I might have the exact wording of the error message wrong, but the gist of it is no matter how close I put the Gamepad to the WiiU, even if I stand right next to it, I get this message after about 40 seconds. And up until that message, browsing around on the WiiU home screen is spotty at best. Idk what the issue could be and if its hardware defect Nintendo better fix this shit for free.

I have Google'd it, people say it could be a power issue, so plug it into the wall socket directly. Not an option. I did just read maybe unplugging the console for awhile will work, we'll see. But anyone else have this issue and find a fix?

Try to place your Wii U in a open area far from walls of wires or electronic devices that may cause interference with your gamepad. At first my Wii U was behind my tv and the playable distance was worse, it may be your problem.

unplugging the console from outlet for a bit fixed the problem for me. It only happened once.

if you're still having issues later, call Nintendo.  They have excellent customer service and will be able to resolve your issue one way or another or make it right.

IT/Tech rule #1 try turning it off and on if it doesn't work

turn off wiiu
put gamepad in cradle
go up stairs and show wife she can hear her ankles
return downstairs and pick up gamepad
turn it back on

if you still have issues, then you likely have some form of wifi interference as others suggested. Only time I ever get that is when I'm at the border of my range within my house.

Make sure it's not right next to other equipment that use the same frequency, like smart tvs, cell phones, cordless home phones, microwaves, tablets, other consoles. Turning it on and off will likely make it use a different channel, solves the problem too.

Too many wifi devices nowadays, my laptop is picking up 8 different signals atm, and I have a free standing house in not a dense neighbourhood. How do people in apartments survive with wifi neighbours.

LOL what? my Wii U is surrounded by all the above items and works fine. 

I also live in an apartment I have about 40 wifi signals. The trick is to find the channel that is least busy and works like a charm. Also to get a powerful wifi router with like 3-5 antennas to fuck over everone elses signal haha.

Never had that problem. Wish I could help you. :(

Made an account to answer this.

Yes, I had this issue once. Unplugging the Wii U for a bit then resyning the gamepad temperately fixed the issue but it always came back after a few days. I came close to returning it to nintendo.

I believe this issue was related to an old router in the neighbouring room. It was very old and never operated on the same frequency as my Wii U's gamepad but must have been giving some kind of interference. The day I got a new router with a new internet service provider the issue completely stopped.