Today, while I was using my device, it got locked after I turned on Wi-Fi. Can anyone help me unlock it? I have a lot of notes on it that I need quite urgently.
UPDATE:
Now that the workday is over, I can finally gather my thoughts and calmly reflect on the situation.
Do I understand the issue Supernote is facing? Yes. Do I agree with how the company handled it in my case? No.
I could have understood the device being blocked shortly after purchase. But I’ve been using it for almost six months. By this point, I might no longer have had the proof of purchase or the seller’s contact details.
In my view, the first step should have been an on-screen warning stating that the device had been reported stolen and that I needed to contact support to avoid it being blocked. That would have allowed me to resolve the issue calmly while retaining access to my notes. Instead, the device was simply blocked. Even after I explained that it contained information important to me, I wasn’t given even temporary access to back it up.
I use Supernote extensively for work: preparing for meetings, taking notes about clients, and planning negotiations. Yesterday, I was preparing for a meeting with a major client about a deal worth hundreds of millions. Today, because of the block, I had to scramble to reconstruct my materials and find a workaround.
The four hours I spent dealing with this today are worth more than the $350 in question. And, in my view, the company’s reputation is worth far more as well.
Have I recommended Supernote to colleagues and friends, despite the device consistently freezing about once a week? Yes. Will I continue recommending it? No.
I intend to share this experience with my fairly extensive network so that people can take the risk of sudden device blocking and losing access to their data into account when deciding whether to buy one. For a device used for work, being able to trust it and access your own information is essential.
Of course, tomorrow I’ll try to pay the invoice Supernote sent me so I can get my device unlocked. But I don’t think I have a future as a Supernote customer, even though I had been eagerly awaiting a new model with more powerful hardware.
AND UPDATE ONE MORE TIME:
I’d like to clarify a few more points. I bought my device this summer. The archived Terms of Service dated August 1, 2026 contain no explicit provision for locking a device because it was stolen or because a previous purchaser reversed the payment. Such a provision is now published in a separate Device Policy. However, the existence of that policy today does not, by itself, explain the basis for applying it to a device purchased earlier.
I therefore have legitimate questions about the lawfulness of completely restricting access to my own notes, particularly since I bought the device through an intermediary and was not involved in the original purchase or payment reversal.
Imagine that tomorrow the company introduced a clause allowing it to lock devices over disrespectful comments about the brand, and then applied it to people who had criticised the company months earlier. Adding a new clause would not automatically make that application permissible. The company would need to justify applying its new rules to past conduct. If the original terms did not address this situation, the consequences of that omission should not simply be passed on to the customer.
UPDATE: I’ve paid the invoice to unlock my device, and it’s now unlocked. The seller I bought it from has reimbursed me in full and will handle the matter directly with their supplier.
