# TiVo offering Bolt Vox to replace Roamio Plus



## davestein115 (Jul 30, 2016)

I swapped a Roamio Pro that had the HDMI port go bad. TiVo replaced with a like Roamio Pro that (i) will not pair with any RF remote and (ii) freezes and reboots daily.

After going through all the troubleshooting, TiVo offered to swap the box for a replacement. I went through the credit card authorization process and at the end was told the charge (to be refunded upon return) would be much less than the charge for the prior swap 10 days ago. It was at that point that the rep advised they had no Roamios available and were giving me a "free" upgrade (to a device they charged my card $180 less for) to a Bolt Vox. 

My experience with the Bolt, owning one myself and gifting one to a family member, is that the hard drives overheat and fail. I've replaced drives in both the Bolts, so I am concerned that the Bolt is not going to last as long as a replacement Roamio would, as well as the Roamio having a much easier to obtain (and less costly) replacement drive.

My questions to the group are:

1. Would you accept the Bolt Vox in a swap for the Roamio Pro or continue to push TiVo to replace it with a Roamio Pro? 
2. Do you believe there is a long-term stock issue with the Roamio Pro and I may never get one?
3. Is it worth a fight to try to get them to replace it with an Edge or does that also have cooling problems?

Thanks in advance.

Dave


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## DeltaOne (Sep 29, 2013)

If my only option was a Bolt I would remove the hard drive and leave it outside the Bolt case (connected via a SATA cable to the logic board). 

Better yet use a 3.5-inch HDD outside the case. Put a small AC Infinity fan on it...or have it in a case with its own fan.


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## tommage1 (Nov 6, 2008)

davestein115 said:


> I swapped a Roamio Pro that had the HDMI port go bad. TiVo replaced with a like Roamio Pro that (i) will not pair with any RF remote and (ii) freezes and reboots daily.
> 
> After going through all the troubleshooting, TiVo offered to swap the box for a replacement. I went through the credit card authorization process and at the end was told the charge (to be refunded upon return) would be much less than the charge for the prior swap 10 days ago. It was at that point that the rep advised they had no Roamios available and were giving me a "free" upgrade (to a device they charged my card $180 less for) to a Bolt Vox.
> 
> ...


Does your Roamio Plus have lifetime service they are transferring to the replacement device? If not why not just buy a used Roamio Plus or Pro, they are very cheap. If it does have lifetime a lot depends on what they are charging. I'm not sure what you are paying bottom line, you talk about $180 and getting it back after a return? So your net cost is zero for the entire process, starting at having the Plus with the bad port?

The Bolt itself, probably would not last as long as a Roamio. However since the Roamio is no longer manufactured you'd be looking at refurbished or used. Either can be ok, I'd lean towards used as many times a refurb is a return that may or may not be tested (like the Roamio Pro they sent you?), for sure not an extensive test. Used from a reputable seller who is currently using the device is not a bad choice. Doubt they will do an Edge since cost is WAY more but never know.

What to do bottom line comes down to lifetime service or monthly and what they charge after all is said and done, prepays, returns, refunds. A non lifetime device probably just get used from 3rd party seller and get all your money back from Tivo, and your original device if possible.


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## davestein115 (Jul 30, 2016)

tommage1 said:


> Does your Roamio Plus have lifetime service they are transferring to the replacement device? If not why not just buy a used Roamio Plus or Pro, they are very cheap. If it does have lifetime a lot depends on what they are charging. I'm not sure what you are paying bottom line, you talk about $180 and getting it back after a return? So your net cost is zero for the entire process, starting at having the Plus with the bad port?
> 
> The Bolt itself, probably would not last as long as a Roamio. However, since the Roamio is no longer manufactured you'd be looking at refurbished or used. Either can be ok, I'd lean towards used as many times a refurb is a return that may or may not be tested (like the Roamio Pro they sent you?), for sure not an extensive test. Used from a reputable seller who is currently using the device is not a bad choice. Doubt they will do an Edge since cost is WAY more but never know.
> 
> What to do bottom line comes down to lifetime service or monthly and what they charge after all is said and done, prepays, returns, refunds. A non lifetime device probably just get used from 3rd party seller and get all your money back from Tivo, and your original device if possible.


Thanks for your reply; I'm sorry my initial post (made after a frustrating 90-minute call with Tivo) was not clear.

My Roamio Pro had lifetime service. The HDMI port stopped functioning and TiVo offered a swap for $80. The box they sent me does not function well - it freezes and reboots daily and will not pair with any RF Remotes (remotes that paired with my old box as well as other TiVo devices I have).

TiVo transferred my lifetime service from the old box to the replacement Roamio Pro and will do the same for whatever they replace it with.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I appreciate your advice.


