DirecTiVo lifetime now transferable to Series3?

[mdobbins]

Has anyone else had recent success transfering DTiVo lifetime to an S3? If so, what kind of hassles, if any, did you face.

Well, I'll be finding out in a couple of days. The Series 3 I ordered on December 30th is finally shipping and I'll receive it Thursday January 11th. I'll probably wait until Friday or Saturday to try the transfer from my DirecTiVo - I'll post my results.

Mike

[hiker]

It looks like they removed "*Offer does NOT apply to DIRECTV® customers." from the VIP page, so maybe they are again accepting xfrs from DirecTiVos?

[dswallow]

It looks like they removed "*Offer does NOT apply to DIRECTV® customers." from the VIP page, so maybe they are again accepting xfrs from DirecTiVos?
Is it really so hard for them just to list the specific models it applies to? It just seems TiVo sometimes really goes out of their way to make things ambiguous and cause themselves headaches. :)

[mdobbins]

I originally purchased lifetime for my first DirecTiVo (a Hughes). I transferred the lifetime to my HD DirecTiVo. Which TSN do I give them when I call to transfer lifetime to my Series 3? Thanks in advance for your assistance!

Mike

[eelton]

I originally purchased lifetime for my first DirecTiVo (a Hughes). I transferred the lifetime to my HD DirecTiVo. Which TSN do I give them when I call to transfer lifetime to my Series 3? Thanks in advance for your assistance!

MikeYou can give them either number. The DirecTV lifetime is per account, not per box, so they just need a number to look up the account by.

(Having said that, I found most or all of the reps didn't know the per account thing, and asked which of my two DirecTV TiVos I wanted to transfer the lifetime from. Made me wonder what would happen if I tried transfering two lifetimes to two S3s.)

[jimtronic]

This is such great news, this board just helped me out big time. I canceled my 3 year prepaid and got the lifetime. They extended the tranfer deadline to 1/31 and they are doing DirectTV transfers! I just did it.

[Heckler]

This is such great news, this board just helped me out big time. I canceled my 3 year prepaid and got the lifetime. They extended the tranfer deadline to 1/31 and they are doing DirectTV transfers! I just did it.

Same here, bought the S3 from digitalhotbuy.com on Wednesday @ midnight, arrived on Monday (FedEx wasn't closed on MLK), and transferred my DTV lifetime on Tuesday.

Series 3 with lifetime appears under Manage My Account @ tivo.com.

When I called, I was just matter-of-fact, said I wanted to "transfer lifetime from S1 to my new S3" (omitted that the S1 was a Sony SAT-T60 w/DTV). Agent asked for the old TSN then put me on hold for ~10 minutes while he "did the paperwork", when came back, asked for my CC# and said that because it was a DTV lifetime he had to send it to the escalation team, but that it should done in 1->3 days. I then asked "don't you need the new TSN?" to which he said (very Homer-like) "DOH" then asked for it... Got a call from TiVo yesterday that the CC# had been taken down with 17 digits instead of 16, so I had to call back today and correct that, 5 minutes, no problem. S3 is now on my account with lifetime...

FYI

[Kablemodem]

I just transfered my DirecTiVo lifetime to my Series 3. I bought my S3 from Amazon last week and activated it on Tuesday not knowing that DirecTiVo transfers were allowed at all until I read this thread. I had activated with a prepaid three year subscription. The first person I spoke to had to transfer me to someone else since my prepaid sub had to be cancelled. The second person said he didn't think a DirecTiVo sub could be transfered but said he would check. He came back and said it was ok and cancelled my 3 year sub and then transfered my lifetime to the S3. He said I would have a temporary subscription until the transfer took in one or two days. He never asked when I purchased my S3. The VIP offer doesn't say anything about DirecTiVos being excluded or that the S3 had to be purchased by 12/31, so I think they are treating all TiVos the same now.

[pl1]

Well, don't panic when you don't see it transferred in a few days. It will most likely take 60 days. I panicked and asked.

