Re-pairing Cable Cards in Refurbished TiVo

[beaubreeden]

Anyone have luck with moving cable cards to another device and then being able to pair the cards to the new device over the phone?

I had a TiVo Series 3. It broke :mad:. Even though it was over 90 days old TiVo replaced it without the $50 exchange fee :).

Now I need Cox to not insist they roll a truck to put the Cable Cards in the new TiVo when it arrives. When the installer came to put them in back in February of this year, all he did was read the information that the TiVo prompted him to do back to the call center, and it worked.

I'm thinking of threatening to cancel if they insist on a technician (something like $60+) to re-pair the cards.

[byrann]

You should just be able to move the cards, as they are not dependent on any particular device to work- they depend on the signal from the cable company. That is, if they worked in one box, and there has been no change in your cable service, they should work in a new box. I have a cable card-compatible TV, and I can put a card in the TV and get all the channels with no re-pairing necessary.

[jlib]

Anyone have luck with moving cable cards to another device and then being able to pair the cards to the new device over the phone?I am not familiar with Cox but the fact they required a truck roll for the original install is not promising. Often the CSR you can call doesn't have power to update your Host ID which is now different. Maybe don't mention that you have a new TiVo? Perhaps someone in your area will chime in. Otherwise, I guess you just have to call them and see if you can get to someone who can re-pair the cards for you.

[bicker]

You should just be able to move the cards, as they are not dependent on any particular device to workThat is not necessarily the case. MSOs often pair the cards to their host device. Moving the cards will not work, without re-pairing. And MSOs may insist on a truck roll to accomplish re-pairing.

I am not familiar with Cox but the fact they required a truck roll for the original install is not promising.At this point, many MSOs require a truck-roll for pairing and re-pairing. It may seem silly to some, but not to the MSOs that do it.

[SCSIRAID]

TWC didnt charge me any additional fees to re-install existing cards into a replacement unit. Are you certain Cox intends to charge a fee?

[lafos]

It does seem to depend on the cable company. Mediacom doesn't pair the cards, so I could just move them from the broken TiVo to the replacement.

Seems cheap to require a truck roll and a charge to read a few numbers into a phone.

[beboyle]

Cox Phoenix re-paired my CCs over the phone after I lost pairing by swapping out the hard drive. It was just a quick call. I explained the problem, gave the tech the numbers he needed, he hit the cards and in less than 5 minutes it was working. They never even suggested a truck roll.

[beaubreeden]

All this is very promising. My TiVo came in yesterday, but I'm in the dreaded ATL airport standing by to get home. Plan #3 when I get home is to swap the cards. Plan #1 and #2 are self titled. :-)

[windracer]

I was able to re-pair my cards over the phone with Brighthouse ... it just took a long time. Be sure to have the Host ID and the CableCARD ID of both cards written down. And be very clear which one you are reading to the tech. On my call, the tech reversed the two numbers when re-pairing one of the cards.

[Ben_Jamin75]

Cox Phoenix re-paired my CCs over the phone after I lost pairing by swapping out the hard drive. It was just a quick call. I explained the problem, gave the tech the numbers he needed, he hit the cards and in less than 5 minutes it was working. They never even suggested a truck roll.

I was able to re-pair my cards over the phone with Brighthouse ... it just took a long time. Be sure to have the Host ID and the CableCARD ID of both cards written down. And be very clear which one you are reading to the tech. On my call, the tech reversed the two numbers when re-pairing one of the cards.

After I lost pairing when upgrading my hard drive I was able to get Buckeye to re-pair over the phone. It just took a long time because the people that take the numbers over the phone from the installers, don't talk to customers. Level 2 customer support was very helpful.

It also didn't help that I forgot about needing to re-run guided set-up. I kept trying to check HBO by directly tuning instead of the test channels.

[beaubreeden]

It worked well. Cox was able to re-pair over the phone without even mentioning rolling a truck. Now I'll be happily watching LSU beat Ohio come Monday night.

Geaux Tigers!