diff --git a/desmume/configure.ac b/desmume/configure.ac
index ace01ca2c..4e628bce2 100644
--- a/desmume/configure.ac
+++ b/desmume/configure.ac
@@ -224,10 +224,10 @@ fi
 
 dnl - wifi support
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(wifi,
-	      [AC_HELP_STRING(--enable-wifi, enable experimental wifi support)],
+	      [AC_HELP_STRING(--enable-wifi, enable experimental wifi comm support)],
 	      [
 		AC_CHECK_LIB(pcap, main,[
-		  AC_DEFINE(EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI)
+		  AC_DEFINE(EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI_COMM)
 		  LIBS="$LIBS -lpcap"
 		])
 	      ])
diff --git a/desmume/src/MMU.cpp b/desmume/src/MMU.cpp
index ebdffc001..0e49264cc 100644
--- a/desmume/src/MMU.cpp
+++ b/desmume/src/MMU.cpp
@@ -3411,15 +3411,13 @@ void FASTCALL _MMU_ARM7_write08(u32 adr, u8 val)
 		}
 	}
 
-#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
 	if ((adr & 0xFF800000) == 0x04800000)
 	{
 		/* is wifi hardware, dont intermix with regular hardware registers */
 		// 8-bit writes to wifi I/O and RAM are ignored
 		// Reference: http://nocash.emubase.de/gbatek.htm#dswifiiomap
-		return ;
+		return;
 	}
-#endif
 
 	if (adr >> 24 == 4)
 	{
@@ -3459,8 +3457,6 @@ void FASTCALL _MMU_ARM7_write16(u32 adr, u16 val)
 		return;
 	}
 
-#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
-
 	//wifi mac access
 	if ((adr>=0x04800000)&&(adr<0x05000000))
 	{
@@ -3468,9 +3464,6 @@ void FASTCALL _MMU_ARM7_write16(u32 adr, u16 val)
 		T1WriteWord(MMU.MMU_MEM[ARMCPU_ARM7][0x48], adr&MMU.MMU_MASK[ARMCPU_ARM7][0x48], val);
 		return;
 	}
-#else
-	//if ((adr>=0x04800000)&&(adr<0x05000000)) return ;
-#endif
 
 	adr &= 0x0FFFFFFF;
 
@@ -3765,7 +3758,6 @@ void FASTCALL _MMU_ARM7_write32(u32 adr, u32 val)
 		return;
 	}
 
-#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
 	if ((adr & 0xFF800000) == 0x04800000) 
 	{
 		// access to non regular hw registers
@@ -3775,7 +3767,6 @@ void FASTCALL _MMU_ARM7_write32(u32 adr, u32 val)
 		T1WriteLong(MMU.MMU_MEM[ARMCPU_ARM7][0x48], adr&MMU.MMU_MASK[ARMCPU_ARM7][0x48], val);
 		return;
 	}
-#endif
 
 	adr &= 0x0FFFFFFF;
 
@@ -3880,8 +3871,7 @@ u8 FASTCALL _MMU_ARM7_read08(u32 adr)
 {
 	mmu_log_debug_ARM7(adr, "(read08) %0x%X", MMU.MMU_MEM[ARMCPU_ARM7][(adr>>20)&0xFF][adr&MMU.MMU_MASK[ARMCPU_ARM7][(adr>>20)&0xFF]]);
 
-#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
-	/* wifi mac access */
+	// wifi mac access 
 	if ((adr>=0x04800000)&&(adr<0x05000000))
 	{
 		if (adr & 1)
@@ -3889,7 +3879,6 @@ u8 FASTCALL _MMU_ARM7_read08(u32 adr)
 		else
 			return WIFI_read16(adr) & 0xFF;
 	}
-#endif
 
 	if ( (adr >= 0x08000000) && (adr < 0x0A010000) )
 		return addon.read08(adr);
@@ -3915,11 +3904,9 @@ u16 FASTCALL _MMU_ARM7_read16(u32 adr)
 {
 	mmu_log_debug_ARM7(adr, "(read16) %0x%X", T1ReadWord(MMU.MMU_MEM[ARMCPU_ARM7][(adr >> 20) & 0xFF], adr & MMU.MMU_MASK[ARMCPU_ARM7][(adr >> 20) & 0xFF]));
 
