[JohnInFrisco]

**If this is posted in the wrong forum please feel free to move it and sorry for posting incorrectly.

Purchased a TiVo for the power supply and unbeknownst to both the seller and me it has lifetime service on it. I think the seller probably bought this from someone else - might have been from an estate sale, might have been from a company that had Tivos and was liquidated - who knows. Anyway, imagine my surprise upon powering it up when it led me through the guided setup - all the way - until completion.

So the obvious question is what to do? I know Tivo wants an owner name to initiate a transfer (something I don't know to provide). I've read in another post someone saying that they gave Tivos to coworkers who never transferred them to their own accounts and this ended up "maxing out" the number of Tivos he could have on his account causing problems. So fellow Tivo aficionados, should I let a sleeping dog lay there and just use it as is (assuming I use it at all)? I'm guessing it could lose its lifetime service at anytime. Any thoughts? Comments? Advice?

Thanks in advance. I certainly didn't expect this.

 

[Mr Tony]

Since it has lifetime you probably want to put it on your account. When I acquired 2 Tivo's with lifetime on them from Goodwill here is what I did

Since you probably don't know who the previous owner was heres the best thing to do
-set them up and make sure they work
-once they are up and running let them connect for a few days (a week or so). In addition I did some forced connections.
-Then call Tivo and explain the situation. They will see that you've connected to them a few times and they will transfer them.
One thing though when you transfer them and they ask questions. One question they ask is what zip is it set up for. If you use a different zip than your actual one (I had to) make sure you give them THAT zip and not your actual.

my posts on the subject
Bought TiVo with lifetime at Goodwill, can't get in activated on my account
https://www.tivocommunity.com/commu...hat-delight-you.478144/page-458#post-11699341

now note that was lamost 2 years ago but I'm sure it still is a valid thing

 

[JohnInFrisco]

Since it has lifetime you probably want to put it on your account. When I acquired 2 Tivo's with lifetime on them from Goodwill here is what I did

Since you probably don't know who the previous owner was heres the best thing to do
-set them up and make sure they work
-once they are up and running let them connect for a few days (a week or so). In addition I did some forced connections.
-Then call Tivo and explain the situation. They will see that you've connected to them a few times and they will transfer them.
One thing though when you transfer them and they ask questions. One question they ask is what zip is it set up for. If you use a different zip than your actual one (I had to) make sure you give them THAT zip and not your actual.

my posts on the subject
Bought TiVo with lifetime at Goodwill, can't get in activated on my account
https://www.tivocommunity.com/commu...hat-delight-you.478144/page-458#post-11699341

now note that was lamost 2 years ago but I'm sure it still is a valid thing

Thanks for the advice. I read your posts and will follow your advice. Thanks again!

 

[tommage1]

**If this is posted in the wrong forum please feel free to move it and sorry for posting incorrectly.

Purchased a TiVo for the power supply and unbeknownst to both the seller and me it has lifetime service on it. I think the seller probably bought this from someone else - might have been from an estate sale, might have been from a company that had Tivos and was liquidated - who knows. Anyway, imagine my surprise upon powering it up when it led me through the guided setup - all the way - until completion.

So the obvious question is what to do? I know Tivo wants an owner name to initiate a transfer (something I don't know to provide). I've read in another post someone saying that they gave Tivos to coworkers who never transferred them to their own accounts and this ended up "maxing out" the number of Tivos he could have on his account causing problems. So fellow Tivo aficionados, should I let a sleeping dog lay there and just use it as is (assuming I use it at all)? I'm guessing it could lose its lifetime service at anytime. Any thoughts? Comments? Advice?

Thanks in advance. I certainly didn't expect this.

It also depends on what you mean by lifetime service. If account status is "5" that is regular lifetime and can be transferred to your account. However if it is evaluation lifetime (some double digit number) then it could go away if you try to transfer to another (your) account. There were also some Tivos used for promotions, the lifetime service was supposed to be transferred to another Tivo. But some Tivo never got around to cancelling the lifetime on the box used for the transfer. In that case it is POSSIBLE the lifetime could go away sometime. Fortunately you bought for parts and hopefully paid an amount consistent for that so no matter how it turns out you should be ok

 

[JohnInFrisco]

It also depends on what you mean by lifetime service. If account status is "5" that is regular lifetime and can be transferred to your account. However if it is evaluation lifetime (some double digit number) then it could go away if you try to transfer to another (your) account. There were also some Tivos used for promotions, the lifetime service was supposed to be transferred to another Tivo. But some Tivo never got around to cancelling the lifetime on the box used for the transfer. In that case it is POSSIBLE the lifetime could go away sometime. Fortunately you bought for parts and hopefully paid an amount consistent for that so no matter how it turns out you should be ok

It has the "5" regular lifetime service. Thanks for the information.

 

[KevTech]

I think the seller probably bought this from someone else

Or it was stolen.

 

[JohnInFrisco]

Or it was stolen.

I suppose that's a possibility, but it's a 14 year old Tivo and the seller that I purchased it from was a liquidator. I guess if it was stolen the rightful owner could call Tivo and have it reported and turned off.