How To Surf The Internet on Your Nintendo Wii

Your Nintendo Wii is not just an excellent gaming console in which you enjoy your favorite games, but this same gaming console can be efficiently utilized to surf the internet also. 

Here is how you can access the internet from your Nintendo Wii

Preparing for installation

Before you start, ensure you have gathered all the supplies that you need for the purpose of installation:

  • The first thing you need is a Wii Console with an internet connection

  • The second is optional, but will come handy at times is a USB keyboard; a USB keyboard will be very useful when you want to use your Nintendo Wii to surf the internet 

If not using a keyboard you will have to use a remote to click on alphabets via a virtual keyboard. You can even use a wireless keyboard, or something a Wii specific keyboard also such as Logitech. 

Wii Internet Channel Web Browser

The second step is to install the Wii Internet Channel Web Browser on your gaming console. Simply follow these steps:

  • Go to the home screen and select the Wii Shopping Channel, and select START

  • Next select Start Shopping, and from here select Wii Channels button

  • Scroll down to Internet Channel and download the channel

  • Once the download is complete select OK and come back to the Wii Menu

  • Now you Wii Menu will display this new Internet Channel that you have recently downloaded

Internet Channel

From the Wii Menu, select the Internet Channel and select Start, this action will now enable the Wii browser. This browser is the Wii version of Opera Browser. 

The window in front of you which is displaying the start page will have three buttons; one of the buttons is to help you out in searching for something over the internet, the second is to input a web address and the third is the Favourites button which will contain the list of all your bookmarked websites. 

You will also see a picture of the Wii remote in the same screen towards its right end, and selecting this picture will inform you all about the functions of these three buttons. 

Start Surfing

Once you start surfing you will automatically come to know about the other features the Wii browser has to offer. For example, when you visit a website, a toolbar at the bottom of the page will be displayed (if you have not intentionally changed its default settings), and when you will take your mouse over a button present on the tool-bar, a pop-up text will be displayed, which will inform you what purpose the button serves. 

You can also take the help of the operational guide that will provide you with all the details required for the browser and its toolbar settings. 

You can also navigate through various pages using the Wii remote. The button A on your Wii remote will perform the same functions that the right click of your mouse will do. 

By holding the button B and moving the remote, it will scroll the page up and down. The + and - can be used to zoom in and zoom out a page. By pressing the button 2 you can actually toggle between a normal display and a display in which the whole content is displayed in a columnar form, which is good when you are looking at some elaborately formatted website. 

You can even set the toolbar to Button Toggle, from the settings and then by pressing the button 1, you can easily toggle the toolbar on and off. 

Improvise your settings

It’s not just the above-mentioned features that the Wii browser has in its fold, rather you can tweak in various other features as per your requirement. 

  • Zoom: the Wii browser provides two zoom settings, a manual and an automatic one. You can easily zoom in and out by using the plus and minus buttons present on the remote. But you can also “Smooth” select the same. When done so, when you zoom in, the text will come towards or will increase in size until you let go of the button. 

Whereas with its automatic zoom feature, by simply pressing the plus button, all the text present will be displayed in the size which was actually selected by you by hovering over the mouse. 

  • Search Engine: you can also choose among Google or Yahoo and set anyone as your default search engine

  • Delete Cookies: you can also delete cookies easily in the Wii browser and erase all your browsing history

  • Toolbar: you can even tweak the toolbar of your Wii Browser very easily. the Always display option implies that the toolbar will be visible at all times, Auto-Hide implies that the toolbar will disappear when you move the cursor off of it and will appear again when you move the cursor on it. By enabling the Button Toggle, you can easily turn on and off the toolbar by simply pressing the button 1 on your remote. 

  • Adjust Display: these features enable you to adjust the width of the browser. 

  • Proxy Settings: proxy settings are very advanced features and most of the Wii users will actually never need it. 

Once you have connected the Wii console to an internet connection, it will always suggest you perform a system update. Thus it is always good to first update your software before moving on.

Michael G

Michael is a self-taught writer, editor, and software developer who has a passion for content that is carefully tailored to add value to the lives of any who interact with it through any medium. He is a Nigerian from the oil-rich Delta State.

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