The only place to look is on the box itself.
There is no on-line option within Manage your account that will tell you that.
There is no on-line option within Manage your account that will tell you that.
How to verify S1 is calling in - not connected to a TV
I recently got my HD Tivo. I've also got a S1 (lifetime) and a S2. I've only got 2 TVs, so I'll be disconnecting my S1 (TVs will be connected to the S2 and HD Tivos). The only reason I need my S1 now is for the MSD.
I know that the S1 needs to call in every so often (every 90 days? 180?).
Here's the question. Since my S1 won't be hooked up to a TV, how will I know if it's successfully calling in? How will I know if ever dies? Is there some place I can look to verify that it's actually calling in?
Thanks, Scott
I know that the S1 needs to call in every so often (every 90 days? 180?).
Here's the question. Since my S1 won't be hooked up to a TV, how will I know if it's successfully calling in? How will I know if ever dies? Is there some place I can look to verify that it's actually calling in?
Thanks, Scott
1 - 15 of 15 Posts
Not sure this is worth the hassle. Sure, you save $6/month from TiVo, but the S1 sitting there draws power. I dunno how much, say 50 watts - that'll still be $4-$6/month, depending on your local electricity rates. So at best, having your TiVo sitting there doing nothing is saving you a couple bucks a month, and the rest is going to your electricity provider rather than TiVo.scottkathi said:I recently got my HD Tivo. I've also got a S1 (lifetime) and a S2. I've only got 2 TVs, so I'll be disconnecting my S1 (TVs will be connected to the S2 and HD Tivos). The only reason I need my S1 now is for the MSD.
Meanwhile, a quick search shows that selling a Series 1 on eBay with lifetime subscription pulls in $200-$300 (non-lifetime units seem to go for $25-$50).
So if you don't have a use for it, sell the thing, get $200 or more, and that'll pay for ~100-150 months (~7.5-12 years) of the extra TiVo cost minus electricity.
Or loan the unit to a relative or friend to use -- that way you keep the MSD and don't have to pay for the power to keep it going. If you ever need it back (to use in a vacation home, kids room, mancave, etc), or if Tivo offers a lifetme xfer option again then you will still be eligible for the offer. I wouldn't sell it if I were you.fredct said:Not sure this is worth the hassle. Sure, you save $6/month from TiVo, but the S1 sitting there draws power. I dunno how much, say 50 watts - that'll still be $4-$6/month, depending on your local electricity rates. So at best, having your TiVo sitting there doing nothing is saving you a couple bucks a month, and the rest is going to your electricity provider rather than TiVo.
Meanwhile, a quick search shows that selling a Series 1 on eBay with lifetime subscription pulls in $200-$300 (non-lifetime units seem to go for $25-$50).
So if you don't have a use for it, sell the thing, get $200 or more, and that'll pay for ~100-150 months (~7.5-12 years) of the extra TiVo cost minus electricity.
Uhm, where?rsnaider said:The only place to look is on the box itself.
There is no place on the box to look to see if it is making successful calls.
Now for what I thought was obvious
How about just plugging it in once every few months and forcing a call.
It can't be that difficult to temporarily switch out the connection with one of the other Tivos.
and actually it needs to call in once every 6 months to keep it active for lifetime.
My understanding is that active lifetime is all that is needed to qualify the MSD rate
eta - but above is a link that the unit needs to call in every 180 days for conferring MSD to other boxes.
My understanding is that active lifetime is all that is needed to qualify the MSD rate
eta - but above is a link that the unit needs to call in every 180 days for conferring MSD to other boxes.
I am sure he meant but looking at the Phone Connection screen under settings which would tell you if the last call was successful.mick66 said:Uhm, where?
There is no place on the box to look to see if it is making successful calls.
You know what? you're probably right because the question was:George Cifranci said:I am sure he meant but looking at the Phone Connection screen under settings which would tell you if the last call was successful.
and most reasonable people would assume that since it won't be connected to a TV that "on the box itself" would mean "someplace other than the box" like, for example, a TV.Since my S1 won't be hooked up to a TV, how will I know if it's successfully calling in?
Unless your TV has no more inputs (and there are workarounds for that), why not hook it up to your TV as well and take advantage of an additional tuner?
If you have kids, perhaps let the kids use that one for their programs rather than letting them have access to your TiVo HD (and the possibility of them deleting stuff you didn't want deleted).
If you have kids, perhaps let the kids use that one for their programs rather than letting them have access to your TiVo HD (and the possibility of them deleting stuff you didn't want deleted).
If I understand you correctly, and you are saying that you think your S1 has to "touch base" with Tivo periodically in order to maintain your Multi Service Discount, I don't think that is the case.scottkathi said:I know that the S1 needs to call in every so often (every 90 days? 180?).
My Lifetime S1 has been disconnected for several years and Tivo doesn't seem to care a whit about it--paying $7/mo for my S3...
from: https://www3.tivo.com/abouttivo/policies/tivomultiservicediscountagreement.htmlLaserfan said:If I understand you correctly, and you are saying that you think your S1 has to "touch base" with Tivo periodically in order to maintain your Multi Service Discount, I don't think that is the case.
My Lifetime S1 has been disconnected for several years and Tivo doesn't seem to care a whit about it--paying $7/mo for my S3...
If you've managed to slip through the cracks, good for you, but others are not as fortunate.C. Product Lifetime Subscription. If you are the registered account holder of a Product Lifetime Subscription, your Product Lifetime Subscription must be fully paid and in good standing. Your TiVo DVR to which the Product Lifetime Subscription is attached must have called into the TiVo service or the TiVo Plus service within the last 180 days to remain eligible for the MULTI-SERVICE DISCOUNT.
Another thought, the phone company is nice enough to send a bill with all the numbers called each month. Yoiu just have to look at the frequency and connect times and extrapolate if the S1 is sucessfully calling in or not
I stand corrected--after 180 days your MSD is at risk.mick66 said:If you've managed to slip through the cracks, good for you, but others are not as fortunate.
"I would rather be Lucky than Smart!"
I've never seen a landline phone bill that listed all of the calls made.ZeoTiVo said:Another thought, the phone company is nice enough to send a bill with all the numbers called each month. Yoiu just have to look at the frequency and connect times and extrapolate if the S1 is sucessfully calling in or not
FWIW, where I am at my S1 costs about $2.08/month to operate. Even if it were free, it is much cheaper to sell the Tivo...fredct said:say 50 watts - that'll still be $4-$6/month, depending on your local electricity rates. <...> sell the thing, get $200 or more, and that'll pay for ~100-150 months (~7.5-12 years) of the extra TiVo cost minus electricity.
Code:
Months 12 15.385 24 36 60 120
Keep $289.92 $371.70 $579.84 $869.76 $1,449.60 $2,899.20
Sell $(19.04) $32.01 $161.92 $342.88 $704.80 $1,609.601 - 15 of 15 Posts
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