cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Upgrade from Tivo to V6

WhyamiwithVM
Tuning in

So Virgin made a bold self- congratulatory announcement back on the 24th January 2018 "

  • Virgin Media gives its customers a telly upgrade with its top box
  • In what is one of the largest customer upgrade programmes ever carried out in the UK, Virgin Media is accelerating the rollout of its best-ever box and will end the year with the majority of its TV customers using the next-generation, 4K-ready V6.
  • Customers who take a TV and broadband bundle will be able to upgrade their older set-top box for Virgin TV’s smallest, smartest and fastest V6 box at no additional cost and with no re-contract requirements.

All brilliant news.  Except I'm still sat here over 3 years later with a barely functioning Tivo box,  and Virgin are now bragging about their brilliant new 360 box.

Having spoken to them about a year ago,  and reading other posts on here, everyone just seems to have been offered the option if they paid for it

Has anyone actually received this or was this just the usual dodgy advertising that's just vague enough to cover their backsides?

15 REPLIES 15

Roger_Gooner
Alessandro Volta

If you were a TiVo-only customer you didn't qualify for the free upgrade to the V6 as you needed to be both a broadband and TV customer. Furthermore the offer was promotional and I don't think it was made again.

If your TiVo is not working well you can report it here and someone will usually be able to help.

--
Hub 5, TP-Link TL-SG108S 8-port gigabit switch, 360
My Broadband Ping - Roger's VM hub 5 broadband connection

Sorry,  i should have clarified, I have a broadband,  phone and TV package. I did at the time of the announcement, as well as for the 7 years previous and when I spoke to them. Along with many of the customers on this forum that were then quoted the £99 fee.

The issue with the Tivo box is that it is a slow archaic piece of kit. The tv guide and apps were never really functional in the first place (well you could set them to load up, then go and put the kettle on I suppose) but compared with everything I've bought in the last 5 years it is infuriatingly slow.

I can't see that announcement was a "promotion" or if it was,  what where the terms of the promotion? It stated "the majority" of its customers would have the T6 by the end of 2018. I don't think it is unreasonable to infer from such a statement, that within a couple of years of that, all of their customers should have been upgraded (on the basis they upgraded more than half / the majority,  between December 16 and the end of 2018). 

Was this ever a genuine offer / announcement or was it merely a piece of self-promotion?

 

 

japitts
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person

The 360 is a completely new software platform and a migration to it is entirely voluntary. As has already been mentioned, the TiVo is a perfectly serviceable box but is now quite old and really doesn't cope too well with the current generation of apps, amongst other things.

If you are a VM broadband customer (which is a requirement) you can upgrade from the TiVo to a V6 box. That runs the same software as your TiVo but on the same newer hardware as the 360. All things taken, it's probably a better option at the moment - although that's got to be a choice you make.

You'd more than likely have to make any such swapout as part of a new bundle deal which would come with a new 18month contract.

I'm a Very Insightful Person, I'm here to share knowledge, I don't work for Virgin Media. Learn more

Have I helped? Click Mark as Helpful Answer or use Kudos to say thanks

I have no real interest in the 360. I wanted what they published and bragged about 3 and a half years ago. I was hoping to be in the "majority" and have had my box upgraded by the end of 2018. 

"and will end the year with the majority of its TV customers using the next-generation, 4K-ready V6"

I wasn't, but virgin really want to look after their customers,  so you'd have thought 2 and a half years after that announcement,  everyone would have been on the V6. You'd certainly hope they'd finish off rolling out their last brilliant bit of tech before rolling out another.  

"Customers who take a TV and broadband bundle will be able to upgrade their older set-top box for Virgin TV’s smallest, smartest and fastest V6 box at no additional cost and with no re-contract requirements."

No cost or re- contract. Hmmmmm.

