How to Move Homebrew Apps to the Wii Menu

By Alan Donahue

Updated September 22, 2017

The “Homebrew Channel” allows users to run home-made software and games from the SD card on their Wii. Going from the Wii channel to the Homebrew channel and then into the actual application can take some time. Adding the game as its own channel makes the game easily accessible and allows players of all ages to load it easily.

Download and find the “WAD” versions of your Homebrew Channel applications. The applications come as either a “.DOL” file made for the “Homebrew Channel” or as a WAD file made for installation on the Wii main menu. These WAD versions are often available from the same location that you originally got the apps from.

Insert your Wii's SD card into a card reader on your computer. Go to “My Computer” and double-click on the card to load the root folder.

Right-click, select “Make New Folder” and name the folder “wads.” Drag all the downloaded WADs into this folder. Make sure each WAD file is properly labeled so you can recognize it later.

Download the official Wii “WAD Manager” from Q7. Save the folder to your desktop.

Drag and drop the “WAD Manager” app folder into the “Apps” folder on the SD card. Wait for the transfer to finish, remove the SD card and insert it back into the Wii.

Load the “Homebrew Browser” and click on the “WAD Manager.” Point and select the “Load” option.

Press “A” to load a list of WADs on the SD card. Find the WADs you want to install, use the D-pad to highlight one and press “A.” Wait for the installation to complete and then repeat the process for any remaining WAD files.

Restart the Wii and look through the Wii channels for the installed WAD files. Use the Wii remote to select the channel and load it to make sure it works properly.

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