TiVo

TiVo

 3.3/5 (788 reviews)

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Overall Rating3.3 out of 5
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Page 2 Reviews 10 - 40
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Sept. 16, 2021

Loyal customer for nearly 20 years. Once I bought a new box and without realizing it, months went by and they were charging me for two boxes. They didn't cancel my old box out, then refused to pay me for charging me for two accounts for months. 6 months ago, we purchased a TiVo Edge. The motherboard died, I called for a replacement for it was still under warranty. They would not send us a new one until I shipped back the broken one, and wanted to charge me $50 replacement fee. For their broken item. I've need their help twice in 15 yrs or more and both times were absolutely rude. I also did not know that I couldn't cancel my TiVo subscription unless I pay 160.00 or wait 6 months! I have it on my calendar to cancel this service and cannot wait!

13 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Aug. 10, 2021

After purchasing the Bolt with lifetime subscription. I was told it would take a few hours for my email to be registered. Six days later and 3 wasted phone calls to Technical Support??? No luck. Unable to access my account or stream recorded programs to any device. They say the problem is being addressed by their software experts. Oh yeah. As to when I can access my account & my programing, they won't commit. I hope I can get it resolved during my lifetime subscription.

9 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: July 29, 2021

I paid over $150 last April for one year maintenance. My Tivo just broke. TiVo will not refund me for the remaining 8 months. Tivo is stealing from me!!! I use OTA. Tivo use to support that. I wanted 2TB and four tuners. I have many stations I can get with my antenna. I absolutely hate going through Channel Master to get a Tivo product. It's ridiculous. Product choices are horrible. Used to be able to get 2TB models. Can only get 500GB. TiVo told me to look on Ebay. Are you freaking kidding me?! Next time I call they might say go look for your next Tivo on Craigslist. Hey Tivo, please tell your next ex customer there's a Tivo at the McKinney landfill. I've been with Tivo since their first products. I am done with this loser thief.

11 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: May 27, 2021

I purchased a Tivo Bolt+ via Amazon in 2017. I had it for about 2 years and it died. TiVo replaced the unit but I lost all the programs that were recorded. About 2 weeks ago the replacement Bolt+ started acting up. I called and when through their troubleshooting procedure and the unit was declared dead. They put me over to sells and I was told my two options were to send the unit to a repair shop (which will probably take a couple of weeks) or to buy a new Edge on sale for $275 (which will take about 4 or 5 days to get here). They say the Edge has a warranty of 5 years. If it dies that will be the last time I use TiVo.

11 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Feb. 24, 2021

I've owned and loved several TiVo devices over more than 15 years. For many of those years, I found their technical and overall customer to be the very best. Unfortunately since the sale of the company in 1916 these services have taken a nose dive. I currently have two BOLT devices purchased some years ago. In 2020, one finally bit the dust. TiVo replaced the unit with a reconditioned, newer BOLT for a price. (Basically the price of a reconditioned unit.) There were problems with audio and video dropouts for at least several seconds which occurred intermittently from the start. My first contact with service was within a month of installation. I followed the meager troubleshooting items suggested. Since this is an intermittent problem, it was left with me to 'see if it still happens' and to contact my cable provider. It did still happen, while my second older BOLT worked and works fine, even when swapped with this main TV.

After several more contacts with TiVo service, I was told all they could offer is to sell me another reconditioned unit since my warranty on the present unit had expired after 90 days. I will not renew my annual service agreement and will retire this BOLT and replace it with something else. I'll keep the older one and use it till it dies. It is sad to see a great company with good reliable products, degenerate following a sale to another company. Stay away from the 'new' TiVo.

11 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Feb. 16, 2021

1st bought a TiVo Sony 30 Hour PTV Recorder 2/2/03. It was 2nd or 3rd Gen, I think, I wanted the dual tuner model, but couldn't afford DirecTV. Friends & family lauded the greatness of the TiVo DVR 7 its quality. That Sony TiVo, with some tweaks, lasted me 10+ years. But looking back w/o the rose colored glasses, they were the only fully working DVRs available, and DVRs were to VHS recorders what Smart TVs are to that 13" black & white console tv I watched my first British TV on.

