# Free Tivo Service?



## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

So a really weird thing happened today. Every now and then I log into my Tivo account to check things out and see if all is well, and today I noticed that my Elite, that I had deactivated a few weeks ago, had been put back on my account and beside it said "Free Tivo Service" under the current payment plan. So I called them to see what was going on, and the CSR said she found it strange as well and could I hold on a bit. I said sure, and she put me on hold for about 15 minutes. She came back and said that the corporate office had put it on there and just for me to enjoy it. Well its a bit hard for me to because the Elite wont work on my cable system. I've been having the problems thats been discussed a lot in this thread here:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=481894

Thats the reason I deactivated it to begin with. I've had it boxed up in the closet now for a few weeks, like I explained to her. She asked did I still have the box, and I said yes I do, I paid a lot of money for it I'm not going to just give it away, and maybe when the new software updates come out it might work in 6 months to a year, who knows. She told me to let a family member use it if I want or a friend, but most my family members just use OTA and my sister has Uverse so it wont work for her. Well I got it out of the box and hooked it to the TV in my office and did a connect to the Mothership. It loaded everything and then I checked the system info screen and where it usually says "account in good standing" it now says "free service" in its place. So I guess I'm a bit confused about why they would put service on this box I cant really use and that I had deactivated. Are they trying to get me to use it or something? I dont want to hook it up again and get yet another cable card and tuning adapter just to have the same old mess all over again, so I really dont know what to do about this. Do I need to let it keep connecting all the time to the Mothership so the free service will stay on the box? I was a bit stunned when I had her on the phone that I didnt even ask her, I just said Oh OK thanks have a nice weekend, and she started asking was I excited about the new software update thats about to come out and all that, and I was just sitting like a zombie that Tivo would put free service on a new Elite box. It's new with only about 2 weeks of use on it, this was my 3rd box.

Has anyone ever heard of anything like this? Or ever had the free service on a box? Do I need to keep it hooked up and let it connect everyday?


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## GoEagles (Dec 2, 2006)

Who cares, it's free man. Enjoy it and stop asking questions


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## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

Well, I wish it would work with my cable, or an antenna at least. I was going to get lifetime on this box but it never worked out, and if it would work I would be more than happy to throw $400 at them.


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## Teeps (Aug 16, 2001)

I would certainly reconnect box, long as the free service is available. Maybe the new software will fix the problem. But, you won't know that if the TiVo is in the box.

Another thought would be to ask TiVo to mitigate the (Elite) situation by:

A: Buying the unit back, including all taxes and shipping.
and for your inconvenience and aggravation
B: Switching the "free service" to your other TiVo unit, *until such time an Elite or xl4 can be guaranteed to work for you.*


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

You didn't expect them to give you free service on one you can actually use, did you?

Perhaps it was a particularly sadistic April 1st promo.


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## ajwees41 (May 7, 2006)

MeInDallas said:


> So a really weird thing happened today. Every now and then I log into my Tivo account to check things out and see if all is well, and today I noticed that my Elite, that I had deactivated a few weeks ago, had been put back on my account and beside it said "Free Tivo Service" under the current payment plan. So I called them to see what was going on, and the CSR said she found it strange as well and could I hold on a bit. I said sure, and she put me on hold for about 15 minutes. She came back and said that the corporate office had put it on there and just for me to enjoy it. Well its a bit hard for me to because the Elite wont work on my cable system. I've been having the problems thats been discussed a lot in this thread here:
> 
> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=481894
> 
> ...


what's the version number of the tivo software?


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## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

I went ahead and hooked it up to let it connect last night. I'll be able to tell from my other Premiere's when the new spring update is out and then hopefully there will be some fixes in it for the issues that are going on. Got my fingers crossed!

The software version it has is: 20.2.0a-01-2-758


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## Wingershute (Oct 22, 2010)

op can you post pics of this free TiVo service? Your story sounds unbelievable. Why would TiVo do this?


