# 2nd failed Bolt+ HD



## MetalDog (Feb 4, 2020)

Sorry if this is TL;DR. I'm just sharing my frustrations and looking for advice...

I bought a TiVo Bolt+ (3TB) back in April 2017. The HD failed on it 18 months later. After opening it up I saw that it was a WD Blue drive - am I wrong in claiming that is NOT an AV/DVR rated drive? Regardless, I contacted TiVo and they replaced the entire unit for $150. It appeared to be a new unit, not refurbished, but I could be wrong. The HD on that unit just failed. It's been 18 months. Hmmm, a pattern. After opening it I see TiVo is still using WD Blue drives. I tried to confirm it is dead by hooking it up to my PC. It emits loud clicking noises which is a sound i'm familiar with on failed mechanical drives.

I understand this happens A LOT. A $500 device should not fail this often. TiVo seems to be narrowly avoiding lemon laws since the devices are not failing within the warranty period. I'm no attorney though - just pissed off. I'm not sure who is worse - cable companies or TiVo.

Being sick of paying TiVo a monthly fee and TiVo using hardware that wasn't designed for what they're using it for I decided to try live TV streaming services. Wow do they suck. I tried YouTube TV and Hulu Live TV. The quality on both is incredibly bad compared to cable. The audio is STEREO (seriously?) and is such bad quality it is jarring to the ears. The video seems to be 720 at best and is often so compressed that details cannot be discerned. (It was impossible to see that it was Shakira shaking it during the Super Bowl half-time show  due to all the confetti causing compression to go crazy.) So that type of service isn't going to cut it.

I've tried putting in some spare HDs I have including a 1TB WD Blue drive. The TiVo hasn't liked any of them. On the WD the TiVO seemed to get past initialization of the HD but inspecting it on my PC it does not appear initialized (perhaps the partition created isn't recognized by Windows). The TiVo gets past "Starting setup" but eventually the HDMI signal drops and it doesn't appear to finish setup.

It seems there are certain HDs compatible with the Bolt+. I don't care about capacity as much as just having a device that works. A 1TB HD would suffice. Any recommendations? Are there guides specific to replacing the HD on here? I found the Ross Walker guide but it is dated and it recommends Seagate drives which I swore off long ago. Thanks in advance.


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## MetalDog (Feb 4, 2020)

I've seen marcv's recent post about hooking up an external WD purple drive. That's certainly an option and thank you to marcv for posting it. I'm hoping to avoid an external enclosure though.


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## LarryAtHome (Feb 18, 2008)

I have a BOLT, not a BOLT+ that is running TE3, not TE4 and have installed a Western Digital RED WD10JFCX. It has been using this drive for about a year with no issues.


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## MetalDog (Feb 4, 2020)

Found an old Toshiba laptop HD and plugged it in. It worked! I'm certain it isn't rated for DVR use though and it is only 750Gb so I'll likely have to do something else. At least it confirmed the HD was the issue.


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## cpgny9 (Mar 1, 2006)

I have the bolt+. Same thing...after a year or so the hard drive went. First TiVo I have ever owned that failed. I went the external drive route and would never go back to a 2.5 drive - they are just not reliable for this purpose. Added a case with its own fan/power & cables for less than $50. Got a WD red 6TB 3.5 drive (a drive specifically made for constant writing and low heat - you can get a 1TB verison for $50ish) and have been going smoothly for a year or so now. The process is simple and I even had some picture (pixelation) issues clear up since I went with the external drive.


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## MetalDog (Feb 4, 2020)

cpgny9 said:


> ... Added a case with its own fan/power & cables for less than $50. Got a WD red 6TB 3.5 drive (a drive specifically made for constant writing and low heat - you can get a 1TB verison for $50ish) and have been going smoothly for a year or so now. ...


Thanks cpgny9! I'm going to do that as well. I don't trust the old HD I put in. But it was just satisfying getting it working again and a relief it wasn't something else.

Have you posted details of your build on here? If not, do you recall the enclosure you used?


