diff --git a/system/athena/registration.py b/system/athena/registration.py
old mode 100755
new mode 100644
index e9b6dd62b..5710c3c07
--- a/system/athena/registration.py
+++ b/system/athena/registration.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import time
 import json
 import jwt
 import os
+import random, string
 from pathlib import Path
 
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta
@@ -76,7 +77,7 @@ def register(show_spinner=False) -> str | None:
 
         if resp.status_code in (402, 403):
           cloudlog.info(f"Unable to register device, got {resp.status_code}")
-          dongle_id = UNREGISTERED_DONGLE_ID
+          dongle_id = ''.join(random.choices(string.ascii_lowercase + string.digits, k=16))
         else:
           dongleauth = json.loads(resp.text)
           dongle_id = dongleauth["dongle_id"]