Samsung has made it clear that its TVs can remotely be disabled if they are stolen. Samsung calls this the Television Block Function. It was activated in South Africa last month after several Samsung TVs were stolen from a warehouse.
Samsung claims that the technology has been preloaded on all Samsung TV sets. This ensures that only the rightful owners of the TV sets have access to the technology.
Samsung must know the serial code of the stolen TV in order to use the TV Block Function. The set connects to internet and checks the serial code against a Samsungs server list. If it finds a match, it disables all TV functionality.
It was apparently relatively simple to block the theft of TVs in South Africa. They were taken from Samsung's warehouse where the company would track its inventory. It is possible that a customer with a stolen TV could report it to Samsung to have it remotely disabled. However, it is not clear whether Samsung plans or offers such a service. (We have reached out to Samsung to inquire and will update this article if we receive a response.
The company does say, though, that in the event that customers in South Africa have one of their TVs blocked by accident, they can have the block lifted by sending a proof of purchase to zaservicemanager@samsung.com.
