# How reliable are the Bolts?



## mandms7 (Mar 11, 2006)

I've been a TiVo customer since the Series 2, and every TiVo I've owned (Series 2, Premiere, Roamio Plus - all with Lifetime) have all been rock solid. I still have my Roamio, which if it wasn't for its painfully slow streaming apps (Amazon, Netflix) I wouldn't even consider the Bolt. I know I can just buy a Amazon Fire Stick for better performance, but I'd rather be able to do everything with one remote and input. The amount of threads related to the Bolt's high temperature issues have me very concerned about its long-term durability. I don't want to be 2 years into ownership of a Bolt and have the hard drive or main board crap out.

Are my concerns justified? Is there any pattern of several year old Bolts failing?

Thanks.


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## opus123 (Feb 14, 2005)

Don't think Bolts have been around long enough to corroborate your reliability concerns, but they certainly could have been designed better to dissipate heat... which is a top reason for tech failure. I'm impressed with the speed/responsiveness of the Bolt vs my old TiVo-HD, but never had a Roamio to compare properly. Roamio's design certainly accommodates heat dissipation better, so If you're happy with Roamio performance, I'd just go with an Amazon/Apple/Roku device for streaming... unless you're offered a great deal on a Bolt (e.g. the $99 lifetime transfer) or are an OTA-only viewer. With the recent rumors of Amazon adding DVR support to future FireTv's I assume you'll have more viable alternatives to choose from in the next year or so.


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## ohboy710 (Jun 30, 2008)

The Hard Drive on my first Bolt died after 13 months. I was reading in another forum that this was very common because of a crappy hard drive model installed.. not sure if they have changed and started using a different type or not. Oh yes and my Bolt gets VERY hot. I gave my old Roamio to my mom which has now been working for about 6 years so I personally think the Roamio was better (although a little slower).


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## scole250 (Nov 8, 2005)

I just replaced a couple 6 year old Premieres with 3TB 6 tuner Bolts w/lifetime. I thought it was well worth the $40 for the 3 year extended warranty.


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## darklyte (Sep 17, 2003)

mandms7 said:


> I've been a TiVo customer since the Series 2, and every TiVo I've owned (Series 2, Premiere, Roamio Plus - all with Lifetime) have all been rock solid. I still have my Roamio, which if it wasn't for its painfully slow streaming apps (Amazon, Netflix) I wouldn't even consider the Bolt. I know I can just buy a Amazon Fire Stick for better performance, but I'd rather be able to do everything with one remote and input. The amount of threads related to the Bolt's high temperature issues have me very concerned about its long-term durability. I don't want to be 2 years into ownership of a Bolt and have the hard drive or main board crap out.
> 
> Are my concerns justified? Is there any pattern of several year old Bolts failing?
> 
> Thanks.


I've been with TiVo since series 1 and never had an immediate concern about their hardware, or any other electronics product in this cost bracket that I've purchased, until the Bolt.

Sure on the old models the HD would fail after a few years and I've had to refresh capacitors in the PSU. But my S3 is still running fine 10 years later otherwise... and it never runs boiling hot.

As soon as I got my bolt, it was immediately obvious, regardless of what you think of the aesthetics of the case (ugly), that it was not engineered for proper heat dissipation which has a direct negative impact on the lifespan of the device.

I am no engineer or tech wiz, but...
_*WHY*_ is the only fan in a bolt as far away as possible from any of the main heat generating components? 
_Why_ is the clearance for the bottom exhaust is so minimal that simply raising the device a half inch produces a few degree temp drop? 
_Why_ aren't there at least a few exhaust holes in the case somewhere besides on the bottom?

This is either incompetence at some stage of design/engineering, or if you believe in more sinister thinking, planned obsolesce to keep us TiVo fans from being able to hold on to the boxes for so many years. Because even a few minor tweaks that would have little to no impact on cost would help.

That said, no one knows if these heat concerns will actually be valid or if we are all just cranky worry warts accustomed to the old machines that were built with real quality in mind.

Hardware aside, I will say I expected some meaningful and positive user experience changes to the OS but the new interface was a huge disappointment, and not just because I was used to the old one, so I reverted back to the old OS immediately.

So the new machines are faster and have online features and a few other things the old ones don't depending on your unit.

If you're old one is running fine, carefully evaluate your reasons for upgrading and the costs in deciding what to do. The apps, specifically Netflix, is an inferior user experience on TiVo than an Amazon fire stick (and I assume other devices, I only have Fire). For example, Netflix is slower, harder to search and the app is just less robust overall, there are no live previews of things when you scroll through etc. The app integration experience isn't on par with what you are getting from other new devices and you'll probably find yourself still using them for most things instead.

So if its running fine, and you aren't getting a cheap upgrade deal, I'd definitely wait it out.... I can't imagine its worth it if you have a Roamio. IMO


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## TexasDVR (Feb 20, 2013)

Other than a few SW Bugs that should not be there with Experience 4, the Hot box is a concern. My Bolt VOX is about 2-3 weeks old and so far so good.

I do have it raised up on 1" tall rubber feet and I am thinking about placing cooling fans under it.

Some have already complained about the failing "tuners" and "hard drives" that may be related to the heat.

The mfg date on mine is Feb 2018, I have no idea what changes have been made in production, if any?


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## darklyte (Sep 17, 2003)

I wouldn't count on any meaningful changes being made in production, Tivo is not exactly known for the speed of updating their hardware.

Since you've already got a unit, test it out for a few more days and otherwise you are still in the return window and can swap your lifetime service back to the old unit.

Otherwise people are reporting laptop coolers underneath help, or you could go to the next level and add a fan on top which is what I'm working on.

Another member suggested a Noctua NF-F12 5V fan for this, it is a 5 volt fan and comes with a USB adapter that you could plug into the back of the unit. I haven't tried that yet, but it seems the easiest route if you don't mind cutting a hole in the top of the case but prefer to not mess with the mainboard.

NF-F12 5V


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## scole250 (Nov 8, 2005)

scole250 said:


> I just replaced a couple 6 year old Premieres with 3TB 6 tuner Bolts w/lifetime. I thought it was well worth the $40 for the 3 year extended warranty.


I forgot to mention this before, but even if you didn't buy the extended warranty when you purchased the Bolt, you still have 90 days from the purchase date to call them back and buy it.


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## leiff (Aug 24, 2005)

the nf-f12 5v fan recommended, I don't think anyone here has posted 1st hand experience with. I see it can be had for $20 at Amazon.
I just received my Xfinity S4 140 mm quiet rated fan from Amazon for $15. It moves enough air for me and is also quieter then Tivos internal fan by a long shot


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## darklyte (Sep 17, 2003)

scole250 said:


> One thing to keep in mind is that fan only has 1mm H2O static pressure which is a little weak.
> I just saw this Noctua 120mm 5v fan which comes with a USB adapter, 54cfm, 22.4 dBA, .15A, MTTF > 150000 h, 2.61mm H2O. I might try it instead NF-F12 5V


Yeah I came across that fan also and was considering it until I learned about the Noctua 5V version and the discussion on the static pressure.

That aside, Noctuas are generally among the best fans you can buy if you can get past the ugly brown color. I tested out using a permanent marker on another one I already have and it looks pretty good! I'll report back once mine is up and running.


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## aspexil (Oct 16, 2015)

We bought our 500G Tivo Bolt when they came out 3 years ago plus a 2T drive. Immediately upgraded it to 2T and then turned it on. It's been running ever since. The ODT was about 65-67C and with a laptop cooling fan I purchased last month now runs solid 55C every time I check it. So I don't think you need to worry too much about reliability.


