# 3-year service ending .... what to do?



## Crispix (Dec 24, 2003)

I've had my Series3 for 3 years next month. At the time I bought it, a lifetime subscription was not available, and I paid $300 for a 3-year subscription.

A lifetime subscription is offered now for $400.

I asked for upgrade pricing via online chat, and TiVo denied the request. Has anyone been able to get a discount on a lifetime upgrade, or am I out of luck?


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## reubanks (Feb 19, 2006)

Personally, I'd get a Tivo HD or possibly a used Series3 and put lifetime on it with the discount for having more than one unit. Then you can cancel the original Series3.

Randy


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## andyw715 (Jul 31, 2007)

That sucks...i bought a TivoHD 3 years ago (this coming august) and i just looked to see what lifetime auto renewal price is, $299.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

I renewed to another 3 year pre-pay on 1 of my S3s with the intention of moving service to new hardware unit if/when it comes out this year. Lifetime I did not consider as it is tied to specific unit and can't be transferred.


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## adamwsh (Oct 22, 2002)

I have Series2 with a Lifetime Sub, a Series2 grandfathered in at $6.95/month and an HD at 9.95/month. Looks like I can currently upgrade either to lifetime for $299 each. On the 6.95 one, that would take 43 months to start paying for itself and event the 9.95 one would take 30 months. Doesn't see worth it, especially for the 6.95er.

As for you, just look for the best rate you can find. Probably a multi-month at this point. I'm guessing you'd be back to paying $12.95/month. And if they aren't offering you a discount on the Lifetime, then their looking to get $399 from you. So that's 30 months. If you think you'll have it for at least that long, then go for it. Call them and see if you can get them to come down to $299.


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## gnordy (Aug 8, 2006)

My series 3 is also coming up for renewal in a couple months when my current 3 year plan ends. I will likely opt for a 12 month plan and wait to see if new hardware is introduced in the next year. Would hate to be locked in longer if something new and shiny was available.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

I got lifetime for my three S3 units after the three years was up.


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## wackymann (Sep 22, 2006)

Tivo sent me an e-mail with a $100 discount code for lifetime just before my 3-year plan was up. So it cost me $299. I balked for a few months, but finally bought the lifetime. I also spent $100 to put a new hard drive in it to help ensure it would actually survive 3 more years. The discount code was "PLSR" - not sure if you can use it, but it can't hurt to try.


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

Hrm. My 3-year prepaid is also nearly up - it's up in June. 

Also debating between lifetime (which wasn't available when I bought my S3). I don't want to move to an HD or HD XL because I'm one of the few who love the OLED display on it. I don't use CableCARDs (because our cable providers are idiots and want to sell their own boxes - Canada).

If I can get the $100 off, I'll go lifetime - lifetime for the price of 3 years isn't a bad deal, and I can probably switch hard drives when it dies.

The only thing that'll make me switch is if TiVo releases one with HD inputs so I can use my provider's cablebox. Otherwise, the next TiVo I buy must have a display.


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## teasip (Aug 24, 2002)

I just went through all this and waffled between going to either extreme, LT or monthly. I ended up going monthly since I would have to keep whichever unit for three years to break even on service fees and I'm not sure what options will be available in three years or less, especially with my FiOS. I did just upgrade one of my two units to a 1TB drive (piece of cake process!) however so it wouldn't feel neglected.


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## Kit_C (Oct 29, 1999)

I would wait until your subscription expiration date. I'm 5 days away from mine and Tivo just offered me $99 lifetime service. I figured they must be ready to a. announce the series 4 but I'm happy with my expanded Series 3.


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## adamwsh (Oct 22, 2002)

Kit_C said:


> I would wait until your subscription expiration date. I'm 5 days away from mine and Tivo just offered me $99 lifetime service. I figured they must be ready to a. announce the series 4 but I'm happy with my expanded Series 3.


$99!!?? Wow! How did that offer come? Via phone call, email or postal mail?


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## dbaps (Jul 25, 2007)

Something similar happened to me. I bought the Tivo-HD when it first came out with a 3 year warranty. The first few weeks the Tivo-HD was on the market they did not offer lifetime. I've tried to get a discount for going to lifetime but no luck so far. Figure I will wait for the next gen instead of buying lifetime since I already have lifetime on another Tivo-HD.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

adamwsh said:


> $99!!?? Wow! How did that offer come? Via phone call, email or postal mail?


Another offer found: http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1849761


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## wackymann (Sep 22, 2006)

Great - so the loyal customers pay another $299. And the people who threaten to cancel get it for $99?? FML

I just called the customer support line and they refused to offer me any type of refund or other compensation. Yay.


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## Sapphire (Sep 10, 2002)

Windows 7 Media center is where I'm going.

The $99 offer is tempting, but to really convince me I'd need M-card support.


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## Sapphire (Sep 10, 2002)

wackymann said:


> Tivo sent me an e-mail with a $100 discount code for lifetime just before my 3-year plan was up. So it cost me $299. I balked for a few months, but finally bought the lifetime. I also spent $100 to put a new hard drive in it to help ensure it would actually survive 3 more years. The discount code was "PLSR" - not sure if you can use it, but it can't hurt to try.


I got the same email. $299 is still too much.

