Activating 2nd Hand Tivo and Transfering Lifetime Subscription

[patriot21]

I just was given a 50 hr Tivo series 2 with a lifetime subscription from a friend who doesn't use it. So now I have two questions.

1. How do I add it to my account? It seems the only way is to call and when I just called there was a minimum 35 minute hold time. What's the deal with that?

2. The problem with the tivo is it makes a very loud noise and I think the drive is bad. I was going to replace the drive when someone mentioned I could buy a new series 2 (80hr dual tuner) and move the lifetime sunscription to it? Anyone know if that's true and how I would do it?

Thanks,
Jeff

[atmuscarella]

patriot21:

TiVo does not Officially allow the transfer of the lifetime subscription from one Series 2 TiVo to other Series 2 TiVo unless the TiVo the lifetime is being transferred from is being replaced under warranty.

Some people have indicated that TiVo has agreed to replace a lifetimed Series 2 TiVo with another reconditioned one and transfer the lifetime service for a fee ($150?) - however this is not a listed Official policy.

Good Luck,

[bpurcell]

1. You must call to be able to transfer the account. It can't be done online.

2. As atmuscarella says, this is not an option officially. In your case, I don't see Tivo providing this unofficially, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Your two options are a) upgrade hard drive and possibly fan, or b) sell it on eBay for a decent price.

[AntiPC]

If I were you, I'd just transfer the account to your name and put a new drive (http://store.tivocommunity.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=UPS2S&Store_Code=EA) in it. A few hundred gigs really puts the fun back into the product, and it's very easy to do. :)

[buddhawood]

Also, don't let the 35 minute hold message discourage you. I called yesterday and got the same message. I was on hold less than a minute before i got thru.

[patriot21]

Thanks for the info, I moved the box to my account and asked about getting the $150 box. It would be the same model so there would be no advantage over replacing the hard drive/fan myself.

The one thing that makes me curious about moving the subscription on my own is the fact that there is a page on the tivo site that allows you to move your lifetime subscription. It looks to be only for typing in the wrong number or returns, but I'm curious if I bought a dual tuner and moved the subscription if it would work. Anyone know?

Lastly, can anyone recommend a good replacement drive site? I was thinking something around 100 hours.

Thanks for all the help.

[bpurcell]

The transferring of service only works for Tivo's under non-lifetime contracts. For instance, say you have a series 2 Tivo with a 3 year contract. If you buy a series 3 Tivo, you can transfer that contract's remaining time to the series 3.

The one down side to this is that any possible rebates would not be eligible (there's no rebate on S3's right now, though). Also the old box would be disabled, and it would require a new contract of at least 1 year to reactivate it.

Mostly, this action is done if a Tivo goes bad and needs to be replaced.

Trying to transfer a lifetime box online simply won't work, even if it looks like there's an option for it.

[gastrof]

...Lastly, can anyone recommend a good replacement drive site? I was thinking something around 100 hours.

Thanks for all the help.

Don't ignore the TiVo Community store on the ad/link at the top of this page, or at this URL-

http://www.avsads.com/phpAdsNew/adclick.php?bannerid=136&zoneid=6&source=&dest=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.tivocommunity.com

You might also try PTV or Weaknees.com.