Wii Remotes giving me that syncing feeling.

Submitted by Stephen Munn on February 4, 2007 – 12:30 pm5 Comments

It hasn’t been a week since I picked up a second Wii Remote and synced it to my console, and already I’m having problems. Let me begin by explaining a sync to those who don’t have a Wii.

The Wii comes with one Wii Remote. It comes pre-synced with the system, kind of like when you buy a car and the buttons on the keyring are already able to operate the power locks. And, also like a car, when you buy more remotes, you need to sync each one with the console. This makes sense, because if you had more than one Wii in the room, you’d want to make sure you weren’t screwing around with each other’s controls (that’s the window behind the TV’s job, thank you very much).

Syncing tells the system and controller to look for each other, and when the console finds the remote, it assigns it the next available player number. You need to sync all your controllers at once, so that it won’t overwrite the old ones. Make sense? Now I can start whining. Well, whining more.

Today I had to sync my controllers again. I started up the system, started the web browser, and while it was loading, the Wii Remote shut itself off, spontaneously. The console didn’t seem to catch on, presumably because the browser’s not programmed to mind if the Remote goes away. In contrast, if you turn off your remote during Zelda, it drops you to the home screen, pausing the game until you get your act together. If it’s a battery issue, it will even tell you.

I made a few attempts to turn the Remote back on but all it did was flash at me helplessly and turn back off. I tried syncing it again, but couldn’t remember how it works.

So I looked it up, dear.

If you have a Wii Remote that was synced and working, but now only the LED lights flash and then go off, try the following:

1. Turn the Wii console on and wait until the “Health & Safety” screen appears (don’t press A).
2. Remove the battery cover on the back of the Wii Remote you wish to sync up, and open the SD Card Slot cover on the front of the Wii console.
3. Press the SYNC button just below the batteries on the Wii Remote; the Player LED will blink. Quickly press the SYNC button on the inside of the SD Card compartment on the console.
4. When the Player LED blinking stops, the syncing is complete. The LED that is illuminated indicates the player number (1 through 4).
5. This procedure must be followed for each additional Wii Remote added to the system.
6. If the steps above do not work, remove the batteries of the Wii Remote and leave them out for at least 2 or 3 minutes. Reinsert the batteries and sync the Wii Remote again. Test for proper response.

If after removing the batteries for several minutes, and resyncing the Wii Remote, your still unable to get the Wii Remotes to work, try syncing another Wii Remote if available.

James

*sigh* There’s a sync button on the front of the 360 controller to connect to a 360 console, but I’ve never touched mine. The 360 will pause any game and pop up a message telling you to reconnect the controller if it dies on you, so you just plug it in or switch controllers and roll along.

I’ve never had to sync my 360 controllers before, I bought my launch 360 used in June of ’06.

Tristam

I had that problem with mine, Wii Remote just flashing helplessly while WarioWare waited patiently. I sorted it by turning off my Wii for a couple of minutes (a quick off-on failed) and the remote came back acting like nothing had ever happened (and that was the only time it has)

Jub

This has happened to me several times. It only seems to happen when I’m loading a channel like the internet channel or the Mii channel, etc. Just as described here. I filled out an online help request form with Nintendo but just got their default “Wii remote troubleshooting guide.” back. I’m going to be contacting them via the phone next.

nathan

that happened to me once i found that if i unplug the wii power cable let it sit there for 5 minutes then try it again it works perfectly. still an anoying thing todo though

Stephen

I have noticed that the Wii Remote will power off when a channel is loading, and then wake back up when the channel finishes loading (usually we’re talking about less than five seconds). Never really made a connection between the “nap” the controller takes and the possibility of needing a re-sync.