Apple Disabling Non-Developer iOS 5 Beta Devices?

It's being alleged today that Apple may be disabling devices that are running iOS 5 betas that have been acquired through unauthorized means. iOS 5 beta is meant for Apple's registered developers, but since those developers get UDID identifications for up to a hundred devices, some have unscrupulously sold these slots for profit.

The report first came from Karthikk.net, which claimed that many developers have received a letter from Apple saying that their accounts are being shut down for selling the iOS 5 beta slots and that the associated UDIDs with their account will be disabled. This means that anyone who is using iOS 5 beta on their device attached to a flagged UDID could see their devices disabled.

It's said that once Apple locks the iOS 5 beta on a device, that the handset will enter initial setup mode and ask to connect to WiFi, but nothing more happens after that.

However, many other sites, including TUAW and 9to5 Mac, believe that this report is false. They first question the validity of Karthikk.net, but also point out that the situation could be mistaken for the expiration of the first two builds of iOS 5 beta. It seems that users of iOS 5b1 and 5b2 have reported experiences of their devices shutting down, but users of the most current iOS 5 beta build are generally still up and running.