Transfer Lifetime from Series 1 not activated in my name to a Tivo HD

[brettatk]

I have an old Series 1 Tivo with lifetime that still works great (Upgraded to a 250 GB hard drive) and a Series 2 unit with lifetime. I just bought a Tivo HD and really will not use the Series 1 as much anymore. I did not purchase the Series 1 myself, I bought it from someone off of Ebay about 6 years ago. I tried to get him to transfer it to my name but he never did and I do not know how to contact him anymore. Is there anyway Tivo will let me transfer my Series 1 lifetime to a Tivo HD even though I'm not the activated owner?

[LifeIsABeach]

When I did my transfer they just asked for the two serial numbers. I don't believe they check to see who the owner is.

[brettatk]

When I did my transfer they just asked for the two serial numbers. I don't believe they check to see who the owner is.

So I should be able to transfer lifetime from my Series 1 to my Tivo HD for $199 and have them refund me my $399 I spent on it two weeks ago.

I guess it wont hurt to try. I'll call them when I get home.

[CrispyCritter]

When I did my transfer they just asked for the two serial numbers. I don't believe they check to see who the owner is.Actually, I'm sure they do check - they've got the info right in front of them. I've transferred two and didn't have to give them the serial numbers in either case. I just told them the TiVo name, eg "Bill", and they worked immediately from there.

[jjberger2134]

If you bought the unit 6 years ago (circa 2001) and you bought the item used on ebay, there may be a chance that the unit is a grandfathered TiVo, meaning you would be eligible for a 1 time free transfer and would not need to pay the $199 transfer fee.

The TiVo must have been activated with lifetime before January 21, 2000 to be eligible. When you call, ask the question first - whether or not the unit is grandfathered.

If the agent gives you resistance about the free transfer, mention KDB code 09-07-04 to the agent.

More information can be found in this thread (pretty far down, under the 4 exceptions near the end)
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=290723&page=1

[magnus]

If it still can call in (modem works) and it still shows lifetime (after the call)... then you should call Tivo and get the box transferred into your account. Then once that is done you can get the Tivo HD LT.


I have an old Series 1 Tivo with lifetime that still works great (Upgraded to a 250 GB hard drive) and a Series 2 unit with lifetime. I just bought a Tivo HD and really will not use the Series 1 as much anymore. I did not purchase the Series 1 myself, I bought it from someone off of Ebay about 6 years ago. I tried to get him to transfer it to my name but he never did and I do not know how to contact him anymore. Is there anyway Tivo will let me transfer my Series 1 lifetime to a Tivo HD even though I'm not the activated owner?

[mattack]

When I did my transfer they just asked for the two serial numbers. I don't believe they check to see who the owner is.

Yeah, when I did it for my Tivo HD, they just said that the serial # wasn't on my account.
I just told the truth - that I had bought it online a long time ago. I actually am not sure where I got it -- I think it was ubid.com. It was one of those companies that put a lot of 'surplus' stuff online. They had a bunch of broken Tivos at the time. It ended up having lifetime! (It didn't even have a power cord either.) I originally bought it back when I thought it would be reasonable to use a S1 without subscription entirely. (Now I think that getting the non-Tivo subscriptionless recorders makes more sense since they work better for what they were designed for. Using a Tivo without a subscription is fairly tedious.)

[brettatk]

It did take finding the right person at Tivo to help me but they finally figured it out. The first lady I talked to could not understand I was talking about a Series 1 that did not appear on my account. She kept going on about how I needed to get online and activate it (which of course I couldnt since it was already activated) so I could add it to my account. I promptly thanked here and hung up. Immediately called back and talked to a guy. I went over everything again and told him I bought this about 6 years ago from someone on Ebay. I gave him my TSN number and he was able to add it to my account. Unfortunately the unit was activated in January of 2001 so it was not grandfathered in. It was eligible for the $199 transfer promotion so I transferred the lifetime from it to my Tivo HD and they will be crediting me back $200!! I may just give my Series 1 to my brother or a friend and tell them they will have service for 1 more year. I really dont see me needing it again now that I have a Series 2 and Tivo HD in the house. When I buy another HDTV then hopefully there will be a deal in which I'll have the choice to transfer my Series 2 to a second Tivo HD.

Anyway thanks for the help! Always nice to save a little cash this time of year.