WiiKey review, Special thanks to Mod-Chip.com and the WiiKey team 26th of March 2007

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UPDATE - 11th of January 2008

I've recently used this chip in a research paper about Wii DVD media compatibility. In that pdf file I test how well this chip compares to other chips when it comes to compatibility with DVD media (and I don't mean just + or - rw support) by using a scientific approach. As this chip is included it is an interesting read for those interested in this modchip. Naturally it is also just interesting to read the PDF even if you don't plan on using this chip ;).

To go to the download location of the research paper (pdf) click here:

Introduction

Welcome to my review of the WiiKey. Thanks once again to my good friends at Mod-chip.com for their continued support and thanks to the WiiKey team. By now you will probably all have heared about it, but here are the official specs once again:


• Direct boot of wii backups
• Direct boot of GC backups
• Direct boot of homebrew in GC mode
• Supports all currently available console/drive versions
• Supports D2B chipsets
• Sophisticated (true) update mechanism via DVD (future proof, expect cool features to come)
• Direct boot of different NTSC region Wii games/backups on US and JAP consoles
• Partial support for NTSC region Wii games/backups on PAL consoles
• Boots different region GC games/backups (partially without swapping)
• Supports multi-disc games for BOTH Wii and Gamecube
• Supports DVD-R / true DVD+R and +RW support (no bitsetting required!)
• Improved readsettings for recordable media
• Built-in audio fix
• Supports fullsize 4GB discs for gamecube homebrew
• Stealth mode
• 512 byte EEPROM to store configuration
• Quicksolder interface - no wires required
• Unique disc backup application via sdcard
• Compact design, best quality components, rock solid high speed controller
• Professional ESD packing
• Recovery mode - Can recover from a bad flash

As you can see it's quite a list! The most important points are of course support for both D2B and DMS, the update feature (and recover from a bad flash), region patching (also for ntsc to pal) for both Wii and Gamecube (without swapping) and the disc backup feature (though that can probably be run with every chip as it is just gamecube homebrew). These are all nice features which I am dying to test ;), so let's see how the WiiKey keeps it's ground.

The Review

Packaging

The WiiKey packaging is the same as the CycloWiz's; just an ESD bag (on a side note, my samples arrived in different sized ESD bags), nothing more and nothing less. Personally I dislike such packaging (although in this case it is slightly less worrisome as the WiiKey is relatively thick and will damage less easily). However I say the same thing to the WiiKey team as I did to the CycloWiz team, pleas put your product in a small boxing or something similar.

Build Quality
The WiiKey is in essence a chip (ATmega8L) and a few other components stuck on a PCB. The PCB is however unexpectedly thick, though very small. One of the reasons for it's small size is that the ATmega is placed in a TQFP packaging (see WiiKey pictures for what that means) which allows for a nice and small PCB. That and due to nice design (although there are only a limited amount of components) that keeps in mind components that might be in the way when installing allow for such a small modchip. The solder points are also nice and big (relatively speaking of course) which is also a big pro. A negative thing is however that the TSSP quicksolder points aren't pulled through to the bottom of the PCB (there is only metal at the top of the unit, not on the side). That might make an installation quite hard (when using quicksolder). In the end I feel that this unit is of nice, high build quality with one small flaw.

Installation
As always I have not installed the modchip using quicksolder. For one because of the limitation mentioned above (I've heard a lot of people having trouble with it, you might want to use small parts of wire and solder across them) and because I generally prefer a wire method. In this case I also made a module for my module system to install the WiiKey (which works fine, so when using a wired install don't worry about having too long wires diminishing the signal).

One thing though, first of all (if you want to install the chip yourself) make sure you have the proper hardware. These solderpads are small so do not try and install it with a big soldering iron for example. For details see my Wiinja review.

As I stated earlier I used a wired install. This is something that is very easy with the WiiKey. The WiiKey team have apparently learned from other people's flaws that you should also include big solder pads on the modchip itself to support for a wired install. Because of this the WiiKey is equipped with nice big solderpads to which you can easily attach wires. To be frank, the installation on my module was a breeze.

Using the WiiKey
Things you should know; My Wii is a PAL (DMS) system. I have tested the following DVD's;
• DVD+R with changed booktype to DVD-ROM (as this was needed in the past) (verbatim, philips and hema),
• DVD+R (unchanged) (hema and philips),
• DVD-R (unchanged) (verbatim and imation),
• DVD+RW (unchanged) (hema), and
• DVD-RW (unchanged) (imation).
All these DVD's (aside from the RW discs) have been tested and proved to work with my Wii unit. The games I have tested;
• (Wii) Blazing Angels (E)
• (Wii) Red Steel (U and E)
• (Wii) Zelda TP (E)
• (Wii) Wario Ware (E)
• (Wii) Wii Sports (E)
• (Wii) Rayman Raving Rabbits (E)
• (Wii) Sonic and the Secret rings (E)
• (NGC) Eternal Darkness (E)
I've tried all games on all DVD types (except when I found something not to work).

