You naturally expect a lot of the Bang & Olufsen brand, and it is central to the Bang & Olufsen philosophy that our products surprise and delight every day, every time they are used, for the lifetime of the product. An important element of this pleasure of ownership is security – not least the physical security of the product in your home, and that it will remain there, for as long as you choose to own the product!
Unfortunately, many unsavoury and criminal types also have great expectations of the Bang & Olufsen brand, and in countries where there is a high level of brand recognition across all segments of society, such as Denmark, thieves cannot help but take an unhealthy interest in our products – and where they can find them.
To combat this threat and enable owners of our products to rest easy when on holiday or otherwise away from home, Bang & Olufsen offers PIN code protection on its products as an added security against theft. The PIN code works by ‘locking’ the product for use, if the power is switched off for more than preset amount of time.
PIN codes were introduced in 2000, and the first product that was tested in the Danish market was BeoSound 3000. By 2001, PIN codes were introduced to most products and to all markets, and today pretty much all BeoVision televisions, BeoSound 9000, BeoSound 3200, BeoSound 4, BeoCenter 2 and BeoLab 5 are PIN code protected.
The introduction of PIN code protection of Bang & Olufsen products may have reduced the number of thefts of Bang & Olufsen products from private homes, but the number of organised thefts of the products from warehouses, retails outlets and during transport increased. The criminals were reorganising! To combat this, PIN codes were set ex factory from 2003.
It is easy for the customer to change or personalise the PIN code, and if the PIN code is forgotten, it is always possible for the product to be unlocked, because Master Codes for each product are kept on a secure server at Bang & Olufsen headquarters in Struer, Denmark. Only your retailer can request access to your product’s Master Code – and this is an added security.
In Denmark, burglaries of Bang & Olufsen products fell by almost 20% after PIN codes were introduced. Of course, it is difficult to say that PIN codes were they only cause of the fall! Nevertheless, brand recognition also worked in our favour: Bang & Olufsen Scandinavia has had great success printing ‘PIN code protection’ stickers for Bang & Olufsen owners to place in their windows or on doors, to remind thieves they ought to look elsewhere.
