*with catches, of course
While its been periodically available, to folks who call in, TiVo is now publicizing a highly compelling but targeted $99 Lifetime Service transfer… from older DVRs onto the newer TiVo Bolt platform.
For a limited time, transfer lifetime service from your TiVo Series 2 or Series 3 DVR for only $99 with a purchase of any new TiVo BOLT™. Seriously, we’ve never offered a deal like this before! TiVo BOLT is the best TiVo ever!
The TiVo all-in service plan is regularly $550. You save $450 when you buy a new TiVo BOLT and Transfer your lifetime service for just $99!
Only TiVo Series2/Series3, HD and HDXL DVRs with Product Lifetime service that have connected to the TiVo service between 3/28/16 and 3/28/17 qualify. Your current TiVo DVR will be deactivated 10 days after you connect the new TiVo BOLT to the TiVo service.
If you meet the above criteria yet haven’t received an email blast, I suggest giving TiVo a call prior to April 10th – at which point the promo ends.
(Thanks James!)
Since they went with “All-in” branding they’ve forgotten Lifetime’s full name and where to capitalize. Also $550 – $99 = $451… which may not matter since it’s really $549.99 :) In any event, this is a great offer for those who aren’t prepared to move away from TiVo but have some older hardware in the mix.
Hmm tempting since I have a dead TiVo HD with lifetime.
Has it checked in during the last 12 months? They’re excluding abandoned units. I can see why they might take that approach. But I also see the benefit in adding any/all customers… who can evangelize, who they can sell ads against, who they can take a small cut from video services, who they can pitch Minis, etc.
Grr, why couldn’t they give a notice about this! I have 2 series 2s with lifetime sitting in the garage that I could have plugged in for this. I don’t remember when I last plugged my dying TivoHD in — maybe it was within the last year? I just don’t remember. I should let it boot and see the last connect date.
“Grr, why couldn’t they give a notice about this!”
Precisely to exclude folks like you from the offer!!!
“I don’t remember when I last plugged my dying TivoHD in — maybe it was within the last year? I just don’t remember. I should let it boot and see the last connect date.”
Yes you should.
—–
The beauty of this deal is that even if you don’t want the Bolt, you can just resell it for a profit.
My tivoHD is still rocking and rolling. Capacitors all look good. Current expanded HD is good. No sign of other power supply issues. As much as this is a great deal, no point for us to do it now…..
Yeah — either sell it, or bump up all of my units, replace my Roamio w/ Bolt, replace premier w/ Roamio and sell premier…
so what is the exact pricing of a new unit if we transfer service ?
Any compelling reason to upgrade from Roamio XL? Faster UI? Is that really all we’re talking about?
(Dave: new email address – abandoning yahoo…)
I personally love my Roamio, but am considering the Bolt as a backup… the only issue is the TiVo series 2 units I have haven’t connected in a year, and the series 3 is what I gave my dad (though I could replace his 3 with the Bolt, for the helluvit). I’m considering my options…
Todd, MSRP of Bolt starts at $200. There’s 20% TiVo.com deal right now using code MAROFF20 — not clear if they can be convinced to stack these promos.
Rich, don’t think I’d upgrade from my Roamio to a Bolt (even if that were in play here, which it’s not).
As far as upgrading and selling, only makes sense if you’re done with the S2/S3/HD since TiVo will cut service.
“Any compelling reason to upgrade from Roamio XL? Faster UI? Is that really all we’re talking about?”
Don’t forget the aerodynamics. You get significantly better gas mileage.
No Dave, you can either use the 20% off or the $450 off for the lifetime service.
This is a joke in some ways. Some of those older boxes aren’t even compatible with some digital cable systems.Why isn’t the Tivo Premiere included with its ungodly slow CPU?
The Premiere should be included. That’s the least Tivo could do for the poor customers having to painfully navigate through Netflix menus.
I have a OtA Series 5 and would be all over this. I called and he couldn’t help. Geared to getting all those older machines off the street.
4k and faster CPU. For a small upgrade fee and reasonably priced hardware. Not sure how you don’t do this.
That’s interesting. Why not?
Do you have to buy the Bolt unit from Tivo directly to get this deal? Amazon is selling the unit for $214 vs. $299 on Tivo.com for the 1 TB unit.
I asked for a discount when my 3rd machine died. They gave my a stiff middle finger. Now I have lifetime subscription to mydroidtv and no more hassles with terrible service. It was the only way to watch tv 10 years ago. No I have lots of choices that are much cheaper andmore portable!