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## elorimer (Jan 1, 2012)

I follow the design but it seems backwards to me. The tuner and the cablecard seem like they generate the most heat, so we have the fan on the left pulling outside air from the right over the cablecard and the tuner, across the chip and down out of the left side. To provide less back pressure for exhaust down they bend the case. That means the hot air from the tuner and the cable card, plus the chip, go over the cooler hard drive.

Anyway, I lifted up the left side an inch to improve the outflow, and the ODT went up as more hot air rose up and over the chip. Ha!

If one is trying to improve airflow, you would want a fan moving air up on the right, and down on the left. I think the laptop fans are either up or down, aren't they?

EDIT: I lifted the back, so that the unit leans forward. So heat would be rising to the back, away from the hard drive. ODT went from 62 to 59.


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## Joe39565 (Mar 19, 2014)

I can't wait until the rest of my bolt "upgrade" components arrive just to see what the ODT drops down to. Drilled about 70 holes in the bottom of the case, some of which are in the hard drive and cable card area to get as much air flow as possible with the case closed up and sitting normally. I've just finished installation of the 12 V 120 mm fan on the top cover.


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## mkrsm (Jan 31, 2016)

I just had a Bolt failure last week. I bought it in early 2016 (Sept 2015 build date). After the house power was turned off and on, the BOLT came up with all the front LEDs blinking. I think this indicates a hard drive failure. As others noted, the unit always ran quite hot, not good for hard drives. After trying a few things, Tivo customer service replaced the unit for a fee. I didn't have an extended warranty.

Now trying to figure out how to go back to the Tivo Classic interface.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

mkrsm said:


> Now trying to figure out how to go back to the Tivo Classic interface.


Same for a Bolt: https://www.tivocommunity.com/commu...-hydra-from-roamio-and-minis-v1.554653/unread


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## Riftur (Nov 1, 2016)

JoeKustra said:


> Same for a Bolt: How to Rollback Hydra from Roamio and Mini's v1


Oh wow, I just got my Tivo bolt and am very disappointed at the new OS. Mainly because I can not just push play on a folder and have all the episodes play. I like to do this when doing chores around the house and have still been using my old Tivo for this purpose. When you do the rollback, does the skip feature still work? What options of note do you loose? Thanks


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

Riftur said:


> Oh wow, I just got my Tivo bolt and am very disappointed at the new OS. Mainly because I can not just push play on a folder and have all the episodes play. I like to do this when doing chores around the house and have still been using my old Tivo for this purpose. When you do the rollback, does the skip feature still work? What options of note do you loose? Thanks


Voice control through the VOX remote if you bought that version. Yes, SM still works. 

Scott


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## Riftur (Nov 1, 2016)

TY


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## mkrsm (Jan 31, 2016)

JoeKustra said:


> Same for a Bolt: How to Rollback Hydra from Roamio and Mini's v1


Thanks so much, that worked. Regarding the reliability, I'm planning to put a USB fan on the unit.


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## Sibedog (Aug 28, 2018)

My Bolt+ crashed a week ago, a little over a year old (thank goodness for extended warranty). Still have a PremiereXL, Roamio and Roamio Pro working just fine. But the most frustrating part (other than losing all my recordings on the Bolt) is the replacement came with the new UI. I hate it. Seems to take many more steps to do anything than the old UI. I called and asked them to switch me to the old UI - and it didn't work. They had to file a ticket on it. I hope to heck they figure it out soon because this new one is driving me crazy.


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## leiff (Aug 24, 2005)

Sibedog said:


> My Bolt+ crashed a week ago, a little over a year old (thank goodness for extended warranty). Still have a PremiereXL, Roamio and Roamio Pro working just fine. But the most frustrating part (other than losing all my recordings on the Bolt) is the replacement came with the new UI. I hate it. Seems to take many more steps to do anything than the old UI. I called and asked them to switch me to the old UI - and it didn't work. They had to file a ticket on it. I hope to heck they figure it out soon because this new one is driving me crazy.


Were you doing anything to cool your Bolt that failed? Were you using power saver feature?


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Sibedog said:


> My Bolt+ crashed a week ago, a little over a year old (thank goodness for extended warranty). Still have a PremiereXL, Roamio and Roamio Pro working just fine. But the most frustrating part (other than losing all my recordings on the Bolt) is the replacement came with the new UI. I hate it. Seems to take many more steps to do anything than the old UI. I called and asked them to switch me to the old UI - and it didn't work. They had to file a ticket on it. I hope to heck they figure it out soon because this new one is driving me crazy.


See link. The procedure is identical for Roamios and Bolts.


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## mkrsm (Jan 31, 2016)

leiff said:


> Were you doing anything to cool your Bolt that failed? Were you using power saver feature?


Just the power saver feature, set to medium. It was in a 2'x3' cabinet with an open front and it gets a bit hot in there, along with the tuning adapter.


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## Sibedog (Aug 28, 2018)

leiff said:


> Were you doing anything to cool your Bolt that failed? Were you using power saver feature?


No, not aware of that. What should I do with the new one?


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## ohboy710 (Jun 30, 2008)

Because everybody keeps saying its a cooling issue (and my last one died after 13 months) I took my current bolt and put it up onto some rubber feet so its about 1 inch off the cabinet now. I can feel with my hand that is seems cooler now and that was simple to do.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

mkrsm said:


> I just had a Bolt failure last week. I bought it in early 2016 (Sept 2015 build date). After the house power was turned off and on, the BOLT came up with all the front LEDs blinking. I think this indicates a hard drive failure. As others noted, the unit always ran quite hot, not good for hard drives. After trying a few things, Tivo customer service replaced the unit for a fee. I didn't have an extended warranty.
> 
> Now trying to figure out how to go back to the Tivo Classic interface.


One reason why a DVR should be connected to a UPS. Personally, I have never used a TiVo without it being connected to a UPS.


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## darklyte (Sep 17, 2003)

Sibedog said:


> My Bolt+ crashed a week ago, a little over a year old (thank goodness for extended warranty). Still have a PremiereXL, Roamio and Roamio Pro working just fine. But the most frustrating part (other than losing all my recordings on the Bolt) is the replacement came with the new UI. I hate it. Seems to take many more steps to do anything than the old UI. I called and asked them to switch me to the old UI - and it didn't work. They had to file a ticket on it. I hope to heck they figure it out soon because this new one is driving me crazy.


There are instructions around the forum that will tell you how to downgrade the UI, I've done it myself recently. Probably under one of the long "Hydra" threads.

Do you know or did they give you any explanation as to what went wrong with the unit?


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## darklyte (Sep 17, 2003)

BadCommand said:


> So after spending an excruciating 3 days with the Hydra UI on my Roamio and 6 Mini's (and with nasty family feedback), I posted the request to rollback on the Tivo forum site. I was sent a message to contact Tivo support directly to find out how. Tivo support was very helpful and gave me the following instructions which they OK'd for forum posting. KEEP IN MIND YOU WILL LOSE EVERYTHING!!!
> 
> For the Roamio:
> 1.) Go into Menu- Help- Reset to Defaults- Repeat Guided Setup- Select
> ...


This exact method works on Bolts too


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

How to Rollback Hydra from Roamio and Mini's v1


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

I bought a 2TB 4-tuner model from WeaKnees about two years ago. It immediately demonstrated more sensitivity to minor power fluctuations than any other product I'd ever owned, spontaneously rebooting as if possessed. Replacing an old surge protector fixed that, but no other component on the same protector had any problem, including all sorts of video and hi-fi boxes.

