TiVo as dumb VCR won't work without subscription

I have a TiVo HD, and I thought I could just manually program so I don't have to pay TiVo's monthly fee. Wrong! After 2 weeks, if I try to do the manual program, it just takes me back to the previous screen. I guess TiVo really needs their $$$.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• TiVo
• dumb
• VCR
• subscription

[GilDealsTV]

just hack it, use google

[Masowai]

Dude. Newsflash. You don't need a subscription to use it as a VCR. I bought my Series 2 and Series 3 HD at a garage sale and both worked perfectly as VCRs. That was until I got curious and plugged in the Series 2 to my home network. At that point, I was screwed. It updated its status to cancelled. But, the Series 3 HD still works flawlessly.

The trick: Once you cancel your Tivo service, make sure the thing is unplugged from the phone line or Internet. Don't let it call home.