# Activationg a Previously Activated Mini



## thompsr2 (Oct 21, 2015)

Hello,

I bought an RF Mini from Amazon 3rd Party Used - and was described as 'open box'. When I tried to activate it online, I was of course given a message saying that the unit had already been activated. The seller is a large 3rd party seller on Amazon that I expect buys and re-sells lots of electronics. They do use Fulfillment by Amazon so I can easily send the unit back if needed. But if the seller has no way of knowing who the original owner was and therefore no way of transferring ownership of the device to me, do I have any other options for activating this unit for my own use?


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

thompsr2 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I bought an RF Mini from Amazon 3rd Party Used - and was described as 'open box'. When I tried to activate it online, I was of course given a message saying that the unit had already been activated. The seller is a large 3rd party seller on Amazon that I expect buys and re-sells lots of electronics. They do use Fulfillment by Amazon so I can easily send the unit back if needed. But if the seller has no way of knowing who the original owner was and therefore no way of transferring ownership of the device to me, do I have any other options for activating this unit for my own use?


Hi,
Try calling Tivo and see if they can help you, I would think that they could transfer service just like what happens when any seller fails to notify Tivo of the sale/ transfer. Ordinarily this can be done, but sometimes there is a delay of 5-7 days. If not, send it back to Amazon. Good luck


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

Read the first five posts in this thread:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=533788

Ideas:
1. Have you asked the seller if they can track down the original owner and ask them to deactivate the mini and remove from their account?

2. Try asking TiVo support to contact the original owner and ask them to have the mini deactivated and removed from their account. They know who it is of course but will never let you make direct contact.

If you can get the mini's TSN removed from that account, you can then just go into your account on the web and get free lifetime activation -- do NOT talk to a rep. Just do it.

Good luck -- I think you will need it as both my ideas are probably long shots.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

fcfc2 said:


> Hi,
> Try calling Tivo and see if they can help you, I would think that they could transfer service just like what happens when any seller fails to notify Tivo of the sale/ transfer. Ordinarily this can be done, but sometimes there is a delay of 5-7 days. .......


Maybe that will work but I bet it will involve paying $50 or so to get the lifetime. Of course that's better than paying the monthly sub fee.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

dlfl said:


> Maybe that will work but I bet it will involve paying $50 or so to get the lifetime. Of course that's better than paying the monthly sub fee.


If they will let you move the Mini to your account if you agree to pay for monthly or lifetime service, you could just agree to do that and then cancel the paid service within the first 30 days for a full refund and then just turn around and activate lifetime service on it for free online.


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## thompsr2 (Oct 21, 2015)

fcfc2 said:


> Hi,
> Try calling Tivo and see if they can help you, I would think that they could transfer service just like what happens when any seller fails to notify Tivo of the sale/ transfer. Ordinarily this can be done, but sometimes there is a delay of 5-7 days. If not, send it back to Amazon. Good luck


Well, luck was on my side last night. It turns out that the unit was activated with Lifetime Service. I explained my situation and where I purchased the unit from. The Rep then said he'd go talk to his supervisor and when he came back he said the supervisor agreed to transfer it to me. No fees of any kind were involved. Thanks for everyone's feedback on this.


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