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## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

Wingershute said:


> op can you post pics of this free TiVo service? Your story sounds unbelievable. Why would TiVo do this?


I will when I get my camera back, I let a friend borrow it that went to Oregon on a trip. Why Tivo would do this, I dont know. Maybe they did it so when the new update comes out I would download it and try and see if it works then? No idea to be honest. I seriously doubt it would be anything permanent. Maybe just a few months added to my account.

It's really no big deal to me at all. It's like buying a new iPhone 4S, and getting home and none of the buttons work, you cant make any calls, you dont know what the number is, Siri is dead, but AT&T or Verizon calls and says "WOW you got free service, enjoy!" It really means nothing.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

You can use it for MRS/MRV if nothing else. (No need for cable card, TA etc.)


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## gonzotek (Sep 24, 2004)

moyekj said:


> You can use it for MRS/MRV if nothing else. (No need for cable card, TA etc.)


And any streaming services (Youtube and Pandora are free, plus netflix/hulu if you subscribe to either and amazon if you wanted to rent or purchase any on-demand content).


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

MeInDallas said:


> I will when I get my camera back, I let a friend borrow it that went to Oregon on a trip.


Your cell phone doesn't have a camera??


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## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

crxssi said:


> Your cell phone doesn't have a camera??


Nope, sure doesnt.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

I didn't think they still made any cell phones without cameras.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

Just take a screen shot on the computer. Same as taking a picture and it's right there in a flash.


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## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

aaronwt said:


> I didn't think they still made any cell phones without cameras.


Yes they do, they are called "pay as you go" phones. I hate cell phones, one of my pet peaves. Emergency use only in this house. If you cant get me on the house phone, then stop trying or wait until I get back home.


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## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

sharkster said:


> Just take a screen shot on the computer. Same as taking a picture and it's right there in a flash.


Kinda hard to do of the TV screen. I wont take a screen shot of my account and post here, not going to happen.

And please all, lets go ahead and get it out in the open and say it. I'm not here to prove to anyone I have this service, and I dont care if anyone believes me or not about it. Either you believe me or you dont, thats not the question here and I'm not going off topic into some other discussion about whether or not I have this service. So if you dont believe me about then good luck to you, and have a nice day because I didnt create this thread to prove to anyone about my Tivo service and I wont debate anyone about it.


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## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

gonzotek said:


> And any streaming services (Youtube and Pandora are free, plus netflix/hulu if you subscribe to either and amazon if you wanted to rent or purchase any on-demand content).


Its a good idea, but I dont even use any of those. Theres too much on cable to keep up with as it is. I've got 4 Tivo's going now plus 2 Motorola DVR's from the cable company, so the shows to watch seem endless sometimes. I just wish the Elite would record so I could eliminate the 2 Premiere's out of the loop. I had actually bought those from that Electronics Expo deal for $49.95 to give one to my mom who's using OTA and a friend of mine but I ended up using them when the Elite went south.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

MeInDallas said:


> Kinda hard to do of the TV screen. I wont take a screen shot of my account and post here, not going to happen.
> 
> And please all, lets go ahead and get it out in the open and say it. I'm not here to prove to anyone I have this service, and I dont care if anyone believes me or not about it. Either you believe me or you dont, thats not the question here and I'm not going off topic into some other discussion about whether or not I have this service. So if you dont believe me about then good luck to you, and have a nice day because I didnt create this thread to prove to anyone about my Tivo service and I wont debate anyone about it.


I believe you 'cause it sounds too nutty for anyone to have dreamed up on their own, truth being stranger than fiction and all that.


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## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

unitron said:


> I believe you 'cause it sounds too nutty for anyone to have dreamed up on their own, truth being stranger than fiction and all that.


