# Bolt - SATA Add-On



## BlueAngel (Jun 11, 2004)

Has anyone found a commercially available external disk to expand the storage on the Bolt without ripping out the internal hard disk? 

It seems all the supported models are no longer manufactured.

I don't mind buying a SATA enclosure and putting in a disk, but I don't really want to go through all that effort with a used eBay drive of uncertain provenience.


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

Nope. Tivo would need to authorize it, and they have chosen to not do so. My guess- the forthcoming "bolt pro" will have a much greater capacity as a selling point, or another option for additional capacity is forthcoming.


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## geko29 (Dec 13, 2000)

I think the closest anyone's come is using a SATA-to-eSATA cable/adapter in place of the internal drive, running it through a hole drilled in the case, and hooking a standard eSATA drive up to that.


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## brettb (Jan 6, 2016)

jrtroo said:


> Nope. Tivo would need to authorize it, and they have chosen to not do so. My guess- the forthcoming "bolt pro" will have a much greater capacity as a selling point, or another option for additional capacity is forthcoming.


In the comparison matrix, the column for the Tivo Bolt 500/1000GB has a checkbox in the "Expandable Storage" line.

This is not cool if there are no ways to expand storage.

And from the Bolt FAQ:

I can never get enough of a good thing. Will I be able to add an expandable drive to my TiVo BOLT?

Load 'em up, Hoss. You indeed can connect an external hard drive via the eSATA port on the back of TiVo BOLT. The 1 terabyte My Book AV DVR Expander from Western Digital can be purchased on tivo.com.​
Links and references to the My Book AV DVR Expander take you to the accessories page - which has no storage options available.

They really should fix their FAQ and get rid of that checkbox in the grid. If it's "Coming soon," say that. It's not even a footnote!


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

brettb said:


> They really should fix their FAQ and get rid of that checkbox in the grid. If it's "Coming soon," say that. It's not even a footnote!


As I noted in another thread a couple of weeks ago, one of the user surveys for the Tivo site asks what device you use, and it didn't include the Bolt! Seemingly keeping their website up to date isn't a high priority.


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

geko29 said:


> I think the closest anyone's come is using a SATA-to-eSATA cable/adapter in place of the internal drive, running it through a hole drilled in the case, and hooking a standard eSATA drive up to that.


Wow, I like that idea! 

Is there a video showing anyone doing that? I'm curious whether you have to disassemble the entire case, as you do when replacing a drive, or whether removing the one cover would give you enough access to remove the cable from the drive.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

brettb said:


> In the comparison matrix, the column for the Tivo Bolt 500/1000GB has a checkbox in the "Expandable Storage" line. This is not cool if there are no ways to expand storage. And from the Bolt FAQ: I can never get enough of a good thing. Will I be able to add an expandable drive to my TiVo BOLT? Load 'em up, Hoss. You indeed can connect an external hard drive via the eSATA port on the back of TiVo BOLT. The 1 terabyte My Book AV DVR Expander from Western Digital can be purchased on tivo.com. Links and references to the My Book AV DVR Expander take you to the accessories page - which has no storage options available. They really should fix their FAQ and get rid of that checkbox in the grid. If it's "Coming soon," say that. It's not even a footnote!


Considering that the web page also says you can stream anywhere with a Bolt, I wouldn't trust anything they say.


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## brettb (Jan 6, 2016)

TonyD79 said:


> Considering that the web page also says you can stream anywhere with a Bolt, I wouldn't trust anything they say.


I hear you. But I think the expandability issue is more (not necessarily much more) towards the "blatant lie" end of the spectrum than the stream-anywhere, at least as far as the "Mobile streaming of live and recorded TV" language on the chart goes. The latter is plenty misleading but I can actually stream "on my mobile device."

If I get motivated, I may try setting up a VPN server at home and see if I can stream using a VPN client outside my home.


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## cwicomputers (Jan 9, 2016)

vpn don't work


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

cwicomputers said:


> vpn don't work


Works fine for me using an Asus AC56U with Merlin and OpenVPN.

I'm even VERY close to being able to use a TiVo mini in my remote location. I can connect to the Roamio Plus over the Internet and it sees everything just fine and acts like a client of it, but it just won't stream recorded or live TV yet. I think it's due to the slow upload speeds at the Roamio location. I won't be able to test this theory until I get back there this summer and switch from Comcrap to FiOS's symmetrical internet services.


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## rolfl (Dec 28, 2015)

I get max 10Mbps using OpenVPN on a EdgeRouterLite.
Is this enough BW to stream ?


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## paulmlemay (Sep 29, 2014)

HarperVision said:


> I'm even VERY close to being able to use a TiVo mini in my remote location.


I think now you can use an Amazon Fire TV at your remote location and access recorded content on your Tivo (as long as your Tivo supports out of home streaming)


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## JoE 15 (Nov 19, 2015)

I really need this to be addressed. I bought the Bolt under the impression the eSATA port was universal. Not enough research on my part, I admit, but how can you claim expandable storage when there's only one option and it cost's $200?!


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## razor237 (Feb 1, 2002)

JoE 15 said:


> I really need this to be addressed. I bought the Bolt under the impression the eSATA port was universal. Not enough research on my part, I admit, but how can you claim expandable storage when there's only one option and it cost's $200?!


