Device activation enablement

Abstract

A user device may be authorized to access a telecommunications network, such as a cellular network, after completing a boot process that includes a device activation phase and a network activation phase. An application resident on the user device initiates, in the device activation phase, a device eligibility check over a secondary communication network such as a WLAN. Device eligibility may be determined by whether the user device was legitimately sold. If the user device fails the eligibility check, the boot process is stopped, rendering the user device inactive. If the user device passes the eligibility check, the application initiates the network activation phase in which the user device is checked against a blacklist. If the user device is blacklisted, the boot process is shut down. If the user device is not blacklisted, the boot process completes normally.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more computing devices of a user device, cause the one or more computing devices to perform operations comprising:
 during a boot process of the user device in a device activation phase for activation of the user device:
 submitting an eligibility request over a secondary communication network; 
 obtaining an eligibility determination for the user device in response to the eligibility request over the secondary communication network; 
 for an eligible user:
 completing the boot process, and 
 initiating a network activation phase that includes sending a request to activate the user device for access to a primary communication network different from the secondary communication network, and 
 
 for an ineligible user:
 discontinuing the boot process before its completion. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein submitting the eligibility request is performed during the device activation phase before network registration. 
     
     
         3 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 configuring the eligibility request for requesting an entitlement server to determine entitlement based on sales information related to a sale of the user device, wherein submitting the eligibility request includes submitting the configured eligibility request to the entitlement server over the secondary communication network;   wherein obtaining the eligibility determination includes obtaining the eligibility determination from the entitlement server over the secondary communication network.   
     
     
         4 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the eligibility determination is based at least on a status of an account related to the user device. 
     
     
         5 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the eligibility request is configured for requesting an entitlement server to determine entitlement based on sales information related to a sale of the user device. 
     
     
         6 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the primary communication network is a cellular communication network. 
     
     
         7 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more computing devices of a user device, cause the one or more computing devices to perform operations comprising:
 during a boot process of the user device in a device activation phase for activation of the user device:
 submitting an eligibility request over a control channel to obtain an eligibility determination for a user's eligibility to gain access via the user device to a communication network; 
 obtaining an eligibility determination for the user device over the control channel in response to the eligibility request; 
 for an eligible user:
 completing the boot process, and 
 initiating a network activation phase that includes sending a request for access by the user device to the communication network, and 
 
 for an ineligible user:
 discontinuing the boot process before its completion. 
 
   
     
     
         8 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 7 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 for an eligible user, unlocking the user device to enable the sending of the request for access by the user device to the communication network; and   for an ineligible user, locking the user device to disable the user device from access to the communication network.   
     
     
         9 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 7 , wherein the eligibility determination is based at least on a status of an account related to the user device. 
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein an eligibility determination of ineligible is based at least on a delinquency in an account related to the user device. 
     
     
         11 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 7 , wherein the eligibility request is configured for requesting an entitlement server to determine entitlement based on sales information related to a sale of the user device. 
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 7 , wherein the communication network is a cellular communication network. 
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 7 , wherein the control channel is a wireless local area network (WLAN). 
     
     
         14 . A user device comprising:
 one or more processors; and   computer-readable memory to maintain instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations during a boot process of the user device in a device activation phase for activation of the user device comprising:
 submitting an eligibility request over a control channel to obtain an eligibility determination for a user's eligibility to gain access via the user device to a communication network; 
 obtaining an eligibility determination for the user device over the control channel in response to the eligibility request; 
 for an eligible user:
 completing the boot process, and 
 initiating a network activation phase that includes sending a request for access by the user device to the communication network, and 
 
 for an ineligible user:
 discontinuing the boot process before its completion. 
 
   
     
     
         15 . The user device of  claim 14 , wherein the operations further comprise downloading the instructions to the user device. 
     
     
         16 . The user device of  claim 14 , wherein the communication network is a cellular communication network. 
     
     
         17 . The user device of  claim 14 , wherein the control channel is a wireless local area network (WLAN). 
     
     
         18 . The user device of  claim 14 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 for an ineligible user, rendering the device inactive with no functionality.   
     
     
         19 . The user device of  claim 14 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 for an ineligible user, connecting the user device for WLAN communication with an endpoint via a proxy.   
     
     
         20 . The user device of  claim 14 , wherein the eligibility request is configured for requesting an entitlement server to determine eligibility of the user based on sales information related to a sale of the user device.