There's a difference between having a general business model of selling hardware as a loss leader, and protecting that business model with contract terms. Cellu

There's a difference between having a general business model of selling hardware as a loss leader, and protecting that business model with contract terms. Cellular carriers sell you subsidized locked phones on contract, with an early termination fee to recoup that subsidy. Game console manufacturers just take the risk that you might not buy enough games/services to recoup that loss. If Cisco doesn't have something comparable to the smartphone contracts binding their customers, then bricking devices for unauthorized use is pretty indefensible. And it's especially bad if they do so for devices that are no longer on contract and have been resold to third parties, unless such sales are legally prohibited in the first place.