Worklog Identifying a Wii's Revision Based off of Serial Numbers

Shank

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Before you gut your console, please post the Revision, Serial Number, and Color of the console here. You can check the revision without disassembling the console using method 2 in this guide. We need as many entries as we can get, so please record every console you can.

Now you can submit your serial numbers through a google form! If you have a large number of serial numbers, DM @cheese and he will add them so you don't have to go through the form for every single board.

Form:
https://forms.gle/o1aCp1nfoDJiJRjw5

While there isn't a method set in stone, @Madmorda has found that there is definitely a correlation between serial number and motherboard revision.
Code:
-White Wiis starting with LU7 are most likely 4 layer.
-White Wiis starting with LU1 may be 4 layer or 6 layer.
--LU10 is probably 6 layer
--LU11 could be either 4 layer or 6 layer
--LU12 through LU19 are most likely 4 layer
Back in the ModRetro days, I was able to check the date codes and discover that Nintendo switched over to using 65nm GPUs (and 4 Layer boards) shortly before releasing the Wii in colors other than white. This also happened before Nintendo released the newer version of the Wii without Gamecube ports. This is how we know for a fact that any non white wii with gamecube controller ports and any wii without gamecube controller ports (including white ones) will have a 4 layer board. This information has been invaluable for portablizers, and is currently the only sure-fire way to track down an efficient board without removing the battery tray. White Wii's with Gamecube controllers are by far the most common variant, but they are also the only wii shell that doesn't guarantee a die shrunk 4 layer board. They CAN have a 4 layer board, but are not guaranteed.
There are so many 4 layer boards hiding in white wiis waiting to be cut up. I want to see if we as a community can find a trend between serial number and revision. The larger sample size we have, the more accurate of a theory we can come up with. Next time you open up your next wii, write down the revision code and serial number, and post it here. Ill add it to the spreadsheet, credit you, and maybe one day we can find a trend.

The spreadsheet:

This idea was inspired by the Wii Drive Chip Database. They may have info that could be useful for this project, but I don't know much of anything about the disc drives themselves.
 
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Gman

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Revision: RVL-CPU-20 Serial Number: LU375188679 Color: White
 

Matthew

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Revision:RVL-CPU-01, Serial Number: LU53869994-3, Color: White
 

vv32

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Revision: RVL-CPU-01, Serial Number: LEH20621962-6, Color: White
Revision: RVL-CPU-50, Serial Number: LEF50654856-3, Color: Black
 

Shank

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Thanks for the contributions so far.

Revision: RVL-CPU-01, Serial Number: LEH20621962-6, Color: White
Revision: RVL-CPU-50, Serial Number: LEF50654856-3, Color: Black
Im assuming these are PAL boards? I should probably add either a second section or a second sheet for PAL boards
 

Gman

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Revision: RVK-CPU-01 Serial Number: KU605237788 Color: Black
 

Madmorda

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Revision: RVL-CPU-01
Serial Number: LU312965868
Color: White

Revision: RVL-CPU-20
Serial Number: LU367762887
Color: White

Revision: RVL-CPU-40
Serial Number: LU202960492
Color: Black

Revision: RVL-CPU-40
Serial Number: LU729921174
Color: White

Revision: RVL-CPU-40
Serial Number: LU810624298
Color: Black

Revision: RVL-CPU-60
Serial Number: LU212755705
Color: Black
 

Wulf

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No biggy, but I don't see mine in the list, posted before madmorda's.

Did I leave out any data needed? Have 4 more I can contribute.
 

Shank

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No biggy, but I don't see mine in the list, posted before madmorda's.

Did I leave out any data needed? Have 4 more I can contribute.
Just an oversight on my part. You provided all the needed information. I just forgot that I haven't added yours and Gman's recent post yet.
Edit: Added
 
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Wulf

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Is the number visible by removing the battery case enough of an id for the mobo revision, or would you prefer to only have the full string confirmed by case removal?
 

Wulf

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LU82838997-4
Black
60

LU81671534-1
Black
40

LU20263936-7
Black
40

LU70445398-0
White
40

The 1st black 40 is written in a larger font than the others.

Lemme know if they should be opened or if that's enough.
 

cheese

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They don't need to be opened, as far as I know
I've personally never seen a revision on the battery tray be different than what's actually inside

Edit: oh and @Shank did you note the revisions of the wiis you sent me?
 
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Shank

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Yes, the number visible by removing the battery tray is a confirmed way to identify Wii revisions. Thats a perfectly fine way to document them here.

Also note that the RVK boards (family edition, no gc ports) will say K01 or K02 instead of just 01. Another thing to be wary of is not to get 01 and 10 mixed up, because it can be confusing when upside down because of how they are written.

Edit:
@cheese no unfortunately. I only begun documenting recently. All most of my 40+boards had already been opened and shells mixed up by the time I came up with this idea
 
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Madmorda

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Revision: RVL-CPU-40
Serial Number: LU747464455
Color: White

Revision: RVL-CPU-30
Serial Number: LU381454218
Color: White

Revision: RVL-CPU-01
Serial Number: LU525169466
Color: White

Revision: RVL-CPU-60
Serial Number: LU952233679
Color: Red

Revision: RVL-CPU-60
Serial Number: LU157598962
Color: Black
 

Madmorda

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I notice that all the white NTSC CPU 40s start with either 1 or 7. (Ex. LU747464455), while all the black ones start with 2 or 8.

The ones that start with 5, 6, or 3 (other than the RVK boards, which I assume are the no-gc-port ones) are all pre-40.

So 1 and 7 are good, while 3, 5, and 6 are bad so far (on white wiis). Obviously this can't be confirmed without more wiis documented, but at least it's a trend, and even a hint at what it might be is better than no clue at all :)

These trends are also consistent with my latest five additions. Sorry if this is already posted somewhere and I missed it :P
 

Madmorda

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Oh, last thought. Has anyone else noticed a font difference between the 40s and the others? Here is a picture of a 01, 30, 40, 40, 60 wii in that order. Notice that the third and fourth wiis (the 40s) have a thinner font for the words "Serial No" than the rest. I checked this against another 40, two 60s, and a 20, and it held true. If anyone else could confirm, that would be great :)

The 01 one has thinner letters than the others, but it's a little thicker than the 40s when you compare side by side, as if it's the same font as the 40s, only bold or something.
 
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Shank

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Sorry if this is already posted somewhere and I missed it :P
Don't be. You are the first to make any observation on a trend so far. It's certainly a plausible theory that holds true with the current data, but we will need more to confirm or deny it.

Also,
Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far! Your help is much appreciated! Keep em coming!
 

Shank

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Updated:
HUGE Shoutout to @cheese for sending me a giant list last night, doubling the the sampling size!
 
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