[cram501]

I attempted my transfer today. I bought the S3 back when it was released in September.

I've been hesitant to even attempt the transfer considering how many problems people have been running in to. I want to buy at least one more in the next few months. With that plus the transfer period running out, I decided to attempt a transfer now that they are open again for Direct Tivos.

Level 1 - Couldn't do a Direct TV -> Tivo transfer.
Level 2 - Could do the transfer but charge me a $200 cancellation fee.
Level 3 - Could do the transfer but cannot waive the cancellation fee.
Level 4 - The request has been forwarded to accounting and I should receive a call back in the next week. I was told they cannot waive the cancellation fee for the transfer.

It appears the problem exists because I bought my system back in september and did not (could not) transfer lifetime since the DirectTivo's were excluded.

I will wait to see if I get a call back and if I do, whether they will waive the charges. The CSR's I spoke to were all polilte. The experience overall was nice except for the fact I have not received the lifetime transfer as of yet.

[terramar]

I attempted my transfer today. I bought the S3 back when it was released in September.

I've been hesitant to even attempt the transfer considering how many problems people have been running in to. I want to buy at least one more in the next few months. With that plus the transfer period running out, I decided to attempt a transfer now that they are open again for Direct Tivos.

Level 1 - Couldn't do a Direct TV -> Tivo transfer.
Level 2 - Could do the transfer but charge me a $200 cancellation fee.
Level 3 - Could do the transfer but cannot waive the cancellation fee.
Level 4 - The request has been forwarded to accounting and I should receive a call back in the next week. I was told they cannot waive the cancellation fee for the transfer.

It appears the problem exists because I bought my system back in september and did not (could not) transfer lifetime since the DirectTivo's were excluded.

I will wait to see if I get a call back and if I do, whether they will waive the charges. The CSR's I spoke to were all polilte. The experience overall was nice except for the fact I have not received the lifetime transfer as of yet.

I couldn't get them to waive the xfer fee either. So I transferred the lifetime to my second S3 that was on monthly. Now I've got another DirecTV lifetime that I can transfer to another S3......any idea on how I could sell this to someone, or what would be a fair price?

Tom

[cram501]

So I transferred the lifetime to my second S3 that was on monthly.

My S3 is on monthly with a year commitment starting last September. They still wanted to charge me $200 for the cancellation if I transfer the lifetime to the S3.

I'll wait until the end of the week and see if I get a call back.

[dswallow]

My S3 is on monthly with a year commitment starting last September. They still wanted to charge me $200 for the cancellation if I transfer the lifetime to the S3.

I'll wait until the end of the week and see if I get a call back.
The cancellation fee amount is $200 or the balance remaining on your commitment, whichever is less. If you've made 5 payments already, that'd leave 7 @ $19.95 each or $139.65 as your cancellation penalty.



http://www.tivo.com/5.11.6.asp

8. An early termination fee of the lesser of $200.00 or the amount owed on the remaining term of your monthly TiVo Package commitment will be charged to you if your monthly TiVo Package is cancelled prior to the end of your commitment, except as permitted under TiVo's 30 day Money Back Guarantee.

[hoyty]

I have to agree with Doug, why can't TiVo decide. After going through hours of torture on 1/2 on the phone I wish they would have made this decision sooner. DTV transfers were not allow from launch until 12/13, were allowed 12/13-12/31, not allowed from 1/1-1/10(?) and now again allowed from 1/10(?)-3/2. All I can say to anyone wishing to do this, don't be surprised if the status changes again tomorrow. It is still a good offer, but just handled amazingly poorly.

[cram501]

The cancellation fee amount is $200 or the balance remaining on your commitment, whichever is less. If you've made 5 payments already, that'd leave 7 @ $19.95 each or $139.65 as your cancellation penalty.


I was quoting the Tivo CSR. In her defense she probalby said up to $200. She didn't calculate the value and I didn't look up the policy.

