Wasn't this the same company who banned users for leaving bad reviews?
Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
11–20 of 70 posts
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#12I had to re-read each sentence three times.
I'm glad I'm not the only person who found this piece weirdly dense/obtuse.
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#13Is this really that different from blocking stolen mobile phones from connecting to mobile networks via their IMEI number? The database behind that is apparently shared internationally between mobile networks, and most people would find a phone unable to connect to anything but WiFi useless.
There's a big difference, the owner requested the bricking not the manufacturer.
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#14Previously owned devices sales next? If they are including blacklisting code like this their software simply cannot be trusted.
Unlikely it'd run into all sorts of first sale doctrine issues if they blocked resale of hardware components.
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#15Is this really that different from blocking stolen mobile phones from connecting to mobile networks via their IMEI number? The database behind that is apparently shared internationally between mobile networks, and most people would find a phone unable to connect to anything but WiFi useless.
There's a big difference, the owner requested the bricking not the manufacturer.
If they were stolen from the manufacturer, then surely the manufacturer is the owner - and is therefore entitled to block them?
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#16Is this really that different from blocking stolen mobile phones from connecting to mobile networks via their IMEI number? The database behind that is apparently shared internationally between mobile networks, and most people would find a phone unable to connect to anything but WiFi useless.
There's a big difference, the owner requested the bricking not the manufacturer.
Isn't the manufacturer the owner at this stage?
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#17Sounds like a reasonable thing for any manufacturer to do if your supply pipeline is prone to large-scale theft and your goal is to deter further incidents. The best option obviously is to fix the pipeline, but that takes time and not always doable in practical terms. Caveat emptor. Buying from a 3rd party and presumably at a deep discount always carries a risk of goods being stolen. PS. FTDI case is of no relevance…
Yeah, the burden is on the buyer not to purchase stolen goods. The manufacturer is certainly under no obligation to support them. In many states even unknowing possession of stolen goods is a crime, so many of the "users" here are in fact getting off lightly.
> In many states even unknowing possession of stolen goods is a crime
I've never heard of this. Source?
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#18Sounds like a reasonable thing for any manufacturer to do if your supply pipeline is prone to large-scale theft and your goal is to deter further incidents. The best option obviously is to fix the pipeline, but that takes time and not always doable in practical terms. Caveat emptor. Buying from a 3rd party and presumably at a deep discount always carries a risk of goods being stolen. PS. FTDI case is of no relevance…
Im pretty sure Apple does the same for their device — they have to be activated by Apple after they have left the factory so that they can be used.
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#19> Those that do and assist us in tracking down the thieves will be treated VERY sympathetically. Does that mean they'll unbrick their hardware? That's about the only sympathy I'd expect after purchasing a product in good faith, and discovering that it was bricked or disabled by the manufacturer.
https://blogs.findlaw.com/blotter/2014/08/can-you-get-arrest...
If you buy stolen good, you don't get to keep them. These are stolen goods, why would you ever expect the company to simply allow you to use it?
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#20Sounds like a reasonable thing for any manufacturer to do if your supply pipeline is prone to large-scale theft and your goal is to deter further incidents. The best option obviously is to fix the pipeline, but that takes time and not always doable in practical terms. Caveat emptor. Buying from a 3rd party and presumably at a deep discount always carries a risk of goods being stolen. PS. FTDI case is of no relevance…
My company did something very similar when we had a customer make a large order shipped overseas, which turned out to be with a stolen credit card. They didn't realize that since our hardware requires a service plan to even operate, we could just put a note in our system that these were stolen and inform everyone that tried to use them that they had purchased stolen goods and that they should return it (and report stolen goods on eBay).