I renewed my old claim and put in my most recent wages, which were much higher when I originally submitted the claim, and I thought it would update my weekly benefit. But when I certified I still got the same weekly benefit amount from way long ago. Do I need to open a new claim?

I put in my most recent wages which were a lot higher than my original claim, when I renewed the claim. Should I have opened a new claim instead?

Well, it depends. If the original benefit amount was LESS than $450 per week and you're still receiving the same amount despite earning more then there might be a problem. If the original benefit amount was exactly $450 per week (the max amount) then earning more would still give you the same amount. Are you earning the max amount now or before?

No.

I would call the EDD and talk to an agent. Opening a new claim could potentially interfere with your ongoing claim and get you placed in pending hell.

Ok. I certified for two weeks recently and thats when I found out I should be getting more. Hopefully they can just subtract from that.

You've probably already used this, but it could be helpful to see if you should be getting more weekly benefits: https://edd.ca.gov/en/Unemployment/UI-Calculator