(I've never been to the actual store, my interaction with this company has all been via the mail/Interwebz) When my TiVo crashed and burned about a month ago, I was beside myself. I thought my only options were to purchase a new device AND service plan, OR to spend the rest of my life paying each month for DVR. It was actually during a phone call to TiVo customer service that I learned about WeaKnees. These folks have everything you need to kick your TiVo/DVR/etc into overdrive. I ordered a replacement hard drive for my TiVo, and it arrived in less than a week. Using the instructions WeaKnees supplied, I actually swapped the drives out entirely on my own (you can also ship your DVR device to them for an extra fee and let them do all the work, if you're so inclined). My new and improved TiVo works like a charm. I would recommend this company and their products to anyone else in a similar predicament. read more

I noticed may of the reviews were about customer service... how are they when something goes wrong. I can't speak to that because in my case, everything went right! I wanted the digital antenna features of the Tivo Roamio with the capacity of the Tivo Roamio Plus, and was willing to pay Roamio Plus prices to get it (don't try it, Roamio Plus doesn't support digital antennas). WeaKnees offered exactly what I was looking for! They shipped it promptly, and everything worked as planned! I even called Tivo and asked if these guys were legit or just a fly-by-night Tivo hacking service that'll void my warranty. Tivo responded that they are a legitimate, and even endorsed by Tivo. The only thing is that since the end result is a *modified* Tivo unit, your hardware warranty from Tivo is void before they've even shipped the product (however Tivo will support anything related to the software or service). WeaKnees offers their own hardware warranty, so you're still covered. What could have made it better? I spent the first two hours downloading Tivo software updates. I wish they could find a way to make that part of the experience better (especially since they're inside the box swapping out hard drives anyway), but the reality is I would probably have to do the same thing if I bought an unmodified product direct from Tivo, so it's at least no worse than buying direct. So I can't say anything about their technical support or customer service (if I do run into that later I'll update this review), but they offer a great product that was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!! read more

Weaknees is the best! I have owned TiVos since they first appeared more than 20 years ago. I loved the technology but often found the TiVo service to be less than adequate. Fortunately I discovered Weaknees (in 2002?) which has become my go-to source for all things regarding my devices. No matter how big or small the purchase or the problem, Weaknees has always been efficient and very helpful. I'm writing this review because I recently had a problem with a new Roamio which Weaknees went way out of its way to remedy. I had a long history with the company and thought I should give them a public attaboy for all the good work they've done for me over the years. In short I don't think you can go wrong with these guys. Good job!! read more

The person that answers the phone in sales has a very bad attitude. He obviously lacks customer service skills and started raising his voice when I asked questions. I would refrain from doing any business with this company. read more

Weak knees has been very helpful to us, we called the TiVo company up because our TiVo was making a very loud noise. The TiVo people just tried to sell us a new unit so we asked them about repairs, and they finally referred us to Weakees. We called their number,and they were really helpful and gave us some information regarding how to test and see if the noise was coming from the fan. We were told to unplug the unit and stick a paper clip in the fan and then plug it back in to see if the noise stops, and it did! So we knew that the problem with our TiVo was only from the fan! We ordered a new fan part and a remote. We received everything on time. We put the fan in our TiVo, and it runs wonderfully, it is very quiet. Thank you, Weakees, so very much for helping us out and we will certainly want to do business with them again, maybe even buy a new TiVo. I am a very grateful customer. read more

