Your old BlackBerry phone is about to die
If you have an old BlackBerry phone running BlackBerry 10 OS or earlier, this is the final day that it will continue to do the things you bought it to do.
After 4 January 2022, the services required to keep wireless connectivity/data services running reliably will be switched off.
That means if you’re still using a BlackBerry running BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry 7.1 OS (or earlier) or have a PlayBook tablet, they will no longer work properly.
In its reminder post the company specifically lists carrier and Wi-Fi connections, which means data, phone calls, SMS and even 9-1-1 functionality will be affected.
It’s worth noting, this doesn’t apply to any BlackBerry branded phone running Android. So you if you’re rocking a Priv, KeyOne or Key 2, your phone will continue to work as it has done.
While we’ve seen and even written ‘BlackBerry is dead’ headlines more than once, this ending of the key services that made a BlackBerry a BlackBerry draws to a close a long story of demise that started more than ten years ago.
It’s a story of a company that never quite managed to deal with the challenge of modern all-touch smartphones following the launch of the original iPhone.
In the end, its physical QWERTY keyboards and its fast, reliable (and secure) communication services weren’t enough to keep it relevant, with even its most ardent fans opting for something more modern, and enterprise customers opting for Android and iPhone alternatives.
