AT&T To Prevent Stolen Devices From Being Reactivated

By Rob Boggan

One of the biggest advantages to owning a GSM capable device is the ability to swap SIM cards in and out of different devices with relative ease. Huge disadvantage is obviously if your device was ever lost of stolen, anybody with a compatible SIM could essentially swap the sim and make your device theirs. AT&T has instituted a security measure that prevents the second scenario from ever happening again with a new lost/stolen phone procedure. How it works is a customer can call into AT&T and report their phone stolen, from there systems are capable of recording the IMEI (serial number) of the device, and adds it to a list of “hot” devices. If a shady individual tries to reactivate this device on AT&T’s network, it is immediately suspended to prevent further use. The only person that can remove the device block is the original requestor. Phones and tablets are protected in this program, and customers on Postpaid and Pre-Paid accounts are eligible.

In a nutshell, this is great news for those who are concerned about device security, but for us who buy devices second hand (eBay, Craigslist, etc..) this could spell bad news as the market for second hand devices has never been hotter.

How do you feel about this? Good? Bad? Impartial? Let us know in the comments!