Introduction TiVo units sold in Australia and New Zealand are being discontinued by Hybrid Television Services and TiVo Inc on October 31 2017. As the TiVo requires connectivity to a central server (known in TiVo circles as the mothership ) to obtain Electronic Program Guide (EPG), maintain an accurate clock and other account housekeeping, it would mean that the units would cease to be functional without a server in a short space of time. Although it is possible to modify the software on the hard disk to achieve connection to an alternative mothership, this is unfortunately not possible without the change of a chip on the motherboard. This chip is kind of like the BIOS in your computer that initially tells the motherboard where to find the hard disk and start loading the main program. The problem is that TiVo included some checks in this chip to ensure that only software created and certified by TiVo will run. In order for us to modify the software to tell the TiVo to use an alternative mothership, and successfully run that software, we need to replace the chip on the motherboard with one that does not include the checking that the software is certified by TiVo. This is fairly similar to the modchip that various games consoles use to run software not authorised by the manufacturer. IMPORTANT NOTE The step by step instructions that follow are designed to assist in successfully performing this modification. It requires opening up the TiVo and proficiency in surface mounted soldering. If you are not confident at performing this task please seek the help of someone who can do it for you otherwise you risk rendering your TiVo beyond repair. Approved: Approval Date: 22/08/2017 Next Review Date: as required PRINTOUT MAY NOT BE UP-TO-DATE; REFER TO FOR THE LATEST VERSION Page 1 of 16
The TiVo Motherboard The picture below is a complete view of the TiVo motherboard with the hard disk removed, which usually sits in the top right region of the photo. The orientation of the photo is front of TiVo to the top and rear to the bottom. A brief tour of the motherboard While this is something not related to the PROM mod it is worth a small mention for those interested in the various bits of the motherboard. Starting with something familiar looking is the Real Time Clock battery to the left. This keeps the time and date if the mains power fails. It does not hold settings or anything like that like you would expect for say a computer motherboard. These batteries very rarely go flat and even if they do it causes no issues apart from incorrect time and date until the next network call to the TiVo mothership. Below that to the left is the power supply connector. To the right of that with the red/black wires is the fan connector. To the right of that is the main brains Broadcomm BCM7401 chip of the TiVo with the heatsink bonded on top. Below that is all the A/V, USB and Ethernet parts. Just right of the custom chip are the four RAM chips. Below the RAM chips and to the Approved: Approval Date: 22/08/2017 Next Review Date: as required PRINTOUT MAY NOT BE UP-TO-DATE; REFER TO FOR THE LATEST VERSION Page 2 of 16
right are the SATA hard disk connectors. The two large metal rectangles bottom right are the two tuner sections. The PROM chip is above the four RAM chips. It is the square looking one with the white label. All the blank unused areas is because the one motherboard is used in different countries and different parts are added as required, for example satellite or cable TV, etc. This does not, however, mean we can use anything other than Australian or NZ units. The PROM chip There are two possibilities for the PROM chip on your motherboard: The two pictures above show the two versions of PROM possible. Functional wise they are both identical and are both the same type of component, being a SST 37VF010 EEPROM. The only difference is that some motherboards have chips with a sticker and some do not. The replacement PROM chip The new PROM chip is a similar part to the original, but I have opted to use a 39VF010 component rather than the 37VF010. The reason is that at the time of first experimenting with doing the PROM mod my chip programmer only did 39VF010 parts and not the 37VF010, and the 39VF010 is available rather cheaply in lots of 100+ from http://www.mouser.com/ and they ship to Australia. If anyone wishes to buy their own blank PROMs and program them Approved: Approval Date: 22/08/2017 Next Review Date: as required PRINTOUT MAY NOT BE UP-TO-DATE; REFER TO FOR THE LATEST VERSION Page 3 of 16
the Mouser part number is 804-39VF0107CNHE In addition to the PROM, you can optionally fit a socket which is Mouser part number 575-943217. I will discuss the socket further in this document. If your programmer is capable of programming the original 37VF010 you can remove it from the board, reprogram and solder back on. The modified binary file ready to be programmed into the PROM is available at: https://goo.gl/q7wid8 How to remove the original PROM As mentioned above this is not a course in how to solder so if you are not confident then it is advised not to attempt the work. I will also not be covering all the different methods one can use to do the rework. There are several and whatever you are comfortable with is up to you. The method I will be using is the ChipQuik procedure as it can all be done with the special low melt temperature solder and solder wick and a temperature controlled soldering iron that can be set to around 350C (660F). A typical example is like shown below. Approved: Approval Date: 22/08/2017 Next Review Date: as required PRINTOUT MAY NOT BE UP-TO-DATE; REFER TO FOR THE LATEST VERSION Page 4 of 16
