Minimalist-H1

Up until now the only way to install homebrew on your Nintendo Wii running System Menu 4.3 was to utilise exploits found in certain games but now the clever people at HackMii has developed a new method called LetterBomb (in honour of BannerBomb). 

Simply put, this method exploits the messageboard on the Wii and requires only and SD card and the Wii's MAC address - found by going into Wii Settings -> Internet -> Console Settings.  Enter the MAC address on http://please.hackmii.com/, download the package and unzip to the SD card, browse to "yesterday" in the Wii's messageboard with the SD card insert and click on the envelope standing out.  Easy peasy and no need for game or exploit hunting!

This exploits works on 4.3e, 4.3u, 4.3j and 4.3k system menus, and even bundles the HackMii boot.dol into the package for total convenience.

Haven't played the Wii for a little while and thought I'd give Smurfs Dance Party a go only to find that I couldn't load it off the USB hard drive.  Trying different IOS to load it, the best I could manage was getting the initial screen showing the Wii remote followed by a black screen and a frozen Wii.  Then I remembered the updated cIOS I mentioned in August that I had meant to install and hadn't - 5 mins later after a quick download using ModMii and the Wii was up-to-date with the v6 cIOS (again using 249 base 56 and 250 base 57), as well as the latest releases of Hermes cIOS for 202,222,223 and 224 slots.  Started up Configurable USB Loader, selected Smurfs Dance Party and BINGO!  No black screen, no problems! 

So as promised, albeit a little late, the cIOS rev21d2x-v6 release has been tested and seems to be a significant update.  I recommend you install these if you haven't already.

Not quite sure when it happened as it slipped past me while I was busy creating my sister site on the Wii-U - http://www.thewiiu.co.uk - but v6 of the d2x custom IOS is available and can be downloaded using ModMii (you've probably already downloaded it if you've followed my guide recently).

The most significant improvement of this release over v5 is the addition of new features such as IOS Reload block for DVD/USB/SD and fraglist support.

"With the IOS Reload Block feature and the new fraglist support games compatibility is now about 100%.
It means you can now play through USB/SD all problematic games like CSI series, Call of Duty 3, Spliter Cell Double Agent and others that previously were not supported.
Also, other less problematic games like Metroid Prime Trilogy are now fully playable without any restrictions.
Finally alt.dol method is now useless and when resetting a game you'll get the expected behavior.
Further information inside the spoiler."

Although I haven't installed them myself yet (only discovering them tonight) I'll be updating to them as soon as I can and testing games such as MPT.

The full changelog can be found here.

With the release of LetterBomb, it is safe to update to System Menu 4.3 without the need for a game to run the HackMii Installer.  With this in mind I have included the LetterBomb method in my guide and removed the instructions of using any game exploits - the Bannerbomb method still remains incase of System 4.2 and lower.  I have still left a copy of the 'full' guide in the Softmodding and Homebrewing section of the Guides menu incase anybody needs it, which also includes the addition on the LetterBomb exploit.

The Softmod Quick Guide has also been update to include the LetterBomb exploit, still being a cut down version of the main guide with just the basic steps for reference.

ModMii, formerly known as NUS Auto-Downloader, is a clever PC application that is able to download all the files needed to modify any Wii (4.3U/E/J anad below, and 4.2K and below).  It can automatically download cIOS and homebrew applications used in modding the Wii placing them automatically into the correct folder struction on the SD card, USB or local folder depending on what is specified.  ModMii can be used to download the odd couple of files or everything you need to hack a virgin Wii (or rehack) by following a simple wizard that creates a tailored guide for your Wii.

ModWii is text menu driven but is very well laid out and self-explanatory.  For a full guide to ModMii check out its main page on GBAtemp - http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=207126

However, I recommend that you only use ModMii as a one stop application for downloading cIOSs and modding apps, following the guide on this site to perform the actual hack.  Although following the wizard may seem easier I find it best to download everything manually so you know what exactly is being installed and what version, making it easier for troubleshoot and updating.

