# transferring/activating purchased 2nd-hand Mini



## rwaxman (Jul 10, 2018)

When buying a used Mini on ebay or elsewhere, there seems to be a lot of confusion about what has to be done to get it activated with free lifetime service. The following threads show that there is a variety of experiences, and there doesn't seem to be a clear resolution of the issue.

adding used mini to account
Not all TiVo Minis have lifetime?
Tivo Mini subscription

I'm curious if a clearer picture has emerged since the last discussion. How can you ensure that a Mini you buy used will be able to be transferred/activated with free lifetime?


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## rwaxman (Jul 10, 2018)

After doing a little more research, it looks like free lifetime service for Minis started in September of 2014, which precedes the introduction of Mini V2 (93000) in February of 2015. I assumes that means that any Mini v2 already has free lifetime.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

rwaxman said:


> After doing a little more research, it looks like free lifetime service for Minis started in September of 2014, which precedes the introduction of Mini V2 (93000) in February of 2015. I assumes that means that any Mini v2 already has free lifetime.


Go to www.tivo.com and see if you can activate it. You just need the TSN. If that fails, you have to succumb to CS torture.


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## davidnnc (Apr 25, 2015)

rwaxman said:


> When buying a used Mini on ebay or elsewhere, there seems to be a lot of confusion about what has to be done to get it activated with free lifetime service. The following threads show that there is a variety of experiences, and there doesn't seem to be a clear resolution of the issue.
> 
> adding used mini to account
> Not all TiVo Minis have lifetime?
> ...


Back in May I purchased a used Mini v2 off of Ebay. After a little back and forth, the seller and I determined that the seller needs to get a *Case # *from Tivo that refers to the seller removing the Mini from his/her account. This Case # needs to be passed to the buyer and the buyer will call Tivo support. Explain that you have purchased a used Mini (referring to the Case #) and would like to add it to your account. It may take up to 24 hours before you can activate it. It worked very smoothly for me.


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## rwaxman (Jul 10, 2018)

davidnnc said:


> Back in May I purchased a used Mini v2 off of Ebay. After a little back and forth, the seller and I determined that the seller needs to get a *Case # *from Tivo that refers to the seller removing the Mini from his/her account. This Case # needs to be passed to the buyer and the buyer will call Tivo support. Explain that you have purchased a used Mini (referring to the Case #) and would like to add it to your account. It may take up to 24 hours before you can activate it. It worked very smoothly for me.


Thanks David. Based on your advice, I've been contacting ebay sellers of Minis I might bid on to make sure they are the actual owner of the account the device is on. Some have given pretty dodgy answers, or just don't respond. One even got pretty nasty after I corrected his initial response that nothing needed to be done -- pretty suspicious.


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