The ChipQuik pack comes with a roll of the special low temperature solder alloy which is enough to do about a dozen or more PROM removals. The pack also contains a tube of flux which ensures the solder flows to all pins and pads to enable a clean removal. The pack also contains some alcohol wipes to remove excess flux paste. The pack does not contain the solder wick but it is recommended for removing all traces of left over solder on the circuit board pads. Approved: Approval Date: 22/08/2017 Next Review Date: as required PRINTOUT MAY NOT BE UP-TO-DATE; REFER TO FOR THE LATEST VERSION Page 5 of 16
Approved: Approval Date: 22/08/2017 Next Review Date: as required PRINTOUT MAY NOT BE UP-TO-DATE; REFER TO FOR THE LATEST VERSION Page 6 of 16
Approved: Approval Date: 22/08/2017 Next Review Date: as required PRINTOUT MAY NOT BE UP-TO-DATE; REFER TO FOR THE LATEST VERSION Page 7 of 16
Getting down to business The first step is to apply the flux all the way around the PROM chip: Approved: Approval Date: 22/08/2017 Next Review Date: as required PRINTOUT MAY NOT BE UP-TO-DATE; REFER TO FOR THE LATEST VERSION Page 8 of 16
Next step is to get the ChipQuik solder and melt it around all the pins: Approved: Approval Date: 22/08/2017 Next Review Date: as required PRINTOUT MAY NOT BE UP-TO-DATE; REFER TO FOR THE LATEST VERSION Page 9 of 16
With the solder still molten the next step is to gently lever under the PROM until it starts to lift. The ChipQuik solder is designed to stay molten for a lot longer than regular solder but if the chip feels hard to move just get the soldering iron and run it around the entire chip again. Whatever you do, DO NOT force the chip as you will lift the pads on the circuit board and potentially ruin the motherboard. Approved: Approval Date: 22/08/2017 Next Review Date: as required PRINTOUT MAY NOT BE UP-TO-DATE; REFER TO FOR THE LATEST VERSION Page 10 of 16
Approved: Approval Date: 22/08/2017 Next Review Date: as required PRINTOUT MAY NOT BE UP-TO-DATE; REFER TO FOR THE LATEST VERSION Page 11 of 16
The next step is critical: You need to clean the solder pads fully to ensure a flat and even surface so the new PROM (or socket) makes full contact on the circuit board. This makes the soldering much easier and avoids poor joints. Approved: Approval Date: 22/08/2017 Next Review Date: as required PRINTOUT MAY NOT BE UP-TO-DATE; REFER TO FOR THE LATEST VERSION Page 12 of 16
The new PROM chip and optional socket The new PROM chip looks no different than the original externally, but contains the all important modified boot program that disables the security checking of the modified program on the hard disk. The one shown in the picture below has some white paint on it which is only to signify that it has been programmed. Also shown in the picture below is the optional socket. This is technically not required and it only serves to easily remove the PROM chip which is something that should never be required. I will show how one is fitted in this document if you wish to fit one. Otherwise the new PROM chip can simply be directly soldered onto the motherboard and the end result will look fairly identical to what the motherboard looked like before modification. Approved: Approval Date: 22/08/2017 Next Review Date: as required PRINTOUT MAY NOT BE UP-TO-DATE; REFER TO FOR THE LATEST VERSION Page 13 of 16
In my experience it is almost impossible to fit the socket with the centre plastic section (see picture below) using manual soldering techniques without the job looking untidy. It is not easy to get a soldering iron in all the right places without melting the centre plastic section. The solution is to carefully cut the centre section out. The easiest way is to cut the thin plastic pieces where they attach to the centre square piece and then once the square piece falls away carefully push the remaining bits of the thin pieces down until they break off. Take care not to bend the pins! Dont throw the square piece away. It is used later as will be shown. Approved: Approval Date: 22/08/2017 Next Review Date: as required PRINTOUT MAY NOT BE UP-TO-DATE; REFER TO FOR THE LATEST VERSION Page 14 of 16
Now it is time to solder on the socket. The square centre piece is now glued in place. It is required so that the PROM chip sits at the correct height to make proper contact with the socket. Approved: Approval Date: 22/08/2017 Next Review Date: as required PRINTOUT MAY NOT BE UP-TO-DATE; REFER TO FOR THE LATEST VERSION Page 15 of 16
And finally the PROM chip can be put in the socket. The moment of truth has come... Reconnect up the TiVo and apply power. If you see the familiar Welcome Powering Up screen then you've successfully completed the job. If you get no signs of life then you will need to double check your soldering work and while not likely you may need to verify the PROM has been programmed correctly. Note that if you do not connect the hard disk for this test you will get the Welcome Powering Up screen for about 10 seconds before going to a blank screen. This is normal for all TiVo's when they fail to find a hard disk. Approved: Approval Date: 22/08/2017 Next Review Date: as required PRINTOUT MAY NOT BE UP-TO-DATE; REFER TO FOR THE LATEST VERSION Page 16 of 16