Fast forward 2018, I cut the cords, wanted an OTA DVR & bought a TiVo BOLT OTA, w/ lifetime service, a little pricier than many other DVRs, but hey, it was a TiVo. What a waste of money. TiVo ain't the quality & customer service oriented company they use to be. I made excuses for the glitches and constant rebooting the 1st year. Now out of warranty, kept researching fixes, finally came to needed new hard drive (shouldn't after 1 year, but things happen).

New hard drive didn't fix anything, just cost more $$$. So I let repair shop specializing in TiVos have a look at. Nope, can't be fixed. They credited me the service fee, and the cost of the hard drive to keep my Bolt for parts. Don't trust the TiVo name. They just want that upfront $$ of higher price equipment, & lifetime service fee, which is a real bargain to TiVo when the lifetime of their product is 2 years or less. In my humble opinion, if you need/want a DVR OTA or cable/dish, buy anything else, just don't buy a TiVo.

7 people found this review helpful
Rated with 2 stars
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Feb. 14, 2021

To begin with, I have been a customer for over 15 years, have bought at least 4 machines from them, and have had great service in the past. This is a main reason I am disappointed. Last year I had a problem with my Bolt and called customer service. They diagnosed it as a hardware problem and exchanged the 2 year old machine with a reconditioned one for a $150 fee. The new machine had the same problem and it turns out it was a software issue which was diagnosed by an upper level service department. The $150 was not necessary but I didn't complain.

In November, the new machine had DVR problem but the tuner was properly working, they sent some software codes to the machine which caused the DVR to work and disabled my tuner. They now tell me that I need to give them $600 to fix the issue. After paying $150 for a problem that didn't exist only to have their new machine break a year later by codes they sent to the machine seems to be a company problem. I'm convinced this is still just a software issue since the problem started with them sending codes to my machine. The technicians are completely unable to help me, they say I can't speak to a supervisor, won't elevate the problem to the department that fixed the software problem last year, and letters to the company have gone unanswered after 2 months. I will not pay for a new machine and wish I could just have my original, working machine back.

8 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Feb. 11, 2021

The NFL games I record are removed shortly after the recording is complete. There is no way to recover them. This is a perfectly awful system TIVO has devised. Twice, I've spent thirty minutes on the phone with someone in the Philippines, dealing with a faulty phone on her end, trying to get some answers. Nothing accomplished. Same with a chat; only suggestion was to delete everything on our DVR and start over again. Forget it! This is a TIVO process problem, not something here on this end; it is only with NFL games. I urge avoiding any TIVO product at all costs, after fifteen years of using their product, it is clear that the company is being seriously mismanaged.

10 people found this review helpful
Customer increased Rating by 2 stars!
Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Feb. 2, 2021

Updated on 03/16/2021: This is to update the postings I made (2/2/2021) on five websites regarding Tivo, their Product and Customer Service. I did receive a response from Tivo’s Executive Relation Group to the posting I made on ConsumerAffairs.com and because, as of this date, that review has been read 1450 times, I believe an update is necessary. As stated in my first posting, I contacted Tivo’s Customer Service, using the standard contact phone number (877-367-8486), with no satisfaction and extreme frustration. After my posting to Consumer Affairs, multiple phone calls, and 42 days, I purchased a Tivo EdgeA and am on the Lifetime warrantee program.

1) Purchased the EdgeA on 2/4 for $399 plus Tax, which was acceptable.

2) Purchased the Lifetime Warranty for $199 plus Tax, which was offered to me through the Executive Relation Group. The problem was I would be charged the monthly rate ($14 plus tax) and then billed the lifetime rate with the first month's billing being credited to my account. The first Whoops was being billed a monthly service rate the second month instead of the Lifetime rate. After 9 days and 8 phone calls to the executive group, as well as the three calls the Tivo’s billing department, this error was resolved (41 days after my purchase).

3) I am pleased with the Equipment, but beware, it DOES NOT come with an instruction booklet.

4) The Tivo service side is difficult and time consuming. My suggestion is, if you are not satisfied with the service received from the standard Tivo phone number contact the Executive Group (Ph. 877-561-4567) and have a Reference # (*) to leave with your message. Call back every day until your call is returned. With regard to billing, call their billing department at 877-289-8486 and if they do not resolve your issue to your satisfaction, get a reference number of the issue and request an individual of the Executive Group contact you (give your phone number).

