Discontinuation bricking: Difference between revisions

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'''Discontinuation bricking''' occurs when a product is ~~renderered~~ no longer functional ("bricked") because the manufacturer has decided to discontinue it. Discontinuation bricking almost exclusively occurs in products that require a connection to a remote server hosted by the producer. The product may become bricked if the company decides to shut down services or if the company goes out of business entirely, while not allowing the consumer to ~~substiture~~ those services with alternative and/or [[self-hosted]] solutions. End-of-life for a ~~produt~~ does not require the product be bricked.

'''Discontinuation bricking''' occurs when a product is rendered no longer functional ("bricked") because the manufacturer has decided to discontinue it. Discontinuation bricking almost exclusively occurs in products that require a connection to a remote server hosted by the producer. The product may become bricked if the company decides to shut down services or if the company goes out of business entirely, while not allowing the consumer to substitute those services with alternative and/or [[self-hosted]] solutions. End-of-life for a product does not require the product to be bricked.

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="margin: auto;"

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==Impact to consumer rights==

Discontinuation bricking, similarly to [[planned obsolescence]], harms the consumer by making a product they paid for stop functioning, resulting to loss of ownership of said product, as functionality is stripped from it.

Discontinuation bricking, similarly to [[planned obsolescence]], harms the consumer by making a product they paid for to stop functioning, resulting to loss of ownership of said product, as functionality is stripped from it.

===Dependence on third-party bypasses===

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Discontinuation bricking is usually a consequence of a remote service shutting down that the product depends on for complete functionality. The risk of discontinuation bricking occurring can be assessed beforehand by observing warning signs, such as:

~~<ol>~~

*'''Product requires an internet connection to a remote server:''' If a product requires connection to a remote server for functionality, there is a risk that the company may shut down the server and brick some function, if not all functions of the product. These connections may be necessary because:

~~<li>~~'''Product requires an internet connection to a remote server:'''~~</li>if~~ a product requires connection to a remote server for functionality, there is a risk that the company may shut down the server and brick some function, if not all functions of the product. These connections may be necessary because:

~~<ul>~~

<li>'''Product requires remote authorization:'''</li> product only works if you can receive authorization from an authorization server. If the authorization server shuts down, login will become impossible. An unusual example being the Spotify Car Thing which stopped functioning after Spotify unauthorized the Car Thing from interacting with the Spotify App API.

~~<li>'''Product has features dependent on remote sources:'''</li> product may brick if it is unable to access remote information because of server outages.~~

~~</ul>~~

~~<li>~~'''Product ~~depends on a phone application to work~~:'''~~</li> updates to~~ the ~~app may remove support for the discontinued product~~. An example being the [[Spotify Car Thing]] which stopped functioning after Spotify unauthorized the Car Thing from interacting with the Spotify App API.<ref>[https://www.motortrend.com/news/spotify-car-thing-music-streaming-device-discontinued/ "Spotify's Oddball In-Car Music Device Is Getting Bricked. Turns Out There's an App For That."] - motortrend.com - accessed 2025-01-25</ref>

*'''Product requires remote authorization:''' Product only works if you can receive authorization from an authorization server. If the authorization server shuts down, login will become impossible. An unusual example being the [[Spotify Car Thing]] which stopped functioning after [[Spotify]] unauthorized the Car Thing from interacting with the Spotify App API.

<li>'''Product requires physical input on a regular basis:'''</li> as an example, [[HP Inc.]] printer ink has a [[Digital rights management|DRM]] that forces consumers to exclusively use HP ink, and does not allow third-party cartridges. If HP goes out of business or decides to stop producing their ink cartridges, any printer depending upon it will become bricked, effectively discontinuing the printer even if not explicitly stated.

~~</ol>~~

~~==Examples==~~

~~[[Spotify Car Thing]]~~

~~[[Sonos]]~~

*'''Product has features dependent on remote sources:''' The product may brick if it is unable to access remote information because of server outages.

