Unlocking a locked/deactivated e-waste Cricut Maker
A hardware enthusiast details their process of reverse-engineering and hacking a deactivated Cricut Maker machine found in e-waste. The author successfully bypassed the manufacturer's remote deactivation lock to restore the device's functionality.
Why it matters
This highlights the growing 'right to repair' movement and the challenges consumers face when manufacturers use software locks to render hardware obsolete.
While taking some rubbish down I spotted a Cricut Maker in e-waste. A quick look at it revealed that the it was in fairly good cosmetic condition with the exception of the rollers being perished. I guessed that the rollers were the reason why the unit was trashed and decided to take it back home to investigate. I knew that Cricut were pretty aggressive with disabling/locking machines , but I gathered it would still be worth playing around for some fun. As it turns out this machine was locked, which was pretty expected. However with some hacking I was able to return it to having full functionality. It's very likely that the last user either received a warranty replacement or a discount on a newer model.
The article is a personal technical account of hardware hacking with no political agenda.
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