# Do refurb Bolts come with Hydra interface?



## mcf57 (Oct 19, 2012)

I'm looking to take advantage of the current TiVo Bolt sale. If I get the 500GB renewed Bolt from TiVo, will it come with the new Hydra interface out of the box? Or will it ask to upgrade? I want to stay on the older interface as I need it to work with pyTIVO. I see that you can roll it back if needed, but just wondering.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

Yes, Hydra out-of-the-box.
Edit: If you want to use VOX, you'll need to keep Hydra (I use (and like) Hydra, but rarely use the VOX voice control)


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## tommage1 (Nov 6, 2008)

Tony_T said:


> Yes, Hydra out-of-the-box.
> Edit: If you want to use VOX, you'll need to keep Hydra (I use (and like) Hydra, but rarely use the VOX voice control)


Are you SURE about that? I would think a regular Bolt would come with TE3 preinstalled since it does not include a Vox remote. I got one last summer, it had TE3 preinstalled. Maybe that has changed now but my GUESS would be any Bolt purchased as a Bolt, not a Bolt Vox would come with TE3.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

Hmmmm&#8230;. I thought I saw the VOX remote in the Ad, but on second look, the VOX is only showed for the Romio, but I would _think_ that the Bolt would still be Hydra "out-of-the-box" as it's the TiVo "New Experience", but now I'm not certain.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Tony_T said:


> Hmmmm&#8230;. I thought I saw the VOX remote in the Ad, but on second look, the VOX is only showed for the Romio, but I would _think_ that the Bolt would still be Hydra "out-of-the-box" as it's the TiVo "New Experience", but now I'm not certain.


With a Roamio, none ship with TE4. But they all automatically install it during the initial Guided Setup. The shipping software is 20.6.3 for some reason. Just hit Info when asked to choose a country.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

And, of course, regardless of what a Roamio or Bolt box comes with or automatically installs, it can be moved back or sideways or up or down  to TE3 or TE4 (with the caveat that shows are lost when going from TE4 to TE3).


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## cyxodus (Feb 23, 2019)

I love the Hydra UI.


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## lujan (May 24, 2010)

Yes, I just got a renewed/refurbished Bolt Vox a couple of weeks ago and it came with the Hydra UI. I had downgraded my original Vox but decided to keep Hydra on this one and I'm starting to get used to it.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

lujan said:


> Yes, I just got a renewed/refurbished Bolt Vox a couple of weeks ago and it came with the Hydra UI. I had downgraded my original Vox but decided to keep Hydra on this one and I'm starting to get used to it.


The Bolt on sale now does not appear include the VOX remote.
Save up to $420! TiVo Presidents Day Sale - Limited time only.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Tony_T said:


> The Bolt on sale now does not appear include the VOX remote.
> Save up to $420! TiVo Presidents Day Sale - Limited time only.


Seemingly correct; a VOX remote isn't referenced, as it is for the Roamio OTA deal. But the option to pick up a VOX remote for $20 seems to pop up in a box after one adds the Bolt to one's shopping cart (you may need to scroll down in the pop-up).


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## xberk (Dec 3, 2011)

mcf57 said:


> I want to stay on the older interface as I need it to work with pyTIVO.


This is a no brainer deal. The lowest price for a Bolt with lifetime! Keep your Roamio on your network for pyTivo .. Very easy to keep your old Roamio hooked up to your TV. Just change the input and your back to your Roamio and pyTivo ability. The Bolt will run better on Hydra, faster, and better etc. VOX is the future and will get better and better. Menu navigation by hand will be a thing of the past. Think back. Windows XP? Blackberry? AOL? .. Hydra is here. pyTivo is great but a real Media Server is better. Tivo will never be a media server. If you want your own content, a real Media Server is the answer, not Tivo.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

xberk said:


> This is a no brainer deal. The lowest price for a Bolt with lifetime!


Yes, great deal. Probably the last of the "White" Bolts.


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## xberk (Dec 3, 2011)

Tony_T said:


> Yes, great deal. Probably the last of the "White" Bolts.


Three years ago I picked up two refurb Roamios with Lifetime for $300 each. I thought that was the deal of all deals. Still running those Roamios with no issues. This deal with the Bolt and Lifetime is even better IMHO. Only diff here is that upgrading the Bolt HD will be harder. Opening the case (many more screws) etc. etc. is just harder now. I bought two Bolt + not long ago. Got use to the Hydra fairly quick and absolutely love the VOX. Also, good idea to add a USB fan to keep the Bolt running cool.


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## TheTivoPenguin (Oct 12, 2002)

I picked up one of the Bolts on this sale and also the $20 Vox remote. Got it yesterday and hooked it up to test it (waiting for cablecard) and it appeared to have shipped with TE3 on initial boot but it installed TE4 immediately with no request to upgrade. The unit was built 12/26/17 and still had plastic on the unit and also included the nonVox remote inside the box.

I'm downgrading to TE3 now and it appears to be going fine. I know I need TE4 for Vox and I may go to it at some point, but I am coming from a Premier to a Bolt and my wife will need some convincing to use TE4 and even then it may not go well, lol. For $20 I already have a remote ready AND she loves the Netflix button anyway.


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## jccfin (Aug 28, 2008)

xberk said:


> Also, good idea to add a USB fan to keep the Bolt running cool.


I've been running my Bolt upsidedown since I bought it. I having vents on the bottom of the device is a huge design flaw. Not even engineering noob would make that mistake. I solve the problem by flipping it. It seems to work just fine that way.

Anyone else running theirs flipped?


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## Jetboy55 (Dec 5, 2013)

Just activated my factory renewed Bolt 500GB yesterday, purchased during the same sale you mentioned. I don't think it had Hydra at first, but it upgraded to Hydra during Guided Setup when it checked online for updates and stuff. I never actually saw TE3 at all really.


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