It was also noisier than it should have been, and within a year the noise (from a buzzing board component and the fan) was unbearable. I put it in the server closet where I don't have to listen to it, to just let it die a peaceful death while we access it with Minis, rather than send it in for repair ...regardless of warranty; I was too busy to deal with it. If it lasts in there three years I won't consider repairing it. The server closet is well-ventilated, and I elevated the Bolt for good measure.

A few times the Minis couldn't find it. I disabled the power-saving mode, and we haven't had that problem since. We can't browse the multiple tuners with Minis, but aside from that we're happier with it locked in the dungeon, um, I mean closet. Mostly. Luckily our main workhorse here is a Roamio Pro.


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## RWS3 (Apr 13, 2018)

mkrsm said:


> I just had a Bolt failure last week. I bought it in early 2016 (Sept 2015 build date). After the house power was turned off and on, the BOLT came up with all the front LEDs blinking. ..... Tivo customer service replaced the unit for a fee. I didn't have an extended warranty.
> 
> Now trying to figure out how to go back to the Tivo Classic interface.


This just happened to me. Its sad how the new stuff is not as reliable as the old. My TivoHD is still running like a champ. I'm nervous about how long the replacement Bolt+ will work... Good luck to everyone else on the forum. I don't post often, but I've been with you guys for over a decade.


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## XIBM (Mar 9, 2013)

I think high heat levels are killing Bolts and drives. A USB external fan blowing on the back of the Bolt is suggested.


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## DocNo (Oct 10, 2001)

I do think the Bolt from a performance stand point is a worth upgrade from a Romio and Premiere. It's just the other issues with it that have been gone over in this thread. Luckily most of the downsides of the Bolt can be remedied if you really want to. 

Just getting the hard drive out of the bolt case makes a huge difference. I just ran a regular SATA cable (NOT an eSATA) out the back to a 3.5" drive that I just sat on the shelf behind the Tivo. The hard drive is powered from an external power supply. I was cleaning out stuff in my basement and came across an old dead Premier so, I think I'm going to put the guts from the Bolt in the Premiere case. I'll be able to get the hard drive and the Bolt's guts in to the same case, get rid of that ugly white case with it's crease or whatever the heck it is, utilize the much larger fan in the Premiere case (and power it from the HD power supply to get rid of the aforementioned whine from the motherboard fan power header) and streamline things in my AV stack again. 

Tivo was so close to having the perfect Tivo but for the horrible case they put the bolt in - along with the whole move to 2.5" hard drives. Just bonkers.


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## pj1983 (Dec 26, 2016)

DocNo said:


> (snip)
> Just getting the hard drive out of the bolt case makes a huge difference. I just ran a regular SATA cable (NOT an eSATA) out the back to a 3.5" drive that I just sat on the shelf behind the Tivo. The hard drive is powered from an external power supply. I was cleaning out stuff in my basement and came across an old dead Premier so, I think I'm going to put the guts from the Bolt in the Premiere case. I'll be able to get the hard drive and the Bolt's guts in to the same case, get rid of that ugly white case with it's crease or whatever the heck it is, utilize the much larger fan in the Premiere case (and power it from the HD power supply to get rid of the aforementioned whine from the motherboard fan power header) and streamline things in my AV stack again. (snip)


Please post pictures of the Bolt-into-a-Premiere conversion when it's all done. I have a couple of Premieres I was planning to e-cycle but am intrigued by the notion of a Bolt in a Premiere form factor, especially if doing so increases reliability.


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## mickrussom (Dec 21, 2007)

mandms7 said:


> Are my concerns justified? Is there any pattern of several year old Bolts failing?
> Thanks.


Yes, they are worse. My Tivo buddies complain about them, almost all the ones (we all have Bolt+) from 2016 have failed at least once. The hard drives are trash. They do seem to fail slowly, if you ever notice blocks or skips or audio "junk" or judder or any other anomalies on live TV or recording that arent signal/compression artifacts its a clue the HDD is going.

Tivo should really put the SMART status somewhere - there is no way they dont know these things are about to fail. Ill bet they sit on that data.

Another annoyance is the OnePass stuff only transfer if both boxes are "alive". After the warranty runs out on my bolt+ I think Im probably done. Cheap plastic, bad cooling, difficult hard drive add/upgrade/etc. There is such a short list of basic issues that would be trivial and easy to fix but Tivo doesnt seem to care. I dont mind spending $1K on a great DVR - but I feel the Series5 Roamio Pro was the last of the "good ones".

My observation between myself and my friends is the Bolts last 1.5 to 2 years. The stuttering and playback and live TV record anomalies are the warning sign.

These units should have a small SSD partition that is extra-reliable to hold all the "good stuff" (OnePass,etc) and the hard drive should be on a removeable tray to make swapping them trivial. The move to 2.5" from 3.5" was just stupid. The 3.5" drives are much more reliable and have been getting better every year. The lockouts (like not allowing 14TB drives) are childish.

Now I have to re-pair and re-setup a new Tivo after RMA.


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## aspexil (Oct 16, 2015)

I commented on this post last year. We got our Bolt when it was released around Oct 2015 and it has been running just fine ever since. It does seem some people have received bad units but knock on wood things are still good here.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

One of my Bolts with a 4TB Seagate is still running. I've been using the 4TB Seagate in Bolts since October 2015.

Sent from my Galaxy S10


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## rjrsouthwest (Feb 19, 2016)

My bolt 500gb has been running fine since May 2016.


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## tommiet (Oct 28, 2005)

6 months with no issues and it started with the video freezing and rebooting... Replacement on the way... Had to call twice to get someone to send me another Bolt.

NOTE: The refurb id is now listed on line and I can no longer manager my current Bolt on line OR remote access (not that remote access worked that great anyway.) ReCast handles my remote viewing today.....


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## Tony Chick (Jun 20, 2002)

Replacement Bolt Vox #5 is on its way. This is simply the most unreliable piece of gear I've ever had, ANY power outage kills it even when plugged into UPS (?). My ancient Premiere XL4 just keeps on going though


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Tony Chick said:


> Replacement Bolt Vox #5 is on its way. This is simply the most unreliable piece of gear I've ever had, ANY power outage kills it even when plugged into UPS (?). My ancient Premiere XL4 just keeps on going though


Something isn't right. I've used seven or eight Bolts since October 2015. I've used them in multiple locations, on multiple APC UPSs. I have never had any of the Bolts go down during a power outage while the APC UPSs were supplying power.

Are these all Bolts from 2018 or later? Maybe something changed with the later Bolts? All the Bolts I used were manufactured between 2015 and 2017.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

Tony Chick said:


> Replacement Bolt Vox #5 is on its way. This is simply the most unreliable piece of gear I've ever had, ANY power outage kills it even when plugged into UPS (?). My ancient Premiere XL4 just keeps on going though





aaronwt said:


> Something isn't right. I've used seven or eight Bolts since October 2015. I've used them in multiple locations, on multiple APC UPSs. I have never had any of the Bolts go down during a power outage while the APC UPSs were supplying power.
> 
> Are these all Bolts from 2018 or later? Maybe something changed with the later Bolts? All the Bolts I used were manufactured between 2015 and 2017.


