Customer Reviews

Wii Energy Pak for Wii Balance Board

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I liked this battery pack's charging set up immensely. Convenient. Easy to use. Charged nicely and holds a reasonable charge.

BUT once I started doing the 20min and longer free step/run activities a real major problem materialized.

While using this battery pack, I experienced frequent communication interruptions between the balance board and the game console. Suspicion is it happens because of a combination of the battery case being located under the left foot contact area and the battery pack only having 2 contacts within the battery case instead of the 8 that AA batteries have.

When I switched back to AA batteries the communication interrupts vanished.

The product concept is good but the design flaw of minimalizing power connections in a high impact device makes the Energy Pack entirely unusable for anyone using the balance board for more than 8-10min events.

I loved this charger immensely! It saved me money on batteries and was convenient to use. I didn't have any problems as far as communications with the Wii as the previous poster did, so it worked well for me. However, after only 2 months of usage, the charger is completely dead and won't charge anymore. It was good while it lasted, but now I'm going to be buying another brand that will hopefully last a bit longer than 2 months!

I was concerned buying this as per the reviews here. I plugged mine in and crossed my fingers. I could not pass up the gold box price and took the chance. It did not work at first. It would not sync properly like some other reviewers mentioned. I called the number on the manual. Good customer service. The rep said to put the little legs on the Wii. I had been using it without using the little legs that came with the Wii. Sure enough that solved my problem. It works great, charged quickly and no problems. I think some of the troubled reviews may be a result of not using the little leg cap things. This causes the Wii to sit too close to the floor for the unit and it gets squished. So good luck.
YIPPEE.

I picked up one of these, hoping to save some cash. It sort of worked well out of the box. Then I tried charging it. It never worked again. The light lit when charging and everything seemed fine, but nope. It was a goner. I tried removing it and putting it back in place, shifting it to make contact, etc. TOTALLY DEAD - not even a spark of life. I had to return it. I could have picked up a replacement but the reviews here made me a believer... in its ability to fail.

I purchased this pack and my Wii Fit Plus from Best Buy, but I thought I would post a review here.

I've used this pack for two weeks for about an hour a day and have had absolutely zero issues with it. It seems to be designed very well and makes it convenient to plug in the board when you're done playing. I've had none of the communication issues that other people are talking about.

I will comment with this, however: Lithium Ion batteries liked to be topped off regularly. It's never a good idea to keep draining them completely down as they will eventually lose charge. Also, it's never a good idea to use a device with a Li-On battery while it's being charged. This causes strain on the battery and charger and could also lead to battery charge loss or failure. I have a feeling this might be the issue with some of the negative reviews.

The first time I ordered the Energy Pak, it was defective. However, when I exchanged it, the new one worked great. The battery really does last for about 30 hours on one charge, and it charges quickly.

I got this charge station last July when I made a commitment to try to lose weight and get in better shape, beginning with WiiFit.

I have logged over 150 hours on WiiFit since July. I have had no problems with the charger or the board.

I had an occasional problem with communication between the board, the wii mote, and the wii, but I discovered that was because of a big picture window next to my TV that was causing problems receiving the wireless signal. We adjusted the sensitivity of the Wii to the signal, and the communications problems are gone.

Getting the battery pack into the slot on the balance board was not trivial, but I did get it set up without damaging anything. I usually leave the cord attached, so I have to be careful that the cord isn't in the way when I am using the board.

Battery failure is therefore not an excuse to miss a day of exercise. I guess that is a good thing...(and I've progressed from "that's obese" to "that's normal" and can now wear clothes 2-3 sizes smaller than last summer :-))

I got the battery packet and installed and setup as directed (charged, sync'd, etc.). It plugs nicely into the bottom of the board so that that the wire for the charger can be easily plugged into one of the sides of the board, making the recharging process very easy. You simply need to connect and disconnect the charger into the side of the board. Making changing of batteries obsolete. It also has a green LED that turns on when charging is complete. HOWEVER, I never got the battery pack to work because every time you step on the board it shuts off. I think, not sure though, there is a major flaw in the design that allows the batteries to somehow disconnect or shut down when stepping on the board. I reinstalled regular batteries and the board works normally. I did this several times with the same result.

While a great idea, in practice this item fails. After heeding the advice to add the balance board leg extensions to bring the board higher off the ground, the board will still not keep a connection with this battery pack. Stick with regular batteries until this is perfected.

If you use rechargeable batteries, this is probably unnecessary. However, it works well with none of the hassles other reviewers have noted in the three months we have been using it. That said, it does not play nicely with Wii Fit Balance Board Glow in the Dark Silicone Sleeve - causing a bulge in the sleeve and using some of the holes that the sleeve used for attachment. I do not like that I had to remove my battery cover, but aside from there being a place to place it on the unit I can offer no better suggestions. It was purchased at a ridiculously low price on Black Friday - but I would not honestly recommend it above standard rechargeable batteries, if that is what you are using.