# Tivo without subscription



## jessesam (Mar 12, 2007)

Is there a way to use Tivo without subscription if there is can anybody tell me how to do it.


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## ttodd1 (Nov 6, 2003)

Nope


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## mick66 (Oct 15, 2004)

If it's a SA series 1 - yes
If it's anything else - no


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## jessesam (Mar 12, 2007)

can any body guide me how to do it


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## gastrof (Oct 31, 2003)

Series 1 machines can do it because they're made that way.

If you have a S1 machine and it isn't, it could be a case of the setting getting messed up because the machine was actually subscribed to the TiVo service for a while.

If you call TiVo and speak to a Customer Service Rep, explain yours is a Series 1 that should work without subscription, and you'd like its setting restored. Give them the ID numbers off your TiVo, and they should help you. Others have done this.

Series 2 machines were NOT made to work without service.

If you have a Series 2 machine and you're asking someone to help you hack the machine so it'll work without service, that's considered theft, and we don't talk about that here. (Not even sure it can be done anyway.)


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## jessesam (Mar 12, 2007)

I am going to buy series 1 off ebay so will it work without subscription and can i call the customer service and get it restored without paying for subscription.


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## rambler (Dec 3, 2005)

Don't call customer service. They can't help you. Just hook it up and use it.


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## bidger (Mar 30, 2001)

jessesam said:


> I am going to buy series 1 off ebay so will it work without subscription and can i call the customer service and get it restored without paying for subscription.


Get _what_ restored?


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## mick66 (Oct 15, 2004)

bidger said:


> Get _what_ restored?


The ability to use it w/o a sub.



gastrof said:


> If you have a S1 machine and it isn't, it could be a case of the setting getting messed up because the machine was actually subscribed to the TiVo service for a while.
> 
> If you call TiVo and speak to a Customer Service Rep, explain yours is a Series 1 that should work without subscription, and you'd like its setting restored. Give them the ID numbers off your TiVo, and they should help you. Others have done this.


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## bidger (Mar 30, 2001)

mick66 said:


> The ability to use it w/o a sub.


Well, wouldn't running "Repeat Guided Setup" do just that?


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## JamieP (Aug 3, 2004)

mick66 said:


> If it's a SA series 1 - yes
> If it's anything else - no


Is it worth mentioning that some Series2's come with TiVoBasic (limited service without a subscription), and some Series1's will not work without a subscription (later units that originally shipped with software version > 1.3)?

Checkout this archive thread for more details.


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## jessesam (Mar 12, 2007)

Do anybody know where i can buy a series 1 tivo which has software version less than 1.3


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## mick66 (Oct 15, 2004)

bidger said:


> Well, wouldn't running "Repeat Guided Setup" do just that?


No. Sometimes flags get set to prevent unsub'd use. The only way to have them removed id to call cs.
The vast majority of the time, this is not even an issue because the flags are (AFAIK) not used very often.


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## mick66 (Oct 15, 2004)

jessesam said:


> Do anybody know where i can buy a series 1 tivo which has software version less than 1.3


It's not a matter of what software version is on it now. What matters is when it was actually manufactured. At a certasin point in time Tivo decided to not allow S1 units to work w/o a sub, so they started flagging units made after a certain date which also coincides with a new software version on new Tivos. Units manufactured before 10/01 shipped with v1.3. Units made after that shipped with a new version of the software. All S1 Tivos in use automatically updated to newer software versions as they became available. The software in a tivo manufactured in 2000 is the same as in one made in 2002. The only differenc is that Tivo inc. has flagged the latter so that it can't be used w/o a subscription.

Sometimes older units that shouldn't have the flag set, do. That's why a call to tivo cs to have it removed is necessary.


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## 1003 (Jul 14, 2000)

*Oigininally*
the TiVo box did not have any 'subsription required' information. Somewhere around the time software version 1.3 appeared the packaging was changed to reflect this and the subsciption requirement could then be legally enforced...


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## cwhogan (Oct 5, 2003)

So what happens when a S2 doesn't have subscription anymore? Does it come up with a message indicating the subscription is inactive? Or does it allow you to watch TV and simply not get programming info?


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

You will get a "subscription required" nag. You can exit form that an view Live TV or recordings that were made prior to service cancellation.


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## cwhogan (Oct 5, 2003)

what if you have other Tivos in the house? Can you still transfer shows from them?


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

MRV is a subscription only feature.


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## Norm Shelton (Feb 5, 2003)

I was under the impression I could program my series 2 without a subscription like you did the old VCRs. Channel, start time, stop time.

If I understand you guys correctly that is not true.

I transferred a lifetime to my series 3 and my series 2 is on the years subscription they gave me. I had intended to just let that run out thinking I could program the old 2 manually.


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## ttodd1 (Nov 6, 2003)

Series 1 could do that not series 2.


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## timckelley (Oct 15, 2002)

Yes, everyday you'll have to deal with the 'subscription required' nag screen. Just hit the select button, and you'll go to the main menu. You'll have no access to the SP manager, and you'll have no guide data, but you will have a To Do List, and the ability schedule manual recordings and manual repeating recordings. Also, when scheduling a recording, the <options> button will still work without a sub, which lets you do things like space padding, keep until, or 'keep at most x episodes'.

The manual repeating recording is useful for those regular weekly series, and is the manual analog for creating an SP. Also, to delete recordings before they record, you can still go to the To Do List to do that, plus you can see what's scheduled by looking at To Do. The other thing that wasn't obvious to me at first, is how to delete a manual repeating recording. You do that through the To Do List. I can't remember if you just select an upcoming ep, or more likely, if I remember clearly, you scroll to the very bottom of your To Do List, and it'll show all your repeating recordings. There, you can select and delete, and the whole SP will be deleted.

I used my S1 for a whole year before eventually subbing it, and works pretty well, even unsubbed. BTW, I bought mine off of ebay, and it was subbed by the prior owner. The prior owner stopped paying their monthly sub, and then my guide data stopped working. I didn't have to do any 'reset' you guys are talking about. My S1 continued working - I just didn't have any of the subscription features anymore.


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## timckelley (Oct 15, 2002)

cwhogan said:


> So what happens when a S2 doesn't have subscription anymore? Does it come up with a message indicating the subscription is inactive? Or does it allow you to watch TV and simply not get programming info?


From what I've heard, I think you can still watch live TV on your unsubbed S2, and the trickplay features (instant rewind, pause, fast forward) will still work. In fact, I think you may even still be able to view recordings that were recorded before the sub expired. But I don't think you can record anything new. Plus of course, there's no guide data.

S1's can do much more unsubbed than S2's can.


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## stevia (Mar 26, 2007)

Here is what I tried and it worked just fine:
Subscribe to the service.
Make sure you connect to their network a few times.
Disconnect network and phone cables.
Cancel in less than month so you do not incure cancellation charges.

You will soon run out of program information, but can still record programs by time and channel.


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## timckelley (Oct 15, 2002)

Manual recording will worked on a series 2 with expired sub? That's news to me, and goes against everything I've read here.


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

It might or might not work. It is not supposed to work. If you want something that will definately work without sub, get a box advertised as such.


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