5) ALWAYS request an email confirming what was agreed to in a telephone conversation. (Don’t forget to get the reference # for that phone conversation.) If the email is not complete or correct, call back to have it corrected. This is what I did before I made my purchase.

6) Now that my Lifetime Service Fees and Credits have been corrected (as of yesterday), I am scheduled to receive a phone call from Carlos (an individual from the Executive Group) on 3/22/2021 between 10 and 10:30 am PT. He is to remove my Credit Card Information from Tivo’s Data Base. I also had an issue that occurred three times, but has not reoccurred, hopefully he has an explanation.

Now the question is, is all this effort worth the time and frustration? For me, yes! I have a device recording what I like to watch, I can skip through commercials, and Tivo, with lots of follow up on my side, met their commitment. Time will tell if the equipment stands up to the longevity test. As for Customer Service, Patience and Perseverance are necessary.

(*) Reference Numbers: Every telephone call is given a reference number. If the caller leaves satisfied or not a reference number is posted for the call. The same reference number can be used to resolve a previous problem that was unresolved. When you end your call with Tivo, ask for the reference number that will be used for the inquiry (and resolution). My overall review – The Tivo EdgeA works well and I am happy I purchased it. Customer Service is dismal and Tivo needs to make it more effective and efficient.

Original Review: In 1992 I purchase the first Tivo available on the market and then paid an additional $100 for the lifetime warranty. That puppy died in 2003/04 and I purchased a Premiere XL unit. After a telephone discussion with a Tivo Representative, I was able to purchase another lifetime warranty on the unit for an additional $100. It’s now Feb. 2021 and the second unit has failed and the HORROR Story begins.

1) After talking to a Philippine Service Technician, #3 as the first two’s English could not be understood, my two options were to purchase a new unit or sent the old unit to their suggested repair site. Phone #s are 888-932-5633 or 310-842-4700. The website given is **. The website is very useful BUT states they are NOT an accredited Tivo service repair station. I called the Tivo service # back, got the same Philippines service and was told this was the only number available for Tivo repair services and that NO ACCREDITED TIVO SERVICE REPAIR STATION EXISTS.

2) Enquired into purchasing an new EDGE unit. $399.99. How much is the lifetime service agreement? $549.99 and the unit CAN NOT BE OPERATED WITHOUT THE service agreement. What’s in the service agreement? Not much! Tell them what cable service or area you’re in for antenna and you get two weeks of programming. Great, except the programming isn’t always correct and there isn’t anyone to call to fix it. $950.00 total and no support. Plus, after reading customer reviews, this unit may or may not work with my cable company’s card converter.

This allows the Tivo Unit to process the channels you’ve purchased from your cable company. NOTE: I called Cox Communications and they stated that not all Tivo Equipment is compatible with their card converter hardware. When asking Tivo which units are and are not compatible, Tivo (Philippine Service Technician) stated that is a Cable Company Issue, not a Tivo issue. So if you subscribe to Cox, Mediacom, Optimum, Spectrum, Suddenlink or Xfinity - Beware.

3) I called Tivo’s Corp Office in Northern California 408-519-9100. No one answers the phone AND after 3 weeks of leaving a message every day, no one has called back. I have a few simple questions and Tivo’s current Support Systems can’t/ or hasn’t provided answers.

A) Is there any Tivo Supported and Recognized Repair Organization in the United States?
B) Where can I read Tivo’s warrantee information for the equipment I am looking to purchase?
C) Where can I read Tivo’s Lifetime Service Agreement that states the services I will be receiving?

D) Will the Cox Cable Card Converter support the Tivo equipment I would be purchasing?

4) After reading about 60 reviews I have gone online to look at other DVR manufacturers. Type in “Tivo Competitors” or “What is the best alternative to TiVo” on your search engine. There are many alternatives for recording and streaming. What about your channel listings? Your cable provider call keep you up to date and some of the devices can be programmed, just like Tivo, to record the same channel and the same date and time until you stop it. Maybe an inconvenience, but $650.00 cheaper. And most of these companies have an IN U.S. technical support program.

5) Bottom line for me.... Tivo’s history – too expensive – no support – reviews show high equipment failures – and not always compatible or offing a continuing compatibility with your cable company. Not mentioning how do you get the channel lineup and recording times corrected from Tivo???

