Neighbors shouldn't be close enough to interfere but I can see one of their wireless networks on my laptop so I really can't be sure. I haven't taken the Wii anywhere else but we did change TVs far enough away that I think it is safe to rule pout environment issues. Pretty sure I just have something wrong with the Wii itself.

Yes we have tried with no internet/WiFi. I am sure they replaced the gamepad as the serial numbers are different.

Thanks for the suggestion as that is something we never tried, however it didn't work. I doubt the gamepad is the issue as the first time I sent it back to Nintendo they replaced my gamepad. I am hoping they replace the whole system this time. The reps only other idea is a phone or a router that a neighbor has is interfering but I cannot make ,y neighbors shut their equipment down so I can play Mario.

The console isn't completely frozen as I can still navigate menus using a traditional Wii remore . the frustrating part is I have sent it in 2x already and haven't resolved my issue. I would just exchange it but the retailer won't let me as my 2 weeks return period has expired.

No. Trust me we extensively went through unplugging anything that might cause interference. Phones, microwaves routers... Everything. The rep at Nintendo even believed that the wall mount for my TV may have been causing interference so we moved the Wii u to a different TV ton see if that would help. They said that if it was an interference problem I should be experiencing total loss of connection but the fact that audio and video were still streaming to the game pad that I had a very "unique" issue.

I typically do not post in forums but after my experience with the Wii U I feel compelled to share my storyy.

My girlfriend and I purchased a Wii U the weekend of black Friday. We brought it home, set it up, downloaded the infamace update and were off. After playing the first night with no problems we felt quite pleased with the wii u.

Then the nightmare began. The gamepad would freeze constantly. Every 1-2 minutes the gamepad would become unresponsive. The audio/video would still stream perfectly to the gamepad and the TV remote function still worked just fine. However no other buttons worked. I called Nintendo and after their troubleshooting we determined that the gamepad was defective. We sent it back and waited anxiously for bits replacement.

About 5 business days later the new gamepad arrived. We synced it to the wii and had to reconfigure the TV remote settings and we were ready to play again. Or so we thought. Still every couple of minutes no response from the gamepad. A resync and again 2 minutes later frozen ganeoad. Mind you a original Wii remote works just fine and the gamepad screen still streamed the audio/video without a hitch be not response from the touchscreen or buttons. Back on the phone with Nintendo. After following pretty much the same troubleshooting it was time to send the entire system back to Nintendo.

7 days later I get the system back with a nite enclosed staring the issue was found and repaired. Great right? Wrong... same issue. After a lengthy 3rd call to Nintendo and trying to identify any interference, changing rooms/TVs, resynchronization and calibration nothing. Now I have fussed around with the first two "repairs" I have expired my return policy and cannot simply exchange the unit at retail.

This is where I am at now. I have owned the system 3 weeks and only played it once. This will be my 3rd repair on a brand new system.

For the record I am not a huge gamer. I am not a fanvoy of Sony or any crap like that. In fact my dogs name is Bowser after the beloved Mario villain.