replacement HD Tivo under warranty extends contract?

[citivolus]

My one-year warranty period for the HD Tivo is coming up. Every week or so I find the unit having rebooted on its own. Occasionally it has a video dropout of a few seconds. Temp is fine. I'm assuming the hard drive is going bad, so I was thinking of calling DirecTV for a replacement. Will this extend the end-date of my contract?

[DonQijote]

My one-year warranty period for the HD Tivo is coming up. Every week or so I find the unit having rebooted on its own. Occasionally it has a video dropout of a few seconds. Temp is fine. I'm assuming the hard drive is going bad, so I was thinking of calling DirecTV for a replacement. Will this extend the end-date of my contract?


The warranty ends based on your original purchase date. A replacement does not extend your warranty dates. Of course, for a mere $5/month, you can add their service plan. It covers every D* receiver on your account. Worth every penney (I have 8 receivers on my account, all covered for $5/mo)

If you fear that your unit will die soon, sign yourself up for the service plan.

[teasip]

He is asking about his contract being extended another two years with DTV vs. extension of his unit warranty I believe. I was told in a similar conversation with DTV that replacement of faulty equipment did not extend the contract.

[citivolus]

He is asking about his contract being extended another two years with DTV vs. extension of his unit warranty I believe. I was told in a similar conversation with DTV that replacement of faulty equipment did not extend the contract.
yes, I was concerned that if they send me a replacement unit, then my two year committment with DirecTV would be renewed. thanks for clearing that up!

can I expect them to pay for shipping both ways?

[Billy66]

I don't know about shipping, but watch them. there have been several reports here of people having their commitment extended. it gets removed but you have to push back hard.

They can't extend your commitment simply to fulfill the obligations that their warranty created for them. Just keep your eye on them.

[tgaynor]

If you have them replace the unit under the warranty of the unit, then yes you get a 2 year extension of your contract. If they replace it under the maintenance plan that is $7.99 a month, then there is no extension of service contract.

This just happened to me this week. My HD TiVo died and I just got a new "refurbished" one.

[hiker]

If you have them replace the unit under the warranty of the unit, then yes you get a 2 year extension of your contract. ...
Don't think this is true. Replacement under the warrranty should work the same as replacement under the Protection Plan. I don't have actual warranty replacement experience but I did upgrade a DSR6000 to a HR10 and was not forced to commit for another 2 years.

[teasip]

All I know is that I was told "no" when I asked this specific question to a CSR a while back. Now what that is worth......

[tryptoneCRG]

yes, I was concerned that if they send me a replacement unit, then my two year committment with DirecTV would be renewed. thanks for clearing that up!

can I expect them to pay for shipping both ways?

If the unit is still within its one yr warranty then you should expect D* to send to a refurb at no charge. Shipping and handling should be covered both ways. Your commitment should NOT be extended and the replacement will have the same warranty as the original. Hopefully that will clear up any confusion. Hope it all works out for you.

Rick

[citivolus]

great, thanks for all the responses!

[citivolus]

well, I'm glad to say that they sent me a replacement with a prepaid return label. the bad news is that the unit is a refurb and seemed ok at first, but tonight the recordings kept getting pixelated and I missed a few blocks of time. I checked the logs (/var/log/kernel) and noticed that over the course of one day it's rebooted itself around 10 times. before sending it back, is there any way I can determine if the hard drive is causing the issues or the actual receiver, so potentially I could mix and match to get a reliable combination?

[pinenuts]

I returned my HR10-250 to Best Buy when the hard drive went TU. After I activated the replacement unit, D* extended my contract by two years. I called them and complained. The best I could do was get it reduced to a one year extension. It really is hard to say anything good about the way D* treats their customers. It is amazing how inconsistant their policies are. The resolution depends on which CSR you talk to and how squeeky your wheel is.

[theringnebula]

When I replaced my unit about a year ago I was told that I had to extend my commitment for another year. I didn't really care so I didn't push the issue.

[citivolus]

how can one confirm contract end date other than taking a CSR's word? I don't see how to get this info from DirecTV's website after logging in.

[hiker]

how can one confirm contract end date other than taking a CSR's word? I don't see how to get this info from DirecTV's website after logging in.
There should be an item on your monthly bill which shows end date.