The price I have my S3 is $12.95. With the above policy I believe I would owe $90.65.

I was going to buy another S3 sometime in the next few months. It may be worth getting one this week and just doing the transfer on the new one.

[CrispyCritter]

I have to agree with Doug, why can't TiVo decide. After going through hours of torture on 1/2 on the phone I wish they would have made this decision sooner. DTV transfers were not allow from launch until 12/13, were allowed 12/13-12/31, not allowed from 1/1-1/10(?) and now again allowed from 1/10(?)-3/2. All I can say to anyone wishing to do this, don't be surprised if the status changes again tomorrow. It is still a good offer, but just handled amazingly poorly.And nobody is going to give TiVo credit to listening to their customers' arguments and changing things to be fair to their customers?

Face it, TiVo never intended the lifetime transfer offer to apply to DirecTiVos. It wasn't until it was shown that, contrary to TiVo's original opinion, there were a small number of people who got their DirecTiVo lifetime through TiVo, that TiVo decided to open it up to DirecTiVo'ers until Dec 31.

And then they listened to the arguments of folks who didn't find out about the change in time to get a TiVo by Dec 31, and decided that to be fair, they needed to extend the DirecTiVo offer to the full period.

So TiVo bends over backwards, and opens up the offer far wider then they had planned (and wider than they had to), in order to be fair to a small handful of people with a legitimate argument, and nobody is doing anything but complaining!

Note that I have no problem with the people complaining; I understand where they're coming from. (And the execution of the policy changes left something to be desired, but that's mostly normal customer service inertia).

I just find it remarkable that a company can listen to its customers, adapt its policies accordingly (on a very fast time scale, and at their expense), and nobody thanks them for that, or recognizes their efforts!

[dswallow]

And nobody is going to give TiVo credit to listening to their customers' arguments and changing things to be fair to their customers?

Face it, TiVo never intended the lifetime transfer offer to apply to DirecTiVos. It wasn't until it was shown that, contrary to TiVo's original opinion, there were a small number of people who got their DirecTiVo lifetime through TiVo, that TiVo decided to open it up to DirecTiVo'ers until Dec 31.

And then they listened to the arguments of folks who didn't find out about the change in time to get a TiVo by Dec 31, and decided that to be fair, they needed to extend the DirecTiVo offer to the full period.

So TiVo bends over backwards, and opens up the offer far wider then they had planned (and wider than they had to), in order to be fair to a small handful of people with a legitimate argument, and nobody is doing anything but complaining!

Note that I have no problem with the people complaining; I understand where they're coming from. (And the execution of the policy changes left something to be desired, but that's mostly normal customer service inertia).

I just find it remarkable that a company can listen to its customers, adapt its policies accordingly (on a very fast time scale, and at their expense), and nobody thanks them for that, or recognizes their efforts!
All it would ever have taken is for TiVo to make a direct statement on their offer page about the subject. It could even be done whenever terms changed.

For example, for awhile, after 1/1, the revised offer that was extended through February specifically had language excluding DirecTV TiVo units. Then it was just removed at some point in January, leaving it ambiguous again.

The original offer was, according to numerous CSR's, applicable to DirecTV TiVo units if you purchased the unit between 12/13/2006 and 12/31/2006 and transferred before 1/31/2007. Come 12/31/2006, the story changed to the transfer needing to have been completed by 12/31/2006.

None if the way this was handled helps anyone, including TiVo. While it's nice they're doing this, it's still something that you wonder if you'll be able to count on once you place the order for a Series 3. Because it's still not stated anywhere... it's just not explicitly excluded like it was for awhile.

It's just not unreasonable to think they could define the terms of their offer with better specificity. After all, they manage to come up with a legal agreement/policy for other aspects of their service that's generally been thought through and covers most all circumstances, and even does so in plain language. So we know they have lawyers who could do the fine print properly.

[cram501]

I am still waiting to hear back from Tivo. The questions is, will they actually call me on the waiver or did the CSR just want to get me off the phone?

