WiiKey say upgrade is on the way, won't block Clones

[Zeus]

With a new flood of Wiikey clones being available from just <A href="http://www.divineo.cn/php/affstart.php?affcode=66623&prod=wii-wkeyc" target="_Blank">$7.95</a>, a number of people thought that perhaps Wiikey would not release any form of new upgrade as a result. Well today they have posted that the upgrade is nearly finished and they will not make any attempt to brick clones.



We have received a lot of questions on the coming update lately.

The upgrade is now near completion. It has been delayed due to a few factors; the base system disc took longer than expected to complete, and there have been a few unexpected issues that are currently being worked on.

Making the update incompatible with clones is NOT one of those issues, though. We would also like to clarify that we do not intend to brick or render clones inoperable.


Official Website: <a href="http://www.wiikey.cn" target="_blank">Wiikey.cn</a>

[dipswitch]

Wow breaking news :rolleyes:

[odinfire]

Eh... they're liars. The moderators at the "offical" site stated that clone kill was the sole reason they would not release an update. I would believe the moderators over the Wiikey team any day. On the other hand, they simply may not have been able to block clones period, so they gave up, OR they intend to let their first update be clean, and nail clones on the second. Of course this is all pending an update to begin with.

IF they actually do release an update, which I still doubt, people with clones need to hold off installing it for a few days until results come in. DONT TRUST THE WIIKEY TEAM. THEY HAVENT EARNED IT YET.

[diablos30]

why dont you give the "team wiikey is a bunch of liars" drum a rest troll.

[odinfire]

why dont you give the "team wiikey is a bunch of liars" drum a rest troll.

I have no comment other than... wise up.

[kristijan08]

glad ya managed to fit another plug for divineo there, not that i usually care, but when you openly advocate a clone thats just plain annoying, the xeno team are great and they deserve their revenue! its annoying people go out of their way to buy clones... like the real thing is so expensive :/

[DaddyLongLegs]

Real smart of maxconsole to promote clones, with the fact that the WiiKey team is releasing an update that will, for them, unfortunately work for clones, depsite the fact that WiiKey could have said "**** it" and not release an update at all.

Idiots.

[rnelson1415]

glad ya managed to fit another plug for divineo there...Quoted for truth

[jaxxster]

Its sad that they cant block clones because now maxconsole and divineo win and get to make more money from ripping of a company. Not that this is new because maxconsole rip loads of people off....like the other day with the wii bios news which they ripped off from tehskeen and didnt bother giving credit too.

Of course this post will get deleted in due time because maxconsole cant stand the truth. Yet again, shame that maxconsole/divineo get to keep making money of selling clones.

[Viewsat]

Their news post of 07.03.20 said they would be blocking the update from working on clones but I guess they have given up. This is bad news for all the resellers who still have legitimate and now over priced wiikey in stock as everyone will just buy the $8 clones from Divineo. I guess the wiikey team decided to support the end user instead of the reseller. :D

[Dazimus]

Eh... they're liars. The moderators at the "offical" site stated that clone kill was the sole reason they would not release an update. I would believe the moderators over the Wiikey team any day. On the other hand, they simply may not have been able to block clones period, so they gave up, OR they intend to let their first update be clean, and nail clones on the second. Of course this is all pending an update to begin with.

IF they actually do release an update, which I still doubt, people with clones need to hold off installing it for a few days until results come in. DONT TRUST THE WIIKEY TEAM. THEY HAVENT EARNED IT YET.

C'mon man, you're getting boring now. Even when the Wiikey team confirm the update, you still go on? Give it a rest eh?

[rnelson1415]

Their news post of 07.03.20 said they would be blocking the update from working on clones but I guess they have given up. This is bad news for all the resellers who still have legitimate and now over priced wiikey in stock as everyone will just buy the $8 clones from Divineo. I guess the wiikey team decided to support the end user instead of the reseller. :D
They said in the most recent update that the update would be incompatible with clones but they don't intend to brick them or make them inoperable.

[Viewsat]

They said in the most recent update that the update would be incompatible with clones but they don't intend to brick them or make them inoperable.

Yes but their previous news post on 07.03.20 said they would be making all effort to block the update from working with clones. I guess they finally decided that the users were tired of waiting and dropped this plan. It is good for the users of the chip but not the the shops who only sold real wiikey as now they are stuck with over priced chips. Everyone will just buy the $8 clones from Divineo now that they know the updates are still going to work.