Parts to note:

Page 2 - Multi Mod Manager - a collection of tools for modding the Wii, including Wad Manager capable of performing a batch installation of WAD files
Page 2 - Exploits - Simple access to downloading available exploits including BannerBomb, Bathaxx, Return of the Jodi, Idiana Pwns, Smash Stack, YU-GI-OH and the original Twilight Hack.
Page 4 - cIOS - Downloads for all the available cIOS including the latest cIOS21 revisions - recommend 249d2x56 and 250d2x57, which installs into slots 249 and 250 using base 56 and 57 respectively.

Bathaxx, released by Team Twiizers & lewurm , is a safe way to hack the Wii using a found exploit of the Lego Batman game, just another addition to the growing list of expoitable Lego games.

The softmodding guide has been updated to include the Bathaxx hack and can viewed here.

Return of the Jodi, released by Team Twiizers & roto, is a safe way to hack the Wii using a newly found exploit of the original Lego Star Wars game as well as the newer (1.01) release (NTSC and PAL) all through one masterfully crafted savegame file.

This gives an additional way to hack a Wii with System Menu 4.3, hopefully without paying extortionate prices for the game (lookup Lego Indiana Jones on Ebay).

The softmodding guide has been updated to include the Return of the Jodi hack and can viewed here.

Eri HaKawai is a safe way to enable homebrew on a Wii and is achieved by playing a hacked game save for "Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World".  It's another exploit thanks to Team Twiizers and Giantpune.

The softmodding guide has been updated to include the Eri HaKawa hack and can viewed here.

cIOSX rev21 by Waninkoko is out now (well, was out 28th December).

- Added support for IOS58.
- Added support for IOS58 EHCI module (more compatibility).
- NAND emulator fixed (most stuff should work now).
- Many fixes and improvements.

DOWNLOAD: http://filetrip.net/g35131033-cIOS-Installer.html

I've installed this without issue, and even had troublesome games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops running on IOS249 with it.  As with the previous version you can install into multiple slots and I recommend installing IOS249 with base 56.  This time I have tried installing IOS250 with base 57, but you can still use 38 if you find it works better.  Also, if you are using Configurable USB Loader v63 introduced extra slot support so you can now install more cIOS if you need to (but I'd just stick with the two).

Korean IOS Update

September the 8th saw Nintendo releasing another small update to the shopping channel.  This update also installs the missing Korean IOSs (such as IOS41) that was downloaded and used by DOP-Mii to restore the Trucha Bug.  Since they are now present, Dop-Mii is unable to replace them with a patched version.

This leaves two consequences:

Today has been a busy day, and following some loading problems with a few older games that worked previously I spent most of it troubleshooting my softmod and loader configuration.  I decided to try reinstalling my custom IOSs using Hermes v5 only (not 5.1) and cIOSx rev20 (not 20b), but when researching the differences I stumbled across Configurable USB Loader.  I had seen it before but never paid much attention to it.  Now I thought, let's give it a go!

If you fancy the look of the gamertags available to PSN and XBOX360, http://www.wiinner.com offers something similar on the Wii.  Sign up to the site and you get a unique code which you can use to refer to your new gamertag.  Since Wii games do not provide achievements or trophies for playing this tag only displays you currenty gameplay titles, but nevertheless is a step forward in my opinion.  I especially like that this site (there are others) allows you to link your account to you Facebook or Twitter page to share you gameplay info.

Also released is Waninkoko's cIOS Installer rev20, although rev21 is on it's way too.  This revision introduces the ability to install IOSs to multiple slots, such as IOS249 with base 56 and IOS250 with base 38.  IOS56 is the best choice at the moment as it has the speed of IOS57 and the compatibility of IOS37.  I only installed to slot IOS250 as a redundancy.

Hermes cIOS Installer 5.1 is out, although the only significant change is the recoding, no extra functionality has been introduced.

HackMii Installer 0.8 has been released, which installs the Homebrew Channel 1.0.8 and BootMii beta6.  What is so significant is that as long as you install/update to it, you can update to System Menu 4.3 without fear of removal.

HBC 1.0.8 can be installed on System Menu 4.2 or lower using the Bannerbomb exploit or updated via an automatic promt in the HBC itself.  I recommend you update if planning on using 4.3 or not as it also adds extra functionality such as theming and USB2 support.  Alternatively, if you are already on 4.3 you can still use one of the other exploits to install HBC 1.0.8 and once again softmod you Wii.  It is important to update to HBC 1.0.8 PRIOR to updating from 4.2 to 4.3