It has been two days. I guess I will give them one more day and start the process all over again and assume that CSR just didn't want to deal with it.

I don't understand why this is so difficult. I was planning on buying at least one or two more S3's later this year. If I can't resolve an issue as simple as this, I can't see spending that amount of money in the future. It is more frustrating then it should be.

I thought about just buying another S3 now and doing the transfer with the new box. The problem I face is, will I have the same run around on the new box? I don't think I'm willing to spend another $800 to find out.

[mtchamp]

Just a confirmation that TiVo just did another DirecTV TiVo Lifetime transfer for me with no hassels. Takes effect in 48-72 hours.

[Ereth]

You know, I might be more confident in this if the Lifetime Transfer I did from my Series 1 back the day I activated my S3 was showing up on Manage My Account. But even today the Lifetime service shows on the S1 and the S3 shows a year pre-paid.

[dswallow]

You know, I might be more confident in this if the Lifetime Transfer I did from my Series 1 back the day I activated my S3 was showing up on Manage My Account. But even today the Lifetime service shows on the S1 and the S3 shows a year pre-paid.
Most people report the names get reversed upon the transfer; you're not relying on the names you assigned to determine this, are you?

[pl1]

Most people report the names get reversed upon the transfer; you're not relying on the names you assigned to determine this, are you?
It's pretty obvious when the S3 starts with 648 and the S2 is 240 (for example). I was told, and it says in the transfer rules, that it will take up to 60 days before the change will occur AND you can not cancel the old one until after 60 days.


*This product is not compatible with satellite.
**You can find the 15 digit TiVo Service Number on
the back of the DVR or on the System Information
screen. (From TiVo Central, select "New Messages
& Setup," then "System Information.")

Terms and conditions for the TiVo® Series3™
PLT Transfer TiVo Offer (the "Offer"):


TiVo® Series3™ HD DVR purchase required
by 1/31/2007 and activation of the DVR is
required by 03/02/2007.

Offer good for all subscribers with an existing
paid Product Lifetime Service subscription.

Product Lifetime Service may be transferred
from an existing box to a TiVo Series3 HD
DVR only. This offer is not being extended
to transfer Product Lifetime Service to any
other product.

All terms and conditions for a 1-year
prepaid subscription apply to your old DVR.

At the end of 1-year, you will be automatically
rolled to then-applicable monthly rate. The
1-year contract is not transferable to another party.

Cancellation of only the 1-year contract on
the old DVR while still transferring the
Product Lifetime Service to the new Series3
HD DVR will be permitted, but only after
60 days of service for both boxes have
elapsed.

Cancellations on the 1-year
contract will not result in refund of the
$199 transfer fee.

All other warranty
replacement costs still apply to the old DVR.

If you return the box within 30 days of
placing the order on the website, you
will receive a full refund on any paid
transfer fee and hardware cost. The
shipping charge for the return is at
your expense. Returns outside of 30
days will not be accepted. If the transfer
is cancelled within the first 30 days, the
Product Lifetime Service will remain on your old DVR.

Both boxes will be activated once this process
is complete, but the contract information
may take over 60 days to be reflected on
the DVR or "Manage My Account".

The TiVo Service Agreement applies to the
Series3 HD DVR, along with other terms
and conditions listed at www.tivo.com/policies.

In case of any discrepancies between those
terms and those listed in this offer, the terms
defined in this offer supersede those posted.

[mdobbins]

Well, my lifetime transfer from my DirecTiVo went very smoothly. My account now shows lifetime after 4 days. I just wish the cable card installation was as trouble-free, but that's another thread...!

Mike

[pl1]

Well, my lifetime transfer from my DirecTiVo went very smoothly. My account now shows lifetime after 4 days. I just wish the cable card installation was as trouble-free, but that's another thread...!
It appears that the transfer from DirecTV goes through instantly while the transfer of the Series 2 takes up to 60 days. I can see why the Series 2 takes 60 days, in the event that you return the device, it reverts the Series 2 back to lifetime. But, if there is no wait with the DirecTV units, I wonder if a return will result in a lost lifetime?