I would have probably paid $99 if I hadn't already taken steps to go towards media center and the S3 had M card support. oh well.


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

My 3-year pre-paid plan is also about ready to expire. I just received an e-mail from Tivo this morning for the $99 lifetime service upgrade, which I plan on taking advantage of. I still plan on dumping my S3 Tivos when the quad-tuner Ceton CableCARD tuners hit the streets next month. Having lifetime service will get me a greater return when I sell them on ebay.

I just got off the phone with Tivo and upgraded to lifetime for $99. Considering I only paid $199 for the original 3-year prepaid plan I effectively paid $298 for lifetime service on my S3 Tivo. I had been informed that my monthly Tivo service fee would become $12.99 once the prepaid plan expired so the upgrade to lifetime will have paid for itself in about 8 months. I think I still have about 6-8 months left on my 2nd S3 Tivo service plan so I'll probably keep them both until I get offered the upgrade on the 2nd Tivo, assuming they do the same for that unit.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

Kit_C said:


> I would wait until your subscription expiration date. I'm 5 days away from mine and Tivo just offered me $99 lifetime service. I figured they must be ready to a. announce the series 4 but I'm happy with my expanded Series 3.


Considering that lifetime is worth $150-$200+ on any TiVo on eBay, you just won the lottery.

Other than the $99 lifetime deal, ask Doctor Who to take you back 3 years so you can buy lifetime for $399 or $299.


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## wackymann (Sep 22, 2006)

It was real nice of Tivo to wait JUST long enough to offer this so that all of the early S3 adopters could get screwed over not once ($799 box), not twice (no lifetime available), not 3 times (charging $299 for lifetime AFTER 3 years), but FOUR times. Nice to see them taking care of their most loyal customers. Let's see how anxious I am to jump on their NEXT product. It's called biting the hand that feeds you, and I have finally reached my limit. I don't mind paying a premium to be an early adopter, but it really has gotten ridiculous in this case.


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## adamwsh (Oct 22, 2002)

wackymann said:


> It was real nice of Tivo to wait JUST long enough to offer this so that all of the early S3 adopters could get screwed over not once ($799 box), not twice (no lifetime available), not 3 times (charging $299 for lifetime AFTER 3 years), but FOUR times. Nice to see them taking care of their most loyal customers. Let's see how anxious I am to jump on their NEXT product. It's called biting the hand that feeds you, and I have finally reached my limit. I don't mind paying a premium to be an early adopter, but it really has gotten ridiculous in this case.


All good points!
They better be careful. I've been a fan of Tivo for many years and have 3 boxes. And even I am considering a Moxi box if/when I replace any of my standard def TVs with HD.


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## teasip (Aug 24, 2002)

Shot down using chat.


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## PaulS (Sep 16, 2002)

mr.unnatural said:


> My 3-year pre-paid plan is also about ready to expire. I just received an e-mail from Tivo this morning for the $99 lifetime service upgrade, which I plan on taking advantage of. I still plan on dumping my S3 Tivos when the quad-tuner Ceton CableCARD tuners hit the streets next month. Having lifetime service will get me a greater return when I sell them on ebay.
> 
> I just got off the phone with Tivo and upgraded to lifetime for $99. Considering I only paid $199 for the original 3-year prepaid plan I effectively paid $298 for lifetime service on my S3 Tivo. I had been informed that my monthly Tivo service fee would become $12.99 once the prepaid plan expired so the upgrade to lifetime will have paid for itself in about 8 months. I think I still have about 6-8 months left on my 2nd S3 Tivo service plan so I'll probably keep them both until I get offered the upgrade on the 2nd Tivo, assuming they do the same for that unit.


+1

Exact same here. My original 3-year sub ended 1/1, so I wasn't going month-to-month that long. Was a nice surprise to see it in my InBox this morning.


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## rjspring (Jul 16, 2008)

orangeboy said:


> Another offer found: http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1849761


I got the same email - the day I renewed my 3 year commitment.

Called billing support and mentioned that I got the email the day of the renewal and they told me a supervisor would credit my account for the 3 year renewal and then would put on the $99 lifetime renewal... will see how this pans out on Monday and will keep fingers crossed...


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## MapleLeaf (Oct 12, 2007)

Has anyone gotten this offer for expiring 3-year commitment plans (as opposed to 3-year pre-paid plans)? I've got an S3 for which I'm currently committed to paying $6.95/month, but my 3-year commitment period is up in June, at which point tivo.com tells me that my account will convert to a $9.95/month plan with no commitment. It might be nice to convert this to lifetime if it's only $99 (and even nicer if they would do the upgrade to lifetime now and let me out of my last few $6.95 payments).

I'm a little hesitant to call up and just ask because I'm not quite sure yet if I want to keep the S3 moving forward. I'm a bit put off by the fact that it requires two CableCards for two-tuner functionality (my annoyance is magnified by the fact that Verizon charges me $4/month per card). Hmm... I wonder what would happen to one's eligibility status for this upgrade if one transferred the soon-to-expire contract to a different machine first? Like say, a Tivo Premiere.  Then again, that may be why the offer expires on April 30th.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

wackymann said:


> Great - so the loyal customers pay another $299. And the people who threaten to cancel get it for $99?? FML


You could have paid $299 for lifetime all along.