Exactly! It's not like I'm running thru the house with party hats and horns throwing confetti all over the place and sippin champagne. I'm sitting here wondering why in the heck would Tivo put service on a DVR that I cant use with my cable system. I almost feel like they were all doubled over in laughter in their cubicles, and the CSR was holding up a huge sign saying "It's him!" when I called in, like its some kind of big joke at my expense.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

MeInDallas said:


> Kinda hard to do of the TV screen. I wont take a screen shot of my account and post here, not going to happen.
> 
> And please all, lets go ahead and get it out in the open and say it. I'm not here to prove to anyone I have this service, and I dont care if anyone believes me or not about it. Either you believe me or you dont, thats not the question here and I'm not going off topic into some other discussion about whether or not I have this service. So if you dont believe me about then good luck to you, and have a nice day because I didnt create this thread to prove to anyone about my Tivo service and I wont debate anyone about it.


Speaking for myself, I don't question the validity of your claim.
I would just like to see a screen shot because of the novelty. That is something that has probably never been seen before. In my time here at TCF I don't recall ever reading about someone getting free TiVo service.
I respect that you don't want to post sensitive information. You can always blot that stuff out using Paint. 

On the downside if you did post a screen shot, you'd still have someone come in and claim they see pixels.


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## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

steve614 said:


> Speaking for myself, I don't question the validity of your claim.
> I would just like to see a screen shot because of the novelty. That is something that has probably never been seen before. In my time here at TCF I don't recall ever reading about someone getting free TiVo service.
> I respect that you don't want to post sensitive information. You can always blot that stuff out using Paint.
> 
> On the downside if you did post a screen shot, you'd still have someone come in and claim they see pixels.


See I thought of that too. If I do it then of course there will be someone that will come in and say Oh you used Photoshop on that, I see lines and pixels and you doctored it to make it look like you got free service, and it'll go on and on and on and on and on, and the thread just goes way off into something else.

I could see if I came in here and was telling everyone Weeee I got free service and neener neener poke poke poke I'm getting something you're not, but thats not even how I feel about it, in the least. I was just curious had anyone ever had any problems with Tivo over the years, and had a lot of contact with their support, and maybe they had put a few months of free service on a Tivo for testing or whatever reason. I searched thru the forums here and couldnt find anything about such a thing, and Tivo wont give me any clue why they did it, so I'm just left to wonder about it. Oh well, its really no biggie.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

steve614 said:


> Speaking for myself, I don't question the validity of your claim.
> I would just like to see a screen shot because of the novelty. That is something that has probably never been seen before. In my time here at TCF I don't recall ever reading about someone getting free TiVo service.
> I respect that you don't want to post sensitive information. You can always blot that stuff out using Paint.
> 
> On the downside if you did post a screen shot, you'd still have someone come in and claim they see pixels.


<young boy voice>I see dead pixels</young boy voice>

I won't say I've never heard of anyone getting free service, but this is the first time I've heard of those words showing up on the sys info page.

Again, I have no reason to disbelieve the OP.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

MeInDallas said:


> Yes they do, they are called "pay as you go" phones. I hate cell phones, one of my pet peaves. Emergency use only in this house. If you cant get me on the house phone, then stop trying or wait until I get back home.


My girlfriend, several of her siblings(in their 60's), and 85 yr. old mom have "pay as you go" phones. But they all have cameras in their phones.


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## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

Well all I know to tell is that mine doesnt. Motorola Model V170. It's very basic and all you can do is dial numbers and send texts with it (which I've never done) and anything more then that is complete overkill for me. I hate cell phones and I fought against getting one tooth and nail the whole way. I have an 82 yr old mother and she is the only person that has the number. Everyone else can leave a message on my home phone machine if they want me to get back to them, and even then its not always a guarantee that I will. Just depends on how I feel that day and if I actually wanna talk.

Phones are a 100% complete annoyance


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

steve614 said:


> I would just like to see a screen shot because of the novelty. That is something that has probably never been seen before. In my time here at TCF I don't recall ever reading about someone getting free TiVo service.


