# Lifetime Upgrade



## Irvinraw (Mar 26, 2004)

I stopped using my S2 TiVo when my cable provider went digital. Been paying for 2 dvrs per month to my cable company. I am considering going back to TiVo because my dvrs are so slow. I'M not sure verizon will upgrade my dvrs or require me to pay for an upgrade. I will not pay for an upgrade. Anyway my old s2 has lifetime service. Would TiVo transfer my lifetime to a roamio pro at a discount? I'll pull the trigger right away if the transfer fee is >200. Any more than that I may go the htpc route.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

They won't transfer your lifetime to a new box. The best you can get is the 10-year loyalty deal. $400 for a Roamio with lifetime, $500 for a Roamio Plus with lifetime, or $700 for a Roamio Pro with lifetime.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

As far as I am aware, no. But you may qualify for the TiVo long-term loyalty offer, which would get you a new Roamio with lifetime for $199.99 + $199.99, a pretty good deal. Plus similarly attractive deals on the Roamio Plus and Pro (I believe it's pay the full retail price on the box and get lifetime for about $100). I would call TiVo (it's done directly with a TiVo sales agent over the phone) and inquire. You might even get them to throw in a Pro remote.


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## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

Lifetime is tied to the box, so you usually need to buy new lifetime. You will get a discount on lifetime on a new box since you already have one. TiVo might have other offers for you. You can always call and see what they offer.

>200 means greater than 200...


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

Irvinraw said:


> I stopped using my S2 TiVo when my cable provider went digital. Been paying for 2 dvrs per month to my cable company. I am considering going back to TiVo because my dvrs are so slow. I'M not sure verizon will upgrade my dvrs or require me to pay for an upgrade. I will not pay for an upgrade. Anyway my old s2 has lifetime service. Would TiVo transfer my lifetime to a roamio pro at a discount? I'll pull the trigger right away if the transfer fee is >200. Any more than that I may go the htpc route.


What model number is that Series 2?


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

You missed out on a couple of lifetime transfer deals years ago, to the S3 and Tivo HD.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Missed that as well/don't recall such a promotion. 

Wouldn't it be nice if TiVo now/again were to pull a Microsoft Windows 10 type trick,* especially for TiVo S2 owners still using their S2's with digital-analog OTA signal converter boxes, offering lifetime transfers for free (or a small amount) with the purchase of a Roamio, to move people on over to the Roamio world and the full digital world?

* With its Windows 10 operating system expected to issue out this Fall, Microsoft, in a 1st-time offer of this type for itself, will allow consumers using Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 to migrate to Windows 10 for free at anytime during the first year of Windows 10's introduction; there then will be no charge for that copy of Windows 10, including after that first year period. (Some exceptions apply.)


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

Mikeguy said:


> Wouldn't it be nice if TiVo were to pull a Microsoft Windows 10 type trick,* especially for TiVo S2 owners still using their S2's with digital-analog OTA signal converter boxes, offering lifetime transfers for free (or a small amount) with the purchase of a Roamio, to move people on over?


They have done transfer programs from time to time - if my memory serves, I transferred a lifetime service from a Series 2 to a Series 3 (or was it my Premiere?) for something like $100

And the current / recent 10 year customer pricing is / was FANTASTIC!

Microsoft has a lot of different revenue models for its products. TiVo loses money on the hardware sale. And when you are talking about someone who has had a Series 2 tivo in service for this long - the revenue from that customer has been booked for a very long time!


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

Mikeguy said:


> Missed that as well/don't recall such a promotion.
> 
> Wouldn't it be nice if TiVo now/again were to pull a Microsoft Windows 10 type trick,* especially for TiVo S2 owners still using their S2's with digital-analog OTA signal converter boxes, offering lifetime transfers for free (or a small amount) with the purchase of a Roamio, to move people on over to the Roamio world and the full digital world?
> 
> * With its Windows 10 operating system expected to issue out this Fall, Microsoft, in a 1st-time offer of this type for itself, will allow consumers using Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 to migrate to Windows 10 for free at anytime during the first year of Windows 10's introduction; there then will be no charge for that copy of Windows 10, including after that first year period. (Some exceptions apply.)


I think you're probably asking for too much. The TiVo hardware is sold at a loss and TiVo makes its money from the service fees. The 10-year loyalty deals were TiVo's attempt to migrate people still using old hardware onto the new platform. Getting lifetime service on a brand new TiVo for $100 is as good as it's going to ever get.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Yep, I agree that TiVo needs to get something out of it. I guess that Microsoft is doing it to try to unify a somewhat fractured Windows OS world, as well as to make a splash and to repair a somewhat tarnished OS image in recent years.