Yes gadzooks…has to be from tivo.com, but the savings in the lifetime transfer fee still outweighs the $85 discount on the unit itself from BB.
1dullgeek, like most decisions it’s cost/benefit. I have more tuners and cheaper storage in my Roamio. The gains in interface speed and 4k aren’t entirely worth it for me as TiVo isn’t my primary app platform. Related, I’m streaming way more content these days and DVR-ing less.
Can any one suggest what should I do. I have couple of s2 with lifetime on it and they never registered under my account and I don’t have information of the original owner . Is there a way I can put them on my account and take advantage of this deal.
The code is apparently good for a one-time use, but you can use it to buy as many TiVo Bolts with the transfer of service option for as many qualifying TiVo 2 or 3s that you have on your account which have called home in the last year. I had sent the email to my brother, who proceeded to use my code for his order, so when I attempted to order for the S3 I have on my account (which is physically at my parents now), it wouldn’t go through. A quick call to TiVo got this corrected, though, and they honored the discount. I got the cheapest model, so I can get the S3 out of the way, and get my parents a 4-tuner model (since the S3 has only one tuner for the on cable card).
Anyone using TVGuardian to clean foul language can forget about upgrading to the bolt, since Bolt doesn’t have Composite cables and TVGuardian requires composite to use closed captioning.
Seems a good deal for those who still have faith in TiVo and need to join the modern age of HD and put those S2’s to rest–before TiVo drops the bomb of throwing the S2’s in the same dump heap as the S1’s. You KNOW that is coming next at some point. Maybe this deal is the sign. :).
As for me and my S3 648’s and HDXL, I use them in bedrooms and office of the house, and one as something like storage, but I still use them and they still do work well (capacitors and HDD’s long replaced). True, 2 tuners seems limiting these days, but I have Roamios to make up for the S3’s lack of tuners.
These S3’s may not have the picture in the guide (my only annoyance with these DVR’s), but they do the job and do it well. The S3 648’s are still the best quality DVR’s ever made and I do USE the OLED to know what’s going on (like the innumerable UNNECESSARY recordings of Death in Paradise and Doc Martin because they aren’t they were reocrded earlier because the INFO data is a general description–it was nice to see what was recordings and STOP it and delete the stupid repeat recordings). I use these units–and all my TiVo’s–exclusively for DVR. I use the superior Roku or FireTV for streaming content, so my experience with my S3’s is always positive.
The S3’s are still FINE DVR’s doing their core function and the limitation of transfers only instead of streams to other DVR’s is just not problem for me. I have Premieres and Roamios that make up for any things missing on my S3’s. Again, S3’s are still FINE DVR’s, and this speaks to how well these 10 year old DVR’s were designed and with the software of the day and they still seem superior to even the latest Channel Master DVR+. That’s how well TiVo’s were designed long ago. I just don’t view the S3’s in the terribly diminshed way so many others do. Of course, the lousy EPG metadata has diminished ALL TiVo DVR’s, so that is virtually the only point of frustration with my S3’s, not the boxes themselves.
Now, if I knew that TiVo were planning to kabosh the S3 like they did the S1 (yeah, I know the S1 death was related to EPG metadata incompatability, but you know TiVo would just LOVE to kill the S2’s next and force more people on to Bolt), and I might consider the offer, but now that TiVo has depricated the metadata, even upgrading to a Bolt will not fix the metadata problems, but rather still comes with all the same frustrating metadata problems, and I will have spent serious $$$ upgrading three S3 models. That hardly seems a deal in light of my TiVo’s either missing recordings or recording shows when it should NOT. I still end up with a buggy, frustrating DVR. And 4K is irrelevent to me at this point.
However, if someone is looking for an excuse to upgrade or if they believe TiVo retail DVR’s will still be operational in 3+ years and price is no object, then it may be worth it to them. On the other hand, I hope this is not TiVo’s way of getting the last bit of money from people with plans to kill retial TiVo DVR’s by 2018. So much NOT to trust about the new Rovi management.
I have to admit, it is tempting; it is a good deal. However, I’ll be passing on it. but I have to admit that if the metadata were not an issue, I would be very seriously considering it. Best to those who take the deal.
I contacted TiVo, and Premieres are excluded. Darn!
I got in on the Roamio fire sale in 2015, $299 for a lifetime Roamio 4-tuner. I still have four Series 2s in play, but while the $99 transfer is a good deal, it’s not a GREAT deal especially as the most likely candidate for me would be one of the white “Stormtrooper” Bolts. I think molding the things in white is driving people away rather than driving them to the “Darth Vader” model.