I did. When I transferred my PLS from my Series I TiVo to my Series III TiVo back in 2006, they gave me a free year of service on the S1 as a courtesy for forking over the transfer fee.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

MeInDallas said:


> Yes they do, they are called "pay as you go" phones. I hate cell phones, one of my pet peaves. Emergency use only in this house. If you cant get me on the house phone, then stop trying or wait until I get back home.


A great many people have disconnected their land-lines and only have cellular service.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

MeInDallas said:


> Well all I know to tell is that mine doesnt. Motorola Model V170. It's very basic and all you can do is dial numbers and send texts with it (which I've never done) and anything more then that is complete overkill for me.


I have texting disabled, and I rarely use the built-in camera.



MeInDallas said:


> Phones are a 100% complete annoyance


You've obviously never been stuck late at night in the middle of nowhere without a cell phone.


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## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

lrhorer said:


> I have texting disabled, and I rarely use the built-in camera.
> 
> You've obviously never been stuck late at night in the middle of nowhere without a cell phone.


I got stuck one time with a dead battery, thats what prodded me to get the phone because I realized there were no pay phones anymore to walk to. Then my mother is the other reason. I'm the only one that lives close enough to get to her if she gets sick. Other than that, I have no use for a cell phone. I dont think I could even tell you how to send a text, I've never done it and dont wanna learn either.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

MeInDallas said:


> I got stuck one time with a dead battery


Then you are lucky. I have been stranded a number of times. Since I have gotten the cell phone, though, the prospect is far less daunting.



MeInDallas said:


> thats what prodded me to get the phone because I realized there were no pay phones anymore to walk to.


Where I travel, pay phones have always often way too far away to which to walk. I have upon occasion been stranded more than 90 miles from the nearest town. You live in Dallas. Try heading West some time, or South.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

lrhorer said:


> I did. When I transferred my PLS from my Series I TiVo to my Series III TiVo back in 2006, they gave me a free year of service on the S1 as a courtesy for forking over the transfer fee.


But did the account status line on the sys info page change to "free service"?

That's the oddity here.

Well, along with them slapping the free service on it without any interaction with the customer.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

MeInDallas said:


> ...Are they trying to get me to use it or something?...


After taking a look at that other thread to see just what kind of problems you were having that prompted you to stuff it back in the box, it occurs to me that perhaps that's exactly what's going on, they want that thing running all the time, and phoning home, so they can query its logs to try to figure out what's causing the problem, seeing's how you don't seem to be the only one experiencing it, and some of the other people experiencing it are probably giving them 37 different kinds of hell about it on a daily basis.


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## Joe01880 (Feb 8, 2009)

completely off topic..sort of.. but this thread is heading there anyway.

I was at a LARGE shopping complex in Columbia MD, my car broke down, i had forogt my cell phone at my sisters house. It was just a short 5 mile run to Target (so i didnt turn back to get it) to go get a cordless phone battery for her ONLY house phone.
I walked all over the place, must have been over a mile round trip searching for a pay phone..to call my wife in Boston at work (the only number i could remember, home is in Boston) to get my sisters cell phone number because i keep everything in my cell phone and cant remember crap anyway.
I never did find a pay phone. While shopping for a pay as you go phone a nice guy in target let me use the store phone to call my wife who had my sisters number in her cell phone and then i called my sister who brought me my cell phone and waited with me until triple A came to get my car to tow it to a shop. All on a Sunday evening.
So i believe the OP, strange things do happen.


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## Teeps (Aug 16, 2001)

MeInDallas said:


> Phones are a 100% complete annoyance


Amen to that.

Call TiVo and insist the free service is made permanent; you could then, sell the box and be done with it...


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

MeInDallas said:


> Yes they do, they are called "pay as you go" phones. I hate cell phones, one of my pet peaves. Emergency use only in this house. If you cant get me on the house phone, then stop trying or wait until I get back home.


Uhh, what? My Virgin Mobile phone had a camera on it, and was pay as you go.


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## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

mattack said:


> Uhh, what? My Virgin Mobile phone had a camera on it, and was pay as you go.


That doesnt mean they all do


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