Courtesy of sc0user ,
Yes I have seen one or two of these now. Its not dead as you will see the light coming from the S/PDIF socket on the back of the box. However the bootloader has been killed by the latest firmware so it wont boot up.
I know its not a clone but it is probably from one of the earliest SV4 batch. You will see that the Jtag connector on the main board is similar to a clone but all other signs indicate a genuine model.
The Max232 will not fix it as that is only used to bypass the USB after a bad flash. So a Jtag will have to be looked at, or maybe adapt the Max232? But even after jtagging it there is no clonesafe firmware for the SV4 and as a result it wont work in Ireland.
TBH they didnt do their homework when introducing the small bit of script that kills the clones. They are now killing early genuine models also.
I know business has to be protected but now even at the cost of killing genuine boxes is taking it a bit too far IMO. So lets hope there is not a flood of these soon.