-#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
 	//wifi mac access
 	if ((adr>=0x04800000)&&(adr<0x05000000))
 		return WIFI_read16(adr) ;
-#endif
 
 	if ( (adr >= 0x08000000) && (adr < 0x0A010000) )
 		return addon.read16(adr);
@@ -3984,11 +3971,9 @@ u32 FASTCALL _MMU_ARM7_read32(u32 adr)
 {
 	mmu_log_debug_ARM7(adr, "(read32) %0x%X", T1ReadWord(MMU.MMU_MEM[ARMCPU_ARM7][(adr >> 20) & 0xFF], adr & MMU.MMU_MASK[ARMCPU_ARM7][(adr >> 20) & 0xFF]));
 
-#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
 	//wifi mac access
 	if ((adr>=0x04800000)&&(adr<0x05000000))
 		return (WIFI_read16(adr) | (WIFI_read16(adr+2) << 16));
-#endif
 
 	if ( (adr >= 0x08000000) && (adr < 0x0A010000) )
 		return addon.read32(adr);
diff --git a/desmume/src/NDSSystem.cpp b/desmume/src/NDSSystem.cpp
index a9b689562..e9fd3f4f5 100644
--- a/desmume/src/NDSSystem.cpp
+++ b/desmume/src/NDSSystem.cpp
@@ -47,14 +47,6 @@
 
 PathInfo path;
 
-#if 0
-	#ifndef PUBLIC_RELEASE
-		#undef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
-	#endif
-#endif
-
-#undef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
-
 TCommonSettings CommonSettings;
 static BaseDriver _stub_driver;
 BaseDriver* driver = &_stub_driver;
@@ -533,9 +525,7 @@ int NDS_Init( void) {
 	if (SPU_Init(SNDCORE_DUMMY, 740) != 0)
 		return -1;
 
-#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
 	WIFI_Init() ;
-#endif
 
 	nds.FW_ARM9BootCode = NULL;
 	nds.FW_ARM7BootCode = NULL;
@@ -562,9 +552,7 @@ void NDS_DeInit(void) {
 	MMU_DeInit();
 	gpu3D->NDS_3D_Close();
 
-#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
 	WIFI_DeInit();
-#endif
 	cheatsSearchClose();
 }
 
@@ -1958,7 +1946,7 @@ void Sequencer::init()
 	dma_1_3.controller = &MMU_new.dma[1][3];
 
 
-	#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
+	#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI_COMM
 	wifi.enabled = true;
 	wifi.timestamp = kWifiCycles;
 	#else
@@ -2169,7 +2157,7 @@ u64 Sequencer::findNext()
 	if(sqrtunit.isEnabled()) next = _fast_min(next,sqrtunit.next());
 	if(gxfifo.enabled) next = _fast_min(next,gxfifo.next());
 
-#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
+#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI_COMM
 	next = _fast_min(next,wifi.next());
 #endif
 
@@ -2207,7 +2195,7 @@ void Sequencer::execHardware()
 		}
 	}
 
-#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
+#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI_COMM
 	if(wifi.isTriggered())
 	{
 		WIFI_usTrigger();
@@ -2722,9 +2710,7 @@ void NDS_Reset()
 	gpu3D->NDS_3D_Reset();
 	SPU_Reset();
 
-#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
 	WIFI_Reset();
-#endif
 
 	memcpy(FW_Mac, (MMU.fw.data + 0x36), 6);
 
diff --git a/desmume/src/wifi.cpp b/desmume/src/wifi.cpp
index ff289f354..561157654 100644
--- a/desmume/src/wifi.cpp
+++ b/desmume/src/wifi.cpp
@@ -25,10 +25,11 @@
 #include "debug.h"
 #include "bits.h"
 