Huge Money Saving Tip here on Broken "Out of Warranty" TiVo DVR. Contact TiVo First BEFORE paying for a diagnostic. Don't leave an unrepairable TiVo with WeaKness! So you paid for a Lifetime Service on your TiVO and it's broken AND it's out of warranty? I was so upset about this and reached out to WeaKness to fix my precious investment. I had a Series 3 HD Tivo. I paid $99.99 for the diagnostic. After about a week I got an e-mail from WeaKness. They simply stated: "We are very sorry to report that despite multiple repair attempts, your unit is not repairable by us. We will be shipping the broken unit back to you within a few days. While we recognize that this isn't great news, we do have a few options to help get you into a replacement TiVo: #1 - If you order a replacement TiVo Roamio, we can give you a 10% discount (up to $50) on any one unit on this page. #2 - If you don't want your broken unit back, we can credit back $10 off the repair labor fee. Please tell us within 24 hours if you'd like this; otherwise, we will ship your unit back and this credit will not be available." Huh- that's it?! No explanation of why it wasn't fixable? I requested a call and they further elaborated it's a motherboard issue that isn't repairable. I was so upset. A brand new TiVo Bolt with Lifetime service costs a total of $749.99! That is something I did not want to spend- I was so desperate I asked if the motherboard could be repaired or replaced- they stated no. I was so bummed that I was going to have to spend money with TiVo for a new DVR. For a second I was just going to pick option #2- so at least I would get $10 back- but I just imagined in my head them breaking apart my precious DVR for spare parts. I couldn't stomach that, so I asked them to ship my unit back. Glad I did that would have been a HUGE mistake. Being despondent- I kept reading other TiVo forums to see if there were any other options. After an hour or two on a random forum- not Weakness- someone mentioned that you can contact TiVo for out of warranty service. What- that's an option?!!! Why didn't WeaKness mention that as an option in their e-mail back to me?! Anyhow I reached out to TiVo and let them know that I wanted to see if I can get my TiVo fixed and pay for "out of warranty" service. I was thinking it would be like $300 or something. At least it is less than $750 for a new system. TiVo stated that my TiVo was too old to be repaired but they could provide me with a refurbished "Premiere 500hr" (upgrade from my old model) instead. For how much? $89.99. Huh- really?! Well surely TiVo would make me pay for a new Lifetime service on the refurb box? Nope- they informed me that they would transfer my Lifetime service for free to my new refurbed TiVo! Oh by the way for an extra $30.00 they threw in 3 years of extended warranty service! All I had to do was ship my old unit back. I got a refurb Premiere 500, with transferred Lifetime service, a brand new remote and cords all for $89.99- less then the price of a diagnostic from Weakness! If I had told WeaKness to keep my unit for the $10 credit- I would not have been able to get "out of warranty" service with Tivo and upgrade to the better refurb unit. I would then have had to buy a new TiVo unit for an obscene amount of money again as it would be my second lifetime purchase. I'm not thrilled about the $99.99 spent for WeaKness to do nothing but I'm so glad I did some more research and kept my unit and avoiding spending $500+ for a new TiVo unit. If you are in a similar situation I sincerely hope my experience can help you. If your "Out of Warranty" Lifetime TiVo is having issues- contact TiVo first- they may offer you options that are cheaper than the diagnostic from the WeaKness and offer a superior solution. I give TiVO a lot of stars for customer service. I would have given WeaKness more stars if they had told me about this option- I wasn't thrilled that they didn't inform their customers whatsoever that Out of Warranty service is a third (and first option) they should use if a TiVo is unrepairable by them. read more

I found these folks on a Tivo forum searching for a repair solution for my broken Tivo Series 2 which had a lifetime subscription. Their directions were very clear and I shipped the Tivo out to California from Connecticut. They diagnosed the unit, replaced the hard drive and power supply and shipped back my Tivo in working order in less than two weeks. Set it up after receiving last night and thrilled to have the lifetime subscription back. read more

Complete A-holes on the phone. If all you want to do is pay for their labor forget about it. They want part & box $$$$$ or are rude and don't want just labor and diagnostic $$. Ask more than 1 question and you'll get a RUDE response. Don't waste your time. read more

AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!!! Complaint number 1. : I had ordered a TiVo replacement fan that was guaranteed with all needed parts and tools. It was sent with a missing tool that was listed as part in the completed set. I had to go out and purchase the missing tool, this was falsely advertised. I was then sent an email on Sat stating that they had sent a replacement tool but by this time it was already too late. Complaint number 2. : I had then called the following Monday to speak to someone regarding a refund for the tool. I was told by Jermey that I may take a $5 dollar refund or upload the receipt for the supervisors to look over. I received an email saying that they would not refund due to the fact that they had sent out a replacement. I then called to see what they could do. I spoke to Mike who is without a doubt one of the WORST "supervisors" that I have yet come across. He was extremely rude and attempted to be condescending. *there is a record of the conversation that took place in case anyone tries to dispute this conversation.* Mike tried to accuse me of being difficult so I may "get more money" (regardless of having the receipt and the fact that it was only a $6.80 difference, talk about hitting the jackpot.) He then told me to contact the California State Department to make a formal complaint. I responded by telling him that I am an attorney and he felt it upon himself to put the call on speaker phone, and then look up my name and stated that he could not find me in the Bar Association of California. Mike then attempted to say that his employee would never make such a claim and that I had a different fact while having me on speaker phone for his "Office" to get a good chuckle. After he continued to try go back and forth over frivolous matters I tried to make it clear I just wanted what was I told by his employee. At this point it was about the principal not about the measly $6.80. Mike then took it upon himself to continue to bring up the fact that he could not find my attorney license so he may continue to look me up instead of focusing on his terrible customer service along with the real issue at hand. Mike continued by stating that since he could not find me that I must not be true to my word. (Why would any female give out any personal info to a man who is trying to look her up... esp. when one who is aggressive he is while attempting to conduct some sort of weird search. Not to mention how extremely inappropriate then entire situation is while having multiple men hear my personal info. The entire thing is beyond creepy...) If you are looking to fix your TiVo do so elsewhere or just go through TiVo directly. The amount of BS that it one has to endure while working with this "company" is just not worth it. Again without a doubt the worst custom service I have yet to experience. Save yourself the trouble and just avoid this company. read more

I had a failed HD on a 12 year old series 2 Hughs DirectvTivo Tivo. After ordering a replacement and in less than 24 hours, i was back in business.. It doesnt get any better than that. The website is clear and helpful. They do a great job of comparing/contrasting al the different tivo/directv options and the parts department is awesome 100% completely satisfied! read more

My TiVo Series 4 hard drive crashed over the holidays. I shipped the unit to WeaKnees for diagnosis and repair. Had them upgrade to a 2TB hard drive. I hooked the unit up when I got it back, went through the guided setup process again, and called my cable provider to tweak the settings on the cable card. The unit is up and running better than ever. WeaKnees provided quick, professional support. As someone else has said, they are a godsend to TiVo owners--reliable, helpful, prompt. read more

They seemed to be the only TiVo repair option I could find, so I took a chance. I regret not just purchasing a new TiVo box. The customer service and communication are unacceptable. If you try to call them to clear clarify without the back and forth of an email chain, then their phone lines are breaking up. They hold themselves out as experts in the TiVo field, but don't conduct business in a helpful and professional manner. If you are desperate because you have a lifetime subscription then maybe take a chance they will help you. Otherwise, take your dead TiVo as a sign the universe wants you to upgrade and then buy from someone else. read more

I would like to give them no stars based on the rude, snotty emails. They charged me for 2 day shipping after I emailed them prior to ordering and was told I had to in order to get the product in the time frame that I wanted it. Anyway, I paid for 2 day shipping, $32, and they shipped it ground. I emailed to ask for a refund for expedited shipping since they shipped ground, after a few rude emails from them telling me that I was wrong and no refund, I gave up. I will return to buying from Solid Signal. read more

This place is bad news. There are two types of technology dealers. Those that want to help you and those that just want your money. This place is the latter. Bad news. Bad customer service. Go anywhere else. read more

