# Bolt+ with momentary red light when powered up, failure to boot: the "cool" solution



## MisterMidnight (Jan 3, 2017)

I had mentioned this issue in another post but wanted to create a dedicated thread in case anyone has a similar situation in the future.

I have a TiVo Bolt+ 3TB drive, cable, just over two years old. No issues until a power outage 6 months ago. Bolt was hooked up to a UPS but the battery eventually ran out. Afterwards, the TiVo would not boot. The red light in front would momentary blink and then go off, no green light. Internal fan was running.

Tried the plug/unplug routine over and over, tried alternate power supply, no go. Figuring nothing to lose, as a last resort I put the Bolt in the freezer for 10-15 minutes or so. Plugged the Bolt back in and viola, red light blinks and green light comes on, unit boots up. Ran perfectly for 6 months, then another power outage, no boot, back in the freezer, unit booted right up. A month later the battery in my UPS went bad, and of course when that happens the UPS cuts power and turns off! Replaced UPS battery, TiVo back in the freezer, TiVo powers up perfectly.

DISCLAIMER: I'm pretty certain the "Freezer" "solution" is not a recommended "fix" from the factory. Do so at your own risk!

So in the past month I have been weighing options to replace the bad unit. Figure it must have a motherboard problem or something. Decided not to go with the Edge, too expensive for nothing really worth upgrading for. I have also always wanted to have a spare TiVo on hand for an emergency backup unit.

So I called TiVo to see what options I had. The common $49 rexchange deal was offered. They wanted a $500 deposit (!!) to hold onto my current unit to return after the replacement was received. I then asked what they could/would do to get a brand new unit instead of a refurb. Long story short, they offered me a new 1TB Bolt+ for $10.00/month x 24 months, or $240 total.

I went for the $240 deal for the new 1TB Bolt+. The 1TB drive is more than adequate for my needs. And I also went for the $49 exchange deal on my defective Bolt+, and will receive a refurb 3TB which I will just store away for emergency use. When I return the defective unit I was going to put a sticker on the top of the unit: "This product has been previously frozen", lol.

I received the brand new 1TB unit today and installed it. Everything went smooth, unit was pre-activated, and I paired the Comcast cable card online. In order to remove the cable card from my old TiVo I needed to power it down. But also needed to power it up afterwards to transfer my season passes and shows. As before, red light, no boot, so back in the freezer it went, and it instantly booted up as it had many times prior.

Transferring my shows went perfectly smooth, I only had about 6% usage on the 3TB drive so it didn't take long at all. Transferred the season passes online, couldn't have been easier (I had a KMTT backup just in case).

*I would like to add that I was extremely impressed as to how nice it was dealing with the TiVo sales/support agents in working out the details on the replacement unit as well as the brand new unit. They were extremely knowledgeable, patient and very helpful throughout the entire process. The new unit was shipped the next day after ordering. A+++++.*


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## sometivohey (Mar 23, 2006)

I know this is an old post, but I've had the exact same experience! A couple of years ago (literally a month after the warranty ended) my HD failed. So rather than buying a new Tivo or paying a fortune to Weaknees, I just bought a WD Blue on Amazon and replaced it - and voila, it worked fine. Except that every once in a great while (weeks to months) I'll get the "all lights flashing" crash and have to reboot. But when I replug the power I just get a solid red light. But if I just let the thing sit there uplugged and let it cool for a few minutes, I can plug it back in and it boots right up. My totally unsubstantiated theory is that both issues are caused by the same thing - an overzealous temperature sensor. Anyway, it's been like that for a couple f years now but it still works!


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## wjbatlanta (Jun 29, 2011)

....so glad I found this post........bought one of the factory refurbished bolts from WKs until i got my new edge.......first one died within a month - bad tuner. they replaced with a second and in 4 months it wouldn't power up or boot. called WKs - they said "oh sorry, it's the motherboard. of course, it was outside of the 3month warranty with the refurbished bolt. i asked about an extended warranty i could purchase when they made the replacement but, "you can only buy an extended warranty for the first one......." ......whaaaa?
poking around on the web 2 days later and found your "freezer" fix.......it worked and i'm so appreciative - thank you!! 
just wondering why WKs doesn't didn't suggest it could be an over temp?
BTW.....just to prevent it from happening again - I removed the cover from the BOLT.


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## sometivohey (Mar 23, 2006)

By the way, I'm more certain then ever this is a heat issue. I ordered a new fan from Weaknees but haven't installed it yet. But I placed the Bolt *UPSIDE DOWN* in the open air on top of my TV table (not inside the cabinet or on a shelf) and removed the cover for the cable-card, so that way all the heat now goes upwards the way it should, and it's been solid as a rock for about two weeks now. If it dies again, I'll open it up and replace the fan.


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