[krkaufman]

Seems a recent change worth highlighting...

Per TiVo's >published policy< and at least >one user experience<, inactive Premiere (Series 4) DVRs can no longer be activated:

TiVo Service Plans and Policies: Essentials

Important: Series1-Series4 DVRs are no longer eligible for new service plans. If you cancel an existing service plan on these DVRs, you will not be able to reactivate them. Series2, Series3/HD and Series4 DVRs with Product Lifetime Service will continue to receive service for the life of the DVR.

So I'm guessing the only loophole would be buying a Premiere w/ Lifetime service and getting it transferred to your account. (And maybe piggy-backing on the remainder of a existing service subscription as part of a transfer? edit: Per TiVo policy, any monthly/annual service subscription must be cancelled by the device owner prior to ownership transfer, so any recipient would necessarily be trying to start a new service subscription ... for which Premieres are ineligible.)

- - -
edit: Further, as of Nov. 2021, Premieres are no longer available for "Live" support, regardless of service plan status. See:

Premiere (Series 4) and Older Devices End of Live Technical Support (tivo.com)​

edits: 31Dec2020: Updated to reflect subscription cancellation req'd prior to ownership transfer.; 6Jan2022: added EOS note (h/t: lhvetinari & DLA)

 

[krkaufman]

...

 

[kb7oeb]

I don't understand their logic in turning down subscriptions for hardware they still have to support anyway.

 

[WVZR1]

I don't understand their logic in turning down subscriptions for hardware they still have to support anyway.

Have to or thus far have supported with certainly issues from Premiere users. Activate it for yearly now then yes they're committed, not offered there ain't no more issues. Will they continue to 'transfer ownership' is maybe the more relevant question to be asked!

 

[krkaufman]

Will they continue to 'transfer ownership' is maybe the more relevant question to be asked!

No change indicated on that front: "Series4 DVRs with Product Lifetime Service will continue to receive service for the life of the DVR."

I remain more curious as to whether transferring a Premiere on a current monthly/annual subscription is a workaround for those looking to sell/buy a Premiere and transfer ownership.

Transferring a TiVo Device to a New Owner

 

[WVZR1]

No change indicated on that front: "Series4 DVRs with Product Lifetime Service will continue to receive service for the life of the DVR."

'indicated' is maybe relevant! Minds change day to day sometimes in a few minutes. Reactivation of 'no longer in service' of Premiere is maybe a good example of 'changing minds'!
A next move could be limiting support/operation of devices that don't have current OS updates or haven't called home for XXXXXX days etc.

 

[krkaufman]

'indicated' is maybe relevant! Minds change day to day sometimes in a few minutes. Reactivation of 'no longer in service' of Premiere is maybe a good example of 'changing minds'!

Sure, but no change, at present, unlike for new service activations.

Speaking of which, the "Transferring..." page indicates monthly/annual subscriptions must be cancelled prior to transferring ownership of a box, so looks like no loophole for non-Lifetime boxes. Oof.

 

[mattyro7878]

Hey. Is it me or does the picture on my premiere look better than my Roamio? Maybe the inputs on my tv are not quite similar but the old gal sure looks good!!

 

[austinsstuff]

Terms and Conditions on the Activation page still lists plans for the Premiere, despite it no longer being supported

 

[drew8804]

Ive tried to see if Tivo (website) would let me activate service on a some Premieres of seen on sale online (with no lifetime service). No Go.

 

[Series3Sub]

Hey. Is it me or does the picture on my premiere look better than my Roamio? Maybe the inputs on my tv are not quite similar but the old gal sure looks good!!

There was a thread about the Roamio S5 TiVo's not having as crisp or "good" a PQ as S3 TiVo's, and now you report S4's also look better to you. Anyway, that post had a number of people who reported the same older TiVo's PQ superior to Roamio S5, and there was even a technical explanation regarding why that seemed to be the case.

For me, the S3 TiVo's I have seemed to be a bit better PQ than the Roamios I have--and LOVE. I though it was just something that was not real, but then others mentioned something the same, and then I really did see a difference. However, I love my S5's no less, but the difference is noticeable--HOWEVER, when I am viewing the S5, I just don't notice the difference or it is not something that disturbs me nor do I find it ruining my enjoyment of the content. But, sometimes the S3 PQ may POP out at me as the Roamio does not. The PQ difference is something I can live with, but we do believe it is a REAL PQ difference in favor of S3, and in your case in favor of the S4 compared to S5 Roamio.

 

[DocChaos]

Looking at two premiere units with lifetime. So there is no way to transfer them to my account anymore? Been out of the loop for too long. Thanks for any info and help.

 

[ggieseke]

Looking at two premiere units with lifetime. So there is no way to transfer them to my account anymore? Been out of the loop for too long. Thanks for any info and help.

You can still transfer lifetime units. The official method is to have the seller contact TiVo customer support and tell them they're selling the unit(s). They will get a reference number which you can use to transfer them to your account after the purchase.

If that's not possible you can usually set up the new units with your zip code and then talk CS into transferring them to your account anyway.

 

[Soapm]

So I'm guessing the only loophole would be buying a Premiere w/ Lifetime service and getting it transferred to your account. (And maybe piggy-backing on the remainder of a existing service subscription as part of a transfer? edit: Per TiVo policy, any monthly/annual service subscription must be cancelled by the device owner prior to ownership transfer, so any recipient would necessarily be trying to start a new service subscription ... for which Premieres are ineligible.)


edits: 31Dec2020: Updated to reflect subscription cancellation req'd prior to ownership transfer.

So you can no longer transfer lifetime service? That was the real value in the sale.

 

[krkaufman]

So you can no longer transfer lifetime service?

The post opening highlights that as a likely loophole &#8230; and confirmed later.

edit: &#8230; and explicitly stated in the post immediately prior:

You can still transfer lifetime units. The official method is to have the seller contact TiVo customer support and tell them they're selling the unit(s). They will get a reference number which you can use to transfer them to your account after the purchase.

If that's not possible you can usually set up the new units with your zip code and then talk CS into transferring them to your account anyway.

 

[krkaufman]

Seems worth noting, "live" (phone/human) support for Premieres is no longer available, regardless of active service plan:

&#8230; they also marked the Premieres as "end of live support" - so phone support won't help you &#8230;

Premiere (Series 4) and Older Devices End of Live Technical Support (tivo.com)

 

[CopRock]

Seems worth noting, "live" (phone/human) support for Premieres is no longer available, regardless of active service plan:

So does that mean that if you need to transfer a lifetime XL to your account it can’t be done at all, or if you’re selling one on eBay you can’t even get a reference number , or can it all be done online w/o humans?

 

[krkaufman]

So does that mean that if you need to transfer a lifetime XL to your account it can’t be done at all, or if you’re selling one on eBay you can’t even get a reference number , or can it all be done online w/o humans?

No, lifetime service transfer is still possible.

 

[CopRock]

No, lifetime service transfer is still possible.

But only with help ( reference number) from original owner, right?
Example: if you buy one on EBay or Craigslist but the seller no longer can get into their TiVo account for any of a multitude of reasons then you can’t transfer it to your account but still have a lifetime and just can’t control it thru the app…

 

[krkaufman]

But only with help ( reference number) from original owner, right?
Example: if you buy one on EBay or Craigslist but the seller no longer can get into their TiVo account for any of a multitude of reasons then you can’t transfer it to your account but still have a lifetime and just can’t control it thru the app…

People have had different experiences, from what I’ve read. Some have been able to get TiVo to transfer the box after it’s been running on the home network for a while.