-#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
+
 
 #ifdef WIN32
 	#include <winsock2.h> 	 
+	#include <ws2tcpip.h>
 	#define socket_t    SOCKET 	 
 	#define sockaddr_t  SOCKADDR
 	#include "windriver.h"
@@ -41,7 +42,6 @@
 	#define socket_t    int 	 
 	#define sockaddr_t  struct sockaddr
 	#define closesocket close
-	#include "pcap/pcap.h"
 #endif
 
 #ifndef INVALID_SOCKET 	 
@@ -53,10 +53,14 @@
 bool wifi_netEnabled = false;
 socket_t wifi_socket = INVALID_SOCKET;
 sockaddr_t sendAddr;
-pcap_t *wifi_bridge = NULL;
 
 const u8 BroadcastMAC[6] = {0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF};
 
+#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI_COMM
+#ifndef WIN32
+#include "pcap/pcap.h"
+#endif
+pcap_t *wifi_bridge = NULL;
 #endif
 
 wifimac_t wifiMac;
@@ -216,8 +220,6 @@ FW_WFCProfile FW_WFCProfile3 = {"",
 								{0, 0}
 							   } ;
 
-#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
-
 /*******************************************************************************
 
 	Communication interface
@@ -239,6 +241,7 @@ void SoftAP_Reset();
 void SoftAP_SendPacket(u8 *packet, u32 len);
 void SoftAP_usTrigger();
 
+#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI_COMM
 WifiComInterface SoftAP = {
 	SoftAP_Init,
 	SoftAP_DeInit,
@@ -246,6 +249,7 @@ WifiComInterface SoftAP = {
 	SoftAP_SendPacket,
 	SoftAP_usTrigger
 };
+#endif
 
 bool Adhoc_Init();
 void Adhoc_DeInit();
@@ -263,7 +267,9 @@ WifiComInterface Adhoc = {
 
 WifiComInterface* wifiComs[] = {
 	&Adhoc,
+#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI_COMM
 	&SoftAP,
+#endif
 	NULL
 };
 WifiComInterface* wifiCom;
@@ -305,6 +311,7 @@ INLINE u32 WIFI_alignedLen(u32 len)
 	return ((len + 3) & ~3);
 }
 
+#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI_COMM
 #ifdef WIN32
 static pcap_t *desmume_pcap_open(const char *source, int snaplen, int flags,
 		int read_timeout, char *errbuf)
@@ -359,6 +366,7 @@ static int desmume_pcap_sendpacket(pcap_t *p, u_char *buf, int size)
 	return pcap_sendpacket(p, buf, size);
 }
 #endif
+#endif
 
 /*******************************************************************************
 
@@ -1954,6 +1962,7 @@ const u8 SoftAP_AssocResponse[] = {
 
 //todo - make a class to wrap this
 //todo - zeromus - inspect memory leak safety of all this
+#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI_COMM
 static pcap_if_t * WIFI_index_device(pcap_if_t *alldevs, int index) {
 	pcap_if_t *curr = alldevs;
 	for(int i=0;i<index;i++)
@@ -2267,3 +2276,4 @@ void SoftAP_usTrigger()
 }
 