10 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Jan. 15, 2021

I’ve been a loyal customer to Tivo for over six years spending thousands of dollars on equipment. I purchased a 4K stream last year. It didn’t work and I called it in within a few weeks, they would not do anything about it. So I threw it in a drawer to forgot about it. I need another streaming device a few months later so I dug it out and hooked it up again. Still did not work even after factory reset. So I called and instead of a refund asked for an exchange. They said it’s past 90 days and I pointed out that I’ve spent thousands of dollars with them and for them to deny me for a cheap $50 piece of equipment when I’ve spent thousands with them really upset me. She offered to sell me another 4K stream though!

10 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Dec. 16, 2020

Tivo used to have, and still has the gold standard of recording shows. But that is all it has. They have outsourced customer service to the Philippines, and it is impossible to get a supervisor. Having now owned 3-4 generations of Tivo units, and always buying lifetime service, the customer experience was awesome until 3 years ago. Devices are no longer trustworthy, and lifetime service only goes with the device - device dies, so does lifetime service. So sad to see what had been a cutting edge tech company turn into a has been. Shame on their management and parent company - it will be too late when people have cut the cord.

14 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Nov. 6, 2020

I had Tivo for years until about 12 years ago when cable companies didn't come with DVRs. Back in the old days it was perfect. I switched to satellite after that, and didn't need Tivo because my providers gave me DVRs. I switched back to cable because satellite doesn't work with all the trees that surround me now, and signed up for Tivo. It's a different service. IT DOES NOT RELIABLY RECORD PROGRAMS YOU SET UP TO RECORD. It's pretty hit or miss, and I MISSED most of my favorite shows for the past few months, thoroughly confused over why they never showed up, even though they were always set to record.

What confused me was that some shows did show up, so I thought it was a user error, or something. After finally calling them I learned, no. It was them. And they didn't seem to know how to fix the situation. They wanted me to wait a week to see if my shows finally showed up. (?) They did not have any thoughts on what they might do if the shows did not show up.

Thinking I had done something wrong was stupid because they take your money for a year in advance, then give you only 90 days to cancel and get a refund. If you're wondering what YOU did wrong, you're wasting time. Don't do that. Because, again, it's them. They apparently replaced the last generation of programmers with a new generation that doesn't know what this product is supposed to do, or does not know how to make it work properly. Again, it used to be great. What I don't understand is how they're still in business because there are so many other options now. If you're no longer competitive, why do you deliver a product that doesn't do what it's supposed to do?

11 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Oct. 13, 2020

Had Roamio with Lifetime guide. They cancelled that so I bought Bolt. Neither TiVo receivers got Fox or some other channels despite OTA signal booster and new cable ends installed by pro. Used them in different rooms, same results each place. Recorder often had picture distortion. Calls for service not satisfactory.

8 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Sept. 26, 2020

I have been a customer since the startup of TiVo and yes it does truly make tv your own! However, equipment and customer service are terrible. They can't seem to supply a receiver that will last more than two years. When you call you get people you can't understand and they can't understand you! My two year old Bolt crashed and they are sending me a replacement Edge (for $200), eight days later I receive the Edge without even a power cord! Seven days later I'm still waiting on power cord. This is like buying a car without tires! Again, the Tivo experience is great but equipment is unreliable and customer service has gotten progressively worse through the years. I purchased a lifetime subscription from the beginning but you still pay a high price for the equipment. Be warned, great tv may come at a price with some serious frustration.

15 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Aug. 31, 2020

Constant frustration. We invested in a very expensive "life-time" system 3 years ago that was supposed to save us money over many years and it's been a nightmare and constant frustration. Equipment has been faulty and behind the times with technology. Their customer service is terrible and if any of their equipment stops working because they update their system then they make you buy new equipment and call it a "replacement fee!" I ordered 2 replacements $84.99/each and when they both didn't work properly they refused to refund my money or replace the boxes with "new" equipment. They want to send more re-furbished equipment. If you ask to speak to a supervisor they say they won't transfer you. I don't see the company will be in business much longer.

16 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Aug. 19, 2020

I have called TiVo many times to resolve. What happens is that occasionally when I go to try an app like Amazon or Netflix I get a licked up black screen. It used to work so well but since they added roll out ads it hasn’t. They wanted me to pay $140 for a new box. I balked having been with tivo from their start. Then they came back with $70. I said I’m done with tivo. They are in their way out, reputation is shot.