The Bolt here was purchased in 2015, and has been more sensitive to minor power fluctuations than anything I've ever owned. It also has defective parts that make it very noisy. We recently retired a Premier XL and two HDs that were still running fine, just older and slower. In our experience the Roamio Pro was the best TiVo ever made, and is the last reliable model. More on our Bolt here: https://www.tivocommunity.com/community/i...


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Pokemon_Dad said:


> The Bolt here was purchased in 2015, and has been more sensitive to minor power fluctuations than anything I've ever owned. It also has defective parts that make it very noisy. We recently retired a Premier XL and two HDs that were still running fine, just older and slower. In our experience the Roamio Pro was the best TiVo ever made, and is the last reliable model. More on our Bolt here: https://www.tivocommunity.com/community/i...


Fortunately, like @aaronwt, I have had none of those issues; knock wood, 2 years up and running, and no noise issue (the sound is slightly different, but generally no more apparent, than that from my Roamio box--I can recall hearing the (original) fan from across the room perhaps a couple of times). I have my Bolt box (as well as my Roamio box) on water bottle cap risers.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

Mikeguy said:


> Fortunately, like @aaronwt, I have had none of those issues; knock wood, 2 years up and running, and no noise issue (the sound is slightly different, but generally no more apparent, than that from my Roamio box--I can recall hearing the (original) fan from across the room perhaps a couple of times). I have my Bolt box (as well as my Roamio box) on water bottle cap risers.


I would hope and expect that most Bolts work OK. It seems to be a rule of the internetz that unhappy customers are more likely to post, but when it comes to Bolts we are an unusually high percentage. Until the Bolt the only hardware troubles I'd reported over ten years, with four previous base units and three Minis, were due to Comcast and cablecards. Later I finally zapped a Mini, but that was my fault.


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## Dan115 (Apr 17, 2019)

I'm on my 4th Bolt in just over 2 years. First one was new and lasted about a year. The other 3 are refurbished units. This is the main reason I can't recommend Tivo to my family and friends.


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## Anotherpyr (May 6, 2015)

mickrussom said:


> Yes, they are worse. My Tivo buddies complain about them, almost all the ones (we all have Bolt+) from 2016 have failed at least once. The hard drives are trash. They do seem to fail slowly, if you ever notice blocks or skips or audio "junk" or judder or any other anomalies on live TV or recording that arent signal/compression artifacts its a clue the HDD is going.


Actually my experience is that it's a sign the hard drive is overheating. When I took steps to reduce the temperature in the bolt enclosure the anomalies stopped for me.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Anotherpyr said:


> Actually my experience is that it's a sign the hard drive is overheating. When I took steps to reduce the temperature in the bolt enclosure the anomalies stopped for me.


And what's your current general temp./what steps have you employed? Thanks--


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

Dan115 said:


> I'm on my 4th Bolt in just over 2 years. First one was new and lasted about a year. The other 3 are refurbished units. This is the main reason I can't recommend Tivo to my family and friends.


I received and set up my Bolt+ at the end of April 2017. I've not had any problems with it and am on the same unit. (knock on wood) I'm on the stock hard drive and have never disassembled my Bolt+, unlike my prior TiVos.

Ever since I noticed the internal temps are high, I've been using laptop cooling pads (with fan or fans in them) under the Bolt+ to keep it cooler.

I suspect some sort of environmental problem at your place or physical abuse (e.g. moving the DVR around when it's on) or possibly even stray voltage coming in via coax or something attached to your TiVo. I luckily was able to find A bad cable installation destroyed my $2,000 TV and maybe almost killed me that I'd read about (as an example).


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## Anotherpyr (May 6, 2015)

Mikeguy said:


> And what's your current general temp./what steps have you employed? Thanks--


Initially it was in an entertainment center cabinet. What alarmed me was that the plastic case was hot to the touch. These days it's outside of the cabinet, the cable card door has been removed and I have 2 120mm fans underneath it blowing up on it. The current ODT is 46.

I don't remember what the actual ODT was while it was in the cabinet but it was in the 70s.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Anotherpyr said:


> Initially it was in an entertainment center cabinet. What alarmed me was that the plastic case was hot to the touch. These days it's outside of the cabinet, the cable card door has been removed and I have 2 120mm fans underneath it blowing up on it. The current ODT is 46.
> 
> I don't remember what the actual ODT was while it was in the cabinet but it was in the 70s.


Thanks, that's helpful to know. My Bolt, fortunately, has been running fine and has always been in the upper 50s/lower 60s (not in a cabinet); my removing the cablecard door has lowered that maybe 3-4 degrees.

But all the comments here have caused me to revisit the idea of adding an external fan. I just remembered that I have a basic laptop cooling pad with 2 small fans and tried that last night--it got the temp down around 4-5 degrees, albeit the hum can be heard.

Have always been impressed by the AC Infinity fans often mentioned here, and was looking at them last evening. I had been looking at the single AC Infinity Multifan S4 (140mm x 140mm), but then was looking at the dual fan Multifan S7 (with 2 120mm x 120mm fans)--it has just under double the airflow, and the Bolt could be balanced on the two fans, one at each side. By any chance, is that the model you have, and how has it worked out--does the balancing work, and what's the sound level like/what speed setting have you set it at? Another alternative that recently has been mentioned here positively is the AC Infinity Aircom S7, which looks like a nice unit, a bit more expensive.


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## DeltaOne (Sep 29, 2013)

Mikeguy said:


> Have always been impressed by the AC Infinity fans often mentioned here, and was looking at them last evening. I had been looking at the single AC Infinity Multifan S4 (140mm x 140mm), but then was looking at the dual fan Multifan S7 (with 2 120mm x 120mm fans)--it has just under double the airflow, and the Bolt could be balanced on the two fans, one at each side.


A few weeks ago I helped someone with a Bolt. We took the cable card door off and put the S4 fan under that side, so it blows up right on the cable card. We cut a small wood block to hold up the other (left) side. Temps have been running around 45 to 50ºC.

I don't think a fan on the left side, where the HDD is, would help much. Two things...there are very few air intake slots on that side. And I didn't want a fan blowing up against the Bolt's fan (which blows down). And, keeping the cable card cool, I think, helps a lot with the over all temperature.

BTW, I added an AC Infinity Aircom T10 to my home theater receiver. I really like the design and it's keeping my receiver at a cool 84º F, measured where the hot air exits the receiver. They make three Aircom T models...one with rear exhaust, one with top exhaust and one with front exhaust.

Also put an S5 (80 x 80mm) fan on top of our router. Dropped its internal temp from 50ºC to 25ºC.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

DeltaOne said:


> A few weeks ago I helped someone with a Bolt. We took the cable card door off and put the S4 fan under that side, so it blows up right on the cable card. We cut a small wood block to hold up the other (left) side. Temps have been running around 45 to 50ºC.
> 
> I don't think a fan on the left side, where the HDD is, would help much. Two things...there are very few air intake slots on that side. And I didn't want a fan blowing up against the Bolt's fan (which blows down). And, keeping the cable card cool, I think, helps a lot with the over all temperature.
> 
> ...


Sounds like a nice endorsement, and for AC Infinity.  Thanks for all the information.

Agreed as to the fan on the side opposite the cablecard--it just helps keep matters look balanced in my mind, lol. Wonder if it would benefit matters on that side simply to place the fan there "upside down" so that it works with the Bolt's fan to pull the heat away, rather than blowing air into the fan.

I like the Aircom units--they seem very nicely done and get great reviews. But was thinking that for the Bolt and keeping the fan always on, a Multifan Sx (whether the single or the double) might be all that's needed, at a price savings.