 #endif
+
diff --git a/desmume/src/windows/DeSmuME_2005.vcproj b/desmume/src/windows/DeSmuME_2005.vcproj
index 81ad86d77..ea512d19f 100644
--- a/desmume/src/windows/DeSmuME_2005.vcproj
+++ b/desmume/src/windows/DeSmuME_2005.vcproj
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@
 				EnableFiberSafeOptimizations="false"
 				WholeProgramOptimization="false"
 				AdditionalIncludeDirectories=".;..;&quot;lua\lua-5.1.4\src&quot;;&quot;glib-2.20.1\build&quot;;&quot;glib-2.20.1\build\glib&quot;;.\zlib123;.\zziplib;.\winpcap;userconfig;defaultconfig;.\7z;.\agg\include;.\agg\examples"
-				PreprocessorDefinitions="_CRT_NONSTDC_NO_DEPRECATE;DEBUG;_CRT_SECURE_NO_DEPRECATE;GLIB_STATIC_COMPILATION;WIN32;SPU_INTERPOLATE;HAVE_LIBZ;HAVE_LIBZZIP;NOMINMAX;EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI;_WIN32_WINNT=0x0501"
+				PreprocessorDefinitions="_CRT_NONSTDC_NO_DEPRECATE;DEBUG;_CRT_SECURE_NO_DEPRECATE;GLIB_STATIC_COMPILATION;WIN32;SPU_INTERPOLATE;HAVE_LIBZ;HAVE_LIBZZIP;NOMINMAX;_WIN32_WINNT=0x0501"
 				ExceptionHandling="1"
 				BasicRuntimeChecks="0"
 				BufferSecurityCheck="true"
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@
 				EnableFiberSafeOptimizations="true"
 				WholeProgramOptimization="true"
 				AdditionalIncludeDirectories=".;..;&quot;lua\lua-5.1.4\src&quot;;&quot;glib-2.20.1\build&quot;;&quot;glib-2.20.1\build\glib&quot;;.\zlib123;.\zziplib;.\winpcap;userconfig;defaultconfig;.\7z;.\agg\include;.\agg\examples"
-				PreprocessorDefinitions="_CRT_NONSTDC_NO_DEPRECATE;_CRT_SECURE_NO_DEPRECATE;GLIB_STATIC_COMPILATION;WIN32;HAVE_LIBZ;HAVE_LIBZZIP;SPU_INTERPOLATE;NOMINMAX;NDEBUG;RELEASE;EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI;_WIN32_WINNT=0x0501"
+				PreprocessorDefinitions="_CRT_NONSTDC_NO_DEPRECATE;_CRT_SECURE_NO_DEPRECATE;GLIB_STATIC_COMPILATION;WIN32;HAVE_LIBZ;HAVE_LIBZZIP;SPU_INTERPOLATE;NOMINMAX;NDEBUG;RELEASE;_WIN32_WINNT=0x0501"
 				StringPooling="true"
 				ExceptionHandling="1"
 				BasicRuntimeChecks="0"
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@
 				EnableFiberSafeOptimizations="true"
 				WholeProgramOptimization="false"
 				AdditionalIncludeDirectories=".;..;&quot;lua\lua-5.1.4\src&quot;;&quot;glib-2.20.1\build&quot;;&quot;glib-2.20.1\build\glib&quot;;.\zlib123;.\zziplib;.\winpcap;userconfig;defaultconfig;.\7z;.\agg\include;.\agg\examples"
-				PreprocessorDefinitions="_CRT_SECURE_NO_DEPRECATE;_CRT_NONSTDC_NO_DEPRECATE;GLIB_STATIC_COMPILATION;WIN32;HAVE_LIBZ;HAVE_LIBZZIP;SPU_INTERPOLATE;NOMINMAX;NDEBUG;RELEASE;EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI;_WIN32_WINNT=0x0501"
+				PreprocessorDefinitions="_CRT_SECURE_NO_DEPRECATE;_CRT_NONSTDC_NO_DEPRECATE;GLIB_STATIC_COMPILATION;WIN32;HAVE_LIBZ;HAVE_LIBZZIP;SPU_INTERPOLATE;NOMINMAX;NDEBUG;RELEASE;_WIN32_WINNT=0x0501"
 				StringPooling="true"
 				ExceptionHandling="1"
 				BasicRuntimeChecks="0"
diff --git a/desmume/src/windows/DeSmuME_2008.vcproj b/desmume/src/windows/DeSmuME_2008.vcproj
