Wii Hacks Guide

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Wii Themes ​

This guide is intended to be the last you will ever need when it comes to theming on the Wii, not only providing instructions for the Wii Menu through csm-installer, but also with themes on WiiFlow Lite, USB Loader GX, and The Homebrew Channel. Additionally, forwarders are covered.

Wii Menu Theming ​

DANGER

DO NOT CONTINUE WITH THIS GUIDE UNLESS YOU HAVE ADEQUATE BRICK PROTECTION, SPECIFICALLY BOOTMII (Wii only) AND PRIILOADER!

WARNING

csm-installer has built in safety features to prevent from installing bad or corrupt Wii Menu themes, so please opt to use it instead of other theme installation homebrew.

WARNING

Do not use any other version of ThemeMii than the one linked here, as ThemeMii Mod allows you to make a theme for Wii Menu version 4.3, other versions may not.

DANGER

Only install themes on your Wii that have been formatted specifically for its version and current region. Installing themes from the wrong version or region on your Wii will cause a brick. This tutorial will tell you how to create a .csm file that is safe to install.

INFO

Before proceeding, it helps to know the difference between .MYM and .CSM as file formats when used in Wii Menu theming. While the MYM is made by the theme creator which can then be shared around, the CSM is the result from building a MYM into a system menu. In other words, MYM mainly just holds assets - the actual system menu itself that needs to be installed comes seperate.

Theme Sources ​

Requirements ​

Downloading the Base Theme ​

  1. Extract the csm-installer .zip file to the root of your SD card or USB device.
  2. Insert your SD card or USB device into your console, and launch the Homebrew Channel.
  3. Launch csm-installer, then select Download original Wii theme (Base theme)
  4. Once the base theme has finished saving, press HOME to exit the app.
  5. Insert your SD card/USB device back into your PC. The base app will be saved to a folder named themes.
  1. On your computer, download NUS Downloader.
  2. Copy all files from the NUS Downloader .zip to a folder on your computer.
  3. Run NUS Downloader.exe.
  4. Navigate to Database -> System -> System Menu.
  5. Select the version that corresponds to your Wii menu version.
  6. Check the Create decrypted contents (*.app) box.
  7. Click Start NUS Download!.
  8. Once the download is finished, there will be a folder named titles in the same folder as the NUS Downloader.
  9. Open the titles folder, then the 0000000100000002 folder inside it.
  10. Find the largest .app file (usually 6~7MB) inside the folder.
  11. Create a themes folder on the root of your SD card/USB device.
  12. Copy the .app file to the newly created themes folder. This is the base theme you will use to build your custom theme.
  1. On your computer, download NUS Downloader (vWii)
  2. Copy all files from the vWii NUS Downloader .zip to a folder on your computer.
  3. Run NUS Downloader.exe.
  4. Navigate to Database -> System -> System Menu.
  5. Select the version that corresponds to your Wii U's region in the table below:
RegionvWii Menu version
Japanv608
USAv609
Europev610
  1. Check the Create decrypted contents (*.app) box.
  2. Click Start NUS Download!.
  3. Once the download is finished, there will be a folder named titles in the same folder as the NUS Downloader.
  4. Open the titles folder, then the 0000000700000002 folder inside it.
  5. Find the .app file that corresponds to your Wii U's region in the table below:
Region.app file
Japan0000001c.app
USA0000001f.app
Europe00000022.app
  1. Create a themes folder on the root of your SD card/USB device.
  2. Copy the .app file to the newly created themes folder. This is the base theme you will use to build your custom theme.
  1. Create a themes folder on the root of your SD card/USB device.
  2. Extract the ThemeMii MOD .zip to a location on your PC.
  3. Launch the ThemeMii application.
  4. Go to Tools -> Download Base App -> Version of your Wii Menu -> Region of your Wii Menu.
  5. A dialog box will pop-up asking you to enter in a value to create a key. Enter what it says, and it will create a key that will be used to decrypt the Wii Menu contents from Nintendo's servers.
  6. A file selection box will ask you where to save the .app file. Save it to the themes folder on your SD card/USB device.

Building a Theme ​

  1. Extract the ThemeMii MOD .zip to a location on your PC.
  2. Launch the ThemeMii application.
  3. Go to File -> Open, and select the .mym file for the theme you want to build.
  4. Press Create csm.
  5. When asked to select an .app file, select the newly downloaded base theme in the themes of your SD card or USB device.
  6. When asked to save the .csm file, save it in the themes folder.
  7. After the theme finishes building, you will be prompted to save the .mym. Press No.

Theme Installation ​

  1. Insert your SD card or USB device into your console, and launch the Homebrew Channel.

  2. Launch csm-installer, and wait for it to load.

  3. Select the theme you would like to install with A. Be absolutely sure at this point that you have downloaded the correct theme for your system menu version and region.

  4. Press + to install the theme.

  5. Reboot into the Wii Menu, and see if the theme successfully installed. If all goes well, you will have a result similar to the below!

WiiFlow Lite Theming ​

Unfortunately, because of the codebase difference between the original WiiFlow and the newer WiiFlow Lite, themes are sparse - in fact, only one theme could be found that confidently works on the newer version. The instructions for installing that theme are below.

Requirements ​

Instructions ​

  1. Have the storage device that holds WiiFlow Lite connected to your PC.
  2. Download the Rhapsodii Shima archive, either version of the theme works and can be installed side-by-side with no issues.
  3. Extract and copy the wiiflow folder to the root of your storage device, merge all folders and overwrite all files when requested.
  4. Follow the theme setup and theme configuration instructions in installation.txt. Enjoy the theme!

USB Loader GX Theming ​

Requirements ​

  • A modded Wii
  • An SD card or USB device
  • USB Loader GX
  • A Linux/macOS/Windows PC with an Internet connection
  • A theme, this link contains an assortment of dark themes

Instructions ​

  1. Download a theme .zip file from the website linked above, or anywhere else you can get a proper theme.
  2. Unpack the .zip file's contents into the apps\usbloader_gx directory on the storage device where you installed USB Loader GX.
  3. Put the storage medium in your Wii and boot it up.
  4. Start USB Loader GX, go to the Settings menu, and then go to Theme Menu.
  5. Open the theme and install it.

Homebrew Channel Theming ​

Requirements ​

  • A modded Wii
  • An SD card or USB device
  • A Linux/macOS/Windows PC with an internet connection
  • A theme from WiiBrew

Instructions ​

  1. Download a theme .zip file from the website linked above.

  2. Paste the .zip into the apps folder on your storage device where you load homebrew.

  3. Extract the contents of the .zip into the apps folder, and delete the archive.

  4. Reinsert the storage device into your Wii and enter the Homebrew Channel.

  5. The theme you just installed can be loaded in the same way that you access a standard app.

  6. The theme should now be loaded, enjoy!

App Forwarders ​

App forwarders can add a bit of extra flair to your Wii Menu - but be careful with them as bad forwarders can cause a banner brick. Generally, you can find forwarders on places like GBAtemp for popular apps such as emulators. Since forwarders come in a .WAD format, the process of installing them is as simple as normal usage with YAWM ModMii Edition.

TIP

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