From the slickdeals thread that was linked to, this is for people getting off of a 3 year contract.. So they're still paying more than those of us who were smart enough to get lifetime in the first place.


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## Sapphire (Sep 10, 2002)

mattack said:


> You could have paid $299 for lifetime all along.
> 
> From the slickdeals thread that was linked to, this is for people getting off of a 3 year contract.. So they're still paying more than those of us who were smart enough to get lifetime in the first place.


It's not about being "smart enough" to get lifetime.

TiVo discontinued the lifetime subscriptions a little more than 3 years ago, then brought them back later on.

Had lifetime been available 3 years ago I would have gotten lifetime.


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

Yeah. When the S3 came out, there was no more lifetime, so when I got my S3, I got the "discounted" 3 year plan.

I hope TiVo offers me the $99 lifetime when my prepaid expires in a few months.


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## PaulS (Sep 16, 2002)

mattack said:


> You could have paid $299 for lifetime all along.
> 
> From the slickdeals thread that was linked to, this is for people getting off of a 3 year contract.. So they're still paying more than those of us who were smart enough to get lifetime in the first place.


When I bought my S3, there was no lifetime option available. Hard to be "smart" about making this decision when it wasn't even an option... If lifetime was available at the time, I likely would have bought it.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

Worf said:


> Yeah. When the S3 came out, there was no more lifetime, so when I got my S3, I got the "discounted" 3 year plan.
> 
> I hope TiVo offers me the $99 lifetime when my prepaid expires in a few months.


Shortly after the when the S3 came out, TiVo offered a "one time" $149(?) lifetime transfer deal including one year of service on the old S1, which is what I jumped on.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

netringer said:


> Shortly after the when the S3 came out, TiVo offered a "one time" $149(?) lifetime transfer deal including one year of service on the old S1, which is what I jumped on.


I did the same with my Series 2. It should be noted that it was a fairly limited time offer as well.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

netringer said:


> Shortly after the when the S3 came out, TiVo offered a "one time" $149(?) lifetime transfer deal including one year of service on the old S1, which is what I jumped on.


Netringer,

It was $199 as we took advantage of it for both of our S1's that had lifetime and went from 2 tuners total to 4 which was nice along with getting HD, network connectivity (since we skipped the S2 series), Amazon on Demand, Netflix, etc., etc.

Scott


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## Sapphire (Sep 10, 2002)

netringer said:


> Shortly after the when the S3 came out, TiVo offered a "one time" $149(?) lifetime transfer deal including one year of service on the old S1, which is what I jumped on.


That would mean that you had to have a TiVo with lifetime.

I didn't. I had a cable DVR before, and before that a DirecTiVo.


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

mattack said:


> You could have paid $299 for lifetime all along.
> 
> From the slickdeals thread that was linked to, this is for people getting off of a 3 year contract.. So they're still paying more than those of us who were smart enough to get lifetime in the first place.


How are you getting lifetime for less than me? I originally paid $199 for my 3-year prepaid service plan. Having just paid the $99 for lifetime my grand total is $298, which is $1 less than what you're advertising.

FYI - Lifetime service was most definitely not an option for any early S3 adopters (I know because I checked and it wasn't on the table). Tivo stopped offering it prior to the S3 model being introduced. They only started offering it again within the last couple of years.


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## calalli (Sep 4, 2002)

I bought a series 3 in Jan 07, and went with the longest contract available at the time if I recall - 3yr @ $299. When it expired last month I hesitated signing for the lifetime and decided to go month to month. I paid January and then last week got the offer for $99 PLS (Product Lifetime Service). Man am i glad. The rep acknowledged I probably would not have received the email had I signed up for lifetime already. 

It is sad that TiVo does not make this available up front, someone who bought an S3 when they were not cheap should be appreciated as the vanguard they are. I guess they have some info that motivated them. I have a TWC DVR in the house and perhaps it is a preemptive strike based on knowledge of that; who knows. I am happy and I will remain with TiVo.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

Thanks to this thread I was able to get $99 lifetime service on 1 of my S3 units, so thanks to Kit_C for making me aware of it!


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## pl1 (Jan 18, 2007)

mr.unnatural said:


> FYI - Lifetime service was most definitely not an option for any early S3 adopters (I know because I checked and it wasn't on the table). Tivo stopped offering it prior to the S3 model being introduced. They only started offering it again within the last couple of years.


 Yes it was. I bought two S3's within two months of the launch and I was able to transfer each one for $199 from my S2's. As far as NEW Lifetime options, yes, they were discontinued for a while.

EDIT: Nevermind. Reading the whole thread, I guess that point was already made. My apologies.


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## jrm01 (Oct 17, 2003)

How's this deal. I bought an S3 almost three years ago and paid for the 3-year plan since no lifetime was available, I also had a Best Buy 4-year Service Plan. 3-4 months ago my S3 died and I took it back to BB and they gave me a new HD XL as well as a $300 credit on the price difference.

My 3-year plan ends next month and I got the $99 PLS upgrade offer via e-mail yesterday. I called today and accepted it.

So, originally I had an S3 for $800 and 3-year plan for $300 total $1100.