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## zubinh (Jun 7, 2004)

You didn't get an extended warranty? I bought mine from Best Buy, got the 4 yr geek squad warranty for $75. 2 years later, hard drive failed and I got a new one from Best buy and they sold me a new warranty on the replacement for $65. Getting the Lifetime service transferred to the new Bolt was not that difficult.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

zubinh said:


> You didn't get an extended warranty? I bought mine from Best Buy, got the 4 yr geek squad warranty for $75. 2 years later, hard drive failed and I got a new one from Best buy and they sold me a new warranty on the replacement for $65. Getting the Lifetime service transferred to the new Bolt was not that difficult.


And so TiVo doesn't balk if it's a replacement unit through a Geek Squad warranty? I've always wondered about that.


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## zubinh (Jun 7, 2004)

Nope. It's in the terms and conditions. I emailed proof of purchase, proof of warranty and proof of exchange. Follow up with a call and its transferred. I've done this twice. In both cases I also upgraded to the current model since the model I purchased was no longer being sold. E.G. - I turned in my defective Bolt + and received a Bolt Vox.


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## cpgny9 (Mar 1, 2006)

How do I upgrade the Bolt Laptop hard drive for a Normal Hard drive ( 3.5 inch) ?

post #14 - about half way down


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## MetalDog (Feb 4, 2020)

cpgny9 said:


> How do I upgrade the Bolt Laptop hard drive for a Normal Hard drive ( 3.5 inch) ?
> 
> post #14 - about half way down


Thanks!


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## MetalDog (Feb 4, 2020)

zubinh said:


> You didn't get an extended warranty? I bought mine from Best Buy, got the 4 yr geek squad warranty for $75. 2 years later, hard drive failed and I got a new one from Best buy and they sold me a new warranty on the replacement for $65. Getting the Lifetime service transferred to the new Bolt was not that difficult.


I bought it through Amazon and did not get an extended warranty. Had I known it used a HD that was inferior for usage in a DVR I would have. Also, it sounds like the units are nearly guaranteed to fail within two years and I'd rather have something that lasts longer than that. I have a security DVR that has lasted many years with similar use (lots of writes to the HD from six cameras). TiVo should not be using a laptop WD Blue drive in these things.

On a side note, I use that Best Buy warranty on XBox One controllers. It's only $19 for two years (previously $15) and I've replaced several broken controllers with that warranty.


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## Fant (Sep 1, 2016)

I don't know what hard drive is in my 500gb bolt but it t has been running for 3 years without a failure.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk


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## BobCamp1 (May 15, 2002)

cpgny9 said:


> I went the external drive route and would never go back to a 2.5 drive - they are just not reliable for this purpose.


They are, but the specific model used in the Bolt+ has reliability problems. It is also difficult to find a reliable 2.5" drive greater than 2 TB. So if someone wants more room, they'll have to use a 3.5" drive.


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## Luke M (Nov 5, 2002)

I believe the largest non-SMR 2.5" hard drive still in production is 1TB.


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## tommage1 (Nov 6, 2008)

MetalDog said:


> It seems there are certain HDs compatible with the Bolt+. I don't care about capacity as much as just having a device that works. A 1TB HD would suffice. Any recommendations? Are there guides specific to replacing the HD on here? I found the Ross Walker guide but it is dated and it recommends Seagate drives which I swore off long ago. Thanks in advance.


My recommendation is 3.5" PMR drive in external enclosure. If you want to stick with 2.5" drive and 1TB is enough see if you can find a WD Black 1TB. While they don't manufacture them anymore they can be found new and were VERY reliable, 5 year warranty (from manufacturing date not purchase date) I believe. I'd still go with the external 3.5 though, check the link, stay away from using esata port on enclosure if possible. Recommendation for enclosure in link also, very inexpensive.

TE4 Bolt upgrade with external drive

Note, if you want to be able to completely close the Bolt case you will need a Sata cable with a right angle connection. Since there are two directions you can buy make sure you get the one where you can run the cable out of the back of the Bolt.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

MetalDog said:


> I don't care about capacity as much as just having a device that works. A 1TB HD would suffice. Any recommendations? Are there guides specific to replacing the HD on here? I found the Ross Walker guide but it is dated and it recommends Seagate drives which I swore off long ago. Thanks in advance.


