How do I update a TiVo's schedule without local phone OR wifi?

September 25, 2010 2:55 PM

I have a TiVo, but I'm currently temporarily between internet providers. The TiVo programming data has just run out, and it looks like it's going to be at least another week before I have internet at the apartment. Any ideas on how I can get it updated?

Not on particularly good terms with any of the neighbors - I think 'can I borrow a cup of wifi?' probably won't work. There's a Starbucks' down the street, but attempts using a laptop to connect their open network to ours haven't worked out. (We have a Win7 laptop, and an OS X laptop to try these sorts of things with. The existing house network is hubbed around a Buffalo Wifi router with DD-WRT installed. The laptop can see both networks from outside the coffeeshop. ) Can anybody think of anything to try? Is there some sort of secret trick to make the TIVO take updates from a flashdrive or in an offline way?

posted by Orb2069 to Technology (9 answers total)

Can't you just plug it into a phone line and do it the old fashioned way?
posted by spilon at 3:03 PM on September 25, 2010

Could you simply take your tivo into starbucks, plug it in, and have it grab updates there?
posted by kickingtheground at 3:04 PM on September 25, 2010

If it's just a week, you can look up the times and channels of shows you want and program it to record manually. It won't give the show title in your playlist, but it's an easy solution
posted by saffry at 3:07 PM on September 25, 2010

Yep, a phone line is your answer (assuming you have a land line).
posted by HuronBob at 3:16 PM on September 25, 2010

Well....the OP specifically says no local phone so I don't think those suggestions will work.
posted by GoodPuppy at 3:51 PM on September 25, 2010

Do you know anyone with a MiFi or Android Cell phone that can turn into a mobile hot spot in your house?
posted by bottlebrushtree at 4:09 PM on September 25, 2010

Call a friend who has WiFi, bring over the TiVo, thank them with a six-pack of their favorite beverage.
posted by Wild_Eep at 5:06 PM on September 25, 2010

If you can get your Mac working at Starbucks, System Preferences > Sharing > Internet Sharing should let you share the internet access it has over wireless to a Tivo connected to it with an ethernet cable.
posted by JiBB at 12:48 AM on September 26, 2010

OK, still no internet, and as GoodPuppy states above, no phone.

Saffry - I think Version 2 Tivo (tivos? Tivii?) would let you arbitrarily record programs, Version 3 units won't. At least not in any way that I discovered.

Everybody else - No, I really don't know anybody else who would let me borrow their internet connection.

I tried bringing it into starbucks and reprovisioning it there. After letting it sit and monitoring it on the network for an hour until the traffic between it and the network died down, I tried unplugging it and then walking it through the 'Update yourself' screens using face button presses I had written down from home, waiting for it to calm down, then unplugging it again and doing the same via a telnet session, to make sure I didn't mis/overpress any buttons. (Sequence attached at the end). This updated the schedule for two days, didn't update the 'to be recorded' queue at all, and was waaaaay too much work.

(Using the telnet technique, the sequence to get it to reprovision is:

From the main menu:

IRCODE TIVO
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE DOWN
IRCODE DOWN
IRCODE DOWN
IRCODE DOWN
IRCODE DOWN
IRCODE SELECT
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE DOWN
IRCODE SELECT
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE DOWN
IRCODE DOWN
IRCODE DOWN
IRCODE DOWN
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
IRCODE UP
ircode select)
posted by Orb2069 at 3:46 PM on October 4, 2010