Nintendo support recommends Wiimote abuse to puzzled caller

Controller abuse has always been a mainstay of the video gaming existence -- no need to blame your thumbs when there's this hunk of plastic to chuck at the floor -- but who knew Nintendo was working such violence into its own official support curriculum? Wired's Russ Neumeier gave Nintendo support a ring when one of his Wiimotes stopped sensing motion and none of the usual fixes seemed to work. After explaining his situation, the Nintendo rep asked Russ smack the controller into his hand, button side down, two or three times. After being assured that she wasn't kidding, Russ did as he was told and was awarded with a fully functional Wiimote. We could see why Nintendo wouldn't go shouting about this "fix" on its official support literature, but it has us wondering if "blow into the cartridge, whack side of NES, insert cartridge, repeat" was the Nintendo-approved method all along.

[paragraph @ Dec 31st 2007 2:26PM]

Indeed, hitting things usually fixes them, especially electronics, gets the gremlins out.

I hardly think hitting your Wiimote in your hand constitues abuse though, thats not enough force to break it, so i'm going to have to disagree with the whole "abuse thing"

[tbirdman @ Dec 31st 2007 3:15PM]

also works on cars. my sister got an older car that the ac didn't work on and her boyfriend wacked the ac pump with a hammer and worked perfectly.

[James Yopp @ Jan 1st 2008 9:40AM]

I think it's more like sweat, disgusting hand-gunk, dust, and other gross stuff that you're knocking out there -- not gremlins. Anything that gets as much sweat in it during normal use as the Wiimote does, is bound to need a little gunk-dislodging smack every so often.

[talkingtowalls @ Jan 2nd 2008 11:03AM]

of course it's hand gunk...what do you think feeds the gremlins?

[R0B3RT @ Dec 31st 2007 2:26PM]

I can only hope that method works best for the NES cause i used it. And that makes sense for the wii mote or that to work.

[Ian @ Dec 31st 2007 2:27PM]

blowing on the cartridge was SO approved by nintendo. how the hell did they expect us to play those damn games if they didnt work half the time you put them in? and did anyone really suffer any loses by blowing on a cartridge?

[N30 G30 @ Dec 31st 2007 3:03PM]

Blowing into cartidges places saliva on the connectors, possibly making the situation worse.

(What I said wasn't even geeky anymore. That's just plain nerdy. ugh.)

[maveric101 @ Dec 31st 2007 3:18PM]

or better. a little moisture could help connect the contacts.

i've learned to accept my nerdiness.

[Chuckles McGee @ Dec 31st 2007 3:18PM]

My nunchuk was going bonkers when connected to the Wiimote- what did I do? Unplugged it, and BLEW on the connector- worked like a charm. 20 years of Nintendo console owning- the Wii might be > 400 times more powerful, but the rules of the game is still the same.

[Joel @ Dec 31st 2007 4:19PM]

The R button on my DS phat broke, and somebody on the Nintendo forums suggested putting the button practically inside my mouth and blow into it. It worked, if only temporarily.

[Ray Randell @ Dec 31st 2007 2:33PM]

Strange but true. I have seen Apple documents that recommend placing an iBook against your chest and then gently slapping the bottom to unstick a hard drive.

[DT @ Dec 31st 2007 2:55PM]

Well Apple products usually are sexy enough to place against one's chest and slap across the bottom. Sounds like a good time.

[MasterCKO @ Dec 31st 2007 8:12PM]

DT, that comment is a win.

[J-2 @ Jan 1st 2008 2:55AM]

DT, you've got my vote for best comment of 2007! lmao...

[computer.dude.28 @ Dec 31st 2007 2:34PM]

If it's not working, you're just not hitting it hard enough.

[Tristan @ Dec 31st 2007 3:29PM]

ahh women...

[mattclarkie @ Dec 31st 2007 3:55PM]

Women are people to?

[vaiyach @ Jan 2nd 2008 11:43AM]

Hmm.. Was that a query?

[Tristan @ Jan 1st 2008 4:07PM]

Jokes aren't necessarily true?

[Strap @ Dec 31st 2007 2:36PM]

Endless summer days, sleepovers, and blowing into malfunctioning NES cartridges; how I miss the sweet days of my youth.

[mushrooshi @ Dec 31st 2007 2:35PM]

I never recieved my 4 wiimote covered O.o

[computer.dude.28 @ Dec 31st 2007 2:36PM]

You mean the jackets? I got mine about 2 weeks after I ordered them.

[oshean @ Dec 31st 2007 4:11PM]

Same here mushrooshi.

[Joe @ Dec 31st 2007 6:28PM]

I never got them either, so I reordered them last week. It seems that we all ordered them at the same time and it may have gotten lost in the rush.

[debugy2k @ Dec 31st 2007 2:37PM]

"blow into the cartridge, whack side of NES, insert cartridge, repeat"....the good ol days...i miss it...