[Ereth]

Most people report the names get reversed upon the transfer; you're not relying on the names you assigned to determine this, are you?

D'oh! I didn't even notice that!

Unless my new S3 has a serial number starting 010- and the ancient Sony Series one has a serial number starting 648-, then that's exactly what happened!

Thank you.

It seems to also scramble the Activation Date. According to Tivo the unit with the 010- serial number was activated Sept 22, 2006 and the one with the 648- serial number was activated June 5, 2000!

[Interesting. When I went to re-name them, "Enable Video Downloads" was available for me to choose for the S3. It had always been N/A before...]

[cram501]

I just wanted to follow up on my battle to get lifetime from my DirectTivo to the Tivo 3.

Tivo called me today, wavied the charges, and transfered lifetime to my Tivo 3. It took over a week but I have to give credit for Tivo for coming through.

Thanks Tivo!

[miketx]

I was given an old DTV Tivo with Lifetime.....anyone know if it is still possible to transfer this lifetime to my new S3?

Mike

[TxnBluDvl]

Wow, talk about disappointment. I purchased a Series 3 TiVo's at the end of Jan to transfer my DirecTiVo lifetime subscription. Called today (2/27) to transfer it over, and was told that the offer for DirecTV expired on 1/31, and that I was SOL. Went back and forth with the CSR on it, and spoke with the supervisor that confirmed.

Has anyone managed to transfer a DirecTiVo lifetime subscription over to a Series 3 post-1/31?

I'm bummed -- looks like this Series 3 is going back to Costco and I'll be riding out the DirecTiVo transition to MPEG 4.

[brota]

Wow, talk about disappointment. I purchased a Series 3 TiVo's at the end of Jan to transfer my DirecTiVo lifetime subscription. Called today (2/27) to transfer it over, and was told that the offer for DirecTV expired on 1/31, and that I was SOL. Went back and forth with the CSR on it, and spoke with the supervisor that confirmed.

Has anyone managed to transfer a DirecTiVo lifetime subscription over to a Series 3 post-1/31?

I'm bummed -- looks like this Series 3 is going back to Costco and I'll be riding out the DirecTiVo transition to MPEG 4.

What kind of Directivo did you have? I have some phillps 704 that I bought off of ebayfor parts is there any chance that these may have a lifetime tagged to them? Or are these too new for Directv Lifetime?

[Espo]

I did this a few days ago (2/24) with no problems. Today it appeared as Lifetime on my account. I have another D* box to transfer on Thu. They said this was fine as long as it's done by Fri 3/2. I would try again if I were you.

[Espo]

What kind of Directivo did you have? I have some phillps 704 that I bought off of ebayfor parts is there any chance that these may have a lifetime tagged to them? Or are these too new for Directv Lifetime?

Your box could not have Lifetime status on it. D* Tivos' Lifetime are attached to the customer's account, not the boxes themselves (unlike the regular Tivos).

[TxnBluDvl]

I did this a few days ago (2/24) with no problems. Today it appeared as Lifetime on my account. I have another D* box to transfer on Thu. They said this was fine as long as it's done by Fri 3/2. I would try again if I were you.

Thanks! Just the news I was looking for -- I'll give it another try tomorrow and the day after tomorrow as well. Did you mention to them it was a DirecTiVo when you initiated the transfer or just gave them the TSN and let them do their thing?

[Espo]

Thanks! Just the news I was looking for -- I'll give it another try tomorrow and the day after tomorrow as well. Did you mention to them it was a DirecTiVo when you initiated the transfer or just gave them the TSN and let them do their thing?

I called the VIP # at 866-424-8486 & said upfront it was a D* transfer. I did my 2nd one a few hours ago without any problems. Good luck!