Now I have the HD XL for $500 and Product Lifetime for $100 total $600.


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## gburrell (Feb 16, 2010)

Well, I have a series 2 with lifetime and an HD on the 3 year plan (expiring in Sept). Tried to get the $99 PLS deal and was told my box didn't qualify. I asked what the qualification requirements were and was told it was being offered to people who signed up for 3 years when product lifetime was not available.

I informed her that when I bought mine PLS was not available and as a long time customer I would like the offer. Was told PLS was available when I purchase my box (It was not), and therefor I would not qualify.

I'm going to have to decide what to do when my contract expires as a with the cablecard price it's a wash on a per month cost and while I like the Tivo interface, I don't get access to any of the on demand stuff.


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

Wow. I'm going to have to call TiVo.

I'm really curious if I'd qualify since mine ends in July. And I know they didn't support Lifetime then because they had the discount on the 3 year - $199 for the 2 year, or $299 for the 3year, with $100 discount.

I'd have went lifetime if I could, but I couldn't.


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## Crispix (Dec 24, 2003)

Here's what happened:

After reading the responses from this thread, I called Tivo and asked for the $99 upgrade. I was told it was not available for me since I had not received the email invitation. But, the Tivo rep said to wait and she expected me to receive the email invitation for the $99 upgrade a few days before my plan expired.

And yes, two days later, I received the $99 email.

I suspect after my first call she had to request/escalate my request and get the email generated for my account.


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

I called TiVo, and my conversation went differently.

My service expires at the end of June, and the rep said immediately that yes, I qualify for the $99 lifetime option. However, he can't do anything yet - I called early so I don't have to remember about it.

He said to just wait for the email and call when it arrives to switch over to lifetime. Of course, I'll give a call sometime in June now, email or no email...


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## rmassey (Sep 5, 2002)

Keep us posted, I have the same time-line with my 3yr prepay ending in June. If I can get PLS fro $99 with a phone call, I'm in.


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## Phantom Gremlin (Jun 20, 2002)

Worf said:


> He said to just wait for the email and call when it arrives to switch over to lifetime.


I think TiVo will be selling many $99 lifetimes this year. Not only are the S3 boxes coming off the 3 year prepay, the TiVo HD was introduced in the summer of 2007. So I'll be paying $99 for my 1st HD come July.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

For those of you with 3-year plans expiring later this year, I wouldn't wait for them to send you an email. The best way to get the $99 offer is by being proactive. People have had the most success by sending an email to [email protected]. This tends to be a better way to go than dealing with the low level phone reps. Also, if you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you read this thread:

http://tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=442625


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## rmassey (Sep 5, 2002)

Great advise ^^^, thanks. I sent an email, received a call a few hours later and they were happy to offer me PLS on my S3 for $99. I asked for this on my TivoHD, which is currently on a 3yr MSD-$6.95 plan. They said the offer is only for the S3, but I can continue with my current $6.95 MSD rate on the HD. Works for me.


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

If you call the low-level reps, they can tell you whether or not you qualify. Just they can't actually let you do it...

But I'll give the email a try, too.


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## jgantert (Jan 24, 2008)

Thanks for the advice! Got my TivoHD upgraded to Lifetime for $99. My 3 years wasn't up for a few months, but might as well get it over with. Just emailed, the next day a CSR called me and set it up. A few business days later, the transaction went thru. Sweet deal.


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## ajbeaman (Jul 24, 2004)

My 3 years expires in Sept on my S3. I decided to e-mail tivo-support at tivo.com yesterday. I just stated that others on Tivo Community were being offered $99 PLS upgrade and asked for the same. I received a call this morning from Tivo and it was set up. Easy as pie.


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## Resist (Dec 21, 2003)

I spoke to a Tivo supervisor yesterday and he said I didn't qualify for the $99 upgrade on my S3, its 3 year contract expires in Oct.


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## Phantom Gremlin (Jun 20, 2002)

It's so strange how some people can get the $99 deal and others can't. A quick search on TC shows that lifetime didn't return until about Nov 2007, exactly when I'm not sure.

Here's a post by TiVoPony discussing the "limited time" return of lifetime. But that was only if you were an existing customer. So maybe that's the difference in why some people qualify and others don't?


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## aforkosh (Apr 20, 2003)

Regarding the $99 Lifetime:

From my experience and postings on TivoCommunity, it appears that making contact by phone usually fails. However, if you email and have TiVo call you, you often succeed. That was true in my case. Obviously the contract situation in both cases was identical.


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## Resist (Dec 21, 2003)

I have emailed Tivo numerous times about this and they have yet to contact me. So it appears emailing them doesn't work for everyone.


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## Resist (Dec 21, 2003)

I just received a call from Tivo today. Apparently I still don't qualify for the $99 upgrade, which is no longer available. I didn't have a prepaid 3 year subscription contract, only a monthly paid 3 year contract. 

Now what do I do? I don't want to pay more than $6.95 per month for the subscription and $399 is way to much for the lifetime. Sure wish I could just transfer the lifetime from my aged Series 2 single tuner to my Series 3, and at a reasonable price.


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

Ah, that's why you don't qualify... the ones who qualify are those who prepaid 3 years service in advance, not 3 years contract monthly payment.

