A page in the history of the mobile phone industry is turning. Blackberry, a major player in the market in the 90s and 2000s, announced this Thursday, December 30, the upcoming shutdown of Blackberry OS and BlackBerry PlayBook OS services. From January 4, 2022, certain essential functions such as calls, SMS or internet browsing via mobile data will no longer work “reliably” according to the manufacturer.
BlackBerry was a major player in the mobile phone industry in the 90s-2000s. Used to launching its devices with its own operating system, the brand took a decisive turn in 2015 by deciding to switch to Android, with the BlackBerry Priv. Since that date, BlackBerry has gradually abandoned its activity as a manufacturer of smartphones to focus on supply “intelligent security software and services for businesses ”.
Knowing this, BlackBerry had to put an end to existing services for its previous operating systems like BlackBerry 7.1 and earlier, BlackBerry 10 or BlackBerry Playbook 2.1 and earlier. On this Thursday, December 30, 2021, the brand has just made the news official: from January 4, 2022, all devices that use one of these OS will no longer work reliably, especially regarding mobile data, SMS, phone and emergency calls.
Also read: If the BlackBerry Priv fails to hit its mark, it might be the last BlackBerry
End clap for BlackBerry OS
BlackBerry also indicates that Wi-Fi may not work properly, while native applications like BlackBerry Link, BlackBerry Desktop Manager, BlackBerry Protect, BlackBerry Messenger and BlackBerry Blend ”will also have limited functionality“. January 4, 2022 will also mark the end of the BlackBerry PlayBook. The functions of this tablet launched ten years ago will also be restricted on this date. In addition, you will find below the complete list of devices affected by the end of services scheduled for that date:
- BlackBerry Bold
- BlackBerry Curve
- BlackBerry Curve9330
- BlackBerry Tour
- BlackBerry Global
- BlackBerry Curve 2
- BlackBerry Storm
- BlackBerry Storm 2
- BlackBerry Torch
- BlackBerry 8703e
- BlackBerry 7250 EVDO
- BlackBerry Pearl
- BlackBerry Flip
- BlackBerry Classis smartphone
- BlackBerry Q10
- BlackBerry Z10
- BlackBerry Z30
Unsurprisingly, the manufacturer advises owners of one of these devices to opt for the purchase of a new phone, while customers with an email address hosted at BlackBerry will have to migrate to a new address.