On the other side of that, note that they only said they would not brick or make inoperable the clones. They did not say that the update would work on them. ;)

[foundmy]

I guess i read it differently.

so i took it as they have some unexpected issues they are currently working on, but making the update incompatible with the clones is not one of those UNEXPECTED issues that has delayed their release. meaning that issue has been dealt with as they took care of that issue.

but then they go one to say they are not going to write code into the clones to brick them or make them unusable but just not updating them.

and yes, I hope when the cyclo-wiz clones come out or WiiD clones that we hear about how divineo will sell those clones too on any PR stuff for those products. (I am totally shocked that divineo is selling clones, i mean real, i mean clones, i get that confused alot lately from them).

[Viewsat]

I guess i read it differently.

so i took it as they have some unexpected issues they are currently working on, but making the update incompatible with the clones is not one of those UNEXPECTED issues that has delayed their release. meaning that issue has been dealt with as they took care of that issue.

You are right. It does appear to be carefully worded. It is possible that the upcoming update will not work on clones but will not brick or make them inoperable. Very clever wording by the wiikey team. ;)

[S_E]

Real smart of maxconsole to promote clones, with the fact that the WiiKey team is releasing an update that will, for them, unfortunately work for clones, depsite the fact that WiiKey could have said "**** it" and not release an update at all.

Idiots.

It didn't say the update would work with clones...
What I read was:
"we do not intend to brick or render clones inoperable."

technically that dosent mean the update will work on the clones, the clones might just act as if the update didnt even happen or something. But that is a long shot concidering some clones claim to be 1:1 so it'd be pretty hard to bypass that... but good luck for the team and I applaude them if they can do it.

[Dom29]

it really pisses me off that they might brick peoples wii's in future updates, or make the chip inoperable, because it takes a bit of work to put these chips on the wii, and if this is true (that they might make the clone chips inoperable) its very bad advertising by diveneo, and im sure many people arent gonna be happy

(diveneo quote) " Attention: This is a clone product, with same specifications as the original but this is not an original Wiikey, however price is much lower. Sophisticated (true) update mechanism via DVD (future proof, expect cool features to come "

i understand this is just copyed off the proper wiikeys specifications, but its still being used to advertise the clone wiikey, which ive just bought lol, false advertising?

[wiggim]

Its an Atmega8 chip... this is not a high security application chip.. I dont' think its possible to block the firmware updates on any chip.. in essence, we should be able to update any atmega8-based wii chip with this firmware, provided we have same configuration as wiikey does. (DVD update trigger, extra point, same pins to TSSP, etc)

[halomasta203]

It seems as if the update will work on both the origional and the clone, but I guess we'll just wait and see.

[{{909}}]

they would definetly not make the chips inoperable or brick the wii, it would destroy their company image instantly. There are probably 1000's of people using a clone who think it is a real one, if they went to download an official update and their wii or chip stopped working we would see a flood of people bad mouthing the wiikey team.
the only think they could possibly want to do is prevent the clones from being updated, but at the end of the day the averae user probably isnt bothered that a handful of old cube games dont work.

[swolgam]

So even if they could brick wii's, they wouldn't because with so many sites selling clones as real, people wouldn't risk buying their chips knowing that what they thought was real was actually a clone and the wiikey update bricked their system. It would be a WRONG move by wiikey and probably enough to take them out of the wii mod scene all together.

I know i was duped into buying a clone with which i thought was real and if wiikey posted an update to render wii's useless because of clone, well guess what..no money from me ever xeno

[soussi]

i think the update won't work with the clones chips eventho they are clones... well we will c how things will go.

[SpanKie]

Well, I would be one pissed off muther fraker if they don't block the clones. That would mean those who paid $40 for these have been ripped off. Now our $40 chips are worth $10 if that.

I will no long support this chip as and install option ... cause its a rip off!!!

[odinfire]

Ya'all need to start reading up on FTA threads in the satellite community about clones. They are all over the place there. Should Wiikey release an update, it may or may not "Brick" clones. We can only speculate at this point. There will be a few that try to update their clones immediately upon release... Hence, you will see posts to that affect. If you own a clone (which I do not), you should wait for any preliminary results posted on forums before updating. For that matter, genuine Wiikey owners should probably wait a bit as well. Im tellin ya... clone kill code is not a nice way to go. It can backfire.

What I can virtually guarantee is that like FTA, if clone kill, clone disabling, or non-updating is introduced in the first update, a week or two later (if not sooner) the code will be cracked and a third party will release a clone fix.

Whoever is developing and selling the clones will have a vested interest in it. Apparently, someone had it in for the Wiikey team to begin with... that is aside from all the customers they deceived at Wiikey's release.