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## DeltaOne (Sep 29, 2013)

Mikeguy said:


> Sounds like a nice endorsement, and for AC Infinity.  Thanks for all the information.
> 
> Agreed as to the fan on the side opposite the cablecard--it just helps keep matters look balanced in my mind, lol. Wonder if it would benefit matters on that side simply to place the fan there "upside down" so that it works with the Bolt's fan to pull the heat away, rather than blowing air into the fan.
> 
> I like the Aircom units--they seem very nicely done and get great reviews. But was thinking that for the Bolt and keeping the fan always on, a Multifan Sx (whether the single or the double) might be all that's needed, at a price savings.


The fan upside down on the left is interesting...post a note if you try it.

Agreed...the Aircom units are more expensive and aren't sized right for a Bolt.


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## El Gabito (Mar 11, 2004)

My Tivo Bolt+ just died this weekend, while we were watching TV. Four blinking lights. Seems to be HDD - Since I'm on All-in plan they offered to replace it for $49 which was cheaper than a replacement drive would've been. Honestly, since I still have our original Bolt which has the antenna-in, this will probably prompt me to sell the Bolt+ and officially cut-the-cord.


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## XIBM (Mar 9, 2013)

Anybody getting a Bolt+ should buy the $39 three year extended warranty, I did on my + in 2017 and just did on my under warranty replaced new Bolt+.


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## cpgny9 (Mar 1, 2006)

I gave up on my bolt+ when it died a year and a half after I got it (4 lights - dead hard drive). I had always kept a fan blowing from behind the unit, its on an open shelf in a entertainment center and temps were usually between 59-65, but still died. TiVo replaced the dead unit for $50 (no extended warranty), but I ended up going back to my Roamio and swore that I would never use the bolt again. After a couple of months, and a lot of research on this site, decided to give the bolt+ another try with a few upgrades as I was missing the app speed the bolt had. First, I removed the 3tb 2.5 drive, purchased a 6tb WD red 3.5 drive, the appropriate case and cables and went with the external 3.5 hard drive solution. Worked well but temps were still running high (not real hot, but high - 55 to 65 (65 when using apps)). I was amazed that removing the internal hard drive really made no difference in temp.

Still concerned, I bought the AC Infinity S7 fan, placed it under the bolt and removed the cable card cover.
https://www.amazon.com/AC-Infinity-...ity+aircom+s7&qid=1559316635&s=gateway&sr=8-1

With this setup, my temp is running between 37-39 regularly. The fan is set at level 2 and is pretty quiet (can't hear it with the TV on and really have to listen for it to hear it with the TV off). I hide the external drive in a closed cabinet in the entertainment center. Looks super clean (fan looks like it was made for the bolt) and has been running flawlessly for a couple of months now. Even the occasional pixelation I use to get is gone. Fingers crossed this solves my bolt issues. Its a shame that people need to jump through these hoops to ensure that relatively new equipment doesn't die, but if this does it for me, I wont complain (too much) about spending the money to upgrade to 6tb and to keep it cool


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

cpgny9 said:


> I gave up on my bolt+ when it died a year and a half after I got it (4 lights - dead hard drive). I had always kept a fan blowing from behind the unit, its on an open shelf in a entertainment center and temps were usually between 59-65, but still died. TiVo replaced the dead unit for $50 (no extended warranty), but I ended up going back to my Roamio and swore that I would never use the bolt again. After a couple of months, and a lot of research on this site, decided to give the bolt+ another try with a few upgrades as I was missing the app speed the bolt had. First, I removed the 3tb 2.5 drive, purchased a 6tb WD red 3.5 drive, the appropriate case and cables and went with the external 3.5 hard drive solution. Worked well but temps were still running high (not real hot, but high - 55 to 65 (65 when using apps)). I was amazed that removing the internal hard drive really made no difference in temp.
> 
> Still concerned, I bought the AC Infinity S7 fan, placed it under the bolt and removed the cable card cover.
> https://www.amazon.com/AC-Infinity-...ity+aircom+s7&qid=1559316635&s=gateway&sr=8-1
> ...


If my Bolt+ HDD dies again, I'll be going your route. It's easy enough to do. I still have the wiring and power supply, etc. that I used when I ran an external drive on an SA8300 cable company supplied DVR years ago.


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## Davelnlr_ (Jan 13, 2011)

After 3 bolts, I took this route on the 4th. Still using internal drive, but bought the AC Infinity. Temp stays at 50c (fan is between amp and Tivo to cool both). If it fails again, Im going to strip everything out of it, and mount it in an old Tivo HD case with its big case fan. If my Premier had 6 tuners, I would just use that.


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## Corran Horn (Feb 12, 2002)

Boy, having to buy an after-market cooling solution due to what I presume is a poor design on the Bolt chassis is...not great.

It's steering me away from the Bolt as I consider replacing my (currently working fine) Premiere.


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## minimeh (Jun 20, 2011)

My 20 month old Bolt+ also had a hard drive failure about 2 weeks ago. Figured, well no big whoop just get another drive for maybe $80 and replace. Yikes! No 2.5" 3TB drives available anywhere except WeakNees and those sell for $300.

While waiting for my seemingly gold-plated hard drive to arrive, I looked around here for relevant posts. Quite an epidemic of failed hard drives on Bolts. For the first time I started taking cooling of the Bolt seriously. I had been seeing 70-73 C. Once I installed the new drive, I re-confirmed the ODT range then started utilizing tips and tricks mentioned on this forum. Removing the cable card door dropped the ODT to about 65C. Then recognizing the heat source of the AVR in the shelf just below the ventilated shelf for the Bolt, I moved the Bolt to a bottom-most ventilated shelf. That got it down into the high 50s to 60s. Then I opted for placing an Infinity S4 fan under the cable card blowing upwards at the middle speed. I powered it from a powered USB hub already in the cabinet so as not to burden the Bolt in any way. Just before the recent brief heat wave struck, I saw a low of 39C but mostly hovered around 41-43.

Fingers crossed that 30 degree decrease in operating temperature will help extend the Bolt life. And uncharacteristically for me, I did buy the extended warranty for the disk drive from WeakNees, thus guaranteeing that the motherboard will now fail!

So I'd say to the OP, yes the Bolts are reliable--reliably failing at about 1.5 to 2 years...


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## Mahty (Jan 6, 2006)

minimeh said:


> <snip> ... No 2.5" 3TB drives available anywhere except WeakNees and those sell for $300.
> While waiting for my seemingly gold-plated hard drive to arrive, ... <snip>


Did your 3TB drive from Weaknees arrive "Brand New Sealed"? Specifically, did it arrive in a factory-sealed anti-static bag that you had to cut/tear open? or was it in a ziplock-sealed anti-static bag? or was it in an unsealed anti-static bag whose open end was simply folded over and taped? or something else?


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## minimeh (Jun 20, 2011)

Mahty said:


> Did your 3TB drive from Weaknees arrive "Brand New Sealed"? Specifically, did it arrive in a factory-sealed anti-static bag that you had to cut/tear open? or was it in a ziplock-sealed anti-static bag? or was it in an unsealed anti-static bag whose open end was simply folded over and taped? or something else?


unsealed anti-static bag whose open end was simply folded over and taped


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

Mahty said:


> Did your 3TB drive from Weaknees arrive "Brand New Sealed"? Specifically, did it arrive in a factory-sealed anti-static bag that you had to cut/tear open? or was it in a ziplock-sealed anti-static bag? or was it in an unsealed anti-static bag whose open end was simply folded over and taped? or something else?





minimeh said:


> unsealed anti-static bag whose open end was simply folded over and taped


That raises an interesting question: does a 3TB drive still require special preparation? I believe formatting before installation is only necessary for Premier or older models, or for drives larger than 3 TB in a Roamio or a recent-model Bolt. Or am I oversimplifying?