15 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
profile pic of the author
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Aug. 9, 2020

I have been a TiVo customer for over 15 years in spite of the complication it represents. As the technology started slipping, I was asked in April 2020 to update my TiVo equipment to troubleshoot the connectivity issues. So I did and spent $600. Fast forward a August, the entire TiVo connection is down again. This time they asked me to change my modem, which I did. Still nothing. It’s been over 10 hours on the phone with support now. The agent is still unable to troubleshoot and becomes extremely rude and asks me to be “more patient” as I am getting increasingly frustrated by the whole situation. I told that was inappropriate, but he did again in an even more patronizing tone.

An hour later, still nothing. I asked to be transferred to client services since at this point I just want to cancel and be done with them. The manager at the client success team tells us that we need yet another piece of hardware, which we will receive on Thursday - 10 days after it all begun. I explain that I am done with TiVo and simply want a refund on my prepaid annual subscription. He refuses. In short, I have a defective TiVo connection, a customer service who won’t provide a refund, and brand new equipment I no longer need because I am still cancelling them no matter what. Horrible technology, even worse support, and unfair business practices.

16 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Aug. 6, 2020

After being a Tivo Customer for 20 years I quit. One of my DVRs suddenly stopped reading the cable card according to Tivo "Tech Support". So they were going to send me a replacement via FedEx. I paid for the unit and shipping and heard nothing. After multiple calls they said there was an "issue" with my address even though they had shipped Tivo products to the same address in the past. Every time I call they say they are "processing" my address. It's going on 3 weeks now. Tivo products are great. Customer Service used to be U.S. based and was great but ever since the company was bought by Rovi it has no Customer Support to speak of. Too bad.

11 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Resolution response: July 15, 2020

As a result of posting this initial review, a Tivo “executive support” tech called me. He was one of their elite techs that a customer calling can not be transferred to no matter how bad your situation. Cust. service has to send his group an email before they can be bothered to talk to you. He was friendly enough, but was not entirely familiar with the menus on my unit, and he had not read the history of my prior calls. He led me through a series of troubleshooting steps to rule out some possible problems. Then he directed me to try deleting some data on my unit, saying that the system would restore it. This locked up the unit completely!


I got a hold of him the next day and this time he said I had 2 options: Buy another unit (a refurbished one for $350) or try running another routine that “should” fix the problem (note that he really doesn’t know what the problem is) but will delete all of the programs my wife and I had recorded! I went the delete all option, because after all the frustration I’ve been through with Tivo’s support people, I’m sure not buying another Tivo.

Original review: July 8, 2020

We cut-the-cord on cable TV a couple of years ago, switching to a Tivo box, over-the-air local channels, and streaming providers. The Tivo box worked fine for over a year, recording the over-the-air shows just as I had set up. Recently it has skipped recording some of my daily shows. It will record several days of shows correctly, and then skip a day. I called Tivo support about this over a month ago. They told me it was a known issue for about a year and many customers are having the same problem. They could not say when it will be fixed, but it should be soon.

Now, over a month later, the Tivo box failed to record again. I called Tivo Tech Suprt. again. She told me engineering is still working on it. She said it’s a software issue and “everyone is working on it” — very suspicious. Ask yourself, how could everyone in engineering be working on a software bug and still not have it resolved after one year! I’m tired of getting lied to. Here’s the bottom line: TIVO IS MORE INTERESTED IN SELLING PRODUCT THEN FIXING PROBLEMS CUSTOMERS ARE HAVING with their products.

15 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: June 15, 2020

I bought a Tivo Bolt in 2016 with the lifetime subscription. I bought it right before they were discontinuing the lifetime subscriptions service. I have never been charged for service. In 2018 I bought a Tivo Mini to work off of the Bolt for another room in the house. I liked the fact that you didn't need any additional service fees to use the mini off the Bolt. A couple weeks ago, Tivo started asking me for an updated credit card to charge me for my annual service plan. I thought, that can't be, because I have the lifetime subscription and ignored it.

