I bricked my TiVo (TiVo sucks)
January 28, 2008 · Print This Article
I’ve been a TiVo user for quite some years now, starting with the Series 1 and moving to a Series 2. To me, it’s just an appliance. I turn the TV on, it works. I don’t feel compelled to upgrade to any new version or even a networked version. A year ago, I turned the onscreen guide subscription off. I was just watching too much TV. Simple enough. I also unplugged the TiVo from the home phone line.
Last month, that line was plugged back in, and the next day I was treated with a slick new TiVo UI, obviously downloaded overnight. And, the killer feature: my TiVo can no longer be used to record TV. My digital video recorder no longer records digital video. How absurd is that? After doing some research, I learned that this is common (and commonly known) in newer Series 2 and later TiVos. And I just don’t get it.
I paid for the box — the recorder itself. I didn’t get a discount, and I never agreed to purchase the onscreen guide in perpetuity. In a fair world, it seems that if the hardware is capable of recording, and I paid for the hardware, I should be permitted to record. But TiVo feels that even though I paid for the hardware, the price of admission must also include the guide subscription.
What perplexes me the most is that TiVo has always been close with their customer base. Contrast that to wireless carriers. I can’t think of any more adversial customer relationship that the average person has with any of their providers. Yet, even wireless carriers give you a free phone (or a subsidy) in exchange for purchasing their service. You’re not required to purchase a phone outright, and then also pay the carrier charges. What’s the rationale behind TiVo bricking a box I paid for just because I no longer want to use their service?
I was eyeing up a Series 3 to go along with a new TV, but I argue with my wallet, and this bricked TiVo is my last. I’m jumping ship. But where to go? My cable operator? Windows Media Center? Who cares, as long as it’s not TiVo.
All I want to do is punch that fat television and rip his damn antennae off. His stupid grin openly mocks me. Bastard.
I just love that the contextual ads are for masonry products and not electronics products!
This is my last month with TIVO. I use it to avoid commercials… I HATE commercials. So what does TIVO do? TIVO inserts commercials on every friggin TIVO screen. These jerks have to be at least as brain dead as they are greedy. As soon as my subscription expires, you can buy my TIVO machine cheap. Let me know if you are interested.
I always loved tivo. I bought 3 of them. Now they are running ads all over the place. The reason I bought tivo in the first place was to NOT see ads. Tivo sold us out! I will never buy another one. Never recommend another one to anyone! I hope they are happy with their billions from their advertisers, greedy bastards. They won’t be getting any more of my money. I’m sorry I fell for their scam! I paid for a service and they are ripping me off!
It’s a shame, isn’t it? I used to say that I could never live without my Tivo — now I’m considering (*gasp*) my cable operator’s DVR!
Awful customer service, bordering on criminal. I bought a used Tivo and tried to get service for it, but couldn’t because the prior contract wasn’t completed. So instead of ending the prior contract so I could start a new contract in my name, Tivo transferred the prior owner’s contract into my name, without my permission, and made me responsible for the remainder of the contract.
I only found this out when going back into my account to make sure that they had billed me the correct amount. My “recourse” was to cancel “my” contract early and pay a termination fee. Nice option for their error. Just to insult the prior owner, Tivo also exposed all the prior account details in my online account. Glad to see the don’t care at all about safeguarding personal information.
So I will never do business with Tivo. They have proven to me that they are not trustworthy at all.
Yea, the service contract is hidden too. They do not make it clear on their website when you buy a monthly service agreement that you are really signing for 1 year.
A fair warning about TiVo and why TiVo sucks.
Short version: I paid for a lifetime subscription. TiVo cancelled my account, claimed I called and cancelled, and claimed they credited my account. I never called and cancelled my account and they never issued a credit to my credit card. Now I have a useless TiVo machine with no service and I’m out over $300.
Details: I used to always brag about TiVo and have purchased 6 TiVo machines. I have been a TiVo customer for years and currently have three TiVo boxes “running.” I have to put quotes around running since TiVo took it upon themselves to turn off one of them, which I paid a lifetime subscription for. I received and email warning and I emailed back to TiVo and even attached screenshot showing I had a lifetime subscription and never received any response. The proceeded to shut off my box. I then had the pleasure of calling TiVo. Should you ever call them, be prepared to be on hold forever. After giving up on two previous occasions, I finally planned my day around it and was able to get through after about 20 minutes of being on hold. The customer service representative was less than helpful. He claimed I called and cancelled my account, which I had not. I explained I had a lifetime subscription and he insisted I cancelled my account and claimed my credit card was credited. My credit card was never credited and I explained that. He then claimed their records showed they issued me a credit and he blamed my credit card company and said I had to take it up with them.
I called my credit card company and they confirmed I never received a credit from TiVo.
I got online with TiVo, which still took about 30 minutes to get a representative. The guy looked at my account and agreed something did not look correct; however, he would have to send it to a supervisor to look at. Even though he did absolutely nothing to rectify the problem, except pass it along, he seemed helpful. He told me someone would call me and I asked if they would leave a message with a number I could call back without being on hold forever, since I don’t answer calls I don’t recognize, since they’re oftentimes sales calls. He said they would leave a number that was a direct line. Did they ever call and so much as leave a message? No.
Bottom line: TiVo can take your money, claim you cancelled, claim they refunded your money, and leave you with a useless TiVo box and out hundreds of dollars. But they’ll make sure they wait a few months, so you don’t even have recourse with your credit card company. TiVo SUCKS.
Fuck Tivo and fuck their condescending customer support assholes. They think everyone is stupid. I agree, we are stupid to pay fucking Tivo for their primitive crap and ghetto customer service.
Fuck Tivo. Piece of primitive shit. Even if they go Internet, I will never even look at it from across the street. What a Garbage!
I’m getting my Verizon DVR back, I thought that Tivo Was an upgrade, boy was I wrong. This crap gets frozen once to thrice a week. (Hey Conan!) So fuck you Tivo! You suck ass of a blowfish.
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