~~[[wikipedia~~:~~Orphaned_technology~~|~~Orphaned technology]] on wikipedia~~.org

*'''Product depends on a phone application to work:''' Updates to the app may remove support for the discontinued product. An example being the Spotify Car Thing which stopped functioning after Spotify unauthorized the Car Thing from interacting with the Spotify App API.<ref>{{cite web

|first=Alexander |last=Stoklosa |title=Spotify's Oddball In-Car Music Device Is Getting Bricked. Turns Out There's an App For That. |url=https://www.motortrend.com/news/spotify-car-thing-music-streaming-device-discontinued/ |website=Motor Trend |date=24 May 2024 |access-date=8 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525231014/https://www.motortrend.com/news/spotify-car-thing-music-streaming-device-discontinued/ |archive-date=25 May 2024}}</ref>

[[~~Logitech Harmony Link hub~~]]~~<ref>https://support.logi~~.~~com/hc/en-us#!?return_to=%2Fhc%2Fen-us%23!%2Fs%2Fquestion%2F0D55A0000745EkC%2Fharmony-link-eos-~~or~~-eol</ref><ref>https://www~~.~~theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/11/8/16623076/logitech-harmony-link-discontinued-bricked</ref>~~

*'''Product requires physical input on a regular basis:''' As an example, [[HP Inc.]] printer ink has a [[Digital rights management|DRM]] that forces consumers to exclusively use HP ink, and does not allow third-party cartridges. If HP goes out of business or decides to stop producing their ink cartridges, any printer depending upon it will become bricked, effectively discontinuing the printer even if not explicitly stated.

[[Nest Revolv Hub]]<ref>https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/04/nest-reminds-customers-ownership-isnt-what-it-used-be</ref><ref>https://www.zdnet.com/article/revolv-is-dead-google-killed-it-long-live-innovation/</ref>

==Further reading==

*[[Spotify Car Thing]]

*[[Sonos]]

*{{Wplink|Orphaned_technology|Orphaned technology}} on wikipedia.org

*[[Logitech Harmony Link hub]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Harmony Link EoS or EoL |url=https://support.logi.com/hc/en-us#!?return_to=%2Fhc%2Fen-us%23!%2Fs%2Fquestion%2F0D55A0000745EkC%2Fharmony-link-eos-or-eol |website=[[Logitech]] |date= |access-date= |url-status=dead |archive-url= |archive-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=Chris |last=Welch |title=Logitech will brick its Harmony Link hub for all owners in March |url=https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/11/8/16623076/logitech-harmony-link-discontinued-bricked |website=The Verge |date=8 Nov 2017 |access-date=8 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108163527/https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/11/8/16623076/logitech-harmony-link-discontinued-bricked |archive-date=8 Nov 2017}}</ref>

*[[Nest Revolv Hub]]<ref>{{Cite web |first=Kit |last=Walsh |title=Nest Reminds Customers That Ownership Isn't What It Used to Be |url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/04/nest-reminds-customers-ownership-isnt-what-it-used-be |website=EFF |date=5 Apr 2016 |access-date=8 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405233010/https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/04/nest-reminds-customers-ownership-isnt-what-it-used-be |archive-date=5 Apr 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=David |last=Gewirtz |title=Revolv is dead. Google killed it. Long live innovation |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/revolv-is-dead-google-killed-it-long-live-innovation/ |website=ZDNET |date=20 Jun 2016 |access-date=8 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160620223435/https://www.zdnet.com/article/revolv-is-dead-google-killed-it-long-live-innovation/ |archive-date=20 Jun 2016}}</ref>

*[[Amazon Astro]]<ref>{{Cite web |first= |last= |title=Amazon Bricking Its Astro for Business Security Robots |url=https://www.inc.com/amazon-bricking-its-astro-for-business-robots.html |website=Inc. |date=5 Jul 2024 |access-date=8 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240710101417/https://www.inc.com/amazon-bricking-its-astro-for-business-robots.html |archive-date=10 Jul 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first= |last= |title=Introducing Astro for Business: A Customizable Security Solution Bringing Peace of Mind to Owners of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses |url=https://press.aboutamazon.com/2023/11/introducing-astro-for-business-a-customizable-security-solution-bringing-peace-of-mind-to-owners-of-small-and-medium-sized-businesses |website=[[Amazon]] |date=15 Nov 2023 |access-date=8 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115163649/https://press.aboutamazon.com/2023/11/introducing-astro-for-business-a-customizable-security-solution-bringing-peace-of-mind-to-owners-of-small-and-medium-sized-businesses |archive-date=15 Nov 2023}}</ref>

