# TiVo Mini transfer to new owner, couldn't find host DVR



## Jason Grigsby (Jul 4, 2017)

tl;dr; Check the TiVo DVR connection after transferring a Mini

Yesterday, I spent several hours of being on the phone with TiVo support which ended when I was hung up on by the support person. In the end, the problem was a five second fix that TiVo support never asked about. I thought I would share my experience in hopes that it will help others.

Background: I bought a TiVo Mini just a couple of months before they were upgraded to use the RF-based remotes. Because the TiVo Mini is in a closet and connected via Wireless HDMI, I've been looking for an opportunity to upgrade to the new version with the RF-remote.

TiVo's Summer Meltdown Sale was the perfect opportunity. I bought a refurbished TiVo Mini and planned to give my old TiVo Mini to my parents. Installing the new TiVo Mini in place of my old Mini was a breeze. I called TiVo and told them that I was going to transfer the Mini so there was an open case.

When I tried to install the Mini on my parent's network, things didn't go smoothly. I hooked the Mini on the same network as their TiVo and then called TiVo support. They transferred the service so that I could see the Mini on my parents' account, but the Mini couldn't connect to the main TiVo. They told me to wait an hour.

After an hour, the situation was still the same. The error I saw said that the TiVo Mini couldn't find the "Living Room" DVR. Yet, if you click on My Shows and then hit ok after the error message, you could see the TiVo listed. Selecting the main TiVo would bring up the full listing on the Mini, and I could watch any recorded shows. Live TV didn't work.

I had a strong suspicion that the Mini was still looking for my old TiVo, not my parent's TiVo. My TiVo was also named "Living Room."

Despite stating this suspicion multiple times, TiVo's support was useless. They had me force connect multiple times, unplug everything, unplug the router, etc. I kept telling them that network issues didn't make sense because I could stream from the TiVo. If I could stream from the TiVo, there's little chance that it was a problem connecting between the devices. Streaming is the most intensive network situation.

In the middle of all of these fruitless, scripted support instructions, I decided to change the name of my parents' TiVo from "Living Room" to "Family Room" so I could see the Mini was looking for the right device. The Mini continued to complain about not being able to connect to "Living Room" after the change. The support person didn't think this fact was interesting. Instead, the fact we have rebooted all of the devices and forced connections to TiVo's service should have solved the problem.

Finally, the TiVo support person decided that the fact that I was using a switch was the problem. Again, this makes no sense. Since yesterday, I've read quite a bit about TiVo support bad-mouthing switches and blaming them erroneously.

After over an hour troubleshooting, I reached an impasse. The support person wouldn't look at anything else unless I either tested the network connect using a laptop or moved the TiVos off the switch. My parent's didn't have an ethernet adapter for their laptop and there was no physical way to connect the TiVos directly to the router to eliminate the switch.

At this point, I asked the support person if TiVo has approved switches that we could use. There is no configuration of the room that I could think of that wouldn't require a switch as a piece of the puzzle.

The line was silent. I keep trying to get the support person's attention. After five minutes, I decided that the support person had hung up on me. I gave up and left my parents' house with the TiVo Mini not working.

Later that night while trying to find some clues on support forums about what was going on, I found a reference to the "TiVo Box Connection." I did a search and found out where that setting was located which is:

Settings & Messages > Settings > Remote and Devices > TiVo DVR Connection

I called my mother and had her get to that menu. She said she saw three options:

Living Room (Roamio Plus) - My TiVo
Family Room (Roamio) - My parents' TiVo
I don't see my TiVo Box
None of them were checked, but Living Room was the first option. I had her select the Family Room TiVo. And of course, that fixed everything.

As I suspected all along, the TiVo Mini was looking for the wrong TiVo box. The fact TiVo's support people didn't have me verify this setting from the beginning is crazy making especially when I kept insisting that the Mini was looking for the wrong box.

I hope my story has two results:

It helps someone else caught in this fruitless loop after a TiVo Mini transfer.
It convinces TiVo to change their support script and to listen to their customers.
I've been a TiVo customer for years. This was the most frustrating TiVo experience I've ever had. It will make me think twice before buying a new TiVo in the future.

Crossposted at TiVo Mini transfer to new owner, couldn't find host DVR | TiVo Troubleshooting | TiVo Help Forums


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