It is highly unlikely that they would activate a used card. More than likely they will send you a new one for 20 bucks, or possibly free if you complain loudly.shredhead said:would there be a situation where I would not be able to activate a card that came with a used/refurbished unit? I just don't want to buy a unit that comes with a card but then I still have to buy a card too.
Regarding #1 - I have an R10 that I deactivated. I have a new-in-box HDVR2. Can I use the 722 extension trick by putting the access card from the R10 into the HDVR2?captain_video said:There's a trick to activating used DTivos with existing access cards but it depends on what types of receivers you currently have on your account.
1. If you already have the DVR service and a non-RID standard DTV receiver, you can install a non-RID DTivo (S1 or S2) with the card from existing old receiver. Call DTV and select the option regarding a 3-digit extension being displayed on your TV screen. Punch in "722" and the access card will be refreshed and remarry itself to your DTivo. DTV will never know you even installed it and therefore no 2-year commitment. This will only work with non-RID receivers and DTivos.
Unless I'm missing something this would work between non-RID DTivos as well, correct?captain_video said:There's a trick to activating used DTivos with existing access cards but it depends on what types of receivers you currently have on your account.
1. If you already have the DVR service and a non-RID standard DTV receiver, you can install a non-RID DTivo (S1 or S2) with the card from existing old receiver. Call DTV and select the option regarding a 3-digit extension being displayed on your TV screen. Punch in "722" and the access card will be refreshed and remarry itself to your DTivo. DTV will never know you even installed it and therefore no 2-year commitment. This will only work with non-RID receivers and DTivos.
Does it have to be a direct-tivo unit that is the donor, or will any non-RID receiver work. I have a sony sat B50 running now and would like to use it as a donor for a HDVR2 that I purchased on ebay. What if there is a balance owed on the tivo?captain_video said:No. It will only work with non-RID models AFAIK and only with receivers that are currently activated. Performing the 722 trick won't reactivate a card that's been deactivated. It will only transfer an activated card from one non-RID receiver to another.
+1 I just did this 2 days ago. I took a previously active card from a 3 year old RCA435 non-DVR and married it to a new-to-me DSR7000 (a friend gave it to me when they switched from DTV). It took 5 minutes with a DTV CSR with no hassles. I even had her check to make sure the DVR showed as owned and it did. I did forget to ask if this would trigger a new commitment but I am not worried about that as I have chained myself to DTV for a long time anyway (see my sig).goony said:I have had success in DirecTV activating a DVR using a card from a non-DVR receiver that was previously active on my account.