*[[Neos SmartCam]]<ref>{{Cite web |first= |last= |title=Which security camera? Neos Smartcams now defunct! |url=https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6569550/which-security-camera-neos-smartcams-now-defunct |website=MoneySavingExpert |date=21 Nov 2024 |access-date=8 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url= |archive-date= |quote=[...] But as of this month the app discontinued and the footage can only be used when putting the SD card into a PC.}}</ref>

[[Astro Amazons security robot|Astro Amazons security robot.]]<ref>https://www.inc.com/amazon-bricking-its-astro-for-business-robots.html</ref> <ref>https://press.aboutamazon.com/2023/11/introducing-astro-for-business-a-customizable-security-solution-bringing-peace-of-mind-to-owners-of-small-and-medium-sized-businesses</ref>

==See also==

*[[Planned obsolescence]]

~~Neos SmartCam security camera<sup>[https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6569550/which-security-camera-neos-smartcams-now-defunct <nowiki>[8]</nowiki>]</sup>~~

*[[Software degradation and lock-out]]

==~~Also see~~==

*~~'''~~[[Planned obsolescence]]~~'''~~

*~~'''~~[[Software degradation and lock-out]]~~'''~~

*[[End of life product|EOL - end-of-life product]]

*

==References==

[[Category:Anti-Consumer_Practices]]

[[Category:Common terms]]

[[Category:Articles in need of additional work]]

[[Category:Articles under development]]

