WiiU

How To's

How To's

How do I get "Game" on Cemu/WiiU

This page is a work in progress. Links may not go to the right places or just not exist. Please be patient while I complete it.

How this page works.

This guide is a little backwards and may be confusing as it starts with the last steps first. Think of it as a choose your own adventure book but you want to get to a specific ending, so you start there and work backwards to find out what you need to do.

So, get yourself something to write some notes down on and write down the heading code so you can refer to it later.

For Example, to get a game onto Cemu you want to do
- 1a
- 2b
- 4t
etc
(these aren't finalised yet)
and then you can work backwards by clicking on the titles on the left sidebar (over there <<--)

1. Working out what you want to end with

1a. A game on an emulator (Like Cemu)

For this you want to end up with "Raw Files" (otherwise known as loadiine1) because Cemu supports "Installing" them. The file format of raw files is

📁 gamename_folder
┣ 📁 code
┃  ┣ app.xml
┃  ┣ cos.xml
┃  ┣ *.rpx
┃  ┗ *.*
┣ 📁content
┃  ┗ this is the game content, folders will vary 
┗ 📁 meta
   ┣ meta.xml
   ┣ *.jpg
   ┣ bootTvTex.tga
   ┣ bootDrcTex.tga
   ┗ iconTex.tga

You can then follow the official Cemu title installation guide to install your games.

You can use WUD and WUX files as well but it is more space efficient to convert it into RAW files. You also won't need to worry about adding the Disc Key2 into the keys.txt file.

Please, for the love of the emulator gods, use the correct emulator for the game you want to play. Use Dolphin for Wii / Gamecube games, Project64 or Mupen64 for Nintendo 64 titles, etc.... There is no point in putting a virtual console title (literally a rom and an emulator) in Cemu (which is an emulator). Click here for a list of emulators and things to search for when you to go that way.

1b. A game on a WiiU (Like a WiiU)

For this you want to end up with what we call a "WUP" (WiiU Package) because you can install them to your WiiU with WupInstaller. A WUP looks like this

📁 gamename_folder
┣ title.tmd
┣ title.tik
┣ title.cert
┣ *.app
┗ *.h3

Or when you have it on your SD card (the install folder is case sensitive, in other words, it must be lowercase)

💾 SD card root
┗ 📁 install
   ┗ 📁 gamename_folder
      ┣ title.tmd
      ┣ title.tik
      ┣ title.cert
      ┣ *.app
      ┗ *.h3

1 Loadiine is an outdated method these days, its better to just use a WUP on a WiiU

2 A Disk key is not a Title Key

2. Methods of getting the format you need

2a. Raw Files

You can get Raw Files from a variety of sources, but in most cases they are

2b. WUP

A WUP can be

2c. WUD / WUX

The only current known method to getting a WUD file (or in turn a WUX) is either by dumping it from a disc or downloading it. You can not generate a WUD or a WUX from a WUP or Raw Files.

Remember, for a WUD or WUX to be decrypted (or used directly in Cemu) you NEED the Disc Key (usually found somewhere with the WUD/WUX file as a text string or a binary file [open with a hex editor]) and NOT the Title Key

3. So I have decided on...

3a. Using a NUSDownloader to download a WUP or RAW files

Remember, NUSDownloaders can only download what was released on the e-shop and if it still exists on the servers. To check it you can try to find your game on the WiiUBrew title database and/or titlekeys.ovh.

If It doesn't exist on either/both lists you will have to locate the game as a WUD, WUX, WUP or "loadiine" somewhere on the internet.

A NUSDownloader as its name suggests, downloads from the NUS (otherwise known as the Nintendo Update Servers). Due to an oversite by Nintendo, they left their servers unsecured so with some work (either by hand [which is a pain in the butt] OR with a tool [heckin easy]) you can "Just download from them" just like a WiiU does.

A common question is "Do you need a WiiU?" The answer is No, No you don't..... Well, you do need a WiiU if you want to install the game onto your WiiU but that kinda makes sense doesn't it?

You have a few choices when it comes to NUSDownloaders, but this is what we suggest.

3b. Generating a WUP

So, there are some difficulties when it comes to generating WUPs. These occur mostly with NUS Updates as they have hardlinked (or it could be softlinked, I don't remember) files. If you decide to re-pack something that you downloaded from the NUS it is also generally not the best idea as the title key will (probably) be different and other things like hashes and such. It would be better to just re-download it using your choice of tool.

Injections are a different thing as they are generated by the tool like UWUVCI or Teconmoons (depreciated) and won't have any issues when it comes to installing them onto your WiiU.

