitialLaunch, which will be a 1.
9. If everything is correct, you can delete the wafel_setup_mlc.ipx from wiiu/ios_plugins.
10. Reinsert your SD card and boot the console back up. You should then see the Initial Setup screen. Well done, You have region changed your console!

Fixing sys_prod.xml manually

You only need to do this if Set Region to 4 returned error FFFBFFEE, if it returned a 0, then you can skip this.

1. Download the sys_prod.zip and wafel_sysprod_copy from here.
2. Extract the sys_prod.xml from the sys_prod.zip file.
3. Open the sys_prod.xml in a text editor, and change the product_area and game_region to the region of choice.
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   • Region values are as follows: JPN - 1. USA - 2. EUR - 4
4. Change the code_id, serial_id and model_number values to the ones found on the stickers located on the bottom of the console.
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5. Save the file, then copy it to the root of the SD.
6. Download the wafel_sysprod_copy.ipx and copy it to wiiu/ios_plugins.
7. Boot up the console and once you're in minute, select Patch (sd) and Boot IOS (slc).
8. Leave the console running for about 30 seconds, then power it off.
9. Repeat Step 7, but it should boot this time. No need for deleting the plugin, it will self delete after a while.

Finalizing Region Change

You can keep ISFShax installed, or uninstall it. It's recommended to keep it, so you can coldboot Aroma without having the PayloadLoader attached to Health and Safety. It also serves as brick protections of sorts.

If you need to, you can region change the Gamepad with DRXUtil, but you have to build the application yourself. There is no definitive guide for its use. Use at your own risk.