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## Ross Pokorny (Oct 9, 2017)

I’ve had my Bolt+ for two years and the hard drive just crapped out last Saturday. They shipped me a replacement, I got it up and running Wednesday evening and Friday afternoon it crapped out in the very same fashion. Regardless of the my frustration and dissatisfaction they refused to give me overnight shipping so now I’m stuck waiting till probably Tuesday because they say FedEx doesn’t deliver overnight on weekends. I say BS. Terribly terribly disappointed in Tivo‘s customer service they will never ever get another penny of my money for any of their equipment and/or services and if the third Bolt+ craps out on me I’m going to demand a refund. This was a really great company in 2012 when I bought my Premier elite it you could actually call customer service and speak to a technical individual who knew what they were doing but it has since gone straight down the toilet and nobody at Tivo seems to give a damn about the customers and their satisfaction. If you’re happy with your current Tivo machine take my advice and do not buy this crap that they are selling. You are going to be extremely disappointed.


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## leiff (Aug 24, 2005)

$300 for three terabit weaknees kit seems very expensive when you can buy a 3 tb Toshiba for less than $150 or 2 tb WD blue for $75. Check bolt hard drive upgrade thread here for links to these prices if interested.


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## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

Ross Pokorny said:


> I've had my Bolt+ for two years and the hard drive just crapped out last Saturday. They shipped me a replacement, I got it up and running Wednesday evening and Friday afternoon it crapped out in the very same fashion. Regardless of the my frustration and dissatisfaction they refused to give me overnight shipping so now I'm stuck waiting till probably Tuesday because they say FedEx doesn't deliver overnight on weekends. I say BS. Terribly terribly disappointed in Tivo's customer service they will never ever get another penny of my money for any of their equipment and/or services and if the third Bolt+ craps out on me I'm going to demand a refund. This was a really great company in 2012 when I bought my Premier elite it you could actually call customer service and speak to a technical individual who knew what they were doing but it has since gone straight down the toilet and nobody at Tivo seems to give a damn about the customers and their satisfaction. If you're happy with your current Tivo machine take my advice and do not buy this crap that they are selling. You are going to be extremely disappointed.


I doubt they will give you a refund. Might be easier to buy a new drive and install it yourself.


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## Ross Pokorny (Oct 9, 2017)

Has anybody ever suggested turning the Bolt/Turd upside down so the fan would blow up and the heat would rise more easily out of the machine?


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## leiff (Aug 24, 2005)

Ross Pokorny said:


> Has anybody ever suggested turning the Bolt/Turd upside down so the fan would blow up and the heat would rise more easily out of the machine?


Interesting suggestion. That might be better than not doing anything at all if the orientations isn't bad for the hard drive that is. I'd be curious to see if people post their ODT results from this. Its So easy to put a large fan underneath tivo though, that's what everyone should be doing though honestly


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## DeltaOne (Sep 29, 2013)

Ross Pokorny said:


> Has anybody ever suggested turning the Bolt/Turd upside down so the fan would blow up and the heat would rise more easily out of the machine?


The easiest cooling mod one can make to a Bolt is to simply remove the door over the cable card slot.

Adding a small fan to blow on the cable card helps even more.


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## Corran Horn (Feb 12, 2002)

DeltaOne said:


> The easiest cooling mod one can make to a Bolt is to simply remove the door over the cable card slot.
> 
> Adding a small fan to blow on the cable card helps even more.


Having to do this for an un-modified commercial product is absolutely absurd.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Corran Horn said:


> Having to do this for an un-modified commercial product is absolutely absurd.


To be fair, per TiVo_Ted, the Bolt is rated significantly higher than the temps. that people are reporting.

Regardless, removing a cablecard compartment hatch, or putting water bottle caps under the 4 corners of the box, is a simple thing to do, as a preventative.


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## DeltaOne (Sep 29, 2013)

Corran Horn said:


> Having to do this for an un-modified commercial product is absolutely absurd.


I agree. And, as Mikeguy noted...TiVoTed seems to say it's unnecessary.

Maybe it is unnecessary...but it's cheap and easy...and if it helps...so much the better.


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## sirfracas (Apr 5, 2006)

I am on to Bolt+ #5 since the original Bol+t purchase since April of 2017. One of them earned the flashing lights of brickdom, two of them would no longer power on, the latest failure was a replacement (refurb of course) that would not tune any channels.

So, for number 5, I've got it resting on 120mm fan with the Cablecard cover door removed. They do run much hotter than the older boxes.

So, yea, compared to every other other Tivo I have owned - including a Premiere and Roamio Pro that are still going, I would say the build quality on Bolt units is . . .lacking. Get the warranty.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

I recently retired our Bolt for the reasons of noise and instability mentioned above. It was on an annual plan. One Lifetime Roamio Pro is now at the center of our system. But before I took the Bolt offline for good, I decided to see if I could make it quieter.

The fan had developed a clicking noise early on. I replaced that with a stock model fan, which fixed the clicking noise, but still found the new fan too noisy. I then tried a Noiseblocker BlackSilentFan XS-2, but there's no way around it: that crazy case simply requires a tiny fan and will always be too noisy. I could mod it with a larger fan, but I have better things to do. 

Even worse, the noise I thought was a buzzing board component turned out to be a small screw or chunk of solder rolling around under the main board. Apparently it was often vibrating along with the fan motor at times. I haven't bothered to take the board out to see what it is. I'm done. 

All previous models were bedroom quiet. Not the Bolt. As I've often said, the Roamio line was the last great series produced by TiVo. If they can't get back to that quality — in hardware, software, guide data, advertising, etc. — well, we're ready here with a Channels DVR system running in parallel and ready to take over anytime.


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## mikeb33 (Dec 10, 2001)

I am looking to upgrade from a Roamio to get 4k for my upcoming new TV. This thread is scaring me. You guys that have gone back to a Roamio, does not having 4K concern you? Of course some of you may not have 4K TVs, but I assume some do? My Roamio is awesome and I don't want to regret a change.
On a side note, would a new QLED 4K TV look any better than my 6 or so year old 1080P set on my Roamio?


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

mikeb33 said:


> I am looking to upgrade from a Roamio to get 4k for my upcoming new TV. This thread is scaring me. You guys that have gone back to a Roamio, does not having 4K concern you? Of course some of you may not have 4K TVs, but I assume some do? My Roamio is awesome and I don't want to regret a change.


There's almost no 4K TV programming yet. Most of what little is out there is experimentation by a few cable companies. There's plenty of 4K streaming, but a Roamio - or any TiVo - is not the best choice for streaming.

I would stick with that Roamio for TV, and if your new TV doesn't have all the built-in apps you want then add a 4K model Fire, Roku, Apple, Nvidia, or etc. for streaming. Some 4K disc players also do double duty as 4K streamers.

But if you do still want to do it all with TiVo, skip the Bolt and take a risk on the Edge (but read the Edge threads first).



mikeb33 said:


> On a side note, would a new QLED 4K TV look any better than my 6 or so year old 1080P set on my Roamio?