3c. Dumping my files from my WiiU

Just follow the guides here https://cemu.cfw.guide/dumping-games

3d. Getting the WUP from my own Disc

There are a couple of ways to do this, but they both require a real WiiU

3e. Downloading it from  somewhere

All this wiki can do is point you in a direction. We can not give you direct links to said content. The r/roms megathread is a place to start

4. So you have the files you need, how do I get it on Cemu/WiiU

4a. Cemu

  1. Check your setup with this page to see if your PC is compatible
  2. Install Cemu with the official Guide
  3. Install the game with the official steps

4b. WiiU

  1. Make sure you have a WUP format game
  2. Copy it to your WiiUs SD card (like in 1b)
  3. Install (while CFW is running [haxchi/mocha]) with WupInstaller

Note: Games that have pirated DLC or is an Injection you will need CFW running to run it or you will get the 199-9999 error and you will need to reboot your WiiU





Formats, Tools and Guides

Formats, Tools and Guides

Master tool list

WiiU Tools

Dumping

PC Tools

NUS Downloaders

Format Converters

Formats, Tools and Guides

WiiU Title Formats

Overview

WiiU titles come in a variety of formats, this is a list of most common to least common formats and its pros and cons

RAW
WUP
WUD
WUX
Formats, Tools and Guides

USBHelper + USBHelperLauncher

This tool has been depreciated. We recommend giving WiiUDownloader a try before you go ahead and install USBHelper

https://testing.agilly1989.xyz/#/WiiU/Tools/Nusdownloaders/WiiUDownloader

Translate this page with Google Translate

Installation

Please note: USBHelper should really only be used as a download manager and unpacking program. If you are using Cemu, you probably should have a seperate Cemu instance that you get from the Cemu website. See Emulation for more information

- Windows

- - Automatic Installation via an Installer

- - - Gathering Files

You will need

- - - Installation Steps
  1. Get the USBHelperInstaller.exe and save it somewhere like your Downloads Folder or Desktop. Don't worry about when the installer was released as it downloads the latest release of the launcher and the version of USBHelper you select in step 3.

  2. Run it, if you get a warning, it's safe to dismiss, just click on Run

    image-1617751185731.png



  3. Click on Next and then Agree and you will see this window. The selected version will be fine. Newer or Older version have minor differences that might cause some issues.

    image-1617751193584.png



  4. The next page will ask you where you want to install USBHelper, AppData will work but I do recommend changing it to a folder that you have permissions to read and write to. Something like your "Games" drive if you have one. Then click on Install

    image-1617751203380.png



  5. Let it do its thing as it downloads USBHelper and the Launcher from the Internet

    image-1617751210336.png



  6. If you get this message, read it and make your own choice.

    image-1617751218089.png



  7. You are now Finished. (Un)-Tick the options you do (or don't) want and then click on Finish

    image-1617751230001.png

  8. Now you can go down to First Run (After Installation or "Clearing")

- - Manual Installation ... so by hand (no installer)

- - - Gathering Files

You will need

  1. Put both zip files in the same folder (let's call it USBHelper)

    image-1617751246378.png



  2. From that, Open the USB Helper zip file (in this example it is Wii U USB Helper 0.6.1.653.zip), select everything and drag and drop those files into the USBHelper folderdrag-and-drop1.gif

  3. Close that zip file and open the USBHelper Launcher Zip file (in this example it is USBHelperLauncher-0.17d.zip) and do the same as step 2. Select everything, Drag and Drop and now you need to Overwrite existing files.drag-and-drop2.gif

  4. (optional) Finally, Right click on USBHelperLauncher.exe and right click on it, sending it to your Desktop as a shortcut.shortcut.gif

  5. Now you can go down to First Run (After Installation or "Clearing")

- Linux

Linux mode is via Wine or a Docker container. It is highly experimental and is prone to issues. It would be better to run a Windows instance to use this program either via virtualisation or dual boot.

- - Docker

The docker image for USB Helper (arcticdiv/usbhelper, source code) already comes preinstalled with wine-staging, dotnet48 and Wii U USB Helper + USBHelperLauncher, and provides access to a virtual desktop using a VNC client or a browser.

