Wii U supports USB hard disk drives with a dedicated power source, called self-powered USB.

Flash memory devices have a limited number of rewrites and are not suited to long-term storage of important game data, so we do not recommend the use of flash memory devices as an external storage device solution. For best results, we recommend using a hard disk drive with its own power supply that connects to the Wii U via the USB port on the console.

The maximum amount of storage supported by Wii U is 2 TB (terabytes). Wii U will be able to recognise a storage device that is over 2 TB, but 2 TB will still be the maximum amount of storage capacity. Any extra capacity in the storage device beyond the 2 TB will not be accessible via Wii U.

To optimise performance and ensure a consistent experience, all USB storage devices must be formatted and configured for use with the Wii U console.

Please note that after formatting a USB storage device for your Wii U, it is formatted exclusively for that Wii U console, and cannot be shared as storage media with other devices such as personal computers or another Wii U console.

Please contact the manufacturer of the USB hard disk drive if there are technical issues or problems with your USB hard disk drive.

Nintendo does not accept liability to pay damages in respect of loss or damage as a direct or indirect result of connecting USB hard disk drives to Wii U.

Nintendo will not compensate users for any data loss or any failure of data writes due to any problems with USB hard disk drives.

Please note that this page regarding confirmation of USB hard disk drive operability will be regularly updated without notice.