I knew devices were getting blocked, but not to this extent. Or the fact that mexico’s own government/regulatory bodies condemned the blocking itself.
Here’s a written article (not English): https://pisapapeles.net/bloqueo-celulares-mexico/
Xioami is the only one (in the list) that sent a notification but didn’t block any function or the device itself: https://www.gearrice.com/update/xiaomi-affirms-that-it-is-not-blocking-mobile-phones-purchased-on-the-gray-market-in-mexico-even-though-it-continues-to-be-a-problem/
You would have to dig deeper to see which system services and apps would need to be disabled and repeat those steps after every update. The simplest solution would be to flash a custom ROM.
Custom ROMs? In new Samsung devices? Is that even possible?
Depends on the model, and even if you can get a custom rom on it, some of them will lose certain features with an unlocked bootloader. It’s not impossible to unlock them, but Samsung will kick and scream and break shit the whole way. That’s why it’s best to aim for a manufacturer that will allow bootloader unlocking. Pixel, Motorola, Sony, and I think most of the others will help you unlock the bootloader or at the very least won’t stop you. Samsung is easily the most spoiled child of the lot.
Jokes on you! My Samsung hasn’t been updated in over a year!