In regards to this article https://support.tablotv.com/hc/en-us/articles/213345486-Moving-your-recordings-to-a-new-Tablo , do I need to connect the new tablo and update it to the latest firmware first so both are on the same firmware? I usually connect via wifi, so I’m guessing after connecting and updating to the new firmware I will then have to do a factory reset on the new tablo, then start on step one?
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Ok, just did the transfer and it went off like a hitch with no problems. Both need to be on the same firmware so just make sure you connect the new one to wifi or ethernet and upgrade to the latest firmware (if your previous one was on the latest). Then do a factory reset. Then plug in your Ethernet and power in that order and attach the USB drive. When you get the blue solid light it’s all transferred. You should then be able to connect via browser and should see all your recordings and schedule maintained. Thanks Tablo for making it easy.
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I’m glad to hear someone got something to work the way it’s suppose to, with little to no problems. I’ve passed that link on to others before, noting I wasn’t familiar with anyone’s success story - although I’m sure there are/were.
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The instructions were not very clear to me. Here are the steps with my notes added:
Moving your recordings to a new Tablo – Tablo .zopim { display: none !important }
Step 1: Reboot your original Tablo with the USB drive attached using the blue reset button on the back of the Tablo. Wait for the Tablo’s blue LED to go solid. This can take up to ~2 minutes.
Step 2: Remove the USB drive from your original Tablo and set it aside.
Step 3: Attach a new Ethernet cable and power (in that order) to your new Tablo. You need to have both of the Tablos connected to your router at the same time.
Step 4: After your Tablo’s LED is solid, attach your USB drive to your new Tablo.
Step 5: After a few seconds (minutes) your Tablo’s LED will begin pulsing. This is at a different cadence then what you see when it is booting up or cannot find an Ethernet connection.
Step 6: It took over 1 hour to sync. I left it alone and came back after a while. Once it is solid blue, you should be good. Remember that you will want to Delete the old Tablo from the Connect screen. On my Firestick, it was the top Tablo. This takes a few minutes to delete as well.
Once you pull up the new Tablo it will go into the sync mode. Again, this was very slow for me - 30 minutes plus. I have 3 Amazon Firesticks and you have to do the delete and sync for each of them.
Also you will need to set up the port redirect for the new unit. I logged into the router and did a static IP for the new unit and then set up the port redirect.
Hope this helps. Bill
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Thanks for taking the time to share this.
Chas
I tried this but didn’t work. Tablo people said there’s a problem with my hard drive database. Is there a workaround?
“hard drive database” not sure about the terminology.
tablo uses an ext journaling file system, more specifically ext4, commonly referred to as “format type”. It has logs, but not a DB.
The tablo system stores information about recordings and guide data and other info in a database. It’s understood to be stored internally on the tablo device.
If your drive is corrupt, you could run a “check” on the file system - not using windows! But I’m not specifically what didn’t work or what precisely may be damaged/corrupt.
Sorry, I only know about copying/moving shows (files) from one drive to another – keeping the same tablo.
What should you do if the original Tablo died from an electrical surge and won’t power up?
It’s possible you could have damaged your Tablo or maybe only the power supply. If it is the power supply you can order a new one here: https://us-store.tablotv.com/collections/accessories
I checked them both. I actually had both items die. 
It sounds like it’s time to buy a new Tablo and a surge suppressor, actually you should’ve bought the surge suppressor last week and maybe your old Tablo would’ve survived.
It’s possible that it’s only your power adapter that has died. You can purchase a new power adapter from Tablo. If you have a multimeter, you can use it to see if the adapter is still working or if you have any spare power adapters with the correct voltage/current/connector you can try swapping out adapters.
If it is your unit, you can try to contact @TabloSupport and see if they can suggest anything to try to revive your old unit. If it is completely dead, there may not be any way to save your current recordings.
Sorry, I should have been more clear. I’ve got a new Tablo unit, and my old USB HDD works perfectly fine. I’d like to be able to access those recordings with the new unit. However, step one of the above process tells me to plug the USB drive into the old Tablo with reset button pressed…well, old Tablo is deado. I will call Tablo support tomorrow.
Migrate your original Tablo Recording Schedule and external disk drive with Recordings to a new Tablo
Credit goes to BillInAllen and Tablo Tech Support postings from which this was plagiarized.
The 6 step process below will allow you to migrate your existing Recording Schedule and Recordings stored on an external disk to a new Tablo. Tablo models using built in or cloud storage are not supported. Recordings also cannot be moved from Network Connected Tablo models to TV-Connected Tablo models (and vice versa).
The Tablo Recording Schedule is stored in the Tablo, not on the attached disk. If you reboot the Tablo with the reset button, it will back up the database to the externally attached drive. If you attach that drive to a factory reset Tablo on the same firmware and network, it will restore that copy to the new Tablo. The new Tablo must be on the same firmware version as the original Tablo. The firmware version can be found at the bottom of the Tablo Settings screen.
For the migration process to work, your new Tablo must be taken directly out of the box. IF you’ve already run a channel scan on your new Tablo, you will need to factory reset it for these instructions to work. If needed, use this process to factory reset the Tablo device to which you are migrating.
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Reboot the new Tablo DVR by tapping and immediately releasing the blue reset button on the back of the device. Let the Tablo boot up for ~1 minute. The reboot is complete once the blue LED stops flashing - be patient.
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Remove the USB or SATA hard drive from the back of the Tablo DVR.
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Reboot the Tablo DVR again by tapping and immediately releasing the blue reset button. Again, wait ~1 minute for the Tablo to boot up. Wait for the blue LED to stop flashing.
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When the LED is solid, hold down the blue reset button for 7+ seconds. The blue LED on the front of the Tablo DVR will begin to flash at a steady rate. Continue to hold the blue reset button until the LED turns off. The Tablo will begin to factory reset. At this point, you can release the blue reset button. The LED will begin to flash again as the Tablo reboots.
Migration Process:
Step 1: Reboot your original Tablo with the USB drive attached using the blue reset button on the back of the Tablo. Wait for the Tablo’s blue LED to go solid. This can take up to ~2 minutes.
Step 2: Remove the USB drive from your original Tablo and set it aside.
Step 3: Attach a new Ethernet cable and power (in that order) to your new factory reset Tablo. You need to have both of the Tablo devices connected to your router at the same time.
Step 4: After your new Tablo’s LED is solid, attach your original USB drive to your new Tablo.
Step 5: After a few seconds (minutes) your new Tablo’s LED will begin pulsing. This is at a different cadence than what you see when it is booting up or cannot find an Ethernet connection.
Step 6: Wait. It took over 1 hour to sync. Leave it alone and come back after a while. Once the LED is solid blue, the process should be complete.
Remember that you will want to Delete the original Tablo from the Connect screen on each device used to access the Tablo (think Firestick and Roku and smartphone). When you Connect each device to the new Tablo it will go into sync mode. You have to do the delete/connect/sync for each access device. Also you will need to set up a static IP and port redirect for the new Tablo if you want to connect to it from outside your network.
Isn’t this just the tech support article? What’s different? So users can understand where to make the changes.
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