I started getting the service will be discontinued messages. So I sent an email, which ended with them saying, "You only have lifetime on the mini." I called to speak to a representative and they again said the same thing. "You only have the lifetime on the mini." I tried to explain to them, that the Bolt has the lifetime subscription, and the mini doesn't need a subscription, just an activation. The woman refused to listen and kept repeating that the mini has the lifetime subscription and then proceeded to tell me that Tivo made an error in not collecting my annual subscription for 4 years!!!

As a courtesy they are not going collect my back subscription but in order to keep service, I need to provide a valid credit card. I asked to speak to a supervisor, and was told, they will just tell you the same thing. This is not customer service at all, and I feel like I have been robbed! This new company merger is trying to cheat and steal it's customers. Like the new commercial they force you to watch at the beginning of your recorded programming!? This is a JOKE! I used to LOVE tivo, I have been with Tivo since 2000 when I bought my first series 2, I still have it! But this is a deceitful company now, they don't listen to t

23 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: June 13, 2020

I had to give one star to submit review but would prefer to give Tivo zero stars. I have owned Tivos since 2003 and been very happy. I never had a problem. Recently my Tivo quit working. I called for tech support and was told Tivo would replace my current defective Tivo for a service fee of $79 and I could transfer my lifetime service for $199. I agreed because I had had nothing but great service for 17 years. Since May I have received 3 replacement Tivo Bolts and spent hours over 4 week on the phone with tech support. One day I was on the phone for 4 hours running diagnostics! Tivo continues to blame my cable company when they have nowhere else to go. My previous Tivo worked just fine in this house, with this tv and cable company. The only thing that changed is the new Tive. Even so, I have made several calls to the cable company and even had a cable tech come to the house and check-out everything.

The current replacement has the same problem: difficulty changing channels, with up to a 5 second delay. I am in no way a tech person but I can now identify and change HDMI cables, move thru the diagnostic pages on the Tivo screen, tell you about SNR, dB and signal strength. I even added splitters and an attenuator (which I learned reduces signal strength) and added a second attenuator because my signal strength was still too high!

In addition, Tivo has forced ads into my recorded programs. When selecting a recorded program one of 3 things occurs: it occasionally goes right to the program, more likely though, a grey screen appears for 3 to 5 seconds and then a commercial for a new Tivo channel, or an additional commercial for a product or service is run before the program starts. These commercials can be skipped but it is not a smooth process. Hitting skip or the FFward button cause the screen to jump around, go black, the small corner screen (upper right) appears and finally the program starts. I am saddened by the changes Tivo has made. I have asked for a refund and will gladly send back the new box but to no avail. I was told I need to try one more box. Bottom line. Do not purchase a Tivo or services. If yours dies, move on to a different company.

13 people found this review helpful
Rated with 2 stars
Verified Reviewer
Original review: April 2, 2020

Having been a TiVo client for several years, my experiences have been unsatisfactory. Recently one of my TiVo minis malfunctioned - I paid for and was provided a replacement -however both the first and second replacement were faulty. I spent hours on the phone with TiVo technical support. Then my main box, a TiVo Bolt malfunctioned - again hours on the phone with technical support who identified that the Bolt was faulty. I was offered to buy a replacement Bolt, but preferred to upgrade to TiVo Edge which is reputed to be more dependable than the Bolt. I requested a credit for the faulty Bolt or some accommodation on purchasing an Edge but this was denied -I would have to buy the Edge as if a new customer with no credit offered for the Bolt. So after multiple device failures in a two week period, hours on the phone with technical support - all wasted time, the customer service approach was take it or leave it - poor and I will be leaving TiVo.

26 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: March 13, 2020

My Tivo subscription ended and 3/3/20 I re-upped my service on that day. I also removed my old Tivo bolt and replaced in on the same day. I called Tivo billing and had them remove my old Bolt from my account and put the new charges to my new Bolt device. On 3/10/20 I checked my bank charges and saw that Tivo had billed me an additional $149.99. On 3/11/20 The original charge cleared but after speaking to their billing services dept. they assured my I would be refunded the $149.99 after 3-5 days.

Today 3/13/20 I see they charged me AGAIN this time for $160.11. Again I contacted tivo billing to have yet another bogus charge removed. Again they tell me 3-5 days. They charged me 2 additional times for the same service and now I have to wait 3-5 days for the first charge to be removed and another 3-5 days for a second bogus charge to be removed. I would cancel this "service" but I just bought a new Bolt device AND paid for a 1 year subscription, so I would be out that money as well. This will be my last year of Tivo "service". They are quick to charge my account but I have to wait until they are good and ready to maybe refund my money. Heck, they could just charge me again and again and again if they wanted just to tie up my money. They are BS. Do NOT buy their service or their device. They are a rip-off.