Yeah 200 if you can even find one ..... Only options is upgrade the internal HD probably unacceptable for most or give Tivo a call but i don't think you will get to far with them


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## JoE 15 (Nov 19, 2015)

razor237 said:


> Yeah 200 if you can even find one ..... Only options is upgrade the internal HD probably unacceptable for most or give Tivo a call but i don't think you will get to far with them


I emailed Margaret. I doubt I will get a solid answer, but I figured the more people that bring up the issue directly with her, the more likely we'll get an answer.


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## JoE 15 (Nov 19, 2015)

Got a response from Margaret. I asked her if she thought more products would become available for the esata port, and her response:

"I don't think so."


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## ThePennyDropped (Jul 5, 2006)

I've contacted TiVo regarding the lack of availability of the only TiVo-approved external drive (WD seems to have discontinued that series of drives and the existing supply seems to have sold out everwhere I've looked). 

Here's their emailed response: "We appreciate your feedback about the TiVo External Hard Drive. We unfortunately are out of stock of this device as of a week ago. We don't currently have any information on when a restock or new product will be available. However, you can continue to watch our website for new products to be available. I will also provide your feedback to our developers. When or if a new drive becomes available it will be verified to work with the Bolt that you purchased."

So it sounds like they're at least aware of the issue, but it doesn't sound like a solution will be found anytime soon.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Great. We have two seemingly authoritative yet contradictory answers to this question.

If I cared at all I'd believe Margaret, her answer sounds way more truthful.


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## red9086 (Oct 12, 2014)

I called WD today and they confirmed that the DVR Expander has been discontinued. I then called TIVO tech support and spoke to Shaun. He stated that they are currently working on a new partnership / supplier for a compatible expander. He thought that their might be news in about 2 weeks but the only way to know would be to call the support line again. I was able to get my 30 day money back guarantee extended 60 days. I had a Roamio w/2TB but the menu started to get slow and all the streaming services (especially YOUTUBE and HULU) would pause constantly. I have been very happy with the BOLT up to now; streaming is fast, menus are fast, commercial skip is awesome! Just hope they straighten this out soon.


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## clark_kent (May 6, 2007)

Some FYI on external eSATA in this Thread:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=535257

My guess is that ggieseke _could_ have a solution quicker than TiVo but, as he says, it's low on his list of stuff to do. If enough members wanted external eSATA, one thought on motivating ggieseke and his priority list is to perhaps start a "donation" bucket?


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

clark_kent said:


> Some FYI on external eSATA in this Thread:
> 
> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=535257
> 
> My guess is that ggieseke _could_ have a solution quicker than TiVo but, as he says, it's low on his list of stuff to do. If enough members wanted external eSATA, one thought on motivating ggieseke and his priority list is to perhaps start a "donation" bucket?


Weaknees already has a working solution as they can add any size eSata drive you want. Unfortunately the info on how they do it is not in the wild.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

atmuscarella said:


> Weaknees already has a working solution as they can add any size eSata drive you want. Unfortunately the info on how they do it is not in the wild.


Nor do they let the customer do it themselves.

Do they do the drill a hole trick? Anybody bought one yet?


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

TonyD79 said:


> Nor do they let the customer do it themselves.
> 
> Do they do the drill a hole trick? Anybody bought one yet?


No hole drilling . They actually offer dual 6 TB drives (one internal & one external) for Roamios and Bolts with 2TB internal and 6 TB external.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

atmuscarella said:


> No hole drilling . They actually offer dual 6 TB drives (one internal & one external) for Roamios and Bolts with 2TB internal and 6 TB external.


I know what they offer. So, how are they doing it if no one here seems to have. And TiVo points you only to an expense drive.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

TonyD79 said:


> I know what they offer. So, how are they doing it if no one here seems to have. And TiVo points you only to an expense drive.


Well that is the question and I am sure Weaknees has no intention on telling anyone. Given they have to have the DVR to marry the 2 drives together it must be something fairly complex, but who knows. The original Series 3 wasn't restricted to the Western Digital drives so maybe it is actually easy and just no one with the ability to figure it out here cares. Back in the Series 1 and/or Series 2 days I believe people had figured out how to marry 2 drives internally.


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## elas123 (Jan 1, 2004)

cwicomputers said:


> vpn don't work


i got mine setup for mini in remote location and works fine. tomato, openvpn serve and client


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## ThePennyDropped (Jul 5, 2006)

tivo.com has some number of 1TB WD external drives back in stock. I'm surprised, to be honest, since I'd read several places that the drives were discontinued by WD.

So get 'em while they're hot (and available)!

https://www.tivo.com/shop/detail/westerndigital


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## global_dev (Mar 15, 2010)

is it just the enclosure or is something special about the drive too. 1tb seems really small.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

global_dev said:


> is it just the enclosure or is something special about the drive too. 1tb seems really small.


Only certain models with certain firmware revisions are on the Tivo "accepted" list, it's the drive that makes them special.

They also double the number of points of failure since if the expander dies all the recordings made since it was installed are gone, because of that the SOP is to recommend replacing the internal drive with a single 3TB drive and being done with it.


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