# TIVO Lifetime Sub Spares/Repairs - Anyway to xfer Live Sub



## JPHCCFC (Feb 15, 2005)

If i buy a tivo that is for spares or repairs with a lifetime sub is there anyway to transfer the sub to my workinig tivo - the one with the lifetime sub keeps rebooting so probably needs a new motherboard!


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## mikerr (Jun 2, 2005)

Constant reboots can be due to:

PSU needs replacing
Hard disk data corruption - just needs re-imaging or a new drive.
Hard disk physically dying - needs new drive
Motherboard fault

To answer the question, Tivo UK will transfer the sub over to the other tivo ONLY if you can tell them the (lifetime) registered owners details.
(With tivos changing hands a few times without the details being transferred, the original owners details are often lost).


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## BrianHughes (Jan 21, 2001)

Usually it's a hard disk problem - you can replace that yourself with a bit of tinkering or buy a preconfigured one that you just drop in.

The next most likely thing is the power supply - again these can just be replaced pretty easily.

However, to answer the original question, generally Tivo support will move your lifetime over to a new box for you when you explain why.


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

It is simple, if you have a command prompt to use the service number of the lifetime on the other board, but it can not be talked about here.


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## JPHCCFC (Feb 15, 2005)

thanks guys i may well buy this tivo then and return back to the world of TIVO!!!


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## JPHCCFC (Feb 15, 2005)

just read the details on the tivo and it sates:- The account status is "11-Evaluation"

does anyone know what this means in relation ot TIVO lifetime subscription??


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

It means you are unlikely to be able to transfer it legitimately; evaluation Tivos were given to TV companies and the like to get them to support the EPG etc.


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## JPHCCFC (Feb 15, 2005)

so not worth buying then! unless i can fix it with my working tivo!


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## JPHCCFC (Feb 15, 2005)

what part of the tivo is unique to the lifetiem sub?


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## AMc (Mar 22, 2002)

The serial number is embedded in a chip on the motherboard. 
People are intimating that that may not be an insurmountable obstacle but we can't talk about it on this board.
I believe there is another Tivo forum one out there - google is your friend


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## merlin (Jul 22, 2002)

mikerr said:


> To answer the question, Tivo UK will transfer the sub over to the other tivo ONLY if you can tell them the (lifetime) registered owners details.
> (With tivos changing hands a few times without the details being transferred, the original owners details are often lost).


I too bought a knacked TiVo with a Lifetime sub... after getting the TiVo transferred over to my Name and Address (which was pretty straight forward) I phoned TiVo and asked if I could transfer my Lifetime Sub to another Tivo that I was paying a monthly sub for?

TiVo customer services said NO it was not allowed (this was only about 4 weeks ago).... once the TiVo is broken you are not allowed to move the Lifetime sub they told me!

Luckly for me.... I replaced the power supply and hard drive and all is now well....

Has anyone else managed to get TiVo to transfer a Lifetime sub ?


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## -MC- (Dec 9, 2005)

merlin said:


> I too bought a knacked TiVo with a Lifetime sub... after getting the TiVo transferred over to my Name and Address (which was pretty straight forward) I phoned TiVo and asked if I could transfer my Lifetime Sub to another Tivo that I was paying a monthly sub for?
> 
> TiVo customer services said NO it was not allowed (this was only about 4 weeks ago).... once the TiVo is broken you are not allowed to move the Lifetime sub they told me!
> 
> ...


It depends who you get to speak to at customer services, I managed to get my lifetime sub transferred from my Tivo (which was beyond repair) to a spare unsubbed machine without any fuss

.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

-MC- said:


> It depends who you get to speak to at customer services, I managed to get my lifetime sub transferred from my Tivo (which was beyond repair) to a spare unsubbed machine without any fuss


Ask to speak to a supervisor if you don't succeed with the first person on the Tivo 0870 line.

Many of the Sky Tivo customer service staff are very nice and really appreciate the specialist niche nature of Tivo as a product and also how informed the Tivo customer base is compared to the idiot customers they mainly deal with on Sky boxes.

However there seem to be one or two Jobsworths on the Tivo line who only want to do the minimum.

I would say you need to be unlucky to hit someone who refuses to transfer the sub on a broken Tivo rather than lucky to find someone who will.


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## Nebulous (Nov 28, 2005)

merlin said:


> I phoned TiVo and asked if I could transfer my Lifetime Sub to another Tivo that I was paying a monthly sub for?


IIRC this has been discussed before. Basically, they won't transfer onto an active monthly subbed box, only onto a dormant one.

Presumably this is because they will lose the revenue on the subbed box, whereas on a dormant box, they may never see any new revenue, so they allow it on the grounds that they are no longer able to offer a repair service on your lifetime box.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

Nebulous said:


> IIRC this has been discussed before. Basically, they won't transfer onto an active monthly subbed box, only onto a dormant one.
> 
> Presumably this is because they will lose the revenue on the subbed box, whereas on a dormant box, they may never see any new revenue, so they allow it on the grounds that they are no longer able to offer a repair service on your lifetime box.


Can't any currently monthly subbed box be turned in to a dormant box simply by the original monthly subbed customer closing the account on it with Tivo CS immediately before they sell it to you?

Or are you saying they will only transfer a Lifetime Sub on to one of the handful of Tivo boxes out there that are Account Status 1 - Never Set Up?

I think you are merely saying the account needs to be Closed first. If you buy a secondhand box that somebody has been paying the monthly sub on from Ebay it surely seems highly unlikely anyway that they will not have Closed the account before the send it you.


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## Nebulous (Nov 28, 2005)

Pete77 said:


> Can't any currently monthly subbed box be turned in to a dormant box simply by the original monthly subbed customer closing the account...


I'm sure it can, but I was responding to merlin, who said he told CS he still had the monthly sub.



Pete77 said:


> Or are you saying they will only transfer a Lifetime Sub on to one of the handful of Tivo boxes out there that are Account Status 1 - Never Set Up?


I just meant a box that doesn't currently have a monthly sub.



Pete77 said:


> I think you are merely saying the account needs to be Closed first.


Sure, although doing it during the same phone call as asking for the the lifetime sub transfer, I'm sure they are going to smell a rat 



Pete77 said:


> If you buy a secondhand box that somebody has been paying the monthly sub on from Ebay it surely seems highly unlikely anyway that they will not have Closed the account before the send it you.


Well obviously, but merlin stated that his new (knackered) box has a lifetime sub.

I should add that I have no first hand experience of any of this. I'm merely dredging up memories of a similar discussion from posts in the past.


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## mikerr (Jun 2, 2005)

Nebulous said:


> IIRC this has been discussed before. Basically, they won't transfer onto an active monthly subbed box, only onto a dormant one.


Which makes a strange kind of sense. Historically,lifetime transfers were supposed to be from broken box to replacement box. Why would the replacement box already have a sub?


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

mikerr said:


> Which makes a strange kind of sense. Historically,lifetime transfers were supposed to be from broken box to replacement box. Why would the replacement box already have a sub?


Ultimately its down to what their Tivo computer customer service system will let them do. Obviously the brighter and more helpful Tivo advisers are going to point out they can close the account on the non subbed Tivo to make this possible.

Generally people will buy a secondhand Tivo with a closed monthly sub account off Ebay to transfer their broken Lifetime Sub to so the problem won't arise. The problem only arises when people buy a Tivo with a Lifetime Sub that is physically defective and then try and transfer that Lifetime Sub to their own existing working but previously monthly subbed Tivo that they haven't yet closed down the monthly subscription on.


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