No TiVoHD Lifetime Subscription transfer - now what?

1763 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by jfh3, Sep 4, 2007

kbohman

Discussion Starter · Sep 3, 2007

After spending some time reading through the forums, I thought there was a good chance I could transfer my Lifetime Subscription from my Series 1 (activated in the fall of 2001) to a new TiVo HD. I thought/hoped the trick would simply be to talk to the "right customer service representative/supervisor." This proved to be dead wrong. Except for the "Grandfather transfer," which I do not qualify, TiVo is absolutely not doing Lifetime transfers to the HD. One person even tried to enter the serial number on the TiVo HD I purchased, using the transfer mechanism still available for the Series 3. Their system said transfers were not available for my serial number.

My original thought was to return the TiVo HD and then wait to see if they eventually offer a lifetime transfer option, particularly around the Christmas timeframe. Unfortunately I discovered the really great deal I got on the purchase price had a caveat that I didn't fully realize. In addition to paying for the shipping to return it, which I knew I had to do, I will NOT be refunded the original shipping cost. Doh! So it makes more sense for me to just keep the box at this point.

The question I face now is what I should do with my TiVo HD. I am considering purchasing a one year subscription under the multi-service discount. My thinking is that I want the shortest commitment possible to leave open the possibility of still getting a lifetime transfer. I am assuming I will not be able to actually get a transfer until the 1 year contract has expired. But what happens if I sell my current TiVo HD to someone else I know with a Series 1 (with Lifetime) prior to the contract expiration? Does the contract stay with the machine? Does it stay with me? What does everyone think? Is there a better way to go?

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jfh3

· #2 · Sep 3, 2007

Lifetime service stays with the machine.

All other service contracts stay with the account. You can freely transfer service between any non-lifetime machine on your account, but may not transfer ownership of that contract.

If you only have one machine on your account, you can work around it, but that would be a violation of the TOS.

If you think you are going to have Tivo for more than a year, I'd go with the 3 year MSD.
If you decide to sell the THD before the contract is over, get a used box and transfer the service to it as a "holding place" for the remainder of the service.

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kbohman

Discussion Starter · #3 · Sep 3, 2007

So let's say I sign up for a 3 year multi-service discount agreement on the TiVo HD unit. Based on past lifetime transfer promotions, would I be able to swap the lifetime to the TiVo HD and keep the remainder of the 3 year contract on the Series 1, or have the promotions been limited to new activations only?

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Granzella

· #4 · Sep 3, 2007

kbohman said:
So let's say I sign up for a 3 year multi-service discount agreement on the TiVo HD unit. Based on past lifetime transfer promotions, would I be able to swap the lifetime to the TiVo HD and keep the remainder of the 3 year contract on the Series 1, or have the promotions been limited to new activations only?

If I'm reading this right... I highly doubt you can do this.

I think the MSD would be a better value. The break even point is around 2.5 years ( based on the $199 transfer fee last year). Something new will probably come out by then.

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jfh3

· #5 · Sep 4, 2007

kbohman said:
So let's say I sign up for a 3 year multi-service discount agreement on the TiVo HD unit. Based on past lifetime transfer promotions, would I be able to swap the lifetime to the TiVo HD and keep the remainder of the 3 year contract on the Series 1, or have the promotions been limited to new activations only?

Past promotions have required new activations.

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