To get started, you can use the docker-compose.yml file and just run docker-compose up (provided you have docker-compose installed), or use the docker image directly with:

docker run -it \
    --name "usbhelper" \
    -v "$(pwd)/data/userdata:/home/user/usbhelper/userdata" \
    -v "$(pwd)/data/downloads:/home/user/usbhelper/downloads" \
    -p "127.0.0.1:5901:5901" \
    -p "127.0.0.1:8081:8081" \
    arcticdiv/usbhelper:latest

The VNC server only binds on localhost/127.0.0.1 by default, therefore a password isn't strictly necessary. If you still want to set a password for the VNC connection, set the VNCPASSWD environment variable for the container accordingly.

Once started, either navigate to localhost:8081 with a browser of your choice, or connect to localhost:5901 using a VNC client. Downloaded files will be located in data/downloads.

Now you can go down to First Run (After Installation or "Clearing")

- - Wine

First Run (After Installation or "Clearing")

  1. Run your Desktop Shortcut if you have one, or launch USBHelperLauncher.exe directly from your USBHelper folder. Wait for it to Update Translations and do some inital Injecting. You should then see this window

    image-1617751295759.png


    This is where people get confused, this is not selecting what server USBHelper downloads from BUT what region the games are in. THIS CAN BE CHANGED LATER (see "Recommended Tweaks and Settings > Setting Extra Regions"). Click on I Agree and then a Region.

  2. This next step is important. You want this on your largest drive and one you have read/write permissions. I suggest making a WiiU Games folder near the root of your drive (Look at the image below) and linking it to that. This is where USBHelper downloads the encrypted games and stores any other necessary files.

    image-1617751309906.png

    image-1617751314996.png


  3. Now it will ask you for a titlekey site or something... Lots of people seem to get this wrong as well. Enter one of the following and click on Ok
    * titlekeys.ovh
    * vault.titlekeys.ovh

    image-1617751320913.png

    If you get an error message after you click on Ok, Close USBHelper, reboot your PC and try again. If the same error is keeps coming up, join the Discord 

     
  4. Now it will prepare the ticket cache, this does take a while depending on your PC and Internet connection. Just wait for it to complete

    image-1617751329008.png


  5. It may ask you to allow the program through your Firewall. Click on Allow access

    image-1617751334670.png


  6. And there you go, USBHelper is installed and running

    image-1617751340354.png

- Setting Extra Regions

  1. Open USBHelper and go to the Filters tab

    image-1617751370166.png


  2. At the bottom of that page you will see 4 flags representing in order (left to right)
    * EUR (Europe)
    * USA (America)
    * JPN (Japan)
    * KOR (Korea)

    image-1617751376323.png


    Feel free to tick the ones that represent the games you want to find.

Authors Note: I generally tick all 4 of them to be able to search all regions. You can easily identify the game when you do.

- Setting The Filters

  1. Make your way to the Filters tab

    image-1617751370166.png

  2. Make your filters look like this

    image-1617751386366.png

This will filter out any

Developer's Note: There are no actual Wii titles on Wii U USB Helper. Other than injections.

Downloading a Game

- Searching for the game

(Optional) Search for your game using the search bar.

image-1617751454729.png

Note: The search isn't too accurate so the less keywords you use the better, so "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" would be "Zelda Breath Wild" 

- Adding it to the Queue

  1. Right-click the game and click on "Download Games"

    image-1617751461379.png


  2. (Optional) It may ask you if you want to download the Update (otherwise known as the Patch) and/or the DLC. You can select Yes or No. This is your own choice

    Note: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild REQUIRES at MINIMUM its "Day One" patch (which is v32 or v33 depending on region)

- Starting the Download

Press the Start downloading button

image-1617751467899.png

Finalising the process

- NUS Content (WUP) Output

You will need CFW (Custom Firmware) or "Sigpatches" to use

Most of you will be using Tiramisu, Mocha or Haxchi as your CFW so you won't need to use a sigpatch. See https://wiiu.hacks.guide for more information.

- - WiiU (Recommended)

If you want to Install the game on your WiiU, you can right click the game in your "Downloaded" list and click on "Copy to SD". This is probably what you want if your goal is to install it using WUP Installer.

image-1617751479355.png

You will need an SD card in your PC for this to work correctly

- - WiiU (Transfer Tool)

This uses FTP to copy the WUP to your SD card in your WiiU, this is a SLOW process (and I mean SLOW). It will be much faster to do it the recommended way

The Author has not used this tool before so there won't be any instructions here till I use it or am told the instructions, here is an archived link though

USBHelper Transfer Tool - Mega Link

- - PC

Right click the "Set Download Directory" folder, it will open your USBHelpers download folder.

image-1617538758987.png

From there, look through the folders to find what you want

- Raw Files Output

- - Setting an Extraction/Unpack folder

  1. Make a new folder, preferably in the folder you chose for your USBHelper downloads to be done (step 2 in First Run (After Installation or "Clearing")) and lets call it Unpacked Files.