The $99 option is for those who paid $299 when they activated their TiVos because there was no $399 lifetime option. I suppose that's really who's qualifying and who isn't - those who prepaid, versus those who sign up for a contract.


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## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

Resist said:


> $399 is way to much for the lifetime. Sure wish I could just transfer the lifetime from my aged Series 2 single tuner to my Series 3, and at a reasonable price.


Since you already have a second TIVO, you should be able to get lifetime service for $299.


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## Resist (Dec 21, 2003)

shwru980r said:


> Since you already have a second TIVO, you should be able to get lifetime service for $299.


Adding a lifetime for a 3 year old Series 3, shouldn't be so expensive.


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

Emailed TiVo Support and got a call first thing in the morning - my TiVo's now got the $99 Lifetime upgrade from prepaid scheduled. It even shows it on the My TiVo web page.

Yippee! I love my Series 3.


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## Resist (Dec 21, 2003)

Tivo seems to be following in the footsteps of Apple by screwing over early adopters and loyal customers. Tivo offering us lifetime's for $299 and calling that a deal is insulting, considering $299 was the regular price not that long ago.

My 3 year plan of $6.95 a month, ends this October and I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but most likely Tivo's going to get a raise from me....again. Grrrrr.


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## adamshipley (Aug 21, 2002)

I just got the same email and can't say I'm feeling any love from Tivo. $299 was the regular lifetime price back in Feb.

Just sent an email asking for the $99 deal. I should qualify being a three year prepay from June 07. 

I have been hanging on to the crappy comcast service just so I can keep my Tivo. This will push me over the edge.

***UPDATE***

Feeling the love now!! Thirty mins after sending the email, I got a call and got the $99 lifetime deal.


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## chowdery (May 21, 2010)

adamshipley said:


> I just got the same email and can't say I'm feeling any love from Tivo. $299 was the regular lifetime price back in Feb.
> 
> Just sent an email asking for the $99 deal. I should qualify being a three year prepay from June 07.
> 
> ...


Whoah! I got an email that say my service cost will change in June. I'm on the three-year $6.xx plan because I had a Tivo Series 2 with lifetime. I just purchased a Tivo Premier with $199 Liftetime as an upgrade. My TS3 just died (it's stock with the original drive). Now trying to use WinMFS to back it up to restore to a new 1TB drive. No luck. ::sigh::

Anyway, if I ever do figure out how to get this 1TB drive working, wonder if I'll be able to get the $99 lifetime as well. I hope so!


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## StrikerTek (Nov 24, 2006)

Apologies for bumping an old thread, but does anyone know if this deal also applies to series2 boxes purchased with $299 3 year service when no lifetime was offered? Is this deal even still going on? I called a few months ago and got the $99 lifetime upgrade on my series3, but now my friend's series2 box's service is expiring and I didn't know if this deal would be an option. It doesn't seem like a great idea to pay $399 for lifetime on a series2 that you already paid $299 for 3 year service on. Any advice?


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

Probably not, but send an email to that address and see - it's possible they'll allow that as well. That address seems to be some sort of executive TiVo support.


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## emp (Feb 11, 2005)

StrikerTek said:


> Apologies for bumping an old thread, but does anyone know if this deal also applies to series2 boxes purchased with $299 3 year service when no lifetime was offered? Is this deal even still going on? I called a few months ago and got the $99 lifetime upgrade on my series3, but now my friend's series2 box's service is expiring and I didn't know if this deal would be an option. It doesn't seem like a great idea to pay $399 for lifetime on a series2 that you already paid $299 for 3 year service on. Any advice?


I would suggest trying to get the Tivo HD at Blockbuster for $100 and put the lifetime on that, purchasing lifetime on a S2 doesn't make much sense to me. I just picked up 2 Tivo HD at Blockbuster and will be activating lifetime on both, one's replacing my parents Series 2 on $6.95, and the other one is replacing my lifetime S2 which will now be used for my son and all his kids stuff. About the $99 lifetime, I'm guessing its gone but it doesn't hurt to try. 
BTW, putting lifetime on the new Tivo HD would enable you to get the MSD @ $299 and not the regular $399 that your S2 would be.


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## vstone (May 11, 2002)

check the tivo web site.


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## mike_sjc (Aug 14, 2007)

Knowing that my service is going to expire in about 2 months, I called Tivo this morning after reading thru this thread. The rep said that they couldn't upgrade my account to lifetime until I got the email, which she thought is sent 1 month before your expiration date. She also said that in the email there are instructions about how to do the upgrade online, so you don't have to call customer service. Can anyone confirm they were able to do it without calling Tivo?


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

You have to get TiVo to call you - earlier in this thread there are instructions on who you should e-mail. You need to give them your service number and they'll call you back (better make sure your account details are up to date).


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## jbernardis (Oct 22, 2003)

If I remember correctly, I think I just emailed the regular support address. I got a reply within a few hours, and followed the instructions - now I have lifetime service.


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

Worf said:


> Ah, that's why you don't qualify... the ones who qualify are those who prepaid 3 years service in advance, not 3 years contract monthly payment.
> 
> The $99 option is for those who paid $299 when they activated their TiVos because there was no $399 lifetime option. I suppose that's really who's qualifying and who isn't - those who prepaid, versus those who sign up for a contract.


