AmazonBasics Dual Charge Station for Nintendo Wii - Black

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Usually I love Amazons basics. But this product does not live up to their usual standards.

It does what it says it will do, keeps the rechargeable batteries charged. But, I would suggest purchasing a few good sets of rechargeable batteries (like Eneloop) and a charger over buying this product. The reasons I think rechargeable batteries would be a better solution are:

It is finicky about getting the connection made, the wrist strap often gets in the way.

You are supposed to take them out after they are charged. This is a pain. A real pain.

You cannot link the remote with the Wii (for example, my son used his remote at a friends house) because you cannot have the battery pack in and also push the button that links them. He had to get some regular batteries and put them in in order to reset the link.

You cannot charge them with silicone covers on the remotes.

Only charges when the Wii is on.

The glowing light is distracting when watching TV, and usually the Wii is near the TV.

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In the past, I used to use a Nyko Wii Dual Station Charger that would run via plugging it into your outlet. And since getting it back in 2007, one battery refuses to charge and one works. Even though you put it in, it says its charging but it doesn't work. So, I have to admit...I have become bitter towards dual station chargers and decided to go with rechargeable Eneloops.

But here were are in 2011, nearly five years later and reviewing another dual charger. I was surprised to find out that Amazon has its own line of products for the Wii via AmazonBasics.

I. UNPACKING

For the AmazonBasics Dual Charge Station, you get the station, two rechargeable batteries and a USB plug-in. This is my first time using a rechargeable station via USB and definitely prefer that over a wall wart (AC plug-in).

My Nyko chargers were a bit heavier, this one is lighter and I don't want to know what would happen if it was dropped on a hard surface as it seems quite light.

II. RECHARGING

After a full day of the kids playing and effectively powering down the battery, it was time to recharge. Put them in and blue docking lights mean that it's charging, green means they are fully charged.

One thing that caught my attention was that "Charging the batteries for more than 8 hours is not recommended as it could damage the batteries. For me, this is a first. It made me wonder if that is what killed my XBOX360 or original Wii batteries but I am the type of person who have left batteries in a dock while I slept overnight and at times, just forgot I had something recharging.

So, I know that this may be problematic for some (or a lot of) people.

JUDGMENT CALL:

The AmazonBasics Dual Charge Station for the most part works. It does what it needs to do, but for some who can forget that they are recharging these batteries and accidentally left it on more than 8 hours...this can be bad. Granted, I did not test to see how bad these batteries would be after 8 or even 24 hours of recharging but the fact that Amazon added that note made me quite curious.

Also, these are lighter than my previous Wii batteries, so if you are operating a Wii on a hardwood or tile surface, this is one you don't want to drop.

Other than that, these batteries do work and for anyone who owns a Nintendo Wii, while priced at $19.99, you can find others online that are cheaper.

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These worked ok at first ... I have rechargeable energizers that last longer and Do not fry the wii plus remotes as these ones did after one month of use... I would not recommend these in any case maybe I got a bad set but now I am out a wii mote and a wii motion plus ... and no they were not left on the charger for extended periods ... its pretty simple you put them on and the light stays blue until fully charged then turns green

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The unit has 2-slots and comes with 2 rechargeable battery packs and costs around $20.

Slots are blue while charging, green when fully charged.... but you can't charge them with silicone sleeves on the remotes, the wrist strap gets in the way, and they only charge when the Wii itself is on (cannot have the "red" light on, must be green or amber).

Also, the instructions say "do not charge for more than 8 hours".... well, that's a problem for me because I like to leave them in the charger and go on with my life. I don't want to have to "remember" to remove batteries from a charger. This may not be an issue for some, but for me it is.

Honestly I am looking for a different set.

Hope this helps.

I normally love Amazon Basics, but this one was a disappointment. First, we had to take the silicone covers off and the little square Wii motion sensitivity sensors on the bottom to get these to recharge. This was a really big pain and I was afraid I we were going to lose the accessories. The remotes are a little wobbly in the charging station and you have to make sure the wrist strap fits in the little notch in the back to make them a bit more secure.

The other thing that drove us a bit crazy was the fact that it was a USB attachment into the Wii station instead of using its own power cord. So, it was always glowing right in front of the TV. If your Wii is turned off, then it will not charge the remotes. It has to be at least turned on (green light showing on Wii) or in the standby (yellow light showing on the Wii) position.

We have always just used batteries, so we were hopeful this charging station would work well. However, I think we will go back to using our regular batteries. Maybe if we were true gamers and played all the time, I would think twice, but right now we only replace the batteries in the four chargers ever couple of months and maybe only play the Wii a couple times during the week.