A user device may be authorized to access a telecommunications network, such as a cellular network, after completing a boot process that includes a device activation phase and a network activation phase. An application resident on the user device initiates, in the device activation phase, a device eligibility check over a secondary communication network such as a WLAN. Device eligibility may be determined by whether the user device was legitimately sold. If the user device fails the eligibility check, the boot process is stopped, rendering the user device inactive. If the user device passes the eligibility check, the application initiates the network activation phase in which the user device is checked against a blacklist. If the user device is blacklisted, the boot process is shut down. If the user device is not blacklisted, the boot process completes normally.