14 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Dec. 5, 2019

TiVo has the worst customer service and they are not honoring their agreement. I Purchased a brand new TiVo edge on October 7. A little over 30 days the hard drive stopped working. TiVo said in their agreement that if the DVR is defective within the first 90 days they will replace it for free. I called them on November 26 and they said they will be sending me a tracking number for shipping. I never got The tracking number and here I am 10 days later and still no replacement box.

I called TiVo 5 different times asking them where is my replacement box and each representative keeps giving me the same runaround story. The last representative I spoke to I thought was going to be very helpful. Ended up saying the very same thing that the last representative said. They keep telling me 24 to 48 hours I will be getting a tracking number I promise. They said they have sent my case over to special team’s to see why my replacement box has not shipped. What is it going to take for them to send me my replacement box and they will not let me speak to a supervisor. It seems like now that they have my money they could care less whether or not I get my replacement and or not honoring their agreement.

Now I am paying for a monthly service and I have no DVR box. I am so disgusted with their service and not honoring their agreement that I will NEVER Buy another TiVo product again. And I will tell everyone I know to never buy a TiVo product. And the sad thing is I really love the TiVo edge I thought it was a good product until it broke after a little over 30 days which I thought was pathetic. TiVo you have lost me as a long-time customer by not honoring your agreement. I should not have had to call this many times and all I want is my brand new box that I just spent a lot of money on.

24 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Dec. 3, 2019

I've been having some technical difficulties with the MoCA and the sound reception in my Mini's. I keep getting an error that the signal was low. Called the technical service. A representative named Jay was not helpful. He was saying I have an issue with the Router and its Firewall and TCP ports and referred me to the manufacturer of my router instead and that was the end of that conversation. I rebooted my Router and everything stated working again. The Router is working just fine and no issue with it, but I was still having an issue with low signal and sound on my Mini's. It was still going on and off on my Mini's. I called back again after a few days hoping to get a representative who would be more helpful than the previous one. No luck. The next person was dumber than the last and was blaming the coaxial cable!

She was very condescending. She thinks she speak English well. She was speaking slowly like I don't understand English. These representative are from the Philippines and they have horrible personalities. She's the one who is lost, like the Jay. I am an American with a college education and well to do and a Supervisor where I work. I think their technical support representatives have low IQ's. These representatives are not well trained in what they do and are very disrespectful to customers. They're just plain dumb and want to pass the problem to the next guy. I will be leaving their service and try something else. Don't waste your money on Tivo. They are no longer a good company. I will be moving to T-Mobile service next. If you're still thinking of getting your money's worth by getting TIVO you will be out of luck. Get out now. Try something else.

16 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Nov. 24, 2019

TiVo sales sold me the wrong BOLT DVR for my needs (OTA). I found out the same day that I needed the BOLT VOX. I called them within 24 hours and they would not do a refund of the BOLT OTA, they said I needed to order the BOLT VOX separately. They promised they would issue a refund for the BOLT OTA. No refund received. Every time I call they say they are working on issuing my refund. So far I am sorry I ever got involved with TiVo. The technicians know nothing about the problems you encounter and just make things up and lie about everything. Same with customer service, lies and more lies. Going to my credit card company and hope they will cover my loss with TiVo.

24 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: Nov. 20, 2019

On Friday November 15 my TiVo system stopped working correctly. When I tried to view a recording it just went to a grey screen. I power cycled and also deleted many recordings trying to get the system to work thinking it was having a hard time reading the disk even though the unity was less than a year old. Then it started doing unfamiliar things like showing commercials instead of my recorded shows. Finally I realized when I tried to watch a recording sometime it would just go to a logo page and sit there and other times it would play a commercial. But before realizing what was happening I deleted most of my recording and recorded settings.

It is unforgivable that TiVo decided to just start forcing consumers that paid hundreds of dollars for their equipment and a monthly subscription fee to be forced to watch advertising and create severe latency before the commercial started and sometimes it didn't start at all, without as much a informing me the customer what they were forcing me to do without consent. What is an even bigger slap in the face is they renewed my annual subscription service on the Sunday following their Friday change. For behavior like this I will never trust TiVo again and the minute a replacement solution is available my TiVo will be thrown into the trash. Shame on them for doing something so intrusive and inappropriate.