It seems they have a monopoly on TiVo repair in Los Angeles. I could not find another repair shop for my TiVo which is bad news for me because I live in the valley and it's a heck of a drive over there. That said, this outfit has no personality whatsoever. Call them sometime. There's no 'good afternoon weaknees' or 'good morning weak knees" just 'weak knees', and an unsaid 'make it quick whatever the problem'. This is the epitome of nerds who do not know how to relate to people. And I don't think they care either. The building is an old ramshackle office type of building across from West LA College. It's shabbiness will surprise you, guaranteed. The interior isn't much better, looking sort of like a frat house electronic clinic. It is without a doubt the dreariest place I have ever seen. Thank God they do good work but if I had another place to go I would gladly ditch them. I've been there a few times over the years and I always feel like leaving a quarter on the table as I leave and saying, 'go buy yourselves a personality'. read more

Nightmare! I have a customer that needed a power supply for a Tivo Series 3. The customer was weary of me getting them an eBay rebuild so I decided to try Weaknees. They are the most expensive for the item but i was hoping for quality. They also collect a $100 deposit on top of the cost that is returned when they get your old one back. That is all good when a company sells and stands behind quality products. They sent a dead on arrival supply and when contacted they would not even send an advanced replacement even when I offered them to secure another $100 deposit!! All they offered was to send the old one back for inspection! This is a business that does not stand behind their products not to mention poor quality assurance/testing and terrible customer support. Very disappointed and would not recommend to anyone. read more

I bought hard drive on weaknees.com and they crashed my tivo and now I have to buy a new one. They sold me a hard drive to upgrade my Tivo. Initially sent me wrong one and then I sent it back, they sent me right one. It worked ok for a few weeks and then my TV would freeze and the tivo would crash/restart (takes 10 minutes each time). Turns out it was bad drive, I ran a diagnostic test and the hard drive has failed in less than 6 months. So when I emailed them about it they at first were short with me and then stopped responding at all. Never buy anything from them. read more

Severe Attitude Issues I think most people will have nice things to say about Weaknees until they have a customer service issue. I loved them until they sent me the wrong fan I had ordered as a replacement part. The e-mail response I got from them was rude and condescending, and only went downhill from there. I had to resort to the BBB, and still did not achieve satisfaction. I will never do business with them again. read more

Weaknees will do Tivo repair - at extreme premium prices, with a condescending attitude, and lord help you if you have to interact with their "customer service." I had a minor issue (on their end!) and they acted as if it were the end of the world. You're better off seeking repair services elsewhere - in fact, you're better off just buying a new TiVo rather than dealing with these scumbags! read more

I found WeaKnees through Yelp and I dropped off my broken TIVO and chose the '$149.00 we'll fix anything that's wrong' deal. Glad I did because it literally burned up the hard drive. A few days later, it was finished and good as new. So easy and totally worth it. I wouldn't know where else to take my broken DVR. They are a no frills and don't have any signage on the building but none of that is a problem with me. read more

Very professional, responsive, and knowledgeable. There was a delay in shipping that was the fault of the carrier, but WeaKnees issued me a credit out of their pocket anyway. Good folks! read more

Just LOVE these guys!! My Tivo hard drive died and I have a lifetime subscription that is only good for that device so was heartbroken (love my Tivo) Found Weaknees online for replacement Tivo drives and I was so impressed with how easy this was to do! Fast shipping, and best of all excellent instructions. Very important to follow the instructions! I have now impressed all my friends & family that I actually changed out my Tivo hard drive all by me-self! I am a Rock STAR! ;) read more

Their tech support is awesome! I bought a RAID external drive for my Tivo from Weaknees a several years ago. It quit working so I called support. They quickly diagnosed the problem and gave me several options including sending it to them for repair. They correctly guessed the problem and offered to send me a new housing and power supply for only $69 including shipping. Once I received and installed the parts, I still had a problem so I called them and they quickly figured out that I needed to properly set the selector switch and press reset. Once I did that, it worked like new. In both cases, my call was quickly answered by a competent tech. I was relieved to know that I would not lose my Tivo recordings and was pleased that the support rep did not push me to spend more money than necessary. It's great that they offer options because some customers may not be comfortable with installing hard drives into a case so, for them, they will do all the work at a reasonable price. For me, all I needed was the parts and I was good to go with minimal downtime. read more

