This archive report was first published on 26 August 2021.
On August 26, 2021, Samsung revealed a secret feature in its TVs that can be remotely disabled if the company detects that the unit has been stolen.
The feature, called the Television Block Function, was recently activated in South Africa after a wave of protests and unrest left several Samsung TVs taken from a company warehouse.
According to Samsung, the technology is already pre-loaded on all Samsung TV products and ensures that the television sets can only be used by the rightful owners with a valid proof of purchase.
However, it's unclear whether the feature is only intended to combat large-scale theft or if it will ever be used to help individual consumers.
For the TV Block Function to work, Samsung needs to know the serial code of the stolen unit. When the set connects to the internet, it checks its serial code against a list on Samsung's servers, and disables all TV functionality if it finds a match.
Blocking the TVs stolen in South Africa was presumably relatively easy, as they were taken from Samsung's own warehouse, where the company would be tracking its inventory.
It's possible that an average customer whose TV is stolen would be able to report its serial code to the company to have it remotely disabled, but it's not clear if Samsung offers or plans to offer such a service.