I only paid $199 for my 3-year prepaid plan and I was able to get the $99 lifetime upgrade on my S3. My 2nd S3 has a 3-year monthly commitment that's up next month. Tivo is then going to charge me $9.95 monthly for the 2nd Tivo, or so they think. I have a Ceton cablecard tuner on order for my HTPC and they've announced that production is now under way. I plan on dumping the 2nd Tivo before the new rate goes into effect.


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## mike_sjc (Aug 14, 2007)

As a follow-up, I never did get an email for the $99 offer. I went online last week and looked at my account, it wasn't there either. I then used chat to talk to an agent who said I "didn't qualify" for the offer. I asked if we could escalate, she said call customer service. I called, agent tried to offer me a $100 discount to $299. Fortunately from this forum I knew lots of people are getting $99 so I mentioned that (and this forum!). Agent spoke with some supervisor, bottom line is they gave the the $99 lifetime.

I hope it goes easier for other people!


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## chazas (Jan 18, 2007)

My S-3 three year plan expires in August. Thanks to this thread and the other thread on this topic, I emailed Tivo customer service and asked for the $99 lifetime deal. I received a call back within two hours and they had it set up within a few minutes. Awesome!:up:


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## steinercat (Nov 16, 2007)

is $99 still happening?

my yearly is about to expire.....and yes, I've been doing the yearly for 3 years.


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## rainmakr (May 26, 2007)

It looks like it:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=442625&page=12


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## shaggy2002 (Dec 15, 2007)

what exactly are people putting in their emails? I have heard of the $99 upgrade for Tivo Series3 and TivoHD users who bought theirs when lifetime was not available? Should I wait for an email in November? I am in the same club, bought my november 2007 lifetime was not available on the tivohd so I bought the 3year prepaid. I chatted with support via web 2 days ago and they told me it would be $399 for lifetime on a 3 year old box. I have a second TivoHD that I got lifetime on because it was available for $299. Do we put name, phone number and tivo serial number?


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

Email them. Put in the date you subbed, your TiVo service number for the TiVo in question, and explain that lifetime was not available, and you heard there was a $99 upgrade to lifetime.

Worked for me - I emailed them at night and got a call around 10AM the next day. They set me up and my account was updated to say "Future Plan - Lifetime $99". The $99 didn't get charged until my prepaid expired, though.


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## Resist (Dec 21, 2003)

I am really getting worried now. My Series 3 Tivo's 3 year contract is up at the end of next month. This means my $6.95 a month MSD subscription will be changing to $9.95 a month and I am not to pleased about it. Sure I can get that down to $8.95 if I prepay for a year, but that is still expensive. When I purchased my Series 3 Tivo they didn't offer a lifetime subscription and I didn't get the prepaid 3 year package, instead I paid for the monthly 3 year plan. Kicking myself now, as I don't qualify for the $99 lifetime upgrade. 

I love my Series 3 (not interested in a new Premiere), even upgraded the internal drive to 1TB. I just want my Series 3 to have a lifetime subscription without hurting my wallet. I would easily pay $99 and maybe $199, but not $299 for a lifetime. Wish I could transfer my old Series 2 single tuner Tivo's lifetime over to my Series 3. 

This really sucks.


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## shaggy2002 (Dec 15, 2007)

I got an email today where they gave me the PSLR code, but my code only appears to give me $100 off the regular rate of $399 so I can take mine to lifetime to $299. Emailing support.


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## GmanTiVo (Mar 9, 2003)

My S3 $299 3year subscription just ended and after reading this thread I called Tivo to see what they could do for me.

I called the 877 367-8486, option 2 (billing), option 2 (cancel subscription ) gave my phone # and got a rep on the line.

I expalined to him I was a loyal customer since 2004, and that my 2007 S3 w/the $299 - 3 year contract was just ending. I said I was considering cancelling outright but that I had read on TivoCommunity.com that there where some preferred plans for ppl like myself, told him I read some posts indicating that Lifetime subscriptions where offered at $99 and some at $199.

After putting me on hold for less than 2 min. the rep came back and told me that indeed there was a $99 Lifetime plan for those like myslef. I gave him my updated CC info, wrote down the reference # (always get that) and took the 2 min. survey (5s across the board )

Thanks to those who posted their experience, hopefully mine will help others in the same boat. 

Gman


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## shaggy2002 (Dec 15, 2007)

you got lucky GMAN Tivo. I called and they said there was nothing they could do for me. Even though I own two tivo hds, I got the lifetime on my second one because they were offereing it, but my first one they were not offereing at the time of purchase. I sent the email like people here have said and they normally get a call the next day. So far no call.


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## jlanzy (Sep 17, 2007)

I only have one unit, S3, and the 3 yr sub expires in Nov. I really love this unit, have a 500gb ext HD. Do these hard drives, internal and external ( Seagate) have a long life expectancy that would be reasonable to get a lifetime sub? Or if the HD burns out you just replace it (them) and continue with the lifetime sub I assume?

I was thinking that perhaps getting the XL, but hearing so much of the freeze ups on them I'm not sure I want to go from a trouble free unit to a headache, HD menu or not. I'm not sure why the HD menu is such a big thing, for me, I only look at the menu for a second to select which recorded program I want to watch and that's it.


