Used Fortigate Still Registered with Previous Owner

[Kevin_Noble]

I bought a used Fortigate off of Ebay.  It is still registered wih the previous owner, who may not even be reachable now.  Is there a way to have the device registration removed from the previous name and transferred to myself?  What do I need to do to prove I now own the device with the serail number? 

[Dave_Hall]

See this tread.

Under ideal circumstances, the previous owner should have created a sub account under his own on the support site and given management access to the Fortigate he sold you.  That said, you could try registering your own fortinet support account and open a ticket to see if they transfer the device to your own account.  They will want more than just a serial number as proof of ownership though (e.g. PO or document proving transfer of ownership). 

If the subscription on the Fortigate is still good, it should show the email address that was used to register it (fgt has to be connected to the Internet), which I assume is a still valid email address that you can send email to.  You could try contacting the previous owner that way. 

[Admin_FTNT]

Fortinet support is only available for products which have been purchased directly from Fortinet authorized channels.  Products not purchased from Fortinet authorized channels are not eligible, and cannot be supported   This includes: [ul]

Used products purchased through any second hand marketplace (including online stores and auction sites).[/ul][ul]

New products purchased through any marketplace (including online stores and auction sites) where the seller is not an authorized Fortinet partner.[/ul]

For more information please refer to the Fortinet Legal page.

[emnoc]

In the past you could contact support and change the registration. 

https://kb.fortinet.com/kb/php/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=FD36125

If you acquire a existing organization assets you can easily  have a transfer done and your sales or partner team would help in that area.

Ken Felix

[SoCalMark]

Fortigate sticks it to you up on registering a unit that has already been registered and it infuriates me because we still buy the damn subscriptions. I have since moved to Synology who graciously removes the previous owner and welcomes you to use their products and keep buying their subscriptions.  I am sick and tired of IT companies trying to tether their devices with their services to force you into their product lines. They are using the Apple example. 

[Paul-G]

I tried contacting support for a device, got the same message from them twice, about not supporting devices not purchased directly from an authorized channel reseller. I managed to upgrade the firmware from an archive online, and it showed me the email address of the person the device was registered to. I tried to email them, and got a bounce back, saying the email address was invalid.. So Im pretty much up the creek. Purchased the device from Goodwill Electronics.. had to buy a power supply, which wasnt cheap, then reset it, then flash it without being able to download firmware from Fortinet, and then contact support twice, and email the original owner, only to end up with a device I cannot register..

Fortinets reply.. buy another device.

I have an Ipad I can do nothing with because it was still registered to someone, and a sonicwall firewall that is also the same.. 

I have began to refuse to resell or purchase any items that operate on this business model..

Linksys/Cisco has recently removed local GUI, and requires cloud registration and a mobile app to configure devices.. and Spectrum cable has made their modem/routers where you can only manage them from an app as well.. and the management gui does not port forward properly.. All these companies swear these new systems are the greatest thing, and make managing everything easier for the consumer..