# TiVo bolt renewed- quality question



## OrangeTurtle (Jul 17, 2015)

I currently have a Roamio basic (can do cable or antenna) and have been quite satisfied ( no problems) as I bought it refurb 2 years ago during the summer sale.

I am considering the bolt refurb, not because I need it, but as a way of getting newer technology while still getting good value for selling my current one (so very minimal upgrade costs)- also having steam built in is nice.

I've done a ton of reading through the forum. My only concern with the change is an issue of possible quality issues with the bolt.

Can anyone hear speak to that through personal experience?

Was there a real fan issue? Has it been fixed? Is there an overheating issue?

If you owned a roamio before the bolt, do you fee like the bolt was more cheaply made?

I want to make the upgrade, just don't want to do it for a device that will likely give me a lot of frustration.

Appreciate any and all insight.


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## sfhub (Jan 6, 2007)

OrangeTurtle said:


> I've done a ton of reading through the forum. My only concern with the change is an issue of possible quality issues with the bolt.
> 
> Can anyone hear speak to that through personal experience?
> 
> ...


I have a S3 OLED, Roamio Pro, Roamio OTA, and Bolt.

IMO they will all last many years.

The S3 OLED is the best TiVo design they ever put out. The Roamio Pro is well made in the style of the old TiVo's, metal casing, solid feel, well-secured connectors. Roamio OTA and Bolt both feel more cheaply made, plastic, breakout cables. Bolt feels more solid than Roamio OTA, but has an odd wave-life shape.

Bolt units are hit or miss with fan noise. It usually isn't the fan itself or the air flow making the major noise. There is some slight pulsing electrical buzzing likely from the PWM fan speed control mechanism. On some units it is not that noticeable after 3ft. On other units you can hear it in your normal viewing location. If you power the fan off the USB port the buzzing noise goes away.

I wouldn't worry about quality issues, if you get one with bad fan buzzing, call TiVo and get it replaced within the 30-day period.

A couple of things about the Bolts, they use 2.5" hard drives and the selection of hard drives that work is more limited. There are no analog video outputs, only HDMI video.


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## OrangeTurtle (Jul 17, 2015)

Thank you for the feedback. I'm still on the fence. 

Leaning towards playing it safe, which is just sending the Bolt back when it arrives as my Roamio Basic is still working well- and as you mentioned I can upgrade the hard drive easier (planning to do it later this summer).

I do like the idea of upgrading to the new system for about $100, but am still concerned about user satisfaction of the Bolt and would also be more limited on hard drive upgrades (as you mentioned).

Anyone else willing to weigh in?


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## sfhub (Jan 6, 2007)

OrangeTurtle said:


> Leaning towards playing it safe, which is just sending the Bolt back when it arrives as my Roamio Basic is still working well- and as you mentioned I can upgrade the hard drive easier (planning to do it later this summer).
> 
> I do like the idea of upgrading to the new system for about $100, but am still concerned about user satisfaction of the Bolt and would also be more limited on hard drive upgrades (as you mentioned).


You could also try it out for 30 days then return it if you don't find any benefit.

The HD upgrade size is an issue for me, but might not be for you. Depends how much you record/archive. 3TB available on 2.5" drive is not that bad and I'm sure there will be larger drives down the road.

Basically it would be $15 (estimated return shipping) to test drive a TiVo Bolt in your setup and a decent bundled lifetime price if you choose to keep it.


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## OrangeTurtle (Jul 17, 2015)

I got the Bolt and tried it out. Yes, it is snappier when using apps. Temp was 59 instead of 40- which I hear is pretty standard. Other than that seemed basically the same as my Roamio Basic. 

Rather than try to list my Roamio on Ebay, I am just going to send back the bolt, stay with the Basic for now- and consider putting in a larger Hard Drive. 

I'll consider upgrading in the future- either Thanksgiving Deals or next generation.
Thank you for those who weighed in!


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## aphoid (Jul 8, 2013)

The "remote finder" button on the back of my 'renewed' Bolt was messed up. If it gets pressed, it never seems to get unpressed without grabbing some pliers. Luckily, it mostly stays out, I use a Logitech Harmony as my main remote, and keep the batteries out of the peanut.


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