[Shadowfox952 @ Dec 31st 2007 2:45PM]

Is it just me or does anyone else not see the sexual innuendo? *cough*

[debugy2k @ Dec 31st 2007 2:47PM]

hahahah....now that you mentioned it...LOL...guess NES wasn't rated PG13...hehe

[octoberasian @ Dec 31st 2007 5:25PM]

... and that reminded me of the phallic and sexual references in Disney films.

Ah, yes, Nintendo and Disney, I'm sure they have collaborated somehow with these sexual references...

[David Clark @ Dec 31st 2007 7:05PM]

That's "nintenuendo", if you please.

[Max @ Jan 1st 2008 3:32AM]

My old english teacher got us to remember what innuendos were by calling them sexual nintendos...

[quosimodo @ Dec 31st 2007 2:39PM]

I called in to Nintendo about my remote and they told me the same thing. Whack that remote in my hands and shake it up a bit to try to loosen the sensors.

[SteveMB @ Dec 31st 2007 7:43PM]

Well?

[mmh @ Dec 31st 2007 2:39PM]

It's all about the angle, not mere force.

[mmh @ Dec 31st 2007 2:42PM]

You know, like those old TV sets when they decide to go static. Sometimes smacking it on the side or pounding it vertically don't make any difference. But when you karate chop it from 37 degrees, it magically comes back to life.

[martin @ Dec 31st 2007 3:00PM]

ahhh blowing into the cartridge really brings me back.

[blaktornado @ Jan 5th 2008 9:35AM]

Me too... But for the N64, not NES.

Still, good old days.

[Alex @ Dec 31st 2007 3:09PM]

I had another little trick for NES games. After blowing into both the cartridge and the console, I would put in the game, hold it to the right, and then power on, then release the game. Worked like a charm. Friends who swore a game or their system was broken were amazed when the "hold right" trick worked. Anyone else know about that one?

[supermanwich23 @ Mar 6th 2008 7:45PM]

dunno about that one- But I would always place the cartridge into the NES but not all the way. Leave just enough out to hit the bottom and then lock in place.

This method always, always, always worked no matter how old or beat-up the game was.

Might've had something to do with my NES sensors going out of alignment after years of Koopa stomping and Red slime bashing.


P.S. I NEED SSbrawl more than I need air! O___O;

[Eric, The Original Requester @ Dec 31st 2007 3:09PM]

This is a legitimate fix - MEMS accelerometers of the construction used in the Wiimote can get...stuck...and some shock can bounce them apart.

[RedBull Runner @ Dec 31st 2007 6:31PM]

yep, tiny little mechanical structures inside of the sensor. just search wikipedia for MEMS

[Jake @ Dec 31st 2007 3:09PM]

my wiimote started doing the same things a few weeks ago, but I was too busy to call support and troubleshoot. I read this on digg earlier, tried it and it worked like a charm. Glad too... spending $40 on a new one would suck.

[404error @ Dec 31st 2007 3:35PM]

You had to read something on the internet to tell you to hit the wiimote against your hand? That would be one of the first things I would do if it started acting up.

[master_sword @ Dec 31st 2007 3:18PM]

i've done this to my wii controller tons of times. sometimes the curser just starts jumping around the screen, and then stops and slowly drifts across, then starts jumping again, no matter how i move the remote or the sesor bar. a quick hit always makes it work again!

[ErikLindemann @ Dec 31st 2007 3:20PM]

I do this with my TV remote all the time, but it's only necessary when the batteries are low. Did this "Russ Neumeier" think to check the batteries?

[Tommy @ Dec 31st 2007 3:37PM]

Thats a good tip for any battery powered device (alkaline). I believe the batteries lose their charge over time as the chemicals inside lose their ability to react. Shaking old batteries can often get pockets of unreacted chemicals in touch to get a few extra moments of life out of the batteries. Next time your batteries die, give them a shake and put them back in and see what happens.

[AdamK @ Dec 31st 2007 3:35PM]

...and with the way I treat my controllers, that explains why mine always work perfectly.

[Micah @ Dec 31st 2007 3:42PM]

I always whacked the TOP of the NES...

[George Kirkaldie @ Dec 31st 2007 3:46PM]

Just like the old official fix of the Atari ST line, raise the computer 3 inches off the table, then drop it.

After repeated on/off (hot/cold) cycles, the chips start to work their way out of their sockets. The impact reseats the chips in the sockets.

[Max Goedjen @ Dec 31st 2007 3:53PM]

I can personally confirm this one, I broke my wiimote back in December of last year, turns out the accelerometer got stuck, hitting it was the solution, though I was a little surprised to hear a tech support guy tell me to do it.

[Jonathan Bergeron @ Dec 31st 2007 4:00PM]

that brings back memories. how about putting a game on top of the one in there, so it's pressed down further. I had to do that with Excitebike every time.