I would like to leave no star. I purchased a so called "refurbished" Tivo Roamio Pro for $499 and started having problems within 30 days. The TV picture flickers and the sound stops, requiring a reboot, interrupted recordings, then it works for 2 or 3 days, then TV flicker and no sound again. I finally called Weaknees on 888-932-5633 option 2 on my day off work, explained I have had this problem for months, but since I am 22 days past the 90 day warranty the agent said I would have to pay $20 for shipping to the store, $50 for diagnostics, plus more $ for whatever parts and labor are required to repair it. I said I would give him another chance to repair it for no charge, but he declined, so I told him the Tivo I bought is "crap." Then the agent said he would note that in my file and he would also note never to do business with me again. Wow, if I treated my customers that way, I wouldn't have any customers. read more

Good folks! When Cox started to transition all their channels to digital I needed help with an IR blaster to communicate from my Tivo Series 2 to the Cox Mini-Box. Cox customer service was horrible. After a long wait for their tech support, they wanted me to travel 20 miles away to one of their stores to buy an IR Blaster in person (Cox would not send it through the mail). WeaKnees, on the other hand, answered right away and sent me the IR blaster (it arrived the next day!) Jeremy, a WeaKnees Tech Support person was very helpful. I teach Digital Signal Processing and have written 2 books on DSP but the Tivo/Cox protocols are very arbitrary. I needed professional advice and Jeremy was great! About a year ago I successfully bought and installed a larger Tivo hard drive from WeaKnees on my own with great support and instructions from WeaKnees. I'm still having some problems communicating with the Cox Mini Box but with the great tech support (and possible Tivo repair) from WeaKnees I'm optimistic! Keep up the good work! read more

Have had good luck with Weaknees in the past, but the more recent experience was disappointing. I took advantage of a clearance offer on refurbished Gen2 Minis, and since it was their idea not mine I wasn't motivated to install it right away. When 35 days later I discovered that it had a bad network port, I emailed their support for exchange information. They said because it was more than 30 days, they had nothing to do with it (I should contact TiVo). I checked the web site, and the warranty info page made no mention of a 30-day return limit except for remote controls and DirectTV DVRs. That turned this from a two-star into one for inconsistent information. read more

I was lost when my Tivo unit decided it didn't want to live anymore. Pricing/purchasing a new unit was just out of my league right now--and I refuse to give Comcast any more money for a DVR program. I found Weaknees via the internet---and sent my unit in. I had it back--fully ready to go again in less than a week---and with using my original Tivo lifetime plan! LOVE these guys! :-) They can even set your unit up to give it more hours of recoding time at such a low cost. Weaknees are great! read more

Never again will I buy from these guys! I have bought several DVRs with them over the last 6 years or so, and now when I did have a problem they were not cooperative. I reported it just prior to my warranty running out, and they suggested I put a different DVR in the same room rather than take any responsibility for the problem. When I finally was able to do that, I told them the other one worked fine (concluding that there really was a problem with the latest one I purchased) and they told me my warranty had EXPIRED! When I told them the scenario that basically sent me a snotty email saying to return it to DirecTV, get a new one and they would put the same HD (which I still think may be defective) into the new Tivo for $99! I will NEVER buy ANYTHING from them again! read more

I first encountered Weaknees when I was looking for answers to questions I had about my TiVo. Their Forum contains a wealth of excellent information about TiVo and I was able to easily find answers to my questions, When my TiVo failed to start I was able to determine that the problem was, most likely a failed hard drive. Weaknees offers several sizes of replacement hard drives. Since I had purchased Lifetime Service for my TiVo instead of the Monthly Charge it was much better to replace the hard drive rather than replace the TiVo. I chose the 2TB replacement drive kit. The order was shipped promptly. The package contained the hard drive, easy to follow step by step instructions and the 2 Torx drivers required for the replacement. 30 Minutes after opening the package my TiVo was successfully booting up and it now works without problems with more that 4 times its previous storage capacity. I have now ordered other items from Weaknees and each order has been handled promptly and efficiently. If you are looking for information about TiVo usage, repairs or upgrades, I would heartily recommend Weaknees! read more

They ID my HD failure, sent me a printing label, fixed and returned my tivo in about a week. Reasonable price. I would recommend them and had no issues with the price or service. I have no idea why tivo does not offer this service themselves. Really stupid. However, glad I found these guys. read more

Six years later, the TiVo they fixed is still working flawlessly!

