# Why does it take so long for a mini to activate?



## srtdodge05 (Sep 25, 2015)

I bought my second mini last week and it took 4hrs to start working and another 24hrs before the on-demand app showed up. I bought another mini today and its been 8hrs and it still doesn't work. I don't understand why it would need to take so long.


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

You can shorten it by making the Tivo connection on the Mini and the other TiVos.


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

srtdodge05 said:


> I bought my second mini last week and it took 4hrs to start working and another 24hrs before the on-demand app showed up. I bought another mini today and its been 8hrs and it still doesn't work. I don't understand why it would need to take so long.


Hi,
I always check to see that the mini is on my account, then force a connection with your Tivo DVR(s) and then force a connection with the new mini. Mine always was up and running in minutes.


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## srtdodge05 (Sep 25, 2015)

I went to the website and activated it. Then I waited about 15 minutes and hooked it up. I get the error that it cant find my DVR. It's working now but took for ever.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

srtdodge05 said:


> I went to the website and activated it. Then I waited about 15 minutes and hooked it up. I get the error that it cant find my DVR. It's working now but took for ever.


Like 72 hours forever? that's actually the average long wait time.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

srtdodge05 said:


> I went to the website and activated it. Then I waited about 15 minutes and hooked it up. I get the error that it cant find my DVR. It's working now but took for ever.


Right... first step is to activate it via the website; but then you need to go to the TiVo DVR to which you plan to connect the Mini (i.e. the Mini's "host DVR") and use the UI menu to force a connection to the TiVo service, to inform the TiVo DVR of the new Mini on your account.

If after allowing the host DVR's service connection to successfully complete, and the Mini again fails to connect to its host DVR, then wait a bit, and repeat the "host service connection" and "Mini setup" cycle, again.

How long you wait between cycles is up to you, but the process *will* get the job done faster than just activating the Mini and repeatedly trying the Mini setup -- without ever forcing the service connection on the host DVR.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

ThAbtO said:


> You can shorten it by making the Tivo connection on the Mini and the other TiVos.


How do I go about "making the TiVo connection on the Mini"? I'm looking at a screen that says it can't find a DVR to connect to and the only button on that screen is "Try Again" ?

I've already been through two Guided Setups and one update on the mini, so I know it "has connected" to TiVo server(s).

On my Tivo.com account page it shows the mini and that it has a lifetime sub, but it says it hasn't completed activating it, wait 24 hours. I talked to Tivo support and they said if it hasn't worked in 24+ hours, call them back. Taking this long or, even worse, 72 hours as mentioned in another post, is just plain ludicrous.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

dlfl said:


> How do I go about "making the TiVo connection on the Mini"?.


Forget about the Mini for a moment.

Is the *TiVo DVR* from which your Mini will get its recordings online? If so, have you recently forced a TiVo service connection *on that DVR*?

To force a TiVo service connection *on your TiVo DVR*, take the following path from your DVR's UI:

TiVo Central
> Settings & Messages
> Settings
> Network
> Connect to the TiVo Service now​
Once this service connection on the host DVR has successfully completed, you could cycle power on your new Mini and see if it has better luck getting through its setup.

p.s. See also my post immediately above yours, which says pretty much the same thing, sans the UI path but w/ a bit more narrative.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

dlfl said:


> How do I go about "making the TiVo connection on the Mini"? I'm looking at a screen that says it can't find a DVR to connect to and the only button on that screen is "Try Again" ?
> ........


Guess I answered by own question via the impatience method. I power-cycled the mini. Within less than 2 minutes it was back up and connecting to my Roamio.

My tivo account still says they haven't completed activation, wait 24 hours. Maybe the VOD elements haven't appeared yet?


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

krkaufman said:


> Forget about the Mini for a moment.
> 
> Is the *TiVo DVR* from which your Mini will get its recordings online? If so, have you recently forced a TiVo service connection *on that DVR*?
> 
> ...


Yeah, I had forced connection on my Roamio twice and still the mini wasn't connecting. It took power-cycling the mini to do it. I couldn't find any other way to force the mini to do anything since it was stuck on the cannot-find-a-tivo-dvr-to-connect-to screen with no way out except the retry button.

It amazes me that nowhere (including talking to TiVo support and looking at the web page suggested on the mini screen) did anyone suggest power-cycling the mini. I wonder how long I would have waited without doing that?


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## GIXX1300 (Sep 15, 2003)

Glad I saw this thread. Force connection, power cycle, worked like a charm. Also running wireless with a DAP1522 and its good to go.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

I just put a Roamio and two Minis into service last weekend. I hit the "TiVo DVR not available" screen on both of the Minis. I ended up calling TiVo support, and they confirmed a "known issue" involving that. They had me power down everything -- TiVo, Minis, and even the router -- then start everything back up again (Router first, then Roamio, then one Mini, then the other).


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## bob61 (Apr 23, 2002)

I just added Mini on my account, had no problems or delays with connectivity. First I activated Mini on Tivo.com. I then went through the Mini setup when it downloads an update (not sure why every Mini does this). Then while Mini was updating I forced my Roamio to get a connection to Tivo. Then went through the setup on Mini. After Mini did its connection with the mother ship once more my Mini had full access to my Roamio, all shows and features were available. I did this same process with my past 3 Mini setups and not had a problem.