15 people found this review helpful
Rated with 2 stars
Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Nov. 15, 2019

Updated on 01/02/2020: In discussions with Lez from the higher level customer support department, he said that he could not give me the additional year of service (value $150) that I requested as compensation for the hours I lost because of their poor tech support and the expense incurred following their instructions. Instead, he offered to issue another $30 credit to my card. I wasn't satisfied, but I accepted. To date (a month+ later), I haven't seen that additional $30. I can't fathom a company that does business like this. Losing a multi-decade customer over the pittance it would have taken to make me happy. I think Tivo needs a serious reboot.

Original review: I purchased an Edge to replace my Bolt in order to get UHD and HDR. After setup, the Netflix app on the Edge didn't work (Prime and others apps did work, as did the Netflix app on my Smart TV). After almost an hour with Tivo Tech Support (repeating the same troubleshooting steps over and over) they said they would send me a replacement. The replacement had exactly the same problem. By this time the issue had been escalated to more senior techs. Their solutions were to upgrade my HDMI cable or replace my receiver. I went out and spent $58 on a the latest and best HDMI cable. Still didn't work. And replacing my brand new Marantz receiver made no sense. So, I contacted Marantz. Within 20 minutes, with a few setting changes, I was able to get Netflix on my Edge.

I wrote an email to Customer Service suggesting that Tivo Tech Support connect with the major receiver brands to determine which setting were necessary to be compatible with Tivo's products. Also, to compensate me for the hours and money I spend on this issue, I asked for a free 1 year extension to my Tivo subscription. Customer Service referred me back to Tech Support who referred me back to Customer Service. In the end, they showed little interest in my suggestion and gave me a $30 dollar refund. I've been a Tivo customer since the very beginning of the company. And I worked this problem through with them calmly and in good faith. Disappointing that in the end they didn't seem to care.

15 people found this review helpful
Rated with 1 star
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Verified Reviewer
Original review: Nov. 14, 2019

This unit has gone backwards in technology. There are so many keystrokes required to do everything. The user interface is horrible. When I "Create a One Pass" it cuts of the last minute of the show. I've gone back and added 1 minute to the end time....it still cuts it off. I've added 5 minutes and it still cuts it off. Tivo has added a commercial (Duncan Donuts, Maytag) at the beginning of every recording before you they allow you to watch it. For no reason it switches from normal watching to the "Account / System Info" page. They've added "TiVo+" with THEIR suggestions that you can't get rid of.

They've inserted their own channels into YOUR GUIDE that you can't get rid of (Puddle Jumper - A collection of children's series, Fail Army, Music Babble to name a few). It just (this second) changed the from a recording I was watching the last channel I was on. I called and found out that you CAN NOT buy a new unit without paying for that unit AND a monthly subscription. They no longer call it a "Lifetime Subscription". I'm exhausted and have had enough.

14 people found this review helpful
Customer increased Rating by 3 stars!
Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Resolution response: Dec. 2, 2019

After writing my negative review, Tivo support did reach out to me to resolve my issues with their Bolt product. I was sent an replacement and after some effort received the power cords to transfer my movies from the 1st Bolt box to the replacement unit. At this point my replacement Tivo Bolt is working perfectly. Hopefully, my Bolt box will continue to work as advertised. I am very pleased with the higher level of support that Tivo provided me.

Original review: Nov. 8, 2019

I purchased a Tivo Bolt last month and have had nothing but trouble with it. This is my 3rd Tivo. Had a Roamio for past 4 years which worked very well. Bolt has a new menu which is difficult to use and very un-logical. This Bolt often just goes blank which requires me to "unplug" it. Tivo support is useless and keeps wanting me to just do a new restart setup, which causes me to lose all my recording. And the remote works "part time". I keep on pushing the same button to get it to work. Support said "sit closer", I'm only 15 feet away. Support has limited knowledge to help. They sent me a replacement Bolt (which is refurbished) and it's still junk. I'm not happy with Tivo!

10 people found this review helpful
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TiVo Company Information

Company Name:
TiVo
Website:
www.tivo.com