Just to make this clear, everything I write here is either tested by me or by a VERY reliable source who has tested for me. I am however unable to test every title released because I simply do not own every title.

First things first, let's configure the WiiKey! The WiiKey comes as a working package; you can install the WiiKey unit in your Wii and it will then accept backups. However the WiiKey is also configurable (using the EEPROM on the ATmega8 chip) and configuring is needed when you want to use the region patching option. To configure your WiiKey you must first download and burn the configuration disc from the WiiKey site (make sure to use the proper region iso/rar) and then insert it into your Wii system (note there are two versions of the disc, one for people with, and one for people without Gamecube controller using the reset switch; apparently the WiiKey team know how to read the reset switch). The disc (should get/)is properly detected by the Wii unit as a GameCube disc which you must execute. If you do so you will be greeted by this screen;

You can select the configurations menu or reset the system (which is useful as the reset switch is used as a button). Inside the config menu you can set the drive speed (6x is default and will probably never have to change), turn the Gamecube audio fix on/off (more on that later) and turn region patching on/off.

Note, if you change any settings, save them and then restart the configuration disc the options will again show default settings. Those are however not necessarily the same settings as your WiiKey unit has set.

Using the WiiKey with PAL backups (both Wii and Gamecube); Using the WiiKey to run backups from the same region seems to work flawlessly. In all tests done, see the list of games and media at the top of this topic for details on what I have tested (that is all games on +R/-R/+RW/-RW discs), everything worked perfectly including titles such as Wario Ware which gave me troubles in the past. What I did notice however was that Eternal Darkness gave me a lot of trouble. I am unsure what may have caused this but I believe it is a game that uses audio streaming (and I noticed a drop in DVD rotation speed / no more DVD rotation before I ran into trouble on every test) which would suggest problems with the audio-fix in the WiiKey. I tested the same DVD's on my Gamecube (with Viper GC Extreme installed) and did not have those problems. As for homebrew DVD's, they work without a hitch (I am however still unable to use the full 4Gbytes on a DVD with the MFE-linux).

Using the WiiKey with NTSC (U/JP) backups (both Wii and Gamecube); As you will have already seen I was only able to test Red Steel as a non-region-compliant title (for the Wii). I have however been able to test several Gamecube titles (and homebrew). After extensive testing with different media brands and types I have come to the conclusion that those titles (USA/JP --> PAL) do work (though I cannot say how many titles work) however only when burned to a +R/-R disc. When you burn a title that is not the same region as your Wii to a -RW/+RW disc it will not get detected! I have notified the WiiKey team about this issue.

Unique disc backup application via sdcard; This is a feature the WiiKey team has had on their website since the product was announced. Sadly however it is still not released. I do however believe that it will be released in the near future and will work fine (also with other drive-mods). The only thing you have to keep in mind is that the backup feature will be a Gamecube homebrew application. That means that in order for you to backup a game to SD you will have to have a Gamecube SD adapter (see my guide for details how to make one).

Updating; We've heard a lot about updateable chips lately, are they really updateable? Well, the chip the WiiKey team have chosen to use is an ATmega8L. Those chips can indeed self program, so updating should be possible in theory. Quote from Atmel's official data sheet; "8K Bytes of In-System Self-Programmable Flash".



Conclusion

The WiiKey is not the first Wii drive chip to be released which clearly shows in it's design and features. The PCB is good, thick and small though having a minor flaw (TSSP quicksolder points are not perfect). The addition of solder pads to allow for an easier wire install shows that thought was put in the product. The WiiKey also brings new features to drive chips such as region patching, which although not perfect and fully complete does indeed work.

Compatibility is very good (no slowdown/stuttering) and region patching (on the Wii) does indeed work. Gamecube backups do seem to have some glitches though which I can't quite identify.

The WiiKey performs as expected and does a good job. It gladly accepts any disc you throw at it (provided it is a good enough brand/dye of course) also if it is rewritable. So in the end I feel that this is a good product which provides what it promised (aside from the backup feature).

Overall rating for the WiiKey Wii drive-chip
Discription	Rating (out of 10)
Design Boxart, manual and product appeal	5
Hardware Hardware design, durability and features	7+
Product future What this products future looks like	promising?
Features (Built in) extra features of the unit	Upgradable DVD-/+RW support region patching

I hope you all enjoyed my review and found it useful.

-Simon van de Berg

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