3 ms·

Seems ripe for a hacking attempt. Being able to kill hardware with software always seems dangerous.

katmannthree 7y ago
According to the twitter thread their ``recycle mode'' works by blacklisting the device's serial number in the mfg's database to prevent it from working, so depending on what you want to do with them they might be perfectly functional.
- bathtub365 7y ago
  I’d guess it also deactivates the speaker and you need to add it to a Sonos account to activate it and add it to a group. This would prevent that.
- IanCal 7y ago
  That sounds like Sonos can easily reactivate them, right? That's not a bricking, is it?
  - oh_sigh 7y ago
    They've refused to remove people from the blacklist who have accidentally put the devices into recycle mode
    - xp84 7y ago
      That really says a lot. I've seen plenty of companies who would have to tell you tough luck, no exceptions if you have a device which is "accidentally" on like a stolen blacklist (take iCloud activation lock for example), since if they have the ability to ever bend the rules, it'll be exploited by thieves -- but the funny part here is that 100% of the devices in "recycled" status are just there because Sonos gave someone a coupon, so the only "reason" for a zero-tolerance policy against reactivation in any circumstances is revenue protection. Disgusting.
elliekelly 7y ago
Do you think it’s really permanent though? I would assume Sonos maintains a list of the blacklisted devices and they could restore a device if they really needed or wanted to. Your comment also made me wonder whether there’s such a thing as green hat? It doesn’t seem like there’s much of an economic incentive for a hacking attempt but I’d imagine Sonos would take a very different approach to recycling if every active device was suddenly put into “recycle” mode and this program was in the headlines.
- userbinator 7y ago
  I think "green hat" would be the hacker who figures out how to reverse the bricking.

According to the twitter thread their ``recycle mode'' works by blacklisting the device's serial number in the mfg's database to prevent it from working, so depending on what you want to do with them they might be perfectly functional.

bathtub365 7y ago
I’d guess it also deactivates the speaker and you need to add it to a Sonos account to activate it and add it to a group. This would prevent that.
IanCal 7y ago
That sounds like Sonos can easily reactivate them, right? That's not a bricking, is it?
- oh_sigh 7y ago
  They've refused to remove people from the blacklist who have accidentally put the devices into recycle mode
  - xp84 7y ago
    That really says a lot. I've seen plenty of companies who would have to tell you tough luck, no exceptions if you have a device which is "accidentally" on like a stolen blacklist (take iCloud activation lock for example), since if they have the ability to ever bend the rules, it'll be exploited by thieves -- but the funny part here is that 100% of the devices in "recycled" status are just there because Sonos gave someone a coupon, so the only "reason" for a zero-tolerance policy against reactivation in any circumstances is revenue protection. Disgusting.

elliekelly 7y ago

Do you think it’s really permanent though? I would assume Sonos maintains a list of the blacklisted devices and they could restore a device if they really needed or wanted to. Your comment also made me wonder whether there’s such a thing as green hat? It doesn’t seem like there’s much of an economic incentive for a hacking attempt but I’d imagine Sonos would take a very different approach to recycling if every active device was suddenly put into “recycle” mode and this program was in the headlines.

userbinator 7y ago
I think "green hat" would be the hacker who figures out how to reverse the bricking.