The Roamio maxes out at 1080p, so that won't change on the new set even if the TV does upscaling, plus HDTV channels still broadcast at no more than 1080i and many are still on 720p. So again, that's not a concern for now and maybe you just want to wait on a new TiVo until the broadcast/cable industry catches up with streaming.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

mikeb33 said:


> I am looking to upgrade from a Roamio to get 4k for my upcoming new TV. This thread is scaring me. You guys that have gone back to a Roamio, does not having 4K concern you? Of course some of you may not have 4K TVs, but I assume some do? My Roamio is awesome and I don't want to regret a change.
> On a side note, would a new QLED 4K TV look any better than my 6 or so year old 1080P set on my Roamio?


As Pokey says, there is no 4k cable or OTA TV yet. There is a lot of good 4k streaming, but TiVos are poor at streaming; your TV will handle streaming much better than a TiVo ever will. Another better choice is a 4k streaming box like a Roku or Apple TV.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

ej42137 said:


> As Pokey says, there is no 4k cable or OTA TV yet. There is a lot of good 4k streaming, but TiVos are poor at streaming; your TV will handle streaming much better than a TiVo ever will. Another better choice is a 4k streaming box like a Roku or Apple TV.


Don't tell that to FiOS. They have two QAM channels that periodically broadcast 4K content.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

ej42137 said:


> As Pokey says,


 Pokey? That's Gumby's horse.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

aaronwt said:


> Don't tell that to FiOS. They have two QAM channels that periodically broadcast 4K content.


Okay then: "FIOS, you have no 4k content to speak of." Certainly not enough to justify a 4k TiVo.

Unfortunately the current trend is to over-compress existing channels, apparently to get more carriage revenue from more channels. I don't see ISPs giving up existing channels to wholeheartedly embrace 4k in the near term, much as I wish that were not true. Streaming, on the other hand, is seeing 4k growth with 8k on the horizon. (My wife's probably going to kill me when I buy an 8k Samsung next year. I'll have to get her a tennis bracelet to get out of the dog house.)


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## Puppy76 (Oct 7, 2004)

My 2016(?) bolt is still alive, though I’m nervous. 
I hope the edge is better designed (and still supports copying off shows)


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

Puppy76 said:


> My 2016(?) bolt is still alive, though I'm nervous.
> I hope the edge is better designed (and still supports copying off shows)


The Edge may be better designed, but it's still early days so follow the Edge threads here carefully.

Downloads from an Edge to a computer were broken when the Edge was first released. That's listed in the first post of the Edge issues thread (see item #4), and I haven't continued to follow it. It may still be broken.

Uploads from a computer are not possible, because the Edge supports only TE4. So playing media from a computer would require an app like Plex, though I believe first transferring to a TE3 TiVo on the same network would also be a workaround. I have never run TE4.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

From TiVo: EDGE - Issues we're tracking


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

JoeKustra said:


> From TiVo: EDGE - Issues we're tracking


Yes, that is the thread I linked to above. Still early days for the Edge, so hard to answer questions about whether it's better than Bolt. At this time I don't plan to try one. My Bolt is now officially decommissioned, and one Roamio Pro is now serving the Minis here, all on TE3.


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## Johnny Danger (Dec 27, 2016)

mickrussom said:


> The lockouts (like not allowing 14TB drives) are childish.


Are you saying that 14TB hard drive are blocked from working on the TIVO system?

I just purchased at 14TB hard drive to upgrade my TIVO BOLT. Please tell me what you know about 14TB drives and TIVO?

Thanks.


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## mattyro7878 (Nov 27, 2014)

The very first wave of Bolts seem to be reliable and quiet. Something went haywire in the 3rd year or so.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

mattyro7878 said:


> The very first wave of Bolts seem to be reliable and quiet. Something went haywire in the 3rd year or so.


The Bolt were introduced in 2015 and I bought my flaky unit in the summer of 2016. It seems to me several different batches of production went awry throughout the product's life, in addition to fundamental flaws in the design that were consistent throughout.


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## Donaldbyrd (Nov 28, 2018)

in 2.5 years I am on my 3rd bolt + the last one had the door for the card removed and it was sitting on a cooling fan... HD still crapped out.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

I've had an average of 2 Bolts in the house since day one and currently have 4 across friends and family, and I have had one failed HDD 3 years ago at about the 1.5 year mark for that unit, that's it.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

Donaldbyrd said:


> in 2.5 years I am on my 3rd bolt + the last one had the door for the card removed and it was sitting on a cooling fan... HD still crapped out.





dianebrat said:


> I've had an average of 2 Bolts in the house since day one and currently have 4 across friends and family, and I have had one failed HDD 3 years ago at about the 1.5 year mark for that unit, that's it.


Hi Diane,

Have any of yours been Bolt+ models with the WD 3TB drive? It certainly seems there is an issue with that drive given that TiVo has proactively reached out to owners when their units are generating disk errors (unknown to the owner) and even offering replacement deals for out-of-warranty lifetime units.

I only have limited experience with the Bolt model where we upgraded our son's HD to a Bolt with one of TiVo's upgrade deals (lifetime transfer) and I upgraded it from the factory 500GB to a WD 2TB and it's still working fine 2 years later.

Scott


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

HerronScott said:


> Hi Diane,
> 
> Have any of yours been Bolt+ models with the WD 3TB drive? It certainly seems there is an issue with that drive given that TiVo has proactively reached out to owners when their units are generating disk errors (unknown to the owner) and even offering replacement deals for out-of-warranty lifetime units.
> 
> ...


The only failed unit was a 3TB WD Bolt+ it's been rock solid since, all the others have the Toshiba 3TB upgrades and none have failed.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

dianebrat said:


> The only failed unit was a 3TB WD Bolt+ it's been rock solid since, all the others have the Toshiba 3TB upgrades and none have failed.


Did you have TiVo take care of the failed Bolt+?

Scott


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

HerronScott said:


> Did you have TiVo take care of the failed Bolt+?


Yes, they replaced it out of warranty at no cost.


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

cwerdna said:


> I received and set up my Bolt+ at the end of April 2017. I've not had any problems with it and am on the same unit. (knock on wood) I'm on the stock hard drive and have never disassembled my Bolt+, unlike my prior TiVos.
> 
> Ever since I noticed the internal temps are high, I've been using laptop cooling pads (with fan or fans in them) under the Bolt+ to keep it cooler.
> 
> I suspect some sort of environmental problem at your place or physical abuse (e.g. moving the DVR around when it's on) or possibly even stray voltage coming in via coax or something attached to your TiVo. I luckily was able to find A bad cable installation destroyed my $2,000 TV and maybe almost killed me that I'd read about (as an example).


Since this thread got bumped, I may as well give an update.

The aforementioned Bolt+ is still fine. I've never opened it up as it was under warranty so it still has the stock drive. I still put my Bolt+ atop laptop cooling pads with fan(s). When it gets hotter (e.g. summer), I use one that has a dial for the fan speed and turn it up vs. some that I have which only have a fixed relatively low fan speed.

AFAIK, the WD 3 TB was the only drive qualified by TiVo and they didn't use any other in the Bolt+.

I paid $40 for the 3 year-extended warranty, and now from checking the receipt, I'm a bit past it now. I ordered it on April 9, 2017 and it shipped April 10. I recall postponing setting it up for various reasons (related to the "once in a lifetime" transfer offer).


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## sssSMOKING (Jan 22, 2020)

cwerdna said:


> Since this thread got bumped, I may as well give an update.
> 
> The aforementioned Bolt+ is still fine. I've never opened it up as it was under warranty so it still has the stock drive. I still put my Bolt+ atop laptop cooling pads with fan(s). When it gets hotter (e.g. summer), I use one that has a dial for the fan speed and turn it up vs. some that I have which only have a fixed relatively low fan speed.
> 
> ...


