What to do when your Wii is not reading discs

The holidays are approaching and that means digging up that retro Nintendo® console out of the back of the closet for family game night at your parents’ house. One problem: you keep getting a game disc error. 

Press pause on the hunt for a new gaming console. At uBreakiFix® by Asurion, we take care of your tech—from protection to repairs—and have the know-how to get your console back in the game. Here’s how you can get your Wii to read game discs again. 

Take a look at the disc

Start by checking the disc for smudges or scratches. Use a soft microfiber cloth to clean it. Unfortunately, not even the softest cloth can take care of scratches. If you find a prominent scratch, you can try to fix it with a CD scratch repair kit. You can also try cleaning the Wii lens—the part that reads the disc inside the console—with a specialized Wii lens cleaning kit. 

Don’t have a lens cleaning kit? You can bring your gaming console to your local uBreakiFix® by Asurion store for a deep cleaning.  

It’s not game over—yet

If your console stops working, we’ll handle the repairs. Make an appointment, or visit your nearest store today.

Schedule a repair

Determine if it’s a dual-layer disc

Some older Wii consoles have trouble reading dual-layer discs, which pack more information onto the disc to accommodate games with bigger data files, like Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Xenoblade Chronicles. Researching whether the game giving you grief is a dual-layer disc can be the answer to why your Wii won’t read discs.

Check for system software updates

The last thing you can try is a software update. We recommend this if your Wii is having trouble playing all game discs. Updating your system’s software ensures that the problem isn’t a software glitch. 

To do an update, your console has to be connected to Wi-Fi. Then, follow these steps:

1. From the Wii Menu, select the Wii button.
2. Select Wii Settings.
3. Using the arrow on the right side of the screen, move over to the third page and select Wii System Update.
4. Select Yes. Then, select I accept. If an update is available, it'll be downloaded and installed automatically.