Powering Off a Wii Inquiry
 

Please forgive the question if its been asked/answered before. I did a search for both "power" and "off" associated with Nintendo Wii's but didnt find a whole lot to go on.

I only received my Wii yesterday, so my training wheels are still on. According to the materials provided your Wii has three (3) "power" options:

Green: On
Orange: Standby -- WiiConnect24 On
Red: Standby -- WiiConnect24 Off

I am wanting to know how one actually turns the unit completely off.

I was pressing the power button last night and all I did was cycle through the green and red phases. I dont think I'll see an orange color because my unit is not connected to the internet.

Any light that can be shed on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

There is a setting in the Wii System Menu that decides whether WiiConnect is on or off. This is the difference between going to a red or orange light when you power off the system.

As far as I remember, WiiConnect was on by default when I first got the Wii last November.

A red light should indicate the system is completely off.

Also, if you do have WiiConnect defaulting to on, you can still hold the button in on the console until the light turns red.

I don't know if having your Wii connected to the internet has anything to do with it, but normally to get it in Standby mode, you either hold down the Power button on the remote control for 2-3 seconds, or tap the Power button on the system itself briefly. To get it to turn completely off you have to hold down the Power button on the system for 3-5 seconds.

A word of warning though, many people (myself included) have had issues with the Wii in Stand By mode. The issue being that because it's on Standby Mode, and Wii Connect is constantly on, checking for updates and email, the processor stays on and it gets hot, and since the fan isn't running there's no way to cool it down. This has caused issues for many people since the heat will hurt the Wii, causing video artifacting. I noticed the artifacts after I hadn't played my Wii in over 3 months, and it never went away. I had to take advantage of my service plan at GameStop to get a new one. I keep WiiConnect on still, but I always make sure to get up and power it down completely now.

Tap the power button, it goes to orange. The Wii is on standby, receiving WiiConnect messages as needed.

Hold it, it turns red. The Wii is off.

If you don't want it to draw power, you have to disconnect it.