Skip to main content

Setting Up Your Legacy Network Connected Tablo DVR on PC

Tablo Support - Mark
Tablo Support - Mark
  • Updated

Welcome to the First Time Setup walkthrough for your Tablo! First things first:

Download the Tablo app of your choice. Any of the Tablo apps listed below will bring your Tablo through its initial setup:

For download links to all of these apps, visit: https://www.tablotv.com/tablo-products/#tablo-apps

Once you have installed and opened the Tablo app on your device or visited my.tablotv.com, it will guide you through the setup process as seen below.  

Connecting Using an Ethernet Connection

Connect the Ethernet cable from your router to the Ethernet port on the back of the Tablo. If the connection is successful, the orange LED on the Ethernet connector should be lit and the green LED will flash intermittently. For Tablo to be discovered by the app, the Tablo and the device running the Tablo app need to be on the same network.

Connect_Screen.png

The Tablo app or my.tablotv.com will identify all the Tablo DVRs that are on your home network. Most users will only have one Tablo in this list. Select the Connect button. This will begin the initial setup process.

Connecting Using Wi-Fi On A Computer 

Note: If you have already connected to your Tablo with an Ethernet cable and wish to switch to a Wi-Fi connection, unplug the Ethernet cable and press and release the Reset button quickly (the blue button located in the back of the unit) before proceeding. 

*Wi-Fi instructions are available for the rest of our supported platforms here.

Open my.tablotv.com, You will be greeted by 1 of 2 screens: 

Connect_Screen.png

OR  

 

Screen_Shot_2020-06-11_at_1.38.38_PM.png

 

 In both cases, Select Add via Wi-Fi. You will see the following page: 

Wifi_Connect_Screen.png

Switch to the Wi-Fi settings on your device or open the Internet Acces icon on your computer and look for Tablo_XXXX in the list of Wi-Fi access points. The XXXX refers to the last 4 digits of the MAC address of your Tablo. It should look like this: 

First_Time_Setup_-_Wifi_2__3_.png

Select Tablo_XXXX in your device’s Wi-Fi set up screen and connect to it.  No password is required. Verify that your device has connected to the Tablo_XXXX network. If done correctly you will see a list of Wi-Fi networks populate on your screen: 

Wifi_Networks_.png

The Tablo app will display a list of Wi-Fi networks that are available. 

If you do not see your home network on the list, you can select Rescan Wi-Fi Networks to initiate the search function again.

During re-scan, Tablo will disconnect while it scans the network. Your device will also disconnect from Tablo. If it does not reconnect automatically you will need to go back to your device’s Wi-Fi set-up screen to connect to the Tablo_XXXX again.

When you have re-connected to Tablo_XXXX, go back to the Tablo app and return to the Choose a Network screen. Select your home network from the list. You will be prompted to enter your chosen networks' password. 

Tablo will now connect to your home network and the status of the connection will be displayed:

Searching_For_Tablo.png

From now on, your Tablo will automatically connect to your home network. If you change the password or router for your home network you will need to set-up the Wi-Fi again. 

Note: During this process, your Tablo's blue LED will be blinking once per second. The blue LED on the Tablo will stop flashing once it is connected to your network. From here, you will be able to connect to your Tablo normally.

Note: If your Tablo is using firmware version 2.2.26 or above, its blue LED will pulse when it is ready to be added to your Wi-Fi network. The blue LED will grow fainter, stronger, and repeat until the steps above have been completed and the unit has been added to your Wi-Fi network.

Once the Wi-Fi access has been established, the app will rescan your local network for Tablo and your Tablo will be displayed. Select the Connect to Tablo button to run the rest of the set-up wizard.

Setting The Tablo Up

You will now begin the setup wizard that will take you through the steps to scan for broadcast channels, format your Hard Drive and set up the program guide. 

Begin_Setup.png

Make sure the antenna is connected.

Connect_Antenna.png

Make sure the hard drive is connected.A USB Hard Drive is required to watch live TV and to record programs. If you have not yet connected a USB Hard Drive, you will be reminded to connect one now.

If you have a USB Hard Drive, connect it by plugging it into one of the available USB ports, or in the case of the Quad, to install a SATA drive into the Quads' internal bay. You will then be prompted to format the drive.

Note: USB Flash sticks are not supported. For more details visit this blog.

You will then be prompted to format the drive.

5f0200aa699b318cf44f658f91948de0a2d9fb45.png

Note: All data on the drive will be erased, so make sure you have backup copies of any files you would like to keep. It may take a few minutes to find the drive once you have plugged it in.

To be sure that you understand that the drive will be erased and reformatted, type ‘FORMAT’ into the dialog box to confirm. While the formatting process is in progress, the Tablo's blue LED will flash.

The format operation will continue in the background and the setup wizard will proceed to the next step. The status of the format operation is displayed in the Settings screen and at the top of the sidebar.

Enter your Postal Code or Zip Code or let the app discover where you are located.

Your_Location.png

 

Tablo will now scan for available broadcast TV stations in your area.

Your_Channels.png

You may want to scan several times with different antenna positions or orientations to get the most number of channels. To scan for channels again, hit the rescan button.

Once you are satisfied that you are receiving the most available channels, you can enable or disable individual channels by selecting them individually. The app will identify major channels by placing a checkmark next to the channel. If a station does not have a checkmark beside it, it is most likely in standard definition (480i), or has weak reception, or is a duplicate station. 

Only channels with a checkmark will be enabled to watch live and to record programs. At this time, if there are channels in which you’re not interested that have a checkmark, you may remove them by selecting the checkmark.

When you are satisfied with the channel list, select Add to Guide to start downloading the program guide.

Downloading_Schedule.png

The Program Guide data will then be downloaded from the internet to your Tablo. This process will take several minutes for each channel. Tablo will download the first day of programing for each channel before allowing full access to the full user interface. 

The remaining 13 days of data will be downloaded in the background. This is a one-time operation. Moving forward, guide data will be downloaded nightly. Once The first time setup process is done we should see a screen like this: 

Prime_Time_Screen.png

You are now ready to begin using your Tablo. Have any more questions? Check out our Tablo user guide here.

Powered by Zendesk