Discontinuation bricking

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Discontinuation bricking occurs when a product is "bricked" — no longer functional — because the producer has discontinued 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, which is a significant harm to consumer rights.

Warning signs of discontinuation bricking

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

1. 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:
   1. 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.
   2. Product has features dependent on remote sources: product may brick if it is unable to access remote information because of server outages.
2. 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.
3. Product requires physical input on a regular basis: as an example, HP Inc. printer ink has a 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.

How discontinuation bricking impacts consumer rights

Discontinuation bricking is similar to planned obsolescence in which it harms the consumer and the environment by making a product they paid for stop functioning, which not only is anti-consumer but also contributes to E-waste.

How discontinuation bricking contributes to E-waste

Discontinuation bricking will inevitably generate waste given that the product is no longer functional, and consumers will be forced to discard the product.

Loss of ownership

Discontinuation bricking and the possibility that a product may brick itself in the future due to discontinuation, directly harms the ability for a consumer to own their product, as a consumer does not truly own their product if the product is at risk of being bricked and no longer functional.

Dependence on third-party bypasses

After a product has been bricked, a consumer may wish to repair their product and return it back to a functioning state. De-bricking a product is not impossible but can be difficult depending on the severity of the problem. Consumers will inevitably look to third-parties for methods to bypass the bricking which may open the user to security and safety risks. Bypasses may end up being expensive, with more complicated server-dependent products needing potentially complicated server infrastructure.

Resale falsification

Products are often resold on the internet, and may be put on sale before a discontinuation bricking occurs with valid information but become invalidated afterwards causing false advertising. This has many implications:

1. Sellers may be completely unaware of the discontinuation bricking and will continue selling their product, hurting seller reputation once the product becomes bricked and no longer functions afterwards.
2. Buyers may be completely unaware of the discontinuation bricking and will buy the product, only to have it not function and harming the buyer.
3. Customers may learn about the discontinuation and decide to sell the product without providing adequate details, even without any malicious intent.

Methods to avoid discontinuation bricking

1. Avoid internet and smart products: if the product has to connect to an external server to work, the product is vulnerable to being bricked.
2. Use open source/schematic products: open source/schematic products are inherently resistant to discontinuation bricking as the consumer is typically given everything they need to resolve outages themselves.
3. Buy products that contractually guarantee source/schematic release on discontinuation: if a company decides to include a legally binding agreement to provide source and schematics, this is usually a good sign that they are willing to accept blame for discontinuation bricking and take action to alleviate it.

Examples

• Spotify Car Thing