~~<references />~~

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{StubNotice}}
-'''Discontinuation bricking''' occurs when a product is renderered no longer functional ("bricked") because the manufacturer has decided to discontinue it. Discontinuation bricking almost exclusively occurs in products that require a connection to a remote server hosted by the producer. The product may become bricked if the company decides to shut down services or if the company goes out of business entirely, while not allowing the consumer to substiture those services with alternative and/or [[self-hosted]] solutions. End-of-life for a produt does not require the product be bricked.
+'''Discontinuation bricking''' occurs when a product is rendered no longer functional ("bricked") because the manufacturer has decided to discontinue it. Discontinuation bricking almost exclusively occurs in products that require a connection to a remote server hosted by the producer. The product may become bricked if the company decides to shut down services or if the company goes out of business entirely, while not allowing the consumer to substitute those services with alternative and/or [[self-hosted]] solutions. End-of-life for a product does not require the product to be bricked.
 {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="margin: auto;"
@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 ==Impact to consumer rights==
-Discontinuation bricking, similarly to [[planned obsolescence]], harms the consumer by making a product they paid for stop functioning, resulting to loss of ownership of said product, as functionality is stripped from it.
+Discontinuation bricking, similarly to [[planned obsolescence]], harms the consumer by making a product they paid for to stop functioning, resulting to loss of ownership of said product, as functionality is stripped from it.
 ===Dependence on third-party bypasses===
@@ Line 46: / Line 46: @@
 Discontinuation bricking is usually a consequence of a remote service shutting down that the product depends on for complete functionality. The risk of discontinuation bricking occurring can be assessed beforehand by observing warning signs, such as:
-<ol>
+*'''Product requires an internet connection to a remote server:''' If a product requires connection to a remote server for functionality, there is a risk that the company may shut down the server and brick some function, if not all functions of the product. These connections may be necessary because:
-<li>'''Product requires an internet connection to a remote server:'''</li>if a product requires connection to a remote server for functionality, there is a risk that the company may shut down the server and brick some function, if not all functions of the product. These connections may be necessary because:
-<ul>
-<li>'''Product requires remote authorization:'''</li> product only works if you can receive authorization from an authorization server. If the authorization server shuts down, login will become impossible. An unusual example being the Spotify Car Thing which stopped functioning after Spotify unauthorized the Car Thing from interacting with the Spotify App API.
-<li>'''Product has features dependent on remote sources:'''</li> product may brick if it is unable to access remote information because of server outages.
-</ul>
-<li>'''Product depends on a phone application to work:'''</li> updates to the app may remove support for the discontinued product. An example being the [[Spotify Car Thing]] which stopped functioning after Spotify unauthorized the Car Thing from interacting with the Spotify App API.<ref>[https://www.motortrend.com/news/spotify-car-thing-music-streaming-device-discontinued/ "Spotify's Oddball In-Car Music Device Is Getting Bricked. Turns Out There's an App For That."] - motortrend.com - accessed 2025-01-25</ref><!-- Maybe include a different example here? It feels a bit redundant considering this was the example for the previous point. --><!-- To be fair we may be better of just merging 1 and 2 and expanding upon 1, there's nearly no difference as the product and app go hand-in-hand -->
+*'''Product requires remote authorization:''' Product only works if you can receive authorization from an authorization server. If the authorization server shuts down, login will become impossible. An unusual example being the [[Spotify Car Thing]] which stopped functioning after [[Spotify]] unauthorized the Car Thing from interacting with the Spotify App API.
-<li>'''Product requires physical input on a regular basis:'''</li> as an example, [[HP Inc.]] printer ink has a [[Digital rights management|DRM]] that forces consumers to exclusively use HP ink, and does not allow third-party cartridges. If HP goes out of business or decides to stop producing their ink cartridges, any printer depending upon it will become bricked, effectively discontinuing the printer even if not explicitly stated.
-</ol>
-==Examples==
-[[Spotify Car Thing]]
-[[Sonos]]
+*'''Product has features dependent on remote sources:''' The product may brick if it is unable to access remote information because of server outages.
-[[wikipedia:Orphaned_technology|Orphaned technology]] on wikipedia.org
+*'''Product depends on a phone application to work:''' Updates to the app may remove support for the discontinued product. An example being the Spotify Car Thing which stopped functioning after Spotify unauthorized the Car Thing from interacting with the Spotify App API.<ref>{{cite web
+|first=Alexander |last=Stoklosa |title=Spotify's Oddball In-Car Music Device Is Getting Bricked. Turns Out There's an App For That. |url=https://www.motortrend.com/news/spotify-car-thing-music-streaming-device-discontinued/ |website=Motor Trend |date=24 May 2024 |access-date=8 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525231014/https://www.motortrend.com/news/spotify-car-thing-music-streaming-device-discontinued/ |archive-date=25 May 2024}}</ref><!-- Maybe include a different example here? It feels a bit redundant considering this was the example for the previous point. --><!-- To be fair we may be better off just merging 1 and 2 and expanding upon 1, there's nearly no difference as the product and app go hand-in-hand -->
