Can I Use My Old TiVo Box In Another room?

We have all found ourselves in the position where we upgrade to a newer, swankier model, only to find we are stuck with an older and outdated version. No, we aren’t talking partners; we are talking TV boxes, of course!

And TiVo is one of those boxes! Whether you have upgraded your plan or got sent a new box, you have found yourself with a spare box and are wondering what you can do with it.  After all, you don’t want it to go to waste, do you?

Instead, wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could keep using these boxes to watch TV in another room. How often do you find yourself looking at the old TiVo box and wondering, could I use this in another room? 

Well, today, we are here to find out! We will tackle using your old TiVo box in another room and what you need to be aware of when doing so. Let’s get right into it!

What’s a TiVo box?

For those in the room that need a recap, a TiVo box is essentially a digital video recorder with the technology to record and save shows and films. It’s packed full of features that have made it incredibly popular these days. 

Your TiVo box is usually from Virgin Media and allows you to access your satellite TV services with ease.

The box features 1TB of storage and will enable you to save around 500 hours of standard TV or 100 hours of HD TV. You can also get 500GB boxes that hold fewer hours of shows. 

You can choose to record TV shows so that you never miss your favourites again! There is also a multi-room, allowing you to all watch different shows in different rooms and say goodbye to fighting over the remote!

Virgins service offers you the ability to undelete your programmes, too, so you never need to panic if you hit the wrong button!

So that’s the TiVo box! Let’s find out what you can do with your old one!

Can I use my old TiVo box in another room?

Yes, you can! Your old TiVo box can be used in another room to continue watching Virgin Media TV as you usually would.

All you need to do is connect the old TiVo box directly to your internet router via an  Ethernet cable. It will provide a stable internet connection and save all your downloaded content from being lost into the ether!

It’s easy to do and should take no time at all! In these cases, it’s best to set the old TiVo box up in the room where the internet router avoids snaking cables throughout the house, although this is possible to do. Save yourself the hassle of returning or recycling your TiVo box and put it to good use in your home. 

You will have access to multi-room screens then, meaning there is no need to fight over the remote; why not banish your children to the other room for the night and bagsy the big TV for yourself?

Now that we have established that you can use your old TiVo box in another room let’s move on to some factors that you will need to consider before plugging the box in. 

A valid subscription?

For your old TiVo box to still work, you will need a valid Virgin Media TV subscription.

In days gone by, you used to work around this and reap the benefits of Virgin multi-room without the costs, but now there is no legal way to use your old TiVo box without a subscription.

Should you get caught using the box without a valid subscription, you can be charged with copyright infringement or theft.

Both of these charges can be taken to the magistrates or Crown court, where you can face unlimited fines and up to ten years in prison! That seems like a lot of effort for some TV, doesn’t it?

Since Virgin has moved to a cardless authentication for their boxes, there is no leeway or backway into some free telly. It’s the same with second-hand boxes sold; it’s classed as fraud to be using them without a subscription, so don’t cancel your subscription just yet!

Alternatively, you can set your TiVo box up as a set-top box and run it without a subscription, but the results aren’t fantastic.

While you will be able to record programmes, fast-forward and rewind programmes, you won’t have access to the daily programming. 

When you have a subscription, your TiVo box downloads your programming daily and any necessary updates.

Without access to these, you can notice a difference in your TiVo’s performance, leaving you frustrated. It’s best to use your TiVo box, old or new, with a Virgin Media TV subscription. 

Can I use multi-room?

You can use your old TiVo box for multi-room, but you will need a multi-room subscription to do so. To access multi-room, you will need two TVs and two TiVo boxes. You can also stream recordings from one box to another using the multi-room function, but again, you will need two TiVo boxes to do this. 

You can use an old TiVo box for HD channels to stream, download, or record. Still, you will need an HD ready TV and have your box activated for HD to receive that sweet high definition quality. 

It’s worth checking your subscription before setting up your old TiVo box so that you can make adjustments if necessary to use your box with multiroom worry-free!

Can I watch my recordings on another box?

There’s nothing worse than starting a programme downstairs and feeling sleepy.  Do you risk falling asleep on the settee and hurting your neck? Or trudge upstairs and play remote roulette to find the same place? Thankfully your TiVo box could be the answer to your prayers. 

You can watch your recorded show or even live TV, pause it, and watch it on another box! It’s easy to do and will work with your old TiVo box and your new Virgin box! 

To do this, press stop on the recorded show that you are watching. If it’s live TV, press the TV Record so that you can pick up where you left off in the next room. When you are settled in bed or in the next room, you will have the TV ready in four easy steps!

First, select my shows and scroll down to the end, where you will see the name of other Virgin boxes that you have connected. Select the box that you want to watch them from and press ok. 

Then you can choose the show you want to watch, select ok and you are away to go! Just sit back and relax! 

Final thoughts

And just like that, we have reached the end of today’s article! As you can see, you can indeed use your old TiVo box in another room!

While you will need to ensure that you have a valid subscription and multi-room as an option, the old TiVo box should work as standard! Remember that you will need to use an Ethernet cable to ensure your box has a stable internet connection. 

Instead of it gathering dust, why not breathe some life into your TiVo box and hook it up to another TV today?