Step 1: Go to the Wii Shop Channel on your Internet-connected Wii. Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET Step 2: Download the Amazon Instant Video app. Exit the Wii Shop Channel and return to the Wii Menu after it’s been installed. If you downloaded it to system memory, you’ll see the new Netflix channel even with no disc inserted in the device. If you installed the channel to the SD Card, you’ll have to click on the SD Card below to switch to that menu and then you’ll find your new app.
With the Nintendo Switch recently getting a YouTube app and people curious about when the console will get Netflix, it’s easy to forget that a previous Nintendo console included the ability to watch Netflix. That console? The original Wii.
Sadly, it looks like Nintendo is ending that functionality in the coming months.
According to emails sent out to some Netflix subscribers that stream through the Nintendo Wii, the service will come to an end in January 2019.
I just got a new Wii for my sister, who wants it to play games and watch Netflix. I set my country as Canada (which is the truth), and opened the Wii shop channel, but Netflix doesn't show up under the list of channels. On my old Wii Netflix does show up. I tried copying netflix from old Wii onto an SD card, then putting that in the new Wii. Click 'OK' to return to the Wii Shop Channel and then click 'Wii Menu' in the lower-left corner of the Wii Shop Channel. Click the Netflix channel that now appears on your Wii home screen. A message appears with an activation code that tells you to open a Web browser on a computer that's connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your Nintendo Wii.
Unfortunately, Nintendo will suspend all video streaming services on Wii—including the Netflix Channel—after January 31, 2019. We hope you’ll soon enjoy an even better Netflix experience with additional features on a supported device. Please visit netflix.com/wii for our device list.
What does Netflix mean by an “an even better experience?”
While some people think that line is some sort of obscure hint to an upcoming Nintendo Switch Netflix app, that is most likely not the case. Instead, it is probably referring to the resolution that the 12-year-old console can provide.
With the Wii, the best streaming resolution you can get is 480p. On newer TVs, this resolution can be extremely off-putting and with streaming devices like Roku available for less than $100, upgrading your streaming device shouldn’t put too much of a strain on the wallet.
How To Add Netflix Channel On Wii U
That being said, hopefully, Nintendo is still entertaining a Netflix app on its console, but time will tell on that.
Netflix On Wii Ending
Are you upset to hear about the Wii support being ended? Let us know in the comments below.
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