In FTA, Viewsat killed quite a few clones (and some genuine receivers) and the receivers needed reprogrammed using what is called a Jtag. Most had to build them or buy them seperately. While I highly doubt Wii's will get bricked, I do think that clone manufacturers will ultimately come out with the same updates as the original team. Again, assuming Wiikey actually does update.

SO... What is the penalty for owning a clone if Wiikey team is able to block them?

Most likely, the only penalty would be updates that would come a bit later after a second crew disassembles the original code and deletes the clone disabling. There is the off chance that no third party team will work on clone code updates, but its unlikely. Cant keep selling clones if they dont work. Its the way its always been in FTA and I see no reason why it would be any different here.

My overall point when I started bitching about clones and clone kill to begin with is that it truly is a crappy way for a company to go. It confuses customers, sometimes has consequences for legitimate users, as the code sometimes disables them in addition to clones (remember when electronics are manufactured on a line, all sorts of small variances can happen), and in the long run going after clones this way has limited effect. Just like FTA, the "good" or "decent" coders and manufacturers stay away from bothering with clones or kill code. They know their brand is good enough to sell to begin with, clones or no clones.

All I know is that another company in the FTA scene (Coolsat), recently introduced clone kill code in their updates, ever since, original Coolsat products have been quirky. Personally, if you are still shopping for a modchip for Wii, buy something else. Save yourself the headaches of having to deal with this.

It is the petty minded coders and manufacturers that always go to clone kill code. In other words, its not really ethical even by the standards within the underground scene.

Wouldn't ya rather have just bought a product without these issues? Seriously.

[Sebastian25]

ill believe it when i see it and it actually works the way it was suppose to

[Sousanator]

...
Wouldn't ya rather have just bought a product without these issues? Seriously.
i do know a thing or two about fta clones,
but that didn’t stop me from getting a nonclone fta.
it is difficult to notice the difference, but there are some noticable differences,

the wiikey is the same thing, you just need to see the difference between the clone and real one

i haven’t had any issues, and the only headache i get from it is from you bashing the wiikey with empty words.

Im proud i bought a wiikey.

[Viewsat]

In FTA, Viewsat killed quite a few clones (and some genuine receivers) and the receivers needed reprogrammed using what is called a Jtag. Most had to build them or buy them seperately. While I highly doubt Wii's will get bricked, I do think that clone manufacturers will ultimately come out with the same updates as the original team. Again, assuming Wiikey actually does update.

If you follow the update instructions properly your legitimate box will not be killed. Too many users do not look at the readme and forget to flash factory bin before new.

[Xenogears V]

Funny!, War's chip!.:p :D

[Dom29]

i emailed divineo to get some clarifaction about the chips specs, and some of the problems we might forsee with future updates and they said this

(divineo china)

"Hi,

We suppose that the wiikey clone is just same like the wiikey original and
it can upgrade later. Here is the news posted at the official site : Making
the update incompatible with clones is NOT one of those issues, though. We
would also like to clarify that we do not intend to brick or render clones
inoperable.

Best regards,
Divineo CN"


so doesnt really tell me much just stuff i already know, but oh well :)

[gonepostl]

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/599/maxkuntzlpromotessellintc1.gif
Who here gets the joke!?:p

[siotus]

"Making the update incompatible with clones is NOT one of those issues, though. We would also like to clarify that we do not intend to brick or render clones inoperable."


I like the way maxconsole leaves out the fact that they aren't having issues making the update incompatible with clones. It clearly states, it they've stated before many times, the update will not be able to work with clones, but that said they don't intend to brick the clones and/or wiis with clones installed in them.


Nice plug too.

[JarjarXG]

Ironic. Clone or not... we're still trying to play "back-ups". Who's ripping off who of their revenue? Nintendo releases updates that MAY or may not brick our wiikeys (clone or original). But so far, nintendo hasn't. I think xeno/wiikey team should follow the nintendo example and do the same.

[dave3533]

I also think it is hilarious that everyone is so up in arms about pirated Wiikey clones, yet they have no qualms with ripping Nintendo off....Yes there are legal reasons for a Wiikey but I bet only 1 person in 1000 who buys a Wiikey uses it for those legal purposes.

Also, about them deciding not to try to brick Wiikey clones, think of it this way:

Say you buy a clone chip, knowing full well it is a clone. Wiikey team releases an update that bricks your clone chip. Are you going to turn right around and buy an official Wiikey? Hell no, you're going to say "F U Wiikey" and buy a Cyclowiz or other...so what would they be accomplishing? They still get recognition when someone says "WIIKEY clone"....