  2. In USBHelper, LEFT CLICK on the Set extraction directory button at the bottom of the window

    image-1617751520755.png


  3. Navigate to that folder you made in Step 1 and click on Select Folder

- - Unpacking the data

Frequently Asked Questions

- USBHelper was discontinued right? How is it still working?

USBHelper was technically discontinued but USBHelperLauncher bypasses/disables the "killcode" and patches various other aspects of the program to allow it to work.

- Does USBHelper have a virus/miner?

Technically, it did contain a miner which could be ran (voluntarily) to get access to "donator" features (e.g. different themes). USBHelperLauncher disables it (and automatically enables "donator" features without having to mine/donate), in addition to the fact that the servers from which the miner was downloaded from have been offline for a while.

- Can I download 3DS games with it?

The answer is no. Nintendo patched the 3DS servers, which means 3DS titles can no longer be downloaded, no exceptions.
You can read more about it here: https://torrentfreak.com/nintendo-plugs-leak-that-provided-free-3ds-game-downloads-180823/

- I think I messed up my installation, can I reset it?

Yes, You can "Clear" you installation which resets your settings and configuration to the default state (like when you installed USBHelper for the first time) by doing the following

  1. Find the USBHelperLauncher Icon in the taskbar
  2. Right click it and go Advanced > Clear Install

    image-1617853128480.png

  3. From that you will need to go back up to First Run (After Installation or "Clearing")

Issues and possible fixes

- Issue: Old Driver error

If you have an error like this:

image-1627294051347.png

Stop using the "Play on PC" button and set up Cemu seperately. You will need to

  1. Follow the official Cemu Guide to set up Cemu > https://cemu.cfw.guide/#get-started
  2. Unpack your games
  3. Install your games to Cemu > https://cemu.cfw.guide/installing-games

- Issue: Text boxes are hidden, too big or things can't be found (like this)

image-1617539256862.png

Solution: You need to change your Screen scaling to 100%
Reason: USBHelper is not DPI aware

- Issue: USB Helper Launcher closes after Injecting... and nothing happens. There's no icon in the taskbar either. What do I do?

  1. Press Win+R
  2. Type %AppData% and press Enter
  3. Enter the folder named Microsoft
  4. Remove the folder named Crypto

- Issue: How do I get past USB Helper is preparing the ticket cache?

  1. Press Win+R
  2. Type %AppData% and press Enter
  3. Delete the folder named USB_HELPER
  4. Press Win+R
  5. Type %LocalAppData% and press Enter
  6. Delete the folder named Hikari06

- Issue: I am unsure what is going on. Can I make a log to post/view?

Yes you can, there are 2 methods of making a log.

- - Using the Task Bar Icon - Good if USBHelper is running
  1. Find the USBHelperLauncher Icon in the taskbar
  2. Right click on it and click on "Report Issue"

    image-1617766322650.png

  3. It will automatically copy a link to your clipboard which you can use to report to the USBHelperLauncher Discord

You can hold Shift and click on Report Issue to create a file version of the log

- - Using the --showconsole command line argument
  1. Navigate to your USBHelper install folder
  2. Open a command prompt by clicking in the address bar and typing cmd and pressing Enter
  3. Use the below command to output the console to a text file which you can inspect and/or post somewhere
USBHelperLauncher.exe --showconsole > console_log.txt

- Issue: Something isn't working. How can I export USB Helper's network traffic for debugging?

  1. Find the USBHelperLauncher Icon in the taskbar
  2. Right click on it, select "Advanced" and click "Export Sessions"
    K5K365t.png


Configuration (conf.json)