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## shaggy2002 (Dec 15, 2007)

i received an email today from support and they have denied me the $99 because they say that they were offering lifetime when I subscribed. They said they currently only give the $99 upgrade for purchases between March 2006-November 6, 2007. However, the offer after 11/6/2010 was only for Multi Service Discounts so people like myself who was purchasing their first TIVO were unable to get the lifetime subscription, we were forced to the 3 years or less. I found this article back from 2007 proving that it was only for Multi-Service Discounts. I hope Tivo will reconsider, or I will be forced to cancel since they have a clerical error where they will give some people the upgrade for $99 and others not the upgrade
Here is what they had posted back in 11/2007:


TiVo Package, Product Lifetime service: $399.00

* Includes a Product Lifetime Subscription to the TiVo service which covers the life of the TiVo DVR you buy  not the life of the subscriber. The Product Lifetime Subscription accompanies the TiVo DVR in case of ownership transfer.
* You must be an existing registered account holder with a Qualifying Subscription pursuant to TiVos Multi-Service Discount Agreement to be eligible for purchase a Product Lifetime Subscription.
* This is a limited time offer available from November 8, 2007 until February 13, 2008. TiVo reserves the right to terminate this offer at anytime, for any reason.
* Money Back Guarantee applies only to initial activations if canceled within 30 days and DVR is returned for a full refund.
* No refunds for cancellations, except as permitted under 30 day Money Back Guarantee.
* A subscription to the TiVo service is required and the TiVo box will not work without a paid subscription to the TiVo service. That means that if you choose to cancel the subscription you are purchasing today, the box will no longer work.


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## GmanTiVo (Mar 9, 2003)

Sorry to hear man, yes my S3 in question was purchased during that timespan and no lifetime was available to me at that time.

Best of luck, and remember that it is worth calling 3 to 4 times on different hours on different days, getting a different salesrep and manager on duty.... ya never know it is worth th $$s to try

Gman


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

Do you call or do you send an email to the executive support?

Executive support works far better than the standard tivo support...


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## shaggy2002 (Dec 15, 2007)

Worf,

Who is executive support? I emailed [email protected] as mentioned in this thread. Is there a different email address?


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## steinercat (Nov 16, 2007)

email sent. let's see if they still offer the $99 Lifetime.


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## chazas (Jan 18, 2007)

Those who are happy about this offer, please remember that it only applies for the lifetime of the box. I did it a few months ago and was thrilled until my long-out-of-warranty S3 kicked the bucket - and it wasn't the hard drive or the power supply, the two easily replaceable parts. Tivo is sending me an S3 refurb and transferring the lifetime to it (hope it works), but at the cost of an additional $149.  I'm happy that my investment isn't totally sunk, but $99 + $149 = $248, a considerably less attractive all-in cost for a box with 4 year old technology.


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## shaggy2002 (Dec 15, 2007)

steinercat,

When did you purchase your Tivo? I got denied but have not called in to dispute yet. They denied me because I bought mine Nov 30, 2007 and they claim they offered Lifetime. Actually they only offered lifetime when I bought mine to current customers and did not offer lifetime to new customers, which I was. The email people told me they could not help me, but gave me a number to call and discuss with someone. I am really intersted to hear what happens to you in this matter and your purchase date. 

Does anyone know what happens to your tivo if you cancel? Are you still able to play any recorded shows? I realize your guide will quit working and you will no longer get updates.


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## steinercat (Nov 16, 2007)

shaggy2002 said:


> steinercat,
> 
> When did you purchase your Tivo? I got denied but have not called in to dispute yet. They denied me because I bought mine Nov 30, 2007 and they claim they offered Lifetime. Actually they only offered lifetime when I bought mine to current customers and did not offer lifetime to new customers, which I was. The email people told me they could not help me, but gave me a number to call and discuss with someone. I am really intersted to hear what happens to you in this matter and your purchase date.
> 
> Does anyone know what happens to your tivo if you cancel? Are you still able to play any recorded shows? I realize your guide will quit working and you will no longer get updates.


I got mine Novemmber 2007 as well.

my email request was denied, they told me to contact support as well.


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## shaggy2002 (Dec 15, 2007)

steinercat said:


> I got mine Novemmber 2007 as well.
> 
> my email request was denied, they told me to contact support as well.


Yeah I think if you purchase March 2007 and before Nov 6 2007, you are golden. We will have to prove to them they did not offer it when we purchased since we were new subscribers. If they do not give it to me, I will probably cancel my tivo service as I am not going to pay another 300. At that point I would have paid $600 for lifetime which is BS. Let me know if/when you call and I will do the same.


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## karlos925 (Dec 19, 2007)

My 3-year prepay expires in December and I tried to sending the email asking for the $99 lifetime update this week and got rejected. I also got the line that lifetime became available in November 2007 which clearly it was not for new TiVo subscribers. At the time the only way I could get lifetime is if I transferred it from another TiVo box and thought about buying an old TiVo off a friend just to do that. Kind of wish I did that now. Guess I have a few weeks to see if TiVo recognizes their mistake and will have to figure out what makes sense to do if not.


