# TiVo Mini Died; Repair It Or Throw It?



## Jim1348 (Jan 3, 2015)

I bought a Tivo Mini 3 months ago from WeaKnees. I have tried a few things, but I think it is DOA. Ironically, the one I bought a couple of years ago is still going strong. Is it worth contacting WeaKnees? Will they replace it or does it have to be purchased direct from TiVo for warranty service?


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Personally, I would contact Weaknees first and see what can be done--it can be helpful. Apart from that, though, absent some sort of limiting language in it, a manf.'s warranty is good from whatever "standard" retailer the product is purchased from.


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## Jim1348 (Jan 3, 2015)

Thank you for the reply. I did email them and actually got a prompt response. Here it is:









*WK-help* (WeaKnees.com)

Apr 27, 17:41 PDT

Sorry you're having trouble; you would contact TiVo directly.

Thanks,
WeaKnees.com
http://www.weaknees.com

I guess that should be a good lesson to me. Don't buy a refurbished TiVo Mini from WeaKnees. I actually thought that they were one of the more respected retailers. Perhaps I was wrong.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Best Buy wouldn’t accept a return 3 months after purchase. You’re well outside the return window and into manufacturer warranty territory.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Yep, I was hoping that Weaknees might go out of its way and see if some help might be possible, but I can understand the referral back to TiVo. And so, time for that call to TiVo (better sooner than later, esp. if you're close to a warranty period cutoff--refurb. items sometimes have shorter warranty periods) . . . .


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## brimorga (Oct 22, 2016)

My tivo mini bricked a few months ago and was stuck on the initial startup page and I called tivo and they sent me a refurb swap for free. You got nothing to lose by calling!


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## jer0250mar (Sep 9, 2018)

Jim1348 said:


> I bought a Tivo Mini 3 months ago from WeaKnees. I have tried a few things, but I think it is DOA. Ironically, the one I bought a couple of years ago is still going strong. Is it worth contacting WeaKnees? Will they replace it or does it have to be purchased direct from TiVo for warranty service?


I had a similar issue with my version 1 mini. Called TIVO tech support and after hours of "troubleshooting" they agreed to replace it. However, they wanted a $50 fee to do this plus a credit card hold of nearly $200 as a guarantee of me returning the defective unit. I agreed to this. After about 10 days, I received a factory refurbished version 2 mini from Texas via FedEx ground. The unit looked new upon unboxing. After I installed it, it did not work. Called TIVO support again. Did more hours of their "troubleshooting" and then sent this unit back once again for exchange. Second unit arrived - same thing. Third unit arrived - same thing. Fourth unit arrived - unit finally worked just fine. Turns out 2 of the 3 bad refurb units just would not boot up. Third unit did not have the correct internal software loaded so my MoCA connection would not access. All this took 4 grueling and highly frustrating months to get this back operational again. I must say that the high level technician did stick with me throughout the 3 and 4th unit. I was highly dissatisfied with the quality of their reconditioned mini units however. No way was they ever tested for being functional prior to the shipment.

So in summary, if you can withstand the pains of lengthy phone troubleshooting with their foreign technicians, pay $50 for the exchange fee vs buying a new unit at ~$170 or so, then do it. Also know that they will give you substantial grief if they learn you did not purchase your mini directly from TIVO. They told me they do not warranty their products if purchased elsewhere such as Amazon, Best Buy, eBay, etc. JUST BE ADVISED AND PREPARE TO ARGUE WITH THEM.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

jer0250mar said:


> They told me they do not warranty their products if purchased elsewhere such as Amazon, Best Buy, eBay, etc.


And, of course, they do (at least as to authorized/mainstay retailers), there not being any exclusionary language in the warranty otherwise, as far as I am aware (I don't know if any such attempted exclusion even would be valid under existing law).


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## jer0250mar (Sep 9, 2018)

I had to argue for quite some time and continually met with heavy resistance. The tech rep also plainly stated that the TIVO units sold on Amazon (where I purchased my mini's) only sold remanufactured units ergo not warrantable. I have had TIVO products for many, many years and am technically savvy. I must say that dealing with their tech reps was highly frustrating. They could only read from their script and could not understand basic logic.


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