For TiVo, such an offer could lead to other sales (Mini's, Streams, pro remotes, plus other Roamio's with subscriptions themselves), plus goodwill and marketing/marketplace benefits. I guess it saw such benefits with earlier migration offers. 

And you're right above, TiVo's customer loyalty offer is wonderful--and I think that it engenders continued and enhanced customer loyalty and goodwill back to TiVo.

One always can hope and dream.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

bradleys said:


> They have done transfer programs from time to time - if my memory serves, I transferred a lifetime service from a Series 2 to a Series 3 (or was it my Premiere?) for something like $100


The promotion was for the original Series 3 OLED and it was $199 for the lifetime transfer and you got a year of free service on the old TiVo.

Scott


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

HerronScott said:


> The promotion was for the original Series 3 OLED and it was $199 for the lifetime transfer and you got a year of free service on the old TiVo.
> 
> Scott


The TiVo loyalty program, which I do appreciate, really is nice in comparison: $99 or $199 for new lifetime if you buy the new Roamio box from TiVo, and you keep the old lifetime on your earlier box.


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## Mike Richardson (Sep 24, 2012)

Mikeguy said:


> The TiVo loyalty program, which I do appreciate, really is nice in comparison: $99 or $199 for new lifetime if you buy the new Roamio box from TiVo, and you keep the old lifetime on your earlier box.


Is that still going on? I am watching my awesome Series 3 right now. It's a lifetime box - I paid just $99 last year to make it so - and it was a used box I got from eBay in 2012 for $50, so I think I made out like a bandit on that deal. Did have to replace the hard drive, but that was over a year ago and I used a random drive from an old PC - cost was $0 and I got an upgrade from 160 to 250 GB!

I started out on a Series 2 DT that I got at a thrift store for $8. Cable was free from my old apartment but the service changed to digital 6 months later- I still got an excellent value out of that box and I still have the damn thing and it still turns on. For OTA I think we are pretty safe for at least the next 5-10 years.

It's a great bedroom TiVo and I'd like to get on some new Comcast customer deals and switch back now that I've moved again. TiVo - even the old Series 2DT - made Comcast downright _pleasant_.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

As far as I'm aware, the loyalty offer still is ongoing; the offer generally is for TiVo customers of 10 years or more, although some people have gotten it at less. You always could call TiVo (the offer is "redeemed" over the telephone with TiVo) and see if it will give you the deal.


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## ScottUrman (Dec 22, 2004)

HerronScott said:


> The promotion was for the original Series 3 OLED and it was $199 for the lifetime transfer and you got a year of free service on the old TiVo.
> 
> Scott


Especially valuable since at the time lifetime service was not available at all from Tivo. I'm still using our S3 which was lifetimed with that deal.


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## replaytv (Feb 21, 2011)

I bought a used HD TiVo and called into TiVo to see if I could get the $99 lifetime. They said 'Yes'. 

The next day I got a email saying they were charging me $399 instead. I called TiVo and was on the phone for almost a half hour. They finally said there was some kind of problem with their software and they would correct it.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

ScottUrman said:


> Especially valuable since at the time lifetime service was not available at all from Tivo. I'm still using our S3 which was lifetimed with that deal.


Agreed, which is why we upgraded both of our S1's at the time to S3's with the lifetime transfer. We did wait until the price dropped from $800 to $600 on the TiVo itself though. Both are still working fine for us.

Scott


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

replaytv said:


> I bought a used HD TiVo and called into TiVo to see if I could get the $99 lifetime. They said 'Yes'.
> 
> The next day I got a email saying they were charging me $399 instead. I called TiVo and was on the phone for almost a half hour. They finally said there was some kind of problem with their software and they would correct it.


Score!


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## NiteCourt (Mar 31, 2005)

I just cancel my Tivo account. They offered lifetime on my Premiere for $99. For me it wasn't worth it. I've been a Tivo subscriber since 2004. My inlaws have been using my two Premieres while we paid the monthly bill - Grandfathered plan for $12.95 for the 1st and $6.95 for the 2nd. The drive I upgraded back in 2010 just died in one Premiere. They instead got a Roamio Pro and a Tivo Mini on their own account. For the past two years I've been using WMC with 2 HD HomeRun Primes. I said the only way I would stay is if the lifetime could be transferred to a Roamio when the remaining Premiere died. They said it could transferred to a refurb Premiere after troubleshooting with support if it died.


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

NiteCourt said:


> I just cancel my Tivo account. They offered lifetime on my Premiere for $99. For me it wasn't worth it. I've been a Tivo subscriber since 2004. My inlaws have been using my two Premieres while we paid the monthly bill - Grandfathered plan for $12.95 for the 1st and $6.95 for the 2nd. The drive I upgraded back in 2010 just died in one Premiere. They instead got a Roamio Pro and a Tivo Mini on their own account. For the past two years I've been using WMC with 2 HD HomeRun Primes. I said the only way I would stay is if the lifetime could be transferred to a Roamio when the remaining Premiere died. They said it could transferred to a refurb Premiere after troubleshooting with support if it died.