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## tommage1 (Nov 6, 2008)

davestein115 said:


> Thanks for your reply; I'm sorry my initial post (made after a frustrating 90-minute call with Tivo) was not clear.
> 
> My Roamio Pro had lifetime service. The HDMI port stopped functioning and TiVo offered a swap for $80. The box they sent me does not function well - it freezes and reboots daily and will not pair with any RF Remotes (remotes that paired with my old box as well as other TiVo devices I have).
> 
> ...


That's not a bad deal then, $80 out of pocket. While I prefer Roamios to Bolts (as I mostly just use the DVR part) $80 for a Vox with lifetime is better than a Roamio that does not function. I assume they would send the 1TB cable only 6 tuner Vox? Which is closest match to your Roamio? You can always check the forums here for ways to use an external 3.5 with a Bolt, I do it myself. Overall I'd take the deal if total out of pocket is only $80 with the lifetime transfer included.


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

davestein115 said:


> My experience with the Bolt, owning one myself and gifting one to a family member, is that the hard drives overheat and fail. I've replaced drives in both the Bolts, so I am concerned that the Bolt is not going to last as long as a replacement Roamio would, as well as the Roamio having a much easier to obtain (and less costly) replacement drive.


I've only ever had one Bolt-series unit and it's the Bolt+ that I ordered mid-April 2017 and I activated by around end of April 2017. Its still on its original drive and I've never opened up the unit.

Yes, they run hot (as evidenced by the high ODTs and hot spot on the top cover) which is why many people take steps to cool them like using laptop cooling pads with fan(s) in them like I did.

I bought two AC Infinity Multifans and am using them to cool my Bolt+. See Temperature of Bolt. The S4 is blowing into the CableCARD area w/the door removed. The S2 blower is under the tiny exhaust of the Bolt+ and blowing to the side, sucking in from that exhaust hole.

I'm now using their 6.5 volt AC INFINITY, Turbo Fan Power Adapter to speed up their fans I don't think I've seen my units reach 50 C on hot days while watching TV. IIRC, use my iPad to watch videos from my Bolt+, the ODT might rise somewhat to say 52 C or so.

If your concern is the drives failing due to heat, it seems like a USB powered laptop cooling pad w/fan or AC Infinity fans are cheap insurance.


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## davestein115 (Jul 30, 2016)

cwerdna said:


> I've only ever had one Bolt-series unit and it's the Bolt+ that I ordered mid-April 2017 and I activated by around end of April 2017. Its still on its original drive and I've never opened up the unit.
> 
> Yes, they run hot (as evidenced by the high ODTs and hot spot on the top cover) which is why many people take steps to cool them like using laptop cooling pads with fan(s) in them like I did.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the fan advice. I have my Bolts (I have one and just re-inherited one I gave someone as a gift) sitting on inexpensive laptop cooling pads but the AC Infinity seems like a much better idea. I found them offered via the manufacturer's eBay store with free shipping without the minimum that the website requires.

Thanks.


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## Barbara Noyes (Jul 29, 2020)

I just had the same issue I loved my roamio, no problems until it just failed. I got the deal on the bolt as they no longer make roamio. Already they have angered me by not sending me the power cord, just got the power cord and it doesn't seem like it goes in right. After reading your review of the Bolt, should I just cancel Tivo and go with the DVR program offered through Verizon?


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## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

davestein115 said:


> I swapped a Roamio Pro that had the HDMI port go bad. TiVo replaced with a like Roamio Pro that (i) will not pair with any RF remote and (ii) freezes and reboots daily.
> 
> After going through all the troubleshooting, TiVo offered to swap the box for a replacement. I went through the credit card authorization process and at the end was told the charge (to be refunded upon return) would be much less than the charge for the prior swap 10 days ago. It was at that point that the rep advised they had no Roamios available and were giving me a "free" upgrade (to a device they charged my card $180 less for) to a Bolt Vox.
> 
> ...


You could try a component to HDMI converter.


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## davestein115 (Jul 30, 2016)

Barbara Noyes said:


> I just had the same issue I loved my roamio, no problems until it just failed. I got the deal on the bolt as they no longer make roamio. Already they have angered me by not sending me the power cord, just got the power cord and it doesn't seem like it goes in right. After reading your review of the Bolt, should I just cancel Tivo and go with the DVR program offered through Verizon?


The Bolt is a good device and it seems with an external fan (or two) that they are reliable. They are surely better DVRs that whatever your provider offers. I've put a pair of the above referenced AC Infinity fans on my Bolt and the temperature dropped from 62 C to 48 C. It appears the HDD manufactures recommend temperatures under 56 C. The temperature reported via the Tivo interface is reported from the main chip, so I don't know that the HDD is anywhere near that temperature, but without some additional cooling, these drives seem to fail at a much higher rate than on prior Tivos.

As to the power supply issue, that's a routine problem for them.


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