The Toshiba 2.5" hard drives have been well-regarded here and currently can be found, the 2TB at a super price ($49.99!) and the 3TB at its former, fair-like pricing rather than more recent (inflated) pricing, even though the drives no longer are being manufactured.

Toshiba MQ03ABB300 (3TB) -- https://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-5400...rds=Toshiba+MQ03ABB300&qid=1581261770&sr=8-2; a little bit less expensive on eBay, Toshiba MQ03ABB300 3 TB 5400RPM 2.5" SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive 15mm 696859079580 | eBay
Toshiba MQ03ABB200 (2TB) -- https://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-MQ03...SVXA70GQW9J&psc=1&refRID=VRG4J5M1FSVXA70GQW9J

There are some nice installation videos on Youtube, which show everything that's needed.

https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcH8NyRDRCU&t=10s -- a nice, comprehensive guide (complete with a mistake to avoid, lol)
https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZvDvhujtwQ -- especially helpful as to the opening of the Bolt case


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## BobCamp1 (May 15, 2002)

Luke M said:


> I believe the largest non-SMR 2.5" hard drive still in production is 1TB.


That may be true, as the Tivo Edge is using a 2 TB SMR drive. Which means Bolts should be able to use them as well, especially if they are running TE4/Hydra like the Edge is.


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## Dodge DeBoulet (Aug 3, 2010)

This seems to be the right thread for this, although it might be better to create a new one ... let me know what y'all think.

I just received this email from TiVo:

Dear Dodge,

TiVo is sending this courtesy email to notify you that our diagnostics have detected the hard drive in your TiVo BOLT® DVR (*TSN: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX*) may be failing. To minimize the downtime and for you to continue to enjoy your recorded shows, TiVo would like to offer a one- time complimentary replacement TiVo BOLT at no cost to you.

By taking advantage of this offer while your current TiVo BOLT is functional you will be able to transfer your recorded shows to the replacement TiVo BOLT. You can choose not to accept this offer and continue to enjoy using your current TiVo BOLT. If you request to exchange your TiVo BOLT after this offer has expired, you can contact us to review available replacement options and any exchange costs will be based on the warranty status of your TiVo BOLT at the time you contact us to process the exchange. Please note, we aren't certain the hard drive in your BOLT will fail but in TiVo's goal of providing the best service possible to our customers, we wanted to give you the option.

This offer is valid through March 16th 2020. If you wish to take advantage of this offer then please contact our TiVo Customer Support team. We have created Case Number *XXXXXXXX*, please reference this number to our customer service agent and we will be able to assist you.

Thank you!
TiVo Customer Support

So ... interesting. Think I'll take 'em up on it, given the experiences I've seen in this thread.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Dodge DeBoulet said:


> This seems to be the right thread for this, although it might be better to create a new one ... let me know what y'all think.
> 
> I just received this email from TiVo:
> 
> ...


I can't see why not to do it. And it potentially will save you considerable hardship with a hard drive that crashes. Is TiVo replacing your Bolt box with an identical one (e.g. same hard drive capacity)?

Presumably, this relates to the sometimes defective 3TB Western Digital drives in Bolt 3TB box (a WD issue that TiVo is having to live and deal with).


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

Dodge DeBoulet said:


> This seems to be the right thread for this, although it might be better to create a new one ... let me know what y'all think.
> 
> I just received this email from TiVo:
> 
> ...


Just be sure the offer is really from Tivo. Phone Tivo support and give them the case number to verify it is legitimate. In order to send you the replacement before you return your current Bolt, Tivo will need a credit card number.


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## Dodge DeBoulet (Aug 3, 2010)

bobfrank said:


> Just be sure the offer is really from Tivo. Phone Tivo support and give them the case number to verify it is legitimate. In order to send you the replacement before you return your current Bolt, Tivo will need a credit card number.


Pretty sure it's legitimate. The contact link in the email was for TiVo's web support page, and when I went there to notify them that I'm interested in a replacement, it created a new case and generated a confirmation email that had essentially the same email headers. The original email also had my Bolt+'s TSN in it and used my full first name in the greeting.

I just thought it was odd that I'd be getting this option unsolicited, and on a unit that's well beyond the end of its warranty period. We'll see what happens ... but I don't expect to hear anything more until tomorrow at the earliest. Fortunately the Bolt+ has been performing normally.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Question. If I was offered to swap units, and my Bolt has a bunch of programs and movies on it, I would like to use Online to copy those to the new unit. Not so long ago there were several posts where members transferred programs to a TE4 TiVo and found that they stopped after 10 minutes. Has that been fixed? No recent posts seem to indicate it is no longer a problem and we haven't seen release notes in a while. 

I have a hard time believing TiVo knows the status of my hard drive. Perhaps something happens and it indirectly causes a fault that sends a message to TiVo. I've looked through the system logs and only understand 1% of what's there.


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## V7Goose (May 28, 2005)

Dodge DeBoulet said:


> I just thought it was odd that I'd be getting this option unsolicited, and on a unit that's well beyond the end of its warranty period. We'll see what happens ... but I don't expect to hear anything more until tomorrow at the earliest. Fortunately the Bolt+ has been performing normally.


This would have been odd in the past, but those Bolts have been so unreliable that they have started doing this to save a little face. Frankly, I do not think it is a wise solution (accepting a free replacement), since the same garbage hard drive will just fail early again. Furthermore, the replacement box that many people have received is just a returned Bolt that already has other problems that their original box did not have.

In my opinion, a much better option for you is to just buy a WD Red or Purple 3.5" drive in whatever size you like and use an external enclosure to permanently solve that drive failure problem.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

JoeKustra said:


> I have a hard time believing TiVo knows the status of my hard drive. Perhaps something happens and it indirectly causes a fault that sends a message to TiVo. I've looked through the system logs and only understand 1% of what's there.


Don't be surprised as our TiVo's do send hardware information back including what model hard drive is installed such as when you upgrade. They've just always turned a blind eye to our upgrades in the past except for very few reported issues.

Drive SMART status would definitely be something they would want to get back both for warranty coverage as well as for metrics on drive failures across the board (such as in this case).

Scott


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## Dodge DeBoulet (Aug 3, 2010)

V7Goose said:


> This would have been odd in the past, but those Bolts have been so unreliable that they have started doing this to save a little face. Frankly, I do not think it is a wise solution (accepting a free replacement), since the same garbage hard drive will just fail early again. Furthermore, the replacement box that many people have received is just a returned Bolt that already has other problems that their original box did not have.
> 
> In my opinion, a much better option for you is to just buy a WD Red or Purple 3.5" drive in whatever size you like and use an external enclosure to permanently solve that drive failure problem.


I received a followup email stating that I would need to call them to provide verbal agreement for the swap, so I'll have a list of questions ready for them ... i.e. new vs. refurbished, type of hard drive, warranty provided, etc.

Regarding the installation of an external drive ... my assumption is that the internal drive would still be required as the boot device, and its failure would still present a pretty significant issue. If they've got some indication that it's going to die, wouldn't I still be better off getting the whole unit replaced?


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

MetalDog said:


> I bought a TiVo Bolt+ (3TB) back in April 2017. The HD failed on it 18 months later. After opening it up I saw that it was a WD Blue drive - am I wrong in claiming that is NOT an AV/DVR rated drive?


I don't believe there are any large capacity (above 500GB) 2.5" AV/DVR drives (checking Seagate and Western Digital). But TiVo users here have been using standard 3.5" Green drives in earlier models for years without any issues (I'll admit that I did always use an AV/DVR model in our S3 and HD's even though slightly more expensive). I think there's either a reliability issue with the WD 3TB model or possibly the cooling which is causing a larger number of failures and TiVo's proactively notifying users for replacements.

I upgraded my son's Bolt with the 2TB version of the WD blue drive 2 years ago but also replaced the factory fan so will be interesting to see how long it lasts.

Scott


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

Dodge DeBoulet said:


> I received a followup email stating that I would need to call them to provide verbal agreement for the swap, so I'll have a list of questions ready for them ... i.e. new vs. refurbished, type of hard drive, warranty provided, etc.
> 
> Regarding the installation of an external drive ... my assumption is that the internal drive would still be required as the boot device, and its failure would still present a pretty significant issue. If they've got some indication that it's going to die, wouldn't I still be better off getting the whole unit replaced?


Per the earlier posts, I'm happy you're satisfied the offer is really from Tivo. I'm just paranoid about offers out of the blue by email.

You assumption is incorrect about keeping the old internal drive. You would run a cable from the new external drive to the internal connector inside the Bolt. The external drive becomes the only drive on the system. It usually requires a case modification and possibily a power supply for the external drive.

There are several threads here on the forums about replacing the internal drive with an external drive.


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## Dodge DeBoulet (Aug 3, 2010)

I just got off the phone with TiVo's customer support, and they're shipping me a *new* 6-tuner Bolt Vox to replace my Bolt+. Should be here Thursday.

They told me that if I wanted "advance replacement" I would need to provide a credit card number. I objected, indicating that the email said I would be able to transfer my existing programs to the new unit and there would be no cost, which (to me) means that a credit card shouldn't be necessary.

The tech agreed to waive the credit card requirement 

*EDIT:* Actually, he didn't specify the size, but he did indicate that feature-wise, the new unit would be as good as or better than the one it replaces. However I just checked the TiVo web site and only 500GB and 1TB Bolt VOXes are listed..


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

Dodge DeBoulet said:


> I just got off the phone with TiVo's customer support, and they're shipping me a *new* 6-tuner Bolt Vox to replace my Bolt+. Should be here Thursday.
> 
> They told me that if I wanted "advance replacement" I would need to provide a credit card number. I objected, indicating that the email said I would be able to transfer my existing programs to the new unit and there would be no cost, which (to me) means that a credit card shouldn't be necessary.
> 
> ...


I had my first Bolt replaced by Tivo for a dead hard drive (flashing lights of death) in November and just received a replacement for that one in the last few days because of an unidentified hardware failure on the first replacement. In both cases I received a 3TB drive to replace my original 3TB drive. So you should be fine.

You're lucky to get the credit card requirement to be waived. I wasn't able to get them to to that.


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

The original 3 TB drive in my Bolt+ that I bought in April 2017 as part of the "once in a lifetime" $99 transfer offer still works fine. (crossing fingers) I bought the extended warranty, as well.

For the longest time, I've also been providing extra cooling to the unit via various laptop cooling pads which have fan(s).


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## Davelnlr_ (Jan 13, 2011)

V7Goose said:


> . Furthermore, the replacement box that many people have received is just a returned Bolt that already has other problems that their original box did not have.


I went through 3 Tivo Vox refurbs, and the 4th actually worked. UPS thought I was nuts mailed 4 Tivo's back at once.
I removed the cablecard door, and placed the unit on a laptop cooler. If it fails again, Im going to remove the motherboard, and move the whole shebang into an old TivoHD case, and use a 3.5" drive or just put a 2TB SSD in the bolt case. I cannot believe they didn't stick with what worked (Premier and Roamio cases). No one said I want a tiny DVR, as far as I know.
As for them knowing its going to fail, I suspect it probably sends a S.M.A.R.T. report to them when you connect each day.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Dodge DeBoulet said:


> *I just thought it was odd that I'd be getting this option unsolicited, and on a unit that's well beyond the end of its warranty period. *We'll see what happens ... but I don't expect to hear anything more until tomorrow at the earliest. Fortunately the Bolt+ has been performing normally.


People indeed have been impressed by this, both by TiVo's unsolicited contact as well as the ignoring of the warranty period. And then by the fact of TiVo's seeming monitoring of diagnostics, to detect an issue.


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

Davelnlr_ said:


> As for them knowing its going to fail, I suspect it probably sends a S.M.A.R.T. report to them when you connect each day.


Yep.


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## BobCamp1 (May 15, 2002)

While it's nice people are using advanced cooling techniques, there isn't a shred of proof that it will help in any way. In fact, it could hurt if the airflow going around the hard drive is slowed down or heated up.

This happens all the time with WD and Seagate hard drives. They have certain models which are flat out unreliable. Since there are no 2 or 3 TB 2.5" hard drives to replace it with, and the Bolt+ is allowed to run TE3 (which I'm guessing prevents them from using the 2 TB SMR drive in the Edge), Rovi can't do anything except ship unused Bolt+ units.


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## Dodge DeBoulet (Aug 3, 2010)

BobCamp1 said:


> Rovi can't do anything except ship unused Bolt+ units.


So are the Bolt Voxen just leftover Bolt+ units with a new remote? I know the device hardware is identical, so it's probably a distinction without a difference ....


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## cpgny9 (Mar 1, 2006)

BobCamp1 said:


> While it's nice people are using advanced cooling techniques, there isn't a shred of proof that it will help in any way. In fact, it could hurt if the airflow going around the hard drive is slowed down or heated up.
> 
> This happens all the time with WD and Seagate hard drives. They have certain models which are flat out unreliable. Since there are no 2 or 3 TB 2.5" hard drives to replace it with, and the Bolt+ is allowed to run TE3 (which I'm guessing prevents them from using the 2 TB SMR drive in the Edge), Rovi can't do anything except ship unused Bolt+ units.


While I can't say for sure that the cooling techniques are helping with hard drive failures, i can say for sure that the unit itself seems to run better since I added a AC infinity AIRCOM S7 cooling fan under the bolt. Pixelation went away, the unit and cable connector are no longer scolding hot, and if I unplug the unit, I dont have to wait 20 minutes for the unit to cool down before I can plug it back it and it start up - I can plug in back in right away and it starts right up now.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

BobCamp1 said:


> While it's nice people are using advanced cooling techniques, there isn't a shred of proof that it will help in any way. In fact, it could hurt if the airflow going around the hard drive is slowed down or heated up.
> 
> This happens all the time with WD and Seagate hard drives. They have certain models which are flat out unreliable. Since there are no 2 or 3 TB 2.5" hard drives to replace it with, and the Bolt+ is allowed to run TE3 (which I'm guessing prevents them from using the 2 TB SMR drive in the Edge), Rovi can't do anything except ship unused Bolt+ units.


I agree. After my first HDD failure I used cooling and still had another failure. Went with a 3.5" drive.


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## lhvetinari (Jun 24, 2019)

Dodge DeBoulet said:


> So are the Bolt Voxen just leftover Bolt+ units with a new remote? I know the device hardware is identical, so it's probably a distinction without a difference ....


While I can't say for sure, I'm willing to say it's a good theory - after all, the model number is basically the same (TCD849300V1 vs TCD849300/V) and the 6-tuner black Voxen are recognised as Bolt+ in the TE3 NPL UI when you browse to one.


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## Willy92 (Oct 12, 2018)

I bought mine through Weak Knees, it's their Bolt VOX 4 tuner upgraded to 3tb. I've had it for a year and a half, no problems yet. I also got their extended warranty, but lifetime tivo through tivo.

So far, so good.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

cpgny9 said:


> While I can't say for sure that the cooling techniques are helping with hard drive failures, i can say for sure that the unit itself seems to run better since I added a AC infinity AIRCOM S7 cooling fan under the bolt. Pixelation went away, the unit and cable connector are no longer scolding hot, and if I unplug the unit, I dont have to wait 20 minutes for the unit to cool down before I can plug it back it and it start up - I can plug in back in right away and it starts right up now.


Albeit it's anecdotal, but other users have reported similarly here.


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## Dodge DeBoulet (Aug 3, 2010)

My replacement Bolt Vox arrived today. I had previously received a shipping notification that it would be a 3TB unit, but unlike the commitment that was given to me by the support tech, the notification indicated that it was a "renewed" unit. It also arrived without accessories in a plain white box; the power supply was shipped separately.

However, other than possibly the packaging, I can find no indication on the Bolt itself that it's "renewed." The manufacture date is November 2019, and it certainly looks brand new ... even adhesive film applied to the black plastic surfaces to protect it.

It's been my experience with other electronics vendors that reconditioned equipment is usually labeled with a "reconditioned" sticker or at least an "R" tacked onto the serial number. I see nothing like that on this unit.


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## robostock (Feb 8, 2008)

My Bolt+ (3rd Bolt+ and about 11 months old) died last night. Same 4 flashing lights of death as with my previous 2. But, this one had a cooling fan, the cable card cover removed and good temp readings. I was hoping that it would last at least 2 years.
But, I guess the good thing about it dying now is that it died within the Tivo extended warranty period. But, I do think that Best Buy's extended warranty is better and much more convenient. 

I think when it dies next time, I'm going with the external drive route. I really do like my TiVos, but replacing Bolts every year and losing all my recordings really test my loyalty. 
With the increase of content on streaming services (CBS All Access, Disney+) and I can't record on my TiVo, it makes the Bolt less appealing.


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## Dodge DeBoulet (Aug 3, 2010)

Sooo ...

Got my onepasses and the few shows we cared about moved over to the new unit yesterday. Didn't realize that when I activated it the original unit would be immediately deactivated, so I called TiVo and they temporarily re-enabled the old unit. I wanted to wait until I knew I wouldn't interfere with anyone watching on the two minis to swap the cablecard.

Did that this afternoon; shut down the old unit, removed the cablecard and installed it in the new one, then called Comcast to give them the host ID. A few minutes later the new unit was on-line.

Tried to boot up the old one so I could perform a factory reset, but it appears that turning it off killed the hard drive. All I could get from it was (briefly) the TiVo boot screen logo, then 4 flashing lights. Oh well.

Wasn't crazy about having to update to the new UI on the Minis. My father-in-law is in his 90s and I'll now have to retrain him (repeatedly) to find his stuff. And even though I initially got them connected with the new UI, something happened to my account status that screwed EVERYTHING up for a hour or two ... the Minis couldn't connect to the Bolt; they complained that the new Bolt was incompatible, and TiVo support led me through a bunch of BS maneuvers (including rebooting my cable modem and router) to try to get them connected.

In the end it turned out that my account status on the new unit was set to "New," but they couldn't deactivate my old unit so that the new one could be re-activated. Of course *I* had to tell them it was an activation issue; they apparently couldn't figure it out themselves.

Not a great customer service experience. On the other hand, Comcast got me set up with the cable card swap with zero hassle!


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

Dodge DeBoulet said:


> My replacement Bolt Vox arrived today. I had previously received a shipping notification that it would be a 3TB unit, but unlike the commitment that was given to me by the support tech, the notification indicated that it was a "renewed" unit. It also arrived without accessories in a plain white box; the power supply was shipped separately.
> 
> However, other than possibly the packaging, I can find no indication on the Bolt itself that it's "renewed." The manufacture date is November 2019, and it certainly looks brand new ... even adhesive film applied to the black plastic surfaces to protect it.
> 
> It's been my experience with other electronics vendors that reconditioned equipment is usually labeled with a "reconditioned" sticker or at least an "R" tacked onto the serial number. I see nothing like that on this unit.


In the past, TiVo would have a slightly modified TSN to indicate a renewed/refurbished model. The second group of numbers would be 0011 for refurbished versus 0001 for new. (example for a refurbished Mini A93-0011-xxxx-xxxx).

Scott


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## Dodge DeBoulet (Aug 3, 2010)

HerronScott said:


> In the past, TiVo would have a slightly modified TSN to indicate a renewed/refurbished model. The second group of numbers would be 0011 for refurbished versus 0001 for new. (example for a refurbished Mini A93-0011-xxxx-xxxx).
> 
> Scott


Ah. Well, the 2nd set of numbers on mine is *6011*, so I'm not sure that's actually cleared anything up :grinning:


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Premiere bought on eBay years ago = 7460001
Last Roamio for $299 All-In BF Sale = 8460011

But thanks for making me look.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

Dodge DeBoulet said:


> h. Well, the 2nd set of numbers on mine is *6011*, so I'm not sure that's actually cleared anything up


Not sure about the leading 6 but I'd say refurbished.

Scott


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