With the loyalty program you could have gotten a Base Roamio with lifetime for $400 dollars... that is about is good as it gets!

I mean, for the love of god, what kind of deal were you looking for?

Oh, and if you were to ask the community - we could give you an image for that Premiere hard drive. You could put in a new drive and sell the lifetimed Premier for $250 + (or simply use it as another node in place of a Mini)

If you were moving on to another product that met your needs better, that is fine. But leaving because TiVo wouldn't transfer your lifetime strikes me as an emotional decision as opposed to a fact based decision.


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## NiteCourt (Mar 31, 2005)

bradleys said:


> With the loyalty program you could have gotten a Base Roamio with lifetime for $400 dollars... that is about is good as it gets!
> 
> I mean, for the love of god, what kind of deal were you looking for?


I wasn't really looking for any deal. I just wanted to cancel. I did want to see what offers they would make. They made no offer on new models. And they made no mention of the 'loyalty program' you mention.


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

NiteCourt said:


> I wasn't really looking for any deal. I just wanted to cancel. I did want to see what offers they would make. They made no offer on new models. And they made no mention of the 'loyalty program' you mention.


The loyalty program is rather unadvertised and has been in place for several weeks / couple months. It is for subscribers who have been with TiVo for 10 years or more. It has to be asked for...

As you saw, TiVo has a lot of programs offered from time to time. The $99 lifetime upgrade, grandfathered plans.

If you had lifetimed that Premiere in the fist place - you could put it on Craigslist and get a quick $300 for it (paying for the next boxes lifetime) and you would have saved a bunch of money to boot. Let us know how ongoing support goes for that WMC...


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## NiteCourt (Mar 31, 2005)

bradleys said:


> The loyalty program is rather unadvertised and has been in place for several weeks / couple months. It is for subscribers who have been with TiVo for 10 years or more. It has to be asked for...


I'd say that's bad customer retention on Tivo's part for a 11 year customer if I have to ask for something I didn't know exists.

I asked for lifetime on the boxes a few years back but they wouldn't since the boxes were service number swaps from old S2's. One of the premieres was purchased on Woot for like $99. It might have been a refurb.

It's not like I tried in the past but I guess I never fell into one of their "time to time deals".

I really like Tivo and hope they continue on. They have some nice features not found on WMC.

Your comment on WMC seemed a little snarky to me. I know WMC hasn't been supported for a few years now but it works for me. I'll probably never be able to upgrade the box to Windows 10 since it WMC will probably never work on it. If something happens before then, I'll probably get the latest Tivo hardware out at that time.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

I had received an email from TiVo re the loyalty deal in January. And so TiVo has been publicizing it, to some degree (I know that others received the email as well).


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

NiteCourt said:


> I just cancel my Tivo account. They offered lifetime on my Premiere for $99. For me it wasn't worth it.


It should have been worth it for you, since you could then SELL that lifetimed Tivo for MORE than the $99 you put into it for the lifetime..


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## tallestguy (Mar 24, 2015)

I called TIVO today inquiring about the Loyalty program. I bought my first 2 TIVOs in 2001 (2 Sony DirectTV SAT-T60s) and moved from there to HUGHES DirectTV boxes. I have had 2 Series 3 units since 2008. All of my TIVOs have had PLS. The salesman said I was not eligible for the loyalty program since I did have support from them for the DirecTV boxes and their records say I have only been a customer since 2008. Is there anyway I can get a Roamio on the Loyalty program?


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

tallestguy said:


> I called TIVO today inquiring about the Loyalty program. I bought my first 2 TIVOs in 2001 (2 Sony DirectTV SAT-T60s) and moved from there to HUGHES DirectTV boxes. I have had 2 Series 3 units since 2008. All of my TIVOs have had PLS. The salesman said I was not eligible for the loyalty program since I did have support from them for the DirecTV boxes and their records say I have only been a customer since 2008. Is there anyway I can get a Roamio on the Loyalty program?


Possibly. You can keep calling back until you find a CSR that will give you the deal. Other people have reported success with this strategy. If that fails, there are always the ebay codes.


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## randywalters (Oct 21, 2003)

mattack said:


> It should have been worth it for you, since you could then SELL that lifetimed Tivo for MORE than the $99 you put into it for the lifetime..


Yes, several months ago i was watching several Premieres with Lifetime on Ebay and some of em were going for upwards of $450 IIRC ! Fortunately i ended up getting one for free then we got $99 lifetime on it. But people pay a lot for a Lifetime'd Premiere, even on Craigslist.


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