How to transfer shows to new TiVo
Q: I set up my new TiVo and never saw any option to copy over shows recorded on the old one. Is it too late to do that after I've switched my service to the new model?
A: It's not too late, as I discovered firsthand while helping my in-laws through this scenario two weeks ago. But you'd better have some free time on your hands.
First, you need to reactivate service on the old TiVo — sign up for a month of service, which you can cancel for a full refund within 30 days.
The old one should be displayed on your My Account page on TiVo's site, but you may need to call the company (877-367-8486) with the "Service Number" you can look up on the old device's system-information screen.
While you're logged in, click "Change Device Preferences" and verify that the boxes next to "Enable video downloads" and "Video sharing" are checked for each TiVo. You can then copy over Season Pass settings that record new episodes of favorite series — no, those don't get synced over otherwise.
Wait an hour or so, then instruct each TiVo box to connect to the TiVo service: Press the TiVo-logo button at the top of the remote, select "Messages & Settings" or "Settings & Messages" and then "Phone & Network" or just "Network" (the titles vary between different lines of TiVo hardware) and then "Connect to the TiVo service now."
You have to take that step because each box needs to get word from the TiVo mothership that the other is on the same account — and because left on their own, they may wait as long as 48 hours to phone home.
Finally, you can pull over those old recordings. On the new TiVo, go to the "My Shows" screen (if the newer TiVo is a Premiere model, go to "Now Playing" instead) and you should see the old TiVo listed at the bottom. Select it, and you should finally see a list of recordings.
There's no "transfer all" button, so you have to bring up each one and then select "Transfer this recording."
Have something to read. My in-laws' Wi-Fi isn't the fastest ever, but I still usually waited half a minute to go from the list of recordings to the detail page for each — and then I often waited another 45 seconds for confirmation that the transfer had been queued up.
It is kind of bonkers that TiVo makes this process so tedious, considering how much the company relies on repeat business. It's also bizarre to see any device with an always-on Internet connection limit itself to using it every one to two days, as if it still had to log on via dial-up.
TiVo's response was that the one-at-a-time file transfer can't be helped: TV providers and individual channels can prohibit copies of recordings. As for the lack of any sort of cloud synchronization, it's coming.
"We plan to incorporate the season pass migration more seamlessly into the activation process later this year," a statement read. "We are also migrating functions like suggestions and other personalization functions into the cloud."
Tip: Ease family tech support with a password-manager site — for you, not them
My holiday tech-support chores last month included not just that TiVo migration, but a round of password resets for various accounts. I realized I could make life easier for myself over the next holiday visit if I saved those passwords somewhere — not with the password-saving features on my in-laws' MacBook, but by stashing them someplace I could read easily and securely.
The answer was right on my own laptop's screen. The LastPass password-manager site I use can store "secure notes," so I used one to store a few key passwords I might need for future troubleshooting in person or over the phone. (You don't want to use the usual password-saving option that will automate your log-in at a site, unless your relatives are OK with you signing into Facebook as them.)
You can do the same thing in other password-management systems. See, for instance, the equivalent secure-note features in Dashlane and 1Password.
Understand that by doing this, you're now taking responsibility for somebody else's online security, not just your own. Don't abuse your access, make sure your password-manager password is unique to that service, and defend that login with two-step verification (available at LastPass and Dashlane) if it's an option.
Rob Pegoraro is a tech writer based out of Washington, D.C. To submit a tech question, e-mail Rob at rob@robpegoraro.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/robpegoraro.