Could you list the mode number of the cooling fan you used?
Sounds like a great idea.
Does this fan make much noise?


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

sssSMOKING said:


> Could you list the mode number of the cooling fan you used?
> Sounds like a great idea.
> Does this fan make much noise?


Sorry for the delay. I rotate thru 3 different pads depending on the need.

I have Zalman ZM-NC3 which is very quiet. I also have Fry's Electronics | (Thermaltake Massive 14) which has a dial to adjust the fan speed. It can range from quiet to definitely audible (IIRC). At higher speeds or max, it definitely cools better than that Zalman pad.

I also sometimes use Massive V14.

Once they show up, I plan to switch to the AC Infinity fans I mentioned at Temperature of Bolt.


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## sssSMOKING (Jan 22, 2020)

cwerdna said:


> Sorry for the delay. I rotate thru 3 different pads depending on the need.
> 
> I have Zalman ZM-NC3 which is very quiet. I also have Fry's Electronics | (Thermaltake Massive 14) which has a dial to adjust the fan speed. It can range from quiet to definitely audible (IIRC). At higher speeds or max, it definitely cools better than that Zalman pad.
> 
> ...


Order placed thanks!!


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## Rose4uKY (Mar 28, 2003)

We just ordered a Bolt to arrive this weekend since we now have a 4K TV and their was a good deal on the unit and lifetime. We've had our Roamio Plus since 2013. But now I am reading about hard drive failures and getting hot should I be concerned. I didn't even know about the edge until I went to read up about the Bolt on Tivo's website. And usually we like to have the latest but deal on the Bolt was to good to pass up. I hope we don't have problems our Roamio is still working fine. Plus I'm reading a lot of people don't like TE4 now I am getting worried.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

Rose4uKY said:


> We just ordered a Bolt to arrive this weekend since we now have a 4K TV and their was a good deal on the unit and lifetime. We've had our Roamio Plus since 2013. But now I am reading about hard drive failures and getting hot should I be concerned. I didn't even know about the edge until I went to read up about the Bolt on Tivo's website. And usually we like to have the latest but deal on the Bolt was to good to pass up. I hope we don't have problems our Roamio is still working fine. Plus I'm reading a lot of people don't like TE4 now I am getting worried.


Every Bolt except the Bolt OTA can be "sidegraded" to TE3. You'll want to do that before you record anything, as recordings will be lost unless you back them up using pytivo or something.

None of the Edge models allow TE3, and my impression is that recent Bolts have fewer reliability problems while they're still getting the bugs out of the Edge models, so you probably will be happiest with your purchase.

Hang onto that Roamio Plus as long as you can though! I recently replaced the hard disk in our Roamio Pro, and otherwise it's still going strong. IMHO the Roamio series are the best DVRs TiVo has ever produced. The Bolts are faster though, especially for streaming.


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## Rose4uKY (Mar 28, 2003)

Pokemon_Dad said:


> Every Bolt except the Bolt OTA can be "sidegraded" to TE3. You'll want to do that before you record anything, as recordings will be lost unless you back them up using pytivo or something.
> 
> None of the Edge models allow TE3, and my impression is that recent Bolts have fewer reliability problems while they're still getting the bugs out of the Edge models, so you probably will be happiest with your purchase.
> 
> Hang onto that Roamio Plus as long as you can though! I recently replaced the hard disk in our Roamio Pro, and otherwise it's still going strong. IMHO the Roamio series are the best DVRs TiVo has ever produced. The Bolts are faster though, especially for streaming.


Well we were going to give it a couple weeks to a month and we're trying to sell the Roamio. I saw a video on TE4 I think we'll like it. We have two original minis we're going to have to update. And I'm curious about the voice and how it works I just think that's kind of cool. And my husband uses the Roku 4K for Netflix and prime which I know is better but I just would rather have one remote for everything and not have to change inputs. I'm looking forward to getting the bolt I just hope we don't have any problems with it. And it's still going to be a 6 tuner 1TB like we have now so hopefully we will like it.

I just got worried cuz I was reading about overheating and hard drive failures If the hard drive was to fail with the one from the Roamio fit inside the bolt? Is that why you're saying hang on to the Roamio we're just hanging on to it in case anything happens to the bolt cuz the Roamio is so good? I just love TiVo and I've had everyone since Tivo series 1 and the single tuner. then we moved in 2013 and got the premiere but the Roamio came out 2 to 3 weeks later they let us exchange. I do kind of wish we would have two to three terabytes this time around but it's okay We don't usually have problems with it getting full.

But anyway thanks I was just wanting to get different opinions and I'm hoping we did the right thing cuz we got the bolt for $199 in the lifetime for $249.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

Rose4uKY said:


> If the hard drive was to fail with the one from the Roamio fit inside the bolt? Is that why you're saying hang on to the Roamio we're just hanging on to it in case anything happens to the bolt cuz the Roamio is so good?


Those hard drives are different, sorry. I'm saying hang onto the Roamio so you can swap it back in if the Bolt goes bad in multiple ways like mine. But don't let me jinx it! Lots of people are using Bolts without problems. You get a skewed view here because happy Bolt owners generally don't spend as much time on the internetz: they're busy happily watching their Bolts!


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## Rose4uKY (Mar 28, 2003)

Pokemon_Dad said:


> Those hard drives are different, sorry. I'm saying hang onto the Roamio so you can swap it back in if the Bolt goes bad in multiple ways like mine. But don't let me jinx it! Lots of people are using Bolts without problems. You get a skewed view here because happy Bolt owners generally don't spend as much time on the internetz: they're busy happily watching their Bolts!


Oh ok I gotcha thanks. Sorry I had a few typos above. Hopefully we'll like the bolt. I'm sure we will we love TiVo and it's still going to be better than if we had Spectrums DVR. My husband's upset though cause I told him about the ads and he said if they don't shut them off we're sending it back. But I figured if we did the Roamio at a decent price and the bolt messes up use that money and turn the bolt for the edge but then we'll be back to paying 14.99 again. I like the fact now no more monthly except on the minis. We did the lifetime. But ok thanks again.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Rose4uKY said:


> My husband's upset though cause I told him about the ads and he said if they don't shut them off we're sending it back.


I have never heard here of TiVo failing to honor a request to turn the pre-roll ads under TE4 off. It may take some time for TiVo to get to it or they may come back at some point (requiring another phone call), but requests work.

Note: this gets rid of TE4 pre-roll ads, not the TiVo+ line inserts into the Guide (which cannot be removed).


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## pfiagra (Oct 13, 2014)

Mikeguy said:


> Note: this gets rid of TE4 pre-roll ads, not the TiVo+ line inserts into the Guide (which cannot be removed).


I've never had the TiVo+ line inserts on my Bolt or Mini VOX both on TE4. I've also never opened the TiVo+ app, so perhaps that's why.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

pfiagra said:


> I've never had the TiVo+ line inserts on my Bolt or Mini VOX both on TE4. I've also never opened the TiVo+ app, so perhaps that's why.


Let it never be said that TiVo is boring in a consistency!  (Having said that, it's more typical to have the TiVo+ line entries.)


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Mikeguy said:


> Let it never be said that TiVo is boring in a consistency!  (Having said that, it's more typical to have the TiVo+ line entries.)


I agree. I have at least one on each screen. Less reliable are the individual channel adverts. I haven't had them in weeks.


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