-[[Logitech Harmony Link hub]]<ref>https://support.logi.com/hc/en-us#!?return_to=%2Fhc%2Fen-us%23!%2Fs%2Fquestion%2F0D55A0000745EkC%2Fharmony-link-eos-or-eol</ref><ref>https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/11/8/16623076/logitech-harmony-link-discontinued-bricked</ref>
+*'''Product requires physical input on a regular basis:''' As an example, [[HP Inc.]] printer ink has a [[Digital rights management|DRM]] that forces consumers to exclusively use HP ink, and does not allow third-party cartridges. If HP goes out of business or decides to stop producing their ink cartridges, any printer depending upon it will become bricked, effectively discontinuing the printer even if not explicitly stated.
-[[Nest Revolv Hub]]<ref>https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/04/nest-reminds-customers-ownership-isnt-what-it-used-be</ref><ref>https://www.zdnet.com/article/revolv-is-dead-google-killed-it-long-live-innovation/</ref>
+==Further reading==
+*[[Spotify Car Thing]]
+*[[Sonos]]
+*{{Wplink|Orphaned_technology|Orphaned technology}} on wikipedia.org
+*[[Logitech Harmony Link hub]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Harmony Link EoS or EoL |url=https://support.logi.com/hc/en-us#!?return_to=%2Fhc%2Fen-us%23!%2Fs%2Fquestion%2F0D55A0000745EkC%2Fharmony-link-eos-or-eol |website=[[Logitech]] |date= |access-date= |url-status=dead |archive-url= |archive-date=}}<!-- Despite being archived 1.5K+ times, archive.org only displays the main help page and/or errors out. --></ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=Chris |last=Welch |title=Logitech will brick its Harmony Link hub for all owners in March |url=https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/11/8/16623076/logitech-harmony-link-discontinued-bricked |website=The Verge |date=8 Nov 2017 |access-date=8 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108163527/https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/11/8/16623076/logitech-harmony-link-discontinued-bricked |archive-date=8 Nov 2017}}</ref>
+*[[Nest Revolv Hub]]<ref>{{Cite web |first=Kit |last=Walsh |title=Nest Reminds Customers That Ownership Isn't What It Used to Be |url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/04/nest-reminds-customers-ownership-isnt-what-it-used-be |website=EFF |date=5 Apr 2016 |access-date=8 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405233010/https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/04/nest-reminds-customers-ownership-isnt-what-it-used-be |archive-date=5 Apr 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=David |last=Gewirtz |title=Revolv is dead. Google killed it. Long live innovation |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/revolv-is-dead-google-killed-it-long-live-innovation/ |website=ZDNET |date=20 Jun 2016 |access-date=8 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160620223435/https://www.zdnet.com/article/revolv-is-dead-google-killed-it-long-live-innovation/ |archive-date=20 Jun 2016}}</ref>
+*[[Amazon Astro]]<ref>{{Cite web |first= |last= |title=Amazon Bricking Its Astro for Business Security Robots |url=https://www.inc.com/amazon-bricking-its-astro-for-business-robots.html |website=Inc. |date=5 Jul 2024 |access-date=8 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240710101417/https://www.inc.com/amazon-bricking-its-astro-for-business-robots.html |archive-date=10 Jul 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first= |last= |title=Introducing Astro for Business: A Customizable Security Solution Bringing Peace of Mind to Owners of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses |url=https://press.aboutamazon.com/2023/11/introducing-astro-for-business-a-customizable-security-solution-bringing-peace-of-mind-to-owners-of-small-and-medium-sized-businesses |website=[[Amazon]] |date=15 Nov 2023 |access-date=8 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115163649/https://press.aboutamazon.com/2023/11/introducing-astro-for-business-a-customizable-security-solution-bringing-peace-of-mind-to-owners-of-small-and-medium-sized-businesses |archive-date=15 Nov 2023}}</ref>
+*[[Neos SmartCam]]<ref>{{Cite web |first= |last= |title=Which security camera? Neos Smartcams now defunct! |url=https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6569550/which-security-camera-neos-smartcams-now-defunct |website=MoneySavingExpert |date=21 Nov 2024 |access-date=8 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url= |archive-date= |quote=[...] But as of this month the app discontinued and the footage can only be used when putting the SD card into a PC.}}</ref>
-[[Astro Amazons security robot|Astro Amazons security robot.]]<ref>https://www.inc.com/amazon-bricking-its-astro-for-business-robots.html</ref> <ref>https://press.aboutamazon.com/2023/11/introducing-astro-for-business-a-customizable-security-solution-bringing-peace-of-mind-to-owners-of-small-and-medium-sized-businesses</ref>
+==See also==
+*[[Planned obsolescence]]
-Neos SmartCam security camera<sup>[https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6569550/which-security-camera-neos-smartcams-now-defunct <nowiki>[8]</nowiki>]</sup>
+*[[Software degradation and lock-out]]
-==Also see==
-*'''[[Planned obsolescence]]'''
-*'''[[Software degradation and lock-out]]'''
 *[[End of life product|EOL - end-of-life product]]
-*
 ==References==
+{{Reflist}}
 [[Category:Anti-Consumer_Practices]]
 [[Category:Common terms]]
 [[Category:Articles in need of additional work]]
 [[Category:Articles under development]]
-<references />