In preparation I've been trying to get my laptop to work as a wifi hotspot for the wiiU, as the wiiU itself can hardly stay connected to my router. Downloading big files is impossible.
So after an hour and a half of searching and dealing with a vague windows error "The hosted network couldn't be started. The group or resource is not in the correct state to perform the requested operation" with random solutions of which most don't work, it finally works and the WiiU can find it at full signal strength.
Yet the WiiU gives a vague can't connect error. The WiiU briefly shows up in windows as an authenticated client while the WiiU is testing the connection. Then I get error 103-1405 with a bunch of useless standard suggestions. After following the default solution on the Nintendo website (manual IP/DNS settings), it connects to the laptop yet still no internet error 103-2005. Internet is working fine on the laptop, connection is shared, DNS settings on the WiiU are set to 8.8.8.8 according to Nintendo's suggestions and I can ping that just fine. Anyone have any clues what might be wrong?
Edit: Finally working thanks to http://4sysops.com/archives/how-to-share-wi-fi-in-windows-8-with-internet-connection-sharing-ics/ and undoing the 'helpful' tips from Nintendo's site. Ugh Windows 8 in 2014, basic internet connection settings are still a fucking mess. But the eShop finally loads, not crashing after 4 tiles!