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

bob61 said:


> I just added Mini on my account, had no problems or delays with connectivity. First I activated Mini on Tivo.com. I then went through the Mini setup when it downloads an update (not sure why every Mini does this). Then while Mini was updating I forced my Roamio to get a connection to Tivo. Then went through the setup on Mini. After Mini did its connection with the mother ship once more my Mini had full access to my Roamio, all shows and features were available. I did this same process with my past 3 Mini setups and not had a problem.


Hi,
You and I an a few others have tried to explain this procedure, as simply put, activate mini, force connection with main Tivo dvr, then do the same for the mini...done. Worked for 8 different minis within minutes for me. The reason why forcing the main Tivo to connect and then rebooting the mini is because while it is rebooting, it connects to the Tivo server.


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## Series3Sub (Mar 14, 2010)

I have done all the tricks, but it still takes a day for the Mini to be fully activated. I just decide to be patient and get a good nights sleep. Then it is great when the Mini finally is activated and works.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

Series3Sub said:


> I have done all the tricks, but it still takes a day for the Mini to be fully activated. I just decide to be patient and get a good nights sleep. Then it is great when the Mini finally is activated and works.


I applaud your patience but it doesn't always take a day. Mine only took a few hours -- actually only two minutes once I power-cycled the mini.


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## spturnip (Nov 29, 2015)

I have been a happy user of a TiVo Roamio OTA DVR and one TiVo mini for the past 11 months. The activation time is a fly in the soup.

Just ordered another pair of TiVo minis on Amazon. Called and registered them immediately upon receipt. The nice support person told me of the 24 hour activation period. I had to ask 3 times as I could not believe what I thought I heard. Indeed, it took 18 hours for them to activate and connect to the TiVo Roamio OTA unit. In an age where a new cell phone, cable service or cable modem can be activated almost immediately, there is no excuse for this much delay. These were a birthday gift for my wife who wanted to watch programs on her birthday, not the day after!

It was beyond frustrating to have to go through the multiple setup menus only to get the message that it could not connect to the DVR. There is no indication of when the units were activated. Just had to keep recycling the power every couple of hours and going back through the setup menus until it finally completed.

I did look for the force connection option as suggested by other posts (thanks for the suggestion), but did not find the menu on my central OTA unit. 

Ending to the story. Both mini units are up and running and all is well now. Sort of feels like finishing a marathon last, but hey, I crossed the line.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

spturnip said:


> Just ordered another pair of TiVo minis on Amazon. Called and registered them immediately upon receipt.


One can save a bit of time activating new Minis by using the online form, available *here*:
https://www.tivo.com/tivo-mma/mma-activate/activateservice.do​You can also just click on the 'Activate TiVo' link on the main TiVo.com web page.



spturnip said:


> The nice support person told me of the 24 hour activation period. I had to ask 3 times as I could not believe what I thought I heard. Indeed, it took 18 hours for them to activate and connect to the TiVo Roamio OTA unit. In an age where a new cell phone, cable service or cable modem can be activated almost immediately, there is no excuse for this much delay. These were a birthday gift for my wife who wanted to watch programs on her birthday, not the day after!
> 
> It was beyond frustrating to have to go through the multiple setup menus only to get the message that it could not connect to the DVR. There is no indication of when the units were activated. Just had to keep recycling the power every couple of hours and going back through the setup menus until it finally completed.
> 
> I did look for the force connection option as suggested by other posts (thanks for the suggestion), but did not find the menu on my central OTA unit.


Using the online activation form can shave a bit of time from the activation process, but the big time saver is in making the "host DVR" to which the Mini needs to connect aware of the new Mini on the account (otherwise, someone could just drop a Mini on a network and start wreaking havoc on your DVR). The only way the host DVR can learn of the new Mini is by connecting to the TiVo service to get the updated account information, and this will happen during the DVR's daily service call -- thus the "it could take 24 hours" caution. However, the customer can expedite the process by manually forcing a service connection on the host DVR, perhaps several connections if the first doesn't get the job done for the Mini in question.

As for forcing the service connection on the DVR, the path to the "force connection" option on a Roamio is the same as it is on a Mini, and is detailed in a post just up the page a bit, *here*:
http://tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10654935#post10654935​
All that said, I totally agree that the "lay back and take it" approach to Mini activation that TiVo seems to support does little for customer satisfaction. The process to expedite activation of the Mini should be clearly detailed on their official website, and should be at the fingertips of every CSR.


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## spturnip (Nov 29, 2015)

krkaufman said:


> One can save a bit of time activating new Minis by using the online form, available *here*:
> https://www.tivo.com/tivo-mma/mma-activate/activateservice.do​You can also just click on the 'Activate TiVo' link on the main TiVo.com web page.
> 
> Using the online activation form can shave a bit of time from the activation process, but the big time saver is in making the "host DVR" to which the Mini needs to connect aware of the new Mini on the account (otherwise, someone could just drop a Mini on a network and start wreaking havoc on your DVR). The only way the host DVR can learn of the new Mini is by connecting to the TiVo service to get the updated account information, and this will happen during the DVR's daily service call -- thus the "it could take 24 hours" caution. However, the customer can expedite the process by manually forcing a service connection on the host DVR, perhaps several connections if the first doesn't get the job done for the Mini in question.
> ...


Very much appreciate these detailed instructions; This should be part of the setup documentation and on the website.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

spturnip said:


> Very much appreciate these detailed instructions; This should be part of the setup documentation and on the website.


Might be worthwhile writing up as a "Sticky" post for the Mini forum, as well.


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