Holding out for the brown fur “Chewbacca” enclosure…
If you can replace the default TiVo ding with a Chewbacca growl, I’m in!
If anyone has success with this deal on a box that hasn’t connected in the required time frame, let us know. I’m in that boat (old S3’s not is use) and may want to upgrade a month to month Premiere to a lifetimed Bolt.
I forgot to add that the form of the Bolt would be another issue that would make it less attractive for this deal. However, if the deal were for a Roamio form box, then that would be better.
1. No email or code is needed for the deal–simply call TiVo (which is getting hammered) and see if your boxes qualify. Many people are finding that they have forgotten, old boxes around which do, leading to a pleasant surprise. (And there always is the possibility that the rep. will allow a deal or just be mistaken–has happened.)
2. If your box hasn’t connected during the required period, make a few connections now and then call–it has worked, calling the next day.
I assume they are slammed…I called about the deal the other day, was told it would be arriving on Thursday (tomorrow), but it hasn’t even shipped yet… I guess demand was higher than they expected, since they provided such an aggressive delivery date.
Well, I guess I was right, as I just saw this email pop in…
“Thank you for ordering a new TiVo BOLT with our Once in a Lifetime promotion. Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming response to this promotion, our inventory levels have run low and we are not able to ship as quickly as we’d like. We truly apologize for the inconvenience. We are doing everything we can to get you your TiVo BOLT as soon as possible and now expect to ship your new system on April 10, 2017 or sooner.
We know this new date will not work for everyone, and so, if you wish to cancel your order, you may do so by logging into your account at tivo.com or by calling our service center at 1(877)367-8486. Honestly, we would hate to see you miss this offer but we cannot promise that this promotion will be repeated.
Thank you very much for your patience!
Sincerely,
Nicola Mattis
Sr. Promotions Manager”
I will be taking advantage of this offer but can’t decide between Bolt and Bolt+. Prefer Plus but concerned that fan noise will be louder. Does anyone know?
TIVO is not honoring its advertising. Called today to make the purchase of a Bolt plus with the $99 transfer fee. I was told that they are out of units and are no longer offering the sale. I even offered to pay now and wait until units were available and that was turned down. Are they just having the sale to clear inventory before going out of business??
Do you know if you can buy it on Amazon and still get the deal? They have the Bolt 1T for the same price and next day delivery. AND it is sold out on the Tivo site and they don’t start shipping for a week or so.
Guys, the offer is for the Bolt only, not Bolt+, per the marketing that I have seen.
I missed the cutoff off date for last successful connection by three months on my Series 3 with a current lifetime subscription, bummer.
I wonder if I could negotiate since I’ve been a customer since the first model?
My email showed the deal for all 3 bolts, but today the Bolt 1T was sold out.
Turns out that not only does it have to be connected now, but it had to have been connected for the last 12 months (3/28/16 through 3/28/17) in order to qualify. I have a Series3 that is connected today, but it wasn’t during that time, so it is ineligible.
It had to be connected anytime during the last 12 months through 3/28/17, not all 12 months.
Just did this deal for new Bolt+ plus $99 lifetime transfer. It’s on until 4/10. This “great deal” cost me over $600. And I don’t need the extra tuners or storage. Just needed black for my rack. And conversely preferred a white remote for yet another $30. My existing white Bolt now moving to kitchen, where white things belong.
It’s cool you got the Bolt+. It was not offered as an option on this promo when I did it, but I see it now is. When I signed up, it showed only 2 options, both of the original white Bolts. I got the lowest tier, so it is u likely I would have gotten the + anyway, but not sure what I would have done given the option. I may have replaced my Roamio Plus, and given that to my dad instead of giving him the Bolt.
Only time tells what’s cool or not cool. It’s cool only if the new Bolt+ doesn’t make more noise than my existing Bolt (non-plus).
I have been a Tivo customer since 1999. I have had 8 or 9 different boxes over the years. Whenever I call customer service they tell me I am one of the earliest customers. When I recently called customer service to see what offer they could give me on a Bolt + the answer I got was nothing. It’s like loyalty means nothing to TIVO as you are treated as if you were a brand new potential customer. I think this is very poor customer service and a very poor policy. As more technology choices become available I would think TIVO would want to keep their best customers happy but it doesn’t seen like this matters to them.