"We believe that our finest kit shouldn’t just be for new customers." Bouchier

Finally a company that cares about its customers (just don't check that statement - or wonder why the old Tivo is still front and centre on their website)

 

If you wanted the free upgrade to the V6 you should have called VM soon after the announcement to find out how to get it. Furthermore you've had ample opportunity to get a better broadband/TV contract after your contract expired by calling Retentions. I can't believe you're moaning about an offer which expired in 2018.

--
Hub 5, TP-Link TL-SG108S 8-port gigabit switch, 360
My Broadband Ping - Roger's VM hub 5 broadband connection

I did contact them shortly after the announcement.  And was told,  as re the announcement, they would be contacting customers,  if I wanted to (sort of) jump the queue,  it would cost me £99.

And again,  this wasn't an offer! This was Virgin Media saying: existing customers matter and they'll all get our latest kit because that's what they deserve. The majority by the end of the year.  Nowhere does it say "you contact us.  You chase us constantly to ensure you are getting a decent deal"

Fast forward 3 and a half years and they still have people on the old kit....while promoting 360! How many people have stuck with them thinking they'll get the new box,  people who could have left and come back in that time and got the latest kit. Loyalty accounts for nothing to these people.   

 

 

newapollo
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person

Hi WhyamiwithVM,

It's possible that VM contacted you by email with the offer of a free upgrade to the V6 box.

If so you might have failed to see the email as it may have been redirected to your spam/junk filter.

It's also possible that you have turned off marketing from VM and so don't receive emails such as the free box upgrade, or that VM don't have a current up to date contact address for your good self.

As far as I can the last free upgrade to the V6 ended at 11.59pm on 30th June 2020.  https://www.virginmedia.com/offers/V6swap 

Why not give retentions (thinking of leaving us) a call, you should maybe look at negotiating a new contract to save money on your own terms, and at the same  time request a free V6 box as part of your negotiations?

It's 150 from a Virgin landline, or 0345 454 1111, but best to call between 8am and 10am to avoid call queues, or late afternoon around tea time

 

Dave
I don't work for Virgin Media.
I'm a Very Insightful Person, I'm here to share knowledge.
Problem solved? Click to mark as a Helpful Answer, or use Kudos to say thanks
The do's and don'ts.
Keep the community welcoming for all. Please read the FAQ's
The Service you do for others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth - Muhammad Ali

Valid suggestions thanks.

I can't see I've missed any communication. I've also just checked with my Gran who is also with VM (and far more fastidious than I) and she can't see anything either. Coincidentally,  she was given a new box some 8 weeks ago as her old one had ceased to record and the picture was breaking up. I asked if it was the new V6, she was unsure and so sent me a picture. She still has a Tivo. Quality! "We believe that our finest kit shouldn’t just be for new customers." 😄

I was just trying to establish how accurate the announcement / puff-piece was. Still none the wiser other than it certainly wasn't true for me or my Gran.  The responses here seem to think it is perfectly acceptable to have to chase and harry to get kit. It is not. The only other tech I borrow to access a service, is with a large financial data provider who constantly upgrade or change the equipment they provide to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible.  Quite a contrast.  VM aren't even as good as a mobile phone provider offering upgrades when your contract expires. 

Having read your (not-uncommon) suggestion below re: phoning retentions, I've taken a look around at what else is available for the first time in a few years. It appears all VM have going for them these days is the box they lend you (not the one I have) and so it really doesn't seem worth it.  

Thanks for the info. 

 

japitts
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person

In all the years I've had VM service, there's only ever been the occasional proactive equipment swap programme. The obvious exception is when older equipment (such as the V-HD non-recording box) is going out of support and - eventually - will no longer function. And in that case, communication to affected customers has been quite "forceful" - emails, letters, on-screen warnings.

Even then, some customers ignored/missed it until their equipment no longer worked. Remember too, the V6 & 360 boxes require you to have VM broadband - if you don't, you are limited to TiVo which includes new customers.

I'm a Very Insightful Person, I'm here to share knowledge, I don't work for Virgin Media. Learn more

Have I helped? Click Mark as Helpful Answer or use Kudos to say thanks