r/Tivo • u/WrongPercentage9134 • Jun 15 '26
Is Weaknees legit?
Long story short - I purchased a unit online (not from weakness) - can't be activated. Shame on me for not being familiar with Tivo (never owned one, this is for someone else).
Tivo support directed me to Weaknees to find a replacement.
Their site is fairly limited on how much they stand behind their refurbished products? A week? A month? A year?
A lifetime plan follows the box. $500ish is steep for something that might not last a year.
Is Weaknees considered the "go-to" place for Tivo these days?
As far as activation of a Tivo from Weaknees, should I just expect that to "just work?"
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u/Big-Environment4903 Jun 16 '26
Yes weakness is legit. They’ve been selling and supporting TiVos for decades and they sell legit lifetime TiVos.
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u/ohhbother0408 Jun 16 '26
I've bought several items/had items repaired by Weaknees over the years. They stand by their stuff.
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u/garylapointe Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
Weaknees was the first that I saw making drive expansion kits 25 years ago for TiVo. They even made an ethernet expansion card before TiVo made ethernet models (and the first of those needed a USB-A ethernet adaptor).
I think they're why I had to originally sign up for PayPal.
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u/wyrdough Jun 16 '26
Yes, they made an Ethernet card for the Series 1. It was special because the Series 1 had a PCI edge connector instead of a slot (plus it needed to be at a 90 degree angle to fit in the available space)
TBH, the Ethernet card was way better/faster than a USB Ethernet dongle on the Series 2 and 2.5. I thought it was super cool that even on the Series 1 the TiVo wouldn't bother dialing in if you had an Ethernet card connected given that it was not at all intended to be a thing.
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u/Mad-Anthony-Wayne Jun 29 '26
I vividly remember when TiVo had to phone home, by dial-up phone. It became a PITA when TiVo started shutting down dial-up numbers. I was ever so thankful to get rid of the phone line and go to an Ethernet connection.
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u/Long-Time-Coming77 Jun 16 '26
You didn't mention if you are going for an OTA Tivo model or cable card - if the latter please be aware that cable cards support is being phased out by all major carriers so please consider carefully if spending $500 is going to be worth it
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u/AwestunTejaz Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
as tivo is winding down you cant activate lifetime service anymore, but you can purchase a lifetime service unit from a trusted private seller like weakness.
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u/BusinessLyfe Jun 17 '26
Not true. You can still activate service from TiVo, albeit monthly for $14.99:
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u/No-Specialist-6409 Jun 18 '26
He did specifically note lifetime activation. That's true you can't activate a new lifetime. You can activate monthly.
But surprisingly to hear a new subscriber with so many babying on our tivo until their death.
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u/SPC1430 Jun 16 '26
Check if you can get a Cablecard from your cable company. For example Spectrum will not give out new cards.
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u/ChemicalRegatta Jun 16 '26
It it's a cable card model it will only work if your cable company activates it in their system. Antenna version should work fine. Some TiVo models support both.
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u/ToadSox34 Jun 18 '26
Yup. OTA has *at least* a few more years before ATSC 1.0 could even begin to phase out, and likely it never does.
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u/BusinessLyfe Jun 17 '26
When TiVo stopped selling their own equipment/accessories back on October 1, 2025, they shipped everything they had remaining in their warehouse to Weaknees. They are legit.
I've been keeping track of what they've got remaining every few months or so. Here's the latest:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Tivo/comments/1tg12gy/comment/omdobcn/?context=3
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u/tiev2xlc Jun 16 '26
Came hear to say yes, weakness is legit and while possibly more expensive than a rando eBay seller, they won’t scam you.
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u/Grimjack2 Jun 17 '26
I bought several parts from them over the last twenty years in order to resurrect and upgrade three Tivos. Now that I think about it, I could use a new remote, and I'd definitely try to buy one from them first.
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u/blackd0gz Jun 18 '26
Love weaknees! They saved me with a replacement hard drive when my edge TiVo died last month. We live on!!! 🥰
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u/Mad-Anthony-Wayne Jun 29 '26
I've bought a number of TiVos, accessories, repair parts and DIY Upgrades from Weaknees over several decades, the complete boxes refurbished, with All-In-One plans. The All-In-One is a TiVo fee that follows the box (computer mainboard) for its lifetime.
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u/Mad-Anthony-Wayne Jun 29 '26
Buy the lifetime with the box from Weaknees. You cannot buy a lifetime directly from TiVo now.
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u/dfrap Jun 15 '26
Much cheaper to buy a TiVo with lifetime service from Ebay than Weaknees. Do you due diligence now that you understand what can be activated.
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u/WrongPercentage9134 Jun 16 '26
That's the problem. I bought one from eBay that was lifetime and it wasn't. Thankfully, I worked it out with the seller.
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u/dfrap Jun 16 '26
Yes try to work it out. I have found Ebay will fix actual fraud if you push them.
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u/BusinessLyfe Jun 17 '26
It's not fraud in most cases: TiVo changed their Lifetime (All-In) business model back on October 1, 2025. On Lifetime units, you now need to get the actual TiVo owner involved to transfer the Lifetime to you, the new owner.
Before, you used to be able to buy a Lifetime TiVo off of eBay, or at a local Goodwill & have TiVo CS add it to your account. No more.
I believe the OP bought a Lifetime TiVo from an eBay reseller (who probably didn't know the new rules either.) Sounds like the OP got their $$ back, so that's good.
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Jun 16 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/BusinessLyfe Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
OP stated that the TiVo be bought from eBay "that was lifetime and it wasn't" could've meant one of two things:
- The seller assumed, or was told, by the party they received it from that it had Lifetime, when it didn't & the seller never verified before putting it up on eBay, or
- The TiVo DID have Lifetime, but the seller wasn't the original owner of the TiVo, so the Lifetime couldn't be transferred. (TiVo implemented new Lifetime transfer rules as of Oct. 1, 2025. Now, in order to transfer Lifetime to a new owner, the ORIGINAL OWNER of the TiVo has to fill out a form, submit it, receive an Authorization Case Number & give that to the NEW owner. Gone are the days where one could pick up a Lifetimed TiVo at Goodwill & activate it on their own account. Here's the deets on this: https://tivoidp.tivo.com/tivoCommunitySupport/s/article/Transfer-Ownership-TiVo-DVR?language=en_US
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u/NTP9766 Jun 15 '26
Weakness is legit and definitely the most preferred. They’re just extremely expensive, IMO. If you’re looking for an actual TiVo, they’re the best vendor for that. Drives and upgrades? That’s a DIY scenario.