[igirl]

I first activated this Mini in 2014 but it has spent the last several years in a box moving from house to house. Plugging it in today and it won't go beyond "starting up". The lights are on but no one's home!

It still shows in my online account under active Tivo devices.

I've tried powering down, disconnecting everything, waiting 15 minutes and trying again a few times now. Since the power supply is a wall wart moving to another outlet won't matter. There is no internal HDD (which is suspect when DVR Tivo devices do this).

Anything else? Does anyone do Mini repairs - or buy them to repair?

 

[krkaufman]

You could try a different wall wart, but it sounds like your Mini may be among the rather large number that have been dying over the last year (incl. 4 of ours), as documented in a few other threads. Typical symptoms are a boot loop, sometimes never getting beyond the TiVo logo.

That said, you'll want to be aware of another issue facing older A92/A93 Mini's, either to confirm your symptoms are different or if considering buying a replacement. See: Trying to Move Mini from TE4 host to a TE3 Host

 

[cjgadd3]

I'm not a conspiracy nut but it sure looks suspicious (to me) that so many mini are "buying the farm" lately. Could it be something in asoftware update or download that's bricking so many? Maybe to sell new minis? Oh well, time to take of the tinfoil hat and go eat supper.

 

[igirl]

Thanks - yea it's probably dead. It wasn't used at all - just boxed up - but apparently that's enough for it to die anyway!

CGDADD3 - Perhaps a trojan horse poison pill set to go off after XXX time?

Rather than a software update conspiracy (mine has been boxed up for years and won't even go online) - I would suspect a hardware component or assembly flaw that was super cheap and decayed over time. If enough percentage die unexpectedly, it could be a class action "lemon" case however!

 

[krkaufman]

but it sounds like your Mini may be among the rather large number that have been dying over the last year (incl. 4 of ours), as documented in a few other threads. Typical symptoms are a boot loop, sometimes never getting beyond the TiVo logo.

... and today we discovered our 5th dead A92/A93 Mini within the last year. This one is exhibiting a Guided Setup boot loop, rather than the logo boot loop of most of our others.

edit: p.s. Original activation dates for my dead Minis, w/ partial TSNs:

• 2/24/2015 TSN:A93-0001-90BB-9Dxx
• 2/24/2015 TSN:A93-0001-90BB-AFxx
• 3/12/2015 TSN:A93-0001-90BE-CCxx
• 3/13/2015 TSN:A93-0001-90BE-CBxx
• 4/10/2015 TSN:A93-0001-90BF-F9xx

Not making me super confident about these other Mini's still active on our network:

• 2/24/2015 TSN:A93-0001-90BB-xxxx
• 3/23/2015 TSN:A93-0001-90BC-xxxx
• 4/10/2015 TSN:A93-0001-90BC-xxxx

 

[igirl]

5 dead in one year! Has any tech figured out what the point of failure is on these? Like maybe the system is on a PROM that is garbage? Probably fused on to a board and not replaceable.... Something to do with age/decay perhaps?

I have a brand new Western Digital TV Live in the box (old) and just got it out after several years and the rubberized remote control's backing had turned into sticky goo. Poor design and inferior materials.

We have several AppleTV boxes all over the house so I just now use Airplay (AppleTV) instead of a Mini anyway.

 

[[email protected]]

Had one of my 5 Mini Tivo's go into the Tivo startup loop and no further today. Spoke to Customer Service and researched the net and this Board. Looks like a common problem. Tivo would do nothing in terms of a replacement. Suggested Weaknees. Called them and they do not rep[air mini Tivos nor sell the older versions any longer. Just the New Vox 4 for $199. Had another Tivo mini that I had them activate today and it has basically the same problem. Goes into setup mode before r-looping again but no further. My question is does anyone know if the A92, A93 Mini Tivos can be replaced somewhere or repaired somewhere?

 

[JoeKustra]

There was post a while back that if you repeatedly pressed the TiVo button during power up it would stop the loop.

I have 3 A93 and 1 A92, all about 5 years, so I may get to test this soon.

 

[[email protected]]

I tried that on with both of my Mini's (One A92 and the other A93) and it did not work or change anything.

 

[krkaufman]

There was post a while back that if you repeatedly pressed the TiVo button during power up it would stop the loop.

I have 3 A93 and 1 A92, all about 5 years, so I may get to test this soon.

Strangely optimistic!!

 

[krkaufman]

Had one of my 5 Mini Tivo's go into the Tivo startup loop and no further today. ... Had another Tivo mini that I had them activate today and it has basically the same problem.

Might I inquire as to the first 3 segments of the TSN for your problematic Mini's? (e.g. A9x-xxxx-xxxx)

Also, if they just activated the second one for you, had you purchased it used? Seems odd for an unused Mini to experience the same issue, assuming it's a wear/use issue.

My question is does anyone know if the A92, A93 Mini Tivos can be replaced somewhere or repaired somewhere?

I've seen and heard nothing, unfortunately. I have a stack of 5 awaiting such a possibility.

 

[[email protected]]

I had purchased the one used some years ago but never tried it at the time. It was advertised as working. I don't even remember if it had a lifetime license with it but Tivo now assumes all minis have lifetime license.

 

[[email protected]]

The first one that failed was an A93 and the second an A92