Crazy (real-life) Wii Remote tech-support call...

[Ross101]

The GeekMom and GeekDad (Mrs. and Mr. Neumeier) got the kids a Wii for Christmas. Last night, one of the remotes went funky - you could press the buttons and select options on the screen, but when you went to swing a golf-club, bowl, pitch a baseball or swing a baseball bat, the Wii remote acted like it wasn't there. GeekDad can fix this... GeekDad knows he can...

• Fresh batteries - nope.
• Re-sync the remote - nope.
• Re-sync all the remotes - nope.
• Reset the remote - still nope.

So, GeekDad exhausted all the options for getting a remote to work given on the Nintendo support site and called (with gritted teeth) the customer service line... two days after Christmas. GeekDad expected the worst.

GeekDad was surprised. A very pleasant lady took his call within one minute of getting through the push-button maze to get to Wii Remote troubleshooting.

GeekDad explained what the problem was and what he had tried. She then asked him to check one more thing - the Wii Sensor - which checked out. Then the conversation went something like this...

Friendly Nintendo Help Desk Lady: "Okay - I want you to take the remote, button side down and smack it into the palm of your hand two or three times."
Russ: "You've got to be kidding"
Friendly Nintendo Help Desk Lady: "No sir, do it hard enough that I can hear it across the phone line but not hard enough to damage the remote"
Russ: "You're sure?"
Friendly Nintendo Help Desk Lady: "Yes, sir."

So, button-side down, the funky Wii remote got smacked in the palm of my hand three times....

...and the thing worked!

Now, why don't they publish this fix on the support site?

BTW, my six-year-old beats me every single time we play a game of Wii bowling....but from an informal poll of friends/relatives, it seems the youngest person in the family is the best bowler in the family.

Crazy (real-life) Wii Remote tech-support call... | Geekdad from Wired.com

hahaha

[nutter]

lmao... someone else said they hit it then it started working in another thread... when something dont work...hit it >.<

[Goose91]

lolololol - that's awesome. I'll remember that if mine ever goes dead.

Goose

[doylen05]

omg i could work for nintendo thats my solotion to every thing when in doudt give it a clowt

[Nintendo Wii]

Originally Posted by doylen05

omg i could work for nintendo thats my solotion to every thing when in doudt give it a clowt

That solution always works as well even when my hamster died for a few seconds i hit him and he came back to life and is still alive today.

[Ross101]

Originally Posted by Nintendo Wii

That solution always works as well even when my hamster died for a few seconds i hit him and he came back to life and is still alive today.

dont try that at home kids! haha

[ukrodgers]

Hey look I am also not advocating giving "hammy" the hamster a good kicking, BUT, if he is already an "ex-hamster" how much more damage could a few small clouts do.
When you go down to A&E / ER and your ticker stops they punch you in the chest then plug you into the national grid !
So in conclusion, if your remote/pet/loved one is already broken/dead give it a clout. I mean how much more broken can it get than dead.

Hope this helps.

Phil.