How to connect your Wii or DSi to the internet with a browser-based login

People all the time have been asking me (well, okay, two people), “Nathaniel Thierer, how did you connect your Wii to the internet on campus without having to buy that stupid ethernet adapter?” Well, people on campuses and stuff everywhere (especially University of Rochester), where you need a web browser-based login, here’s how you do it with a laptop or wireless-enabled desktop on both Windows 7 (THIS WILL NOT WORK WITH VISTA OR XP, don’t be afraid to upgrade!) and Mac OS X. Note that on Macs you will need an ethernet (wired) connection, whereas PCs only need a wireless connection. Here’s the step-by-step how-it’s-done:

Win7:

1. Download the free program Connectify from http://www.connectify.me
2. Configure your settings–network name (so you can find it on the console), password (so that only you can access it, at least 8 characters), and type of internet (probably wireless, but you can use your wired too if you have it)
3. Click “Start Hotspot”
4. Boot up your Wii/DSi and go to the internet options (Advanced settings on DSi).
5. Search for an access point and find the wireless network you named, and type in your password.
6. I encountered a slight problem when I tried to test my connection ONLY ON THE DS, NOT THE Wii, getting an error about not finding an IP address, so if that’s the case you’ll have to do some tricky behind-the-scenes stuff here. Stick with me, I’ll try to get you through it with a minimum of trouble!
7. Go back to the connection number that you set up the internet on (1 2 0r 3 on the Wii, 4 5 or 6 on the DSi) and click on it. Go to change settings. For Auto-obtain IP Address, choose “No,” and then go into the setup option next to it. For the IP Address, type in the IP Address that appeared in your “Client History” on the Connectify menu. For me it was 192.168.2.x (where x could be a bunch of randomly assigned numbers). Make sure you put spaces if there aren’t 3 numbers before a dot. Also don’t use the same x for Wii and DSi.
8. For “Subnet Mask,” type “255.255.255.0″
9. For gateway, “192.168.2.1″ seemed to work (remember spaces in-between dots). Then hit okay.
10. Go right to the next option, where “Auto-Obtain DNS settings” should automatically be at “No,” and select the detailed setup option for that too. Now, if you want to take the easy way out, input these for “Primary DNS” and “Secondary DNS,” respectively: “128.151.225.122,” “128.151.50.29″ (SPACES). If you want to know how I got these, type in “cmd” on the start menu, then “ipconfig /all”. About a million things should pop up, these numbers came up for me on the DNS servers for one of them. If you get different numbers on the first two, use those instead.
11. Click “Save” and begin the connection test. If all goes well you should be successful here. Congratulations!
12. Be sure to turn off the hotspot when you’re done! Next time you want to connect your DSi/Wii to the internet, simply start the hotspot again and your console will automatically connect without all this hassle.

NB: This will not allow you to play your old DS games online, unfortunately. There’s nothing you can do about that now. Sorry!

For Mac OS X, this guide here is a good way to connect your DS or Wii to the internet. You can do this with an original DS or Lite as well, and play your DS games online. However, anyone will be able to connect to your unsecured network. I recommend that if you have a DSi or Wii you set your security to at least WPA (8-63 letters or numbers in your password) and if you have an older DS, use WEP (with a 10 or 26-key password, numbers or a-f only). Also, turn off internet sharing when you finish, just in case. You can turn it on again and simply play games or access the internet without all the hassle of following those steps again.

Whew! So that’s how you do it. If you need further instructions, leave a comment. I take no responsibility for any trouble this might get you into and any rules this might break within your organization.