Last month, on July 11 if we’re being specific, a distribution center located in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa was hit by thieves who made away with an unknown number of Samsung TVs. However, Samsung says all of those TVs are now a bunch of useless screens they were fitted with remote blocking technology which has since been triggered.
This is the first time Samsung is revealing this technology which it says works regardless of where the TV is in the world. The company admitted as much in its latest Samsung Newsroom post detailing how the TVs in South Africa were stolen and then disabled.
According to Samsung, the technology is called TV Block and it’s “pre-loaded on all Samsung TV products.” Whenever a TV is confirmed as being stolen, Samsung will log the serial number of the TV and then wait for it to be connected to the internet. As soon as the TV connects to the Samsung servers, the serial number is checked, and if it’s on the list, “the blocking system is implemented, disabling all the television functions.”
“In keeping with our values to leverage the power of technology to resolve societal challenges, we will continuously develop and expand strategic products in our consumer electronics division with defence-grade security, purpose-built, with innovative and intuitive business tools designed for a new world. This technology can have a positive impact at this time, and will also be of use to both the industry and customers in the future.”
– Mike Van Lier, Director of Consumer Electronics at Samsung South Africa
However, thieves can of course prevent this from ever happening by just never connecting the Samsung TV to the internet and instead purchasing an Android box or Chromecast.