[11111]

Say you buy a clone chip, knowing full well it is a clone. Wiikey team releases an update that bricks your clone chip. Are you going to turn right around and buy an official Wiikey? Hell no, you're going to say "F U Wiikey" and buy a Cyclowiz or other...so what would they be accomplishing? They still get recognition when someone says "WIIKEY clone"....

hmm i dont know if i can agree with that.....but it's 5am here and i'm too lazy to think. bye for now.

[Dom29]

do you think if the updates arent compatable with the clones in the future we will be able to use the opensource modchip firmware with it? is it possible?

[madridi4ever]

umm hey guys a little clarification please..

I got my wii yesterday and I ordered wiikey and its on its way..
does the chip have some kind of an upgrade (same as wii firmware upgrade), or is the upgrade mentioned here means that its a NEW chip

well.. I'm a newb to the wii scene so I would appreciate the help..

P.S .. would it matter if I upgraded my firmware? mine is 2.0U ..

[goombakid]

I also think it is hilarious that everyone is so up in arms about pirated Wiikey clones, yet they have no qualms with ripping Nintendo off....Yes there are legal reasons for a Wiikey but I bet only 1 person in 1000 who buys a Wiikey uses it for those legal purposes.

So true.

Anyway, has anyone even thought that someone might be able to modify the update to work with clones? I mean, look at it: According to QoobChip.com (http://qoobchip.com/faq.php), the original Qoob BIOS could not play backups, yet a group out there hacked that BIOS to allow backup play. Then there's the PSP CFW, WiiFree, OpenWii, etc. that stemmed from other projects, and so on.

I'm sure there's gonna be one person out there that is willing to break down the coding and have it work for every clone out there.

Anyway, if the Wiikey update kills my "clone" Wiikey, then I still have WiiFree/YAOSM to fall back on...which, at this point, I'm well considering.

[Xboxmodder999]

So true.

Anyway, has anyone even thought that someone might be able to modify the update to work with clones? I mean, look at it: According to QoobChip.com (http://qoobchip.com/faq.php), the original Qoob BIOS could not play backups, yet a group out there hacked that BIOS to allow backup play. Then there's the PSP CFW, WiiFree, OpenWii, etc. that stemmed from other projects, and so on.

I'm sure there's gonna be one person out there that is willing to break down the coding and have it work for every clone out there.

Anyway, if the Wiikey update kills my "clone" Wiikey, then I still have WiiFree/YAOSM to fall back on...which, at this point, I'm well considering.
The Qoob team is the one that released the versions of the bios that played backups. They just said that on thier website, and had that version for legal reasons.

[goombakid]

The Qoob team is the one that released the versions of the bios that played backups. They just said that on thier website, and had that version for legal reasons.

Thanks for the info. Seriously didn't know that....anyway...

But still, cracking and hacking the Wiikey's update may be possible. We'll just wait and see.

[tanooki]

hmm i dont know if i can agree with that.....but it's 5am here and i'm too lazy to think. bye for now.

Then why even post this worthless ****?

[redsquirrell]

actually yeah i remember about that qoob chip, i had to run another firmware update for the chip to enable backup. even though i hardly used them as i have 50+ Gc games..

[whackawookie]

The Qoob team is the one that released the versions of the bios that played backups. They just said that on thier website, and had that version for legal reasons.

i'm lost in the arguement so I can only say this, cobra released the first bios to play backup games. cobra then had the no swap bios in development and then the bios leaked and then the qoob was announced. this had cobra believing there bios was being used for this chip but cobra then apologized. the point is cobra was first then qoob and then the no swap bios was pretty much released on both chips at the same time. Its no surprise though that cobra was the team to start everything off, it took years for a first chip to come out then all the sudden another chip came out. its no coincidence

[*StoneCold*]

i'm lost in the arguement so I can only say this, cobra released the first bios to play backup games. cobra then had the no swap bios in development and then the bios leaked and then the qoob was announced. this had cobra believing there bios was being used for this chip but cobra then apologized. the point is cobra was first then qoob and then the no swap bios was pretty much released on both chips at the same time. Its no surprise though that cobra was the team to start everything off, it took years for a first chip to come out then all the sudden another chip came out. its no coincidence

Nope, the no swap was released on the Qoob 1st then it was cobra.

[whackawookie]

Nope, the no swap was released on the Qoob 1st then it was cobra.

actually the no swap bios was in hands before the qoob because the no swap cobra 1.0 was released the day qoob arrived at retailers so nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh :D