# Returning Tivo user needs help with Minis



## sjmaye (Aug 28, 2003)

I just purchased a Bolt and need info on connecting a mini. I already have the Actiontec ECB2500C MOCA adapters. Can i use these with the Bolt's built-in MOCA bridge? 

Also, if I do not have a cable connection handy for the MOCA adapter can I use some sort of powerline ethernet adapters?


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

The minis include a MOCA reciever so do not need an adaptor. If you connect internet to the Bolt with an ethernet cable, the bolt will bridge that connection to the MOCA network (coax) in your home.

I won't say powerline networking cannot work, but few have had any success with it with minis. They need a hard wire connection that is stable. Moca or ethernet work well. Wireless and powerline CAN work but its not supported as lots of difficulty lie in getting it to work in many cases if at all.


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## sjmaye (Aug 28, 2003)

jcthorne said:


> The minis include a MOCA reciever so do not need an adaptor. If you connect internet to the Bolt with an ethernet cable, the bolt will bridge that connection to the MOCA network (coax) in your home.
> 
> I won't say powerline networking cannot work, but few have had any success with it with minis. They need a hard wire connection that is stable. Moca or ethernet work well. Wireless and powerline CAN work but its not supported as lots of difficulty lie in getting it to work in many cases if at all.


Hmm. I missed that.










So I only need additional MOCA hardware if I am not connected the Bolt directly to the router via ethernet. Correct?


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## snerd (Jun 6, 2008)

Correct. If the Bolt will be in a room that does not have *wired* ethernet, then you will need a MoCA adapter.

Easiest connection: wall -> coax -> "Coax In" [MoCA adapter] "TV/STB out" -> coax -> cable modem

You should also add a MoCA PoE filter at the input of the "main" splitter.

After setting up the Bolt, if you want you can connect an ethernet switch to the Bolt's ethernet port to extend your LAN and provide net access to other devices near the Bolt.


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## sjmaye (Aug 28, 2003)

Thank you, snerd. A couple other questions if you don't mind. 

Is there any wireless connectivity solution for the Tivo Mini? (like a Roku).

If I cannot get a coax outlet where my secondary TV is located such that I cannot use the mini can I use the screen mirroring option form a mobile device or some other solution? Are there limitations?

Is there a Roku channel that would allow me to access my recorded or stored media?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

sjmaye said:


> Thank you, snerd. A couple other questions if you don't mind.
> 
> Is there any wireless connectivity solution for the Tivo Mini? (like a Roku).


Unsupported and dependent on environmental factors are issues. I have a strong router and two Mini (v1 and v2) connected with a Linksys WUMC710. One is two rooms away and one is next door. I have a basic Roamio, and my connection status is about 100%. MoCA is the supported method. I have used a TiVo wireless N adapter, but it's fragile and not very strong.


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## snerd (Jun 6, 2008)

sjmaye said:


> Thank you, snerd. A couple other questions if you don't mind.
> 
> Is there any wireless connectivity solution for the Tivo Mini? (like a Roku).
> 
> ...


The Mini can only stream through wired ethernet or through MoCA, it has no WiFi built in. MoCA has some advantage, when using the Mini to play content recorded on the Bolt, the streaming is confined to the coax so that it doesn't interfere with the rest of your LAN.

You can still try using powerline or something like the WUMC710 that JoeKustra recommends, to connect a Mini through the ethernet port. Some people have excellent results, for others it isn't good enough -- it just depends on the characteristics of the wiring in your house for powerline, or on spacing/walls/etc. for WiFi. TiVo doesn't officially support it because results vary so widely that it is a gamble.

TiVo has demonstrated Roku support, but have not announced/released anything, so who knows if that will really be an option soon/ever.

There is a TiVo app for FireTV that can access the Bolt. Might work well, but even if the connection is solid, it won't be as good as a Mini.


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## sjmaye (Aug 28, 2003)

Sounds like I would be better served getting ethernet to a mini. Thanks for the info!


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## bobd (Jan 30, 2002)

JoeKustra said:


> Unsupported and dependent on environmental factors are issues. I have a strong router and two Mini (v1 and v2) connected with a Linksys WUMC710. One is two rooms away and one is next door. I have a basic Roamio, and my connection status is about 100%. MoCA is the supported method. I have used a TiVo wireless N adapter, but it's fragile and not very strong.


I recently came back to TiVo from years of allowing DirecTv to siphon my money away. Silly me. Anyway, I bought a Bolt and a Mini, connected each to a separate WUMC710 and are using them in AC mode from my Linksys WRT1900AC router; everything works great. The router is in my home office, the Bolt is in the living room and the Mini is in the bedroom.


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## ScottFL (Dec 14, 2015)

Wonder if connecting a mini to a wireless access point would work?


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

ScottFL said:


> Wonder if connecting a mini to a wireless access point would work?


It can, but as a lot have already pointed out, it really depends on the environmental factors where it's being used and the quality of the hardware. The mini would have no idea if isn't a wired connection after all, but the weak link would be the radio signal between the wifi router and the AP.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

sjmaye said:


> Sounds like I would be better served getting ethernet to a mini. Thanks for the info!


........or MoCA.


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## sjmaye (Aug 28, 2003)

HarperVision said:


> ........or MoCA.


Oh, sure. Exactly right. I was looking at MOCA as a hardwired ethernet solution.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

sjmaye said:


> Oh, sure. Exactly right. I was looking at MOCA as a hardwired ethernet solution.


Then technically that's the ONLY way to get a mini working because that's the only signal it correctly accepts and uses, be it from its Ethernet or coax MoCA input.


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## bakerfall (Dec 6, 2004)

bobd said:


> I recently came back to TiVo from years of allowing DirecTv to siphon my money away. Silly me. Anyway, I bought a Bolt and a Mini, connected each to a separate WUMC710 and are using them in AC mode from my Linksys WRT1900AC router; everything works great. The router is in my home office, the Bolt is in the living room and the Mini is in the bedroom.


Funny, I just did the exact same thing (left DirecTV to come back to Tivo).

One room I am using the DirecTV DECA adapter (their version of MOCA), the other room with a mini and the one with a bolt are hardwired. Working like a champ.


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