index 119709723..8f64b5962 100644
--- a/desmume/src/windows/DeSmuME_2008.vcproj
+++ b/desmume/src/windows/DeSmuME_2008.vcproj
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
 				EnableFiberSafeOptimizations="false"
 				WholeProgramOptimization="false"
 				AdditionalIncludeDirectories=".;..;&quot;lua\lua-5.1.4\src&quot;;&quot;glib-2.20.1\build&quot;;&quot;glib-2.20.1\build\glib&quot;;.\zlib123;.\zziplib;.\winpcap;userconfig;defaultconfig;.\7z;.\agg\include;.\agg\examples"
-				PreprocessorDefinitions="DEBUG;_CRT_SECURE_NO_DEPRECATE;GLIB_STATIC_COMPILATION;WIN32;BETA_VERSION;SPU_INTERPOLATE;NOMINMAX;EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI;HAVE_LIBZ;HAVE_LIBZZIP"
+				PreprocessorDefinitions="DEBUG;_CRT_SECURE_NO_DEPRECATE;GLIB_STATIC_COMPILATION;WIN32;BETA_VERSION;SPU_INTERPOLATE;NOMINMAX;HAVE_LIBZ;HAVE_LIBZZIP"
 				ExceptionHandling="1"
 				BasicRuntimeChecks="3"
 				BufferSecurityCheck="true"
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@
 				EnableFiberSafeOptimizations="true"
 				WholeProgramOptimization="true"
 				AdditionalIncludeDirectories=".;..;&quot;lua\lua-5.1.4\src&quot;;&quot;glib-2.20.1\build&quot;;&quot;glib-2.20.1\build\glib&quot;;.\zlib123;.\zziplib;.\winpcap;userconfig;defaultconfig;.\7z;.\agg\include;.\agg\examples"
-				PreprocessorDefinitions="_CRT_SECURE_NO_DEPRECATE;GLIB_STATIC_COMPILATION;WIN32;HAVE_LIBZ;HAVE_LIBZZIP;SSE2;SPU_INTERPOLATE;NOMINMAX;RELEASE;EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI;NDEBUG"
+				PreprocessorDefinitions="_CRT_SECURE_NO_DEPRECATE;GLIB_STATIC_COMPILATION;WIN32;HAVE_LIBZ;HAVE_LIBZZIP;SSE2;SPU_INTERPOLATE;NOMINMAX;RELEASE;NDEBUG"
 				StringPooling="true"
 				ExceptionHandling="1"
 				StructMemberAlignment="0"
@@ -424,7 +424,7 @@
 				EnableFiberSafeOptimizations="true"
 				WholeProgramOptimization="false"
 				AdditionalIncludeDirectories=".;..;&quot;lua\lua-5.1.4\src&quot;;&quot;glib-2.20.1\build&quot;;&quot;glib-2.20.1\build\glib&quot;;.\zlib123;.\zziplib;.\winpcap;userconfig;defaultconfig;.\7z;.\agg\include;.\agg\examples"
-				PreprocessorDefinitions="_CRT_SECURE_NO_DEPRECATE;GLIB_STATIC_COMPILATION;WIN32;HAVE_LIBZ;HAVE_LIBZZIP;SSE2;SPU_INTERPOLATE;NOMINMAX;RELEASE;EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI;NDEBUG"
+				PreprocessorDefinitions="_CRT_SECURE_NO_DEPRECATE;GLIB_STATIC_COMPILATION;WIN32;HAVE_LIBZ;HAVE_LIBZZIP;SSE2;SPU_INTERPOLATE;NOMINMAX;RELEASE;NDEBUG"
 				StringPooling="true"
 				ExceptionHandling="1"
 				StructMemberAlignment="0"
diff --git a/desmume/src/windows/defaultconfig/userconfig.h b/desmume/src/windows/defaultconfig/userconfig.h
index c0b89c83c..ca33398d7 100644
--- a/desmume/src/windows/defaultconfig/userconfig.h
+++ b/desmume/src/windows/defaultconfig/userconfig.h
@@ -13,5 +13,8 @@
 //#define DEVELOPER //enables dev+ features
 //#define GDB_STUB //enables the gdb stub. for some reason this is separate from dev+ for now
 
