Tivo won't honor yearly service plan replacement warranty

my understanding under the old replacement policy is that it allowed you one replacement. so the replacement unit was only covered by the warranty and not eligible under the replacement policy.

 

Yeah, only one replacement. Since you got one already after your current subscription started that's it. But what is wrong with the Bolt? If it's just a the drive you can replace with 2TB CMR drive for $50-70. Or can buy a USED Bolt without subscription for like $50. Obviously their replacements aren't very good anyway, probably returns, either someone did not like or there was a problem. I doubt very much they test the "problem" returns very much.

 

Just having a policy of only one replacement per year tells you THEY know about the POS the Bolt really is. Can you name any other electronic company that does this? In 3.5 years, I've had 2 Bolts replaced. I hope my current Bolt last for awhile, but when it dies, I'm ok and will dump it and move on to a streaming product. It would be a downgrade in DVR, but upgrade in service and support. I've found that Spectrums VOD app does most of what I use my DVR for today. Just a change on how you do things. Change can be hard.......

Be Safe!

 

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i believe the one replacement policy under a warranty was in place well before the bolt model was released.

 

MANY (I would guess most) retailers and manufacturers in the U.S. that provide warranties limit the coverage to the original unit. A replacement unit then comes with its own separate (usually much shorter-term) coverage unless the customer purchases a supplemental warranty from a third-party provider.

 

Possibly.... But IMO this just shows the poor quality of the product when you only have a 90 day warranty and a once repair/replace policy. I'm unaware of any other product with a warranty like that.

I'm guessing that if you purchased a new Edge with lifetime and it dies after 91 days, you may be SOL. No extended warranties anymore. $700-1k down the drain. Not sure lifetime units qualify for the Continual Care Program. Think that's just monthly/yearly folks... Could be wrong.

I guess for me, just the lack of a better warranty, should tell folks of the quality of the product.

CUT AND PASTE......

TiVo Limited Warranty
Select TiVo EDGE Series, TiVo BOLT Series, TiVo Roamio Series, TiVo Mini VOX/LUX and TiVo Stream 4K have a 90-day warranty on parts and labor.

 

tivo’s new continual care policy as of Sep 2020 covers lifetime units as well, and the replacement cost depends on the age of the dvr from time of activation.

https://vault.pactsafe.io/s/23140eac-7498-4f19-be3f-1f9c88ca59a7/legal.html#tivo-continual-care

 

Sounds good. But again... you only get a 90 bumper to bumper warranty. After that, it cost to get a replacement and the cost goes up as time goes by.

 

Nope, that is one of the changes, lifetime devices now included. The deal is pretty much no good for anything BUT lifetime with the tiered replacement costs that can approach $300 with shipping. Most Roamios gone due to 5 year limit, many Bolts, might help out with an Edge. By the way the Edge has 90 day full warranty, then 9 months partial warranty (parts or labor, might just be flat $49), then after 12 months get into the continual care.\

Oh and no refurbs for continual care, the initial 90 days is it far as I know. Has to have been purchased NEW to get the 5 year tiered replacement thing.

 

Toshiba did do this with their accidental damage warranty some time ago when I worked in a Toshiba warranty repair facility for their notebook computers.

 

Seems like Tivo is bound and determined to tickle off customers up until they go out of business. And that’s a shame. They had a good product that could have grown with the market, even getting more into the streaming world but made a conscious decision not to.

 

Well the DVR part of the business (which to me is what a Tivo IS) has pretty much become obsolete. Due to phasing out of cable cards and ATSC 3 (though ATSC 1 will be supported for at least 5 more years). Product was good (mostly, declined after Rovi) but nothing to replace the DVRs other than that streaming only device. No more growth for hard drive based DVRs in this streaming world I think, enjoy while you can, not really Tivos fault, they had a good run.

 

A lot of the circumstances you say are true. However they are handling it poorly. And that is a shame.

 

Yep, handling it poorly is being kind IMO. They could have done an OTA DVR product with a wide range of streaming apps. Yeah, it probably would be more expensive than some of the others, but without that, as people move more and more to streaming, they’ve lost the leg up they had in the past.

Talk about resting on laurels!

 

They're not resting on anything, this is not the Tivo you knew from 20 years ago, they're on their (I think) 3rd set of new owners since the originals and each successive set of owners are less interested in the retail side of the business. Current ownership is far more interested in the patents they can make money off as opposed to the business of making DVRs for anyone.

 

So in other words going back to what they were doing in the past. IMO, not a good way over a longer term and maybe not a very good way in the short term either.

 

As a 21 year TiVo owner, this whole situation saddens me. They had an incredible revolutionary product, and for years did reasonably well with it. I really don't believe they did all they could to capitalize on what they created, and then over the years just let that work fall by the wayside.

I know and understand streaming is the way of the future, but broadcast, whether OTA or via CATV is and will still be around for quite a while. I'm just not sure I know how I'll deal with it in the future. At least not in a way that is as convenient and as reliable as my 3 TiVos have been.

 

It is sad. However, being a recording/DVR person I have to say, even now, I pretty much get most everything I want. Yeah the guide is not as good, yeah to me some of the features don't work the way they used to, yeah there are things that could be made better but probably never will, yeah customer service leaves a bit to be desired (hmm, a bit?). But I can still record what I like in most cases, and as long as they are in business and provide DVR support I will be using my Tivos. Nothing else nearly as good, for ME at least. No streaming, no cable co DVRs.

Oh, I would NOT spend $600-1000 for a lifetime cable Edge though. If I want to buy another Tivo I'd go with some used lifetime model, can get most other than Edge for $250 or less. Some under $200.

 

Toshiba's website says otherwise.... Note: Toshiba quit making laptops last year (sold the business.)
Warranty Information | Dynabook

Also, "accidental" warranty probably not the same as a hardware failure warranty. That's probably a add-on warranty item.

I'm sure if we dig, we can find other electronic items with a 90 day warranty. I guess my point is, most quality electronic products provide a full one year warranty. Products that only provide 90 days, probably have a higher failure rate and that's the reason for a 90 day parts and labor warranty.