{
  "Launcher": {
    "HostsExpert": [internal] [bool] Don't show warnings about conflicting hosts in 'hosts.json',
    "ShowUpdateNag": [internal] [bool] Notify about updates to the launcher,
    "ShowTranslateNag": [internal] [bool] Ask to contribute translations to crowdin,
    "ShowHostsWarning": [internal] [bool] Warn if 'hosts.json' file doesn't exist,
    "ShowCloudWarning": [internal] [bool] Warn when cloudsave feature is used,
    "SessionBufferSize": [number] Number of requests to buffer for the session export feature,
    "SessionSizeLimit": [number] Maximum size of a single request in the buffer,
    "Locale": [internal] [string] Country code of selected language,
    "TranslationsBuild": [internal] [string] Last 'translations.zip' etag/version,
    "LastMessage": [internal] [string] ETag of last MOTD,
    "EndpointFallbacks": [internal] {
      "<endpoint name>": [string] Redirection target URL
    },
    "TitleKeys": {
      "wiiu": [string] WiiU titlekey url
    },
    "DoNotModify": [internal] [string] Used for detecting program version upgrades,
    "IPCType": [string] Type of connection used for communicating between launcher and injector (valid values: "TCP", "NamedPipe")
  },
  "Injector": {
    "DisableOptionalPatches": [bool] Disable optional patches (i.e. the patches that are not *required* for the program to work),
    "DisableTabs": [internal] [array of strings] Names of the tabs to be hidden in the UI,
    "MaxRetries": [number] Maximum number of download retries per file,
    "DelayBetweenRetries": [number] Milliseconds to delay after failed download before retrying,
    "Portable": [bool] Store application data in the launcher's directory instead of %appdata%/%localappdata%,
    "ForceHttp": [bool] Force HTTP instead of HTTPS for connections between USB Helper and the launcher,
    "NoFunAllowed": [bool] Disable 'fun' patches,
    - [The following options are only available in the current 0.18 beta] -
    "BackgroundMusic": [bool] Enable background music (can also be toggled inside application),
    "SplitUnpackDirectories": [bool] Split output directories into "Base Games" and "Updates and DLC" when unpacking,
    "DefaultFont": [string] Path to font used for ffplay
  }
}














Formats, Tools and Guides

Maschells Toolkit

This page contains information about the 3 tools I (the author) suggest for WiiU things

Prerequsites

JNUSTool

Functions
Cons
Pros
Usage
java -jar JNUSTool.jar titleID titleKey args

JWUDTool

Functions
Cons

Pros

JNUSLibDecryptor

Functions
Cons

Pros

Formats, Tools and Guides

FunkiiU/FunkiiUi

What is it?

FunkiiU (and FunkiiUi) is a NUSDownloader written in Python.

Requirements

How To

After you have installed Python

  1. Navigate to the folder you downloaded the script
  2. Open the command terminal
    • Windows
      • Click on the address bar in windows explorer and type cmd and press enter
    • Linux
      • ?
    • Mac
      • ?
  3.  

Running WiiU Software

Running WiiU Software

Emulation

You have 2 options

  1. Cemu
    • Pros:
      • Currently the best WiiU emulator out there
      • Has the best compatibility
      • Regular updates
    • Cons:
      • Closed source
  2. Decaf-Emu
    • Pros
      • Open Source
    • Cons
      • Still a work in progress

 

Now, if you want to use Cemu (which is recommended so far) you will want the following hardware.

If your PC passes the above checks, then you can get Cemu from https://cemu.info/ and follow the setup instructions at https://cemu.cfw.guide/installing-cemu

Running WiiU Software

Real Hardware

The soft-mod (CFW)

You will need to soft-mod your WiiU with a CFW of your choice. Please follow the guide at https://wiiu.hacks.guide for more information.

Getting the game to your WiiU

Just putting it on your SD card

Your files/WUP will need to be under SD:/install/GameName/*.* so, for example Breath of the Wild will be under something like the following:

SD:/ is the letter assigned to your SD card, so if your SD card is G then it would be G:/

If you need to manually create the install folder, make sure it is all lower case

The game name must contain no unicode/special characters. All ASCII characters and brackets are ok (so like []())

Using USBHelper

USBHelper has a handy "Copy to SD" button built into it, so you don't need to follow the above steps.

*Via FTP

*Via the WiiU Transfer Tool

Installing the game

Just use WUPInstaller GX2 while CFW (Mocha or Haxchi) is active.

Translated Pages

This chapter will contain all the pages that have been community translated. Editors/Contributors, Please link to the original page at the top of your translation and add a link to the top of the English one.

Links to Hardware Mods and other shit

Teensy WiiU Unbrick Guide > https://gbatemp.net/threads/guide-kaflukes-hardmod-cbhc-unbrick-guide.476725/

Raspberry Pi WiiU Unbrick Guide > https://lazr1026.github.io/unbrick/

SLC NAND (K9K8G08U1D) Datasheet > K9F4G-08U0D.pdf

Bit-banging a TSOP-48 NAND Flash with the RPi > https://forums.raspberrypi.com/viewtopic.php?t=16775

WiiUBrew info page > https://wiiubrew.org/wiki/Hardware/TSOP_NAND

Pin-out for Raspberry Pi's >