Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
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Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
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Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#2> 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.
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#3Previously owned devices sales next? If they are including blacklisting code like this their software simply cannot be trusted.
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#4Sounds 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 here - they were bricking devices of _other_ vendors, not their own.
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#5Is 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.
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#6Sounds 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.
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#7Sounds 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…
> and presumably at a deep discount
Not if they’ve been resold since then. Then it’d just look like any other device on the used market.
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#8Sony offers to block stolen PlayStations. It's a similar case - you may buy a used item that may suddenly stop working. Moreover, Sony does cooperate with authorities re locating those devices. You may have a surprising visit.
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#9Previously owned devices sales next? If they are including blacklisting code like this their software simply cannot be trusted.
That's the case with any device with non-free firmware.
Re: Manufacturer 'make worthless' users devices after some stolen from a warehouse
#10I had to re-read each sentence three times.