+//#define EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI_COMM //enables experimental wifi communication features which do not actually work yet
+//basic wifi register emulation is still enabled, to at least make it seem like the wifi is working in an empty universe
+
 
 #endif //_USERCONFIG_H
diff --git a/desmume/src/windows/main.cpp b/desmume/src/windows/main.cpp
index 5f9655002..0a8e39c0a 100644
--- a/desmume/src/windows/main.cpp
+++ b/desmume/src/windows/main.cpp
@@ -1938,7 +1938,7 @@ class WinDriver : public BaseDriver
 {
 	virtual bool WIFI_Host_InitSystem() 
 	{
-		#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
+		#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI_COMM
 			WSADATA wsaData; 	 
 			WORD version = MAKEWORD(1,1); 	 
 			if (WSAStartup(version, &wsaData)) 	 
@@ -1955,12 +1955,12 @@ class WinDriver : public BaseDriver
 			FreeLibrary(temp);
 			return true;
 		#else
-			return false ;
+			return false;
 		#endif
 	}
 	virtual void WIFI_Host_ShutdownSystem() 
 	{
-		#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI 	 
+		#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI_COMM 	 
 			WSACleanup(); 	 
 		#endif
 	}
@@ -2301,7 +2301,7 @@ int _main()
 
 	DragAcceptFiles(MainWindow->getHWnd(), TRUE);
 
-#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
+#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI_COMM
 	EnableMenuItem(mainMenu, IDM_WIFISETTINGS, MF_ENABLED);
 #endif
 
@@ -3399,7 +3399,7 @@ void RunConfig(CONFIGSCREEN which)
 		DialogBox(hAppInst, MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDD_PATHSETTINGS), hwnd, (DLGPROC)PathSettingsDlgProc);
 		break;
 	case CONFIGSCREEN_WIFI:
-#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
+#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI_COMM
 		if(wifi_netEnabled)
 		{
 			DialogBox(hAppInst,MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDD_WIFISETTINGS), hwnd, (DLGPROC) WifiSettingsDlgProc);
@@ -5281,7 +5281,7 @@ LRESULT CALLBACK MicrophoneSettingsDlgProc(HWND hDlg, UINT uMsg, WPARAM wParam,
 
 LRESULT CALLBACK WifiSettingsDlgProc(HWND hDlg, UINT uMsg, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam)
 {
-	#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
+	#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI_COMM
 	switch(uMsg)
 	{
 	case WM_INITDIALOG:
diff --git a/desmume/src/windows/mapView.cpp b/desmume/src/windows/mapView.cpp
index 19d2323ef..cfa3478e1 100644
--- a/desmume/src/windows/mapView.cpp
+++ b/desmume/src/windows/mapView.cpp
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ LRESULT MapView_OnPaint(mapview_struct * win, HWND hwnd, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM l
 	BITMAPV4HEADER bmi;
 	u16 lg;
 	u16 ht;
-	BGxPARMS * parms;
+	//BGxPARMS * parms;
 
 	//CreateBitmapIndirect(&bmi);
 	memset(&bmi, 0, sizeof(bmi));
diff --git a/desmume/src/windows/windriver.h b/desmume/src/windows/windriver.h
index ffa427029..219363bea 100644
--- a/desmume/src/windows/windriver.h
+++ b/desmume/src/windows/windriver.h
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 #include "../common.h"
 #include "CWindow.h"
 
-#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI
+#ifdef EXPERIMENTAL_WIFI_COMM
 #include <pcap.h>
 #include <remote-ext.h> //uh?