WeaKnees is an indispensable resource for TiVo owners, and the quality of their technical and customer service is top-notch. I've used WeaKnees four times over the last 12 years to either repair a TiVo I sent in, or to order parts. When I've performed the repairs, I've gotten guidance either from their excellent online troubleshooting guides, or direct from their support email address. They've always guided me in the right direction. This last time, I thought my TiVo needed major repairs. If either CableCard was inserted, the unit would reboot. I emailed support, who suggested the seemingly-unrelated possibility of the power supply. They were right, and I'm back in business with minimal downtime! Being the family techie, I've also purchased replacement hard drives from WeaKnees for my parents' three DirecTiVos. Each has arrived quickly, and worked like a charm. When TiVo ships their next, post-Bolt product, I'll be buying one from WeaKnees with the storage maxed out. read more

Great service AND they warranty on repairs. The website is a good starting point for troubleshooting TiVos. I have experienced both self repair and Weaknees part replacement. 3 out of 4 encounters were flawless. The 4th a Humax DVD had a marginal burner,which they replaced free of charge, on a return. Weaknees is still the best friend a TiVo can have !! read more

Absolutely fantastic company to deal with! I have known and followed WeaKnees for years, ever since I got my first TIVO back in the 90's. For whatever reason I never had to repair or upgrade a unit until recently when the hard drive on my TIVO went bad. I emailed WeaKnees with the symptoms and they troubleshot the problem via email. I ordered an upgraded drive and it arrived in two days boxed securely and with very simple instructions that anyone could follow. After replacing the drive the unit powered up perfectly and I went through first time setup with ease. Thanks to WeaKnees for great advice, fast service, and excellent communications read more

A big THANK YOU to the WeaKnees team. I upgraded the hard drive on my DRT 400 Tivo and it does not get any easier than this. The instructions are excellent (with pictures even...) and the total install including the setup with Tivo took a total of 65 minutes. I spent more time with reprogramming Tivo than I did with the hard drive swap out. Great product, quick service and it worked perfectly the first time. Thanks Again WeaKnees, I highly recommend your service. read more

I have a Tivo HD purchased in July 2007 that suddenly stopped working while watching live tv through it. Everything went black. Screen stayed black and all lights had gone out. I tried the usual unplugging, disconnecting all peripherals, etc. but nothing worked. When I unplugged and then plugged it in, there were lights on the front panel for a millisecond and then nothing but a faint noise from inside the unit. .I ordered a new power supply on Weaknees' recommendation (after Tivo Customer Service said the machine was dead) for $99 and was able to easily install it and now everything is working fine again. No loss of my recorded shows, no loss of my lifetime subscription, no need to pay for another unit - very much appreciated! read more

Horrible customer service. If you question them at all regarding a problem you have with their work or haven forbid their charges, they get very snotty. NOT professional at all I'll buy a new TiVo unit before I EVER use Weaknees again! read more

The web site was easy to navigate. I ordered a replacement hard drive for my TiVo Premiere HD Series4 on Tuesday and received it on Friday. I replaced the standard 320GB disk that came with the TiVo with a 1 TB disk. The installation was simple, it took less than 1/2 hour. I have tripled my recording space with minimal hassle. I couldn't be happier. Dan in VA. read more

WeaKnees is awesome! They have every Tivo product you could want or need. Their prices are competitive. Their customer support is incredible! I no longer purchase anything direct from Tivo, and I will never call Tivo for support, again. If I could give WeaKnees more stars I would! read more

terrible customer service. Bad exchange policy and rude email responses. Don't buy from them.