It also kills the . If you could buy a used router and simply “flash” it to become the $500 enterprise model, the company loses money. By locking functions to a digital account, the company ensures you have to pay them for the upgrade, not the guy on eBay. The Dark Side: When Locks Become Absurd The interesting part is the psychological friction. When you know the feature is inside the box, being denied access feels different than if it simply didn't exist.
Without a function lock, a company has to manufacture three different products (Good, Better, Best). That means three assembly lines, three inventories, three customer support scripts. function lock
It is brilliant business. It is infuriating reality. And the next time a grayed-out menu mocks you from your screen, remember: The code to save you is already there. It’s just handcuffed. It also kills the