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View Full Version : Any way to find out what service a TiVo has?

swechsler
12-26-2007, 06:14 PM
Without turning it on, that is. I have three different defective TiVos here (not originally mine,and no access to the original owners). I would go through the effort of repairing them, but only if I know they have lifetime service. Any way to find out without going through the repair first?
jjberger2134
12-26-2007, 06:40 PM
You can call TiVo and ask. However, a lifetime TiVo will lose its lifetime status if the unit does not call into the mothership for 6 months. If the unit ever does call in again after being dormant, TiVo will restore the status. Therefore, if you have 3 units that have not called in for 6 months, the only way to confirm lifetime status is for the unit to "phone home". I do not know if the agent will be willing to give you the information.
classicsat
12-26-2007, 10:46 PM
Not true. It will retain its Lifetime Status fine. It is just if you are using it to qualify other units for MSD, it has to be seen as operating, which means a call at least every six months.

It could be easier to try a working HDD in it.
scandia101
12-26-2007, 11:53 PM
The OP could try to subscribe them at Tivo.com. If he can enter the TSN and move on to the next step, there is no subscription on the Tivo. If he gets an error about an invalid number, he either entered the TSN wrong or it has a subscription, which in the case of a broken tivo is likely a lifetime sub.
jjberger2134
12-27-2007, 07:10 AM
classicsat - I was going to buy an old Series 1 unit a couple of months ago, and the acquaintance that I was going to buy from had it put away in a closet for quite some time. When I called TiVo to verify lifetime using the TSN, the agent told me they could not verify the lifetime sub since the box had not called in for more than 6 months. In fact, she told me she had no way to verify anything since the TSN was not coming up in her computer. My experience is why I answered the OP the way I did.

Maybe the agent was another one of those that we hear horror stories about (not trained very well), but at the time I believed her and dismissed the idea of buying a used box.