TivoHD Lifetime Service Transfer

[BigRichJ]

:confused:I have an old Series 1 TiVo with lifetime service set up before 10/03 (not currently hooked up), as well as a TiVoHD I purchased in September 2007 with month-to-month service. I just spoke to a TiVo rep about transferring the lifetime service to the HD, and he told me it could work, if I followed the following steps:

1. Rehook the Series 1, and have it reestablish itself in my name (I'd previously given it to family members, who used it until they bought their own Series 2).

2. Call TiVo and have them cancel service on my TiVoHD.

3. Wait 24 hours, call TiVo back, and ask them to transfer the lifetime service from the Series 1 to my TiVo HD (which he said did NOT have to be newly purchased), using the $199 promo offer (through February 3, 2008).

4. After all of this, I'd end up with lifetime on the HD, and a year pre-paid on the Series 1.

He also told me that if I waited 60-90 days after the transfer for their computers to update, I could then call TiVo AGAIN, and have them transfer the remaining months on my one-year prepaid Series 1 to a Series 2DT (which I've had sitting in the corner, without any service, since I bought the HD unit).

While this would be great, it sounds a bit odd, considering all of the discussion from a few months ago about whether TiVo would allow transfers of lifetime service onto anything OTHER than a newly-purchased TiVo HD which had no service on it at all.

Based on these facts, does it appear that I might have a workable idea here? Has anyone heard of doing a lifetime service to a TiVo HD that had previously had service, but had it cancelled?

Thanks in advance for your help.

BigRichJ

[jjberger2134]

I hate to burst your bubble, but I do not think this will work. See #2 on the Terms and Conditions of the offer, sorry. The HD unit must be new. I would think new means never activated. Of course, that is open to debate, and how willing a customer service rep you get on the line.

2007 TiVo® HD Product Lifetime Transfer Offer

1. This 2007 TiVo® HD Product Lifetime Transfer Offer (the “Offer”) is only available for a limited time, while supplies last, from October 11, 2007 to February 3, 2008. TiVo reserves the right to terminate this promotion at any time, for any reason. Please read all eligibility requirements carefully.
2. Offer permits the transfer of an eligible (as defined below) Product Lifetime Subscription for $199 plus applicable taxes only to a new TiVo® HD DVR purchased from www.tivo.com/hdservicetransfer between October 11, 2007 to February 3, 2008 (a "Qualifying DVR").
3. Transfer of an eligible (as defined below) Product Lifetime Subscription to a a Qualifying DVR is required by March 8, 2008 by calling TiVo Customer Support at (877) 367-8486 between 7AM and 8PM PST.
4. Product Lifetime Subscriptions eligible to be transferred to a Qualifying DVR pursuant to this Offer must be (1) activated prior to October 1, 2003 and (2) not have been previously transferred pursuant to any prior transfer offer from TiVo.. Only registered account owners of a Product Lifetime Subscription may transfer such Product Lifetime Subscription to the Qualifying DVR specified above in conjunction with this offer. DirectTV DVR’s with TiVo service not eligible for offer.
5. Once the Product Lifetime Subscription is transferred to the Qualifying DVR, the original DVR will automatically be activated for a free twelve (12) month pre-paid TiVo service subscription. All terms and conditions for a twelve (12) month prepaid subscription will apply. At the end of twelve (12) month free subscription, you will be automatically rolled to then-applicable monthly rate. The twelve (12) month free subscription is not transferable to another party.
6. Only one transfer per eligible Product Lifetime Subscription.
7. TiVo Service 30 day Money Back Guarantee does not apply to this offer. There are NO returns, refunds, or exchanges in connection with this offer except as otherwise permitted pursuant to the DVR's manufacturer warranty. This offer is not elgible for multi-service discount.
8. No Product Lifetime Subscription transfers will be made pursuant to this Offer after March 8, 2008.
9. Both DVRs will be activated once this process is complete, but the contract information may take up to 60 days or more to be reflected on the DVR or "Manage My Account".

[RonDawg]

Did you buy the TiVo HD from a retailer with a generous return policy, such as Costco? If so, the idea will work. Otherwise, as stated above no.

Your only other option, albeit twice as expensive, is to transfer the monthly contract to the S2, then reactivate the TiVoHD with the $399 MSD Lifetime service. You can then try to recoup a little of that money by selling the S1.

[rickmeoff]

i read somewhere....i think it was at fatwallet.com.....where somebody did something very similar to what youre trying to do, and it worked without a problem at all.

i think it'll work.

call tivo, have them note it that this can be done on your account (get the csr's name) and get a case number they can refer to, and if they do this it will probably fly.

[sherby98]

I have bought two different series3 thx models on craigslist and had them transferred over to lifetime. As long as the box is not under any type of service agreeement there is no issue to worry about.

[Bob723]

It has been almost 4 months since I got my new THD with lifetime service transfer but my account still shows lifetime being assigned to my Series 2. When I bought the THD, I was told it would take 90 days. Is anyone else seeing a similar issue?

[ciper]

It should work if the promotion is still in effect.

However the person is WRONG to tell you to cancel the current service. When transfers were allowed they do just that, transfer services between the two so that the S1 will have the remaining of the HDs service and the HD will get the lifetime from the S1.

I know this is true because about 4 weeks ago I worked on getting lifetime transfered between an S2 and an HD.

[Bob723]

I called TiVo. They found I had not been set up for the lifetime service transfer. The first person told me they couldn't fix it & would send me to a higher level person who could. That person told me they have to cancel my subscription to the THD, refund my money & start over - then he found that he couldn't do it - it has to go to a higher level. At this point, I'm thinking the higher level has got to be God & I think the following proves it. I am not allowed to talk to the higher level. The higher level is supposedly going to fix the problem & might call me in 7-10 days. I was told that once the problem is fixed, it will take 60 days to show up in my account. I love the computer age. :confused:

[speedskier]

I transferred my lifetime subscription from a Sony S1 to an S3 a year ago under the $199.00 promotion. This month, one year after the transfer, I got a $12.95 charge on my card. In giving Tivo a call, I found out that under this promotion the old S1 Tivo stays active and the "free" one year subscription rolls over to a regular $12.95/month subscription at the end of the year if you don't cancel. Tivo refused to give me a refund on the charge, even though the S1 hasn't been active for several years.

If you took advantage of the lifetime subscription transfer, be aware. I am usually really careful about reading the fine print, but I sure missed this one.

[ed5cgs]

I caught the charge a day or 2 after the 1 year was up and Tivo refunded my money.

[speedskier]

Well, I was 9 days over the 1 year limit when I noticed the charge, but the agent wouldn't budge. He said it was my fault for not reading the terms and conditions. The agent that completed my lifetime transfer a year ago didn't mention this little tidbit, although she was quick to emphasize the free one year subscription. At best this was very misleading. They could easily look and see that the Sony hasn't registered with them for several years.

At any rate, I verified that the S1 account has been cancelled and it isn't worth my time to argue over $12.95, so I'm going to forget about it. Needless to say, I will be cautious in any future dealings I may have with Tivo.