Home
Mobiles
Mobiles News
Blackphone 2 Receiving an Update That Bricks Black Market Devices

Blackphone 2 Receiving an Update That Bricks Black Market Devices

By Ketan Pratap | Updated: 31 January 2017 19:11 IST

Highlights

New update targeted at black market Blackphone 2 devices
On updating, the company disables SilentOS entirely
Blackphone 2 was launched in 2015

Silent Circle, the manufacturer of the security-focused Blackphone smartphones, is releasing an update that bricks Blackphone 2 phones bought from the black market.

The update in question is SilentOS 3.0.8 and it reads the IMEI number of the device. On checking, the update bricks the device. A notification popup appears on the screen of the counterfeit device that says, "This smartphone has been identified as an unlicensed device. Only Blackphones sold through accredited vendors are authorised to operate SilentOS. SilentOS has been disabled on this device. If an error has occurred and this is an official Blackphone, please contact Silent Circle Support from your computer at https://support.silentcircle.com/customer/portal/emails/new."

Ars Technica reports that the latest update has not showed up on genuine Blackphone 2 devices and might be targeted at black market devices.

Silent Circle earlier this month in a press note advised consumers and companies to work directly with authorised sales partners when purchasing its Blackphone 2. Silent Circle stressed that it will work aggressively to combat the risk of counterfeit devices. Blair Young, VP Product Management, Silent Circle had said, "Lately, we've been getting reports that unauthorised resellers and distributors are representing themselves as approved providers, seeking to capitalise on the popularity of our brand and product. Some are advertising very low prices to draw interest. Unfortunately, these gray market sellers are deceiving the people who buy from them. Those customers don't find out until it's too late that they are purchasing unofficial Blackphone 2 devices and won't get access to Silent Circle's rich software portfolio, new and enhanced applications, or customer service and support."

The security-focused Blackphone 2 smartphone was introduced at the MWC 2015 and was launched at $799 (roughly Rs. 53,000) for the unlocked version.

Silent Circle Blackphone 2

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 5.50-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 615

Front Camera 5-megapixel

Rear Camera 13-megapixel

RAM 3GB

Storage 32GB

Battery Capacity 3060mAh

OS Silent OS 1.1

Resolution 1080x1920 pixels

More Silent Circle mobiles Silent Circle mobiles price in India

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Silent Circle, Blackphone 2, SilentOS

Ketan Pratap

Email Ketan

Ketan Pratap is the editor at Gadgets 360 - with over 12 years of experience covering the technology domain. With a breadth and depth of knowledge in the field, he's done extensive work across news, features, reviews, and opinion pieces. But what's truly inspiring about Ketan is how he spends his free time. He's often found gazing at snow-capped mountains from over 20,000 feet while sitting on the hood of his car, taking in the breathtaking beauty of nature. His passion for the great ...More

Power Rangers: Legacy Wars Coming to Android and iOS in March

Blackphone 2 Receiving an Update That Bricks Black Market Devices

Silent Circle Blackphone 2

Related Stories