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## fotoryder (Jun 26, 2004)

[/QUOTE] I only have one unit, S3, and the 3 yr sub expires in Nov. I really love this unit, have a 500gb ext HD. Do these hard drives, internal and external ( Seagate) have a long life expectancy that would be reasonable to get a lifetime sub? Or if the HD burns out you just replace it (them) and continue with the lifetime sub I assume?

I was thinking that perhaps getting the XL, but hearing so much of the freeze ups on them I'm not sure I want to go from a trouble free unit to a headache, HD menu or not. I'm not sure why the HD menu is such a big thing, for me, I only look at the menu for a second to select which recorded program I want to watch and that's it.[/QUOTE]

jlanzy, 
A Tivo is like most electronic devices, it works until it quits. The disk drive is the most common failure point, and they are easily replaced. Some people will replaces the disk drive after a few years to prevent an unexpected failure. I have 2 Series 2 units that are approaching 10 years of service, and a S3HD. All have had disk drive upgrades to increase storage capacity. All of my Tivos have lifetime subscriptions.

The Premier series will see the most in new features, and have a faster CPU for better user response, and to handle the new HD user interface. Only you can tell if the new features are worth the money to upgrade. With a lifetime subscription on the current unit you limit your expenses. The cost to upgrade your S3 to a 1TB drive can be less than $100 if you do it yourself. You can find a 2TB drive with Tivo OS already installed for under $200 (on ebay). If you upgrade to a new Premier series you have the expense of the Tivo, plus subscription (whether monthly, yearly, or lifetime).

Good luck!


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## shaggy2002 (Dec 15, 2007)

steinerkat or carlos have you guys had a chance to call, I have been so busy at work i have yet to call yet. Wondering if you guys had any luck.


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## steinercat (Nov 16, 2007)

i called. no dice. just the $99 discount.


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## jlanzy (Sep 17, 2007)

my account for the s3 was activated nov 4 , 2007, paid the 3 yr sub, didn't get a $99 offer, notified that my account was going to be charged $12.95/mo, beginning nov 5 unless I chose another plan, which was $399/life, $299/3yr...

After trolling this thread since my original notification of the $12.95/month, I finally called cust serv and asked if I qualified for the $99/life, she checked my account and said yes and set it up to begin nov 5.

This was certainly one of the best customer service interactions I've had. I will say that my experience with Verizon FIOS in setting up the 2 cable cards in my TIVO 3 yrs ago was also excellent, FIOS was just beginning to roll out and I think they were bending over backwards to make it right, and this was their first cable card TIVO install also.


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## shaggy2002 (Dec 15, 2007)

jlanzy said:


> my account for the s3 was activated nov 4 , 2007, paid the 3 yr sub, didn't get a $99 offer, notified that my account was going to be charged $12.95/mo, beginning nov 5 unless I chose another plan, which was $399/life, $299/3yr...
> 
> After trolling this thread since my original notification of the $12.95/month, I finally called cust serv and asked if I qualified for the $99/life, she checked my account and said yes and set it up to begin nov 5.
> 
> This was certainly one of the best customer service interactions I've had. I will say that my experience with Verizon FIOS in setting up the 2 cable cards in my TIVO 3 yrs ago was also excellent, FIOS was just beginning to roll out and I think they were bending over backwards to make it right, and this was their first cable card TIVO install also.


That is because you got yours activated before nov 6th. Two days later and you probably would be in the same boat as us.


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## shaggy2002 (Dec 15, 2007)

steinercat said:


> i called. no dice. just the $99 discount.


Are you going to cancel? To me it makes no sense that they are going to do that. They definitely need to make it right for the people that are in our shoes. Maybe if enough of us cancel they will be forced to change their mind. Pretty crappy customer service. You think they would want to keep their current customers happy as they are the ones that will keep buying the new equipment as it comes out.


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## karlos925 (Dec 19, 2007)

Shaggy, I haven't had a chance to call. Guess I'm hoping somebody on this site has luck getting the discount who signed up past the November date before making the effort. I don't want to cancel as I like my S3 and I'm not sure that I can find a better DVR solution. Just hoping somebody at TiVo wants to help out their loyal customers.


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## jlee2070 (Feb 4, 2008)

I have a HD that was originally purchased in Dec 2007 and set it up with 3 years as if I recall, didn't offer lifetime to me... I called today to see if they had any deals as my 3 years is up on Dec 3rd and YES... They offered me the $99 Lifetime deal... Still not the best as I am actually paying the full $399 for the lifetime ($299 for 3yrs + $99 to lifetime now) but still, if my unit last another 7 Months, I'll be home free... The HD in my unit is fairly new as I put in a 1TB about 3 months ago...


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## karlos925 (Dec 19, 2007)

I had a nice surprise in my inbox today as TiVo sent me a $99 lifetime upgrade offer email. My 3-year subscription runs out this month. I'm guessing that today being the first of the month triggered the email. Thanks TiVo for continuing to give the discount to those of us who could not get lifetime when we first subscribed!


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## shaggy2002 (Dec 15, 2007)

I also got to upgrade mine for $99. I think everyone calling, and they realized that it was only for current customers that could get lifetime. Glad everyone is getting this and staying happy. Thanks TIVO!


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