Older BlackBerry devices will stop working this week
BlackBerry will discontinue service for its classic devices on Tuesday 4th January 2022. The company reminded users in a statement issued on its website.
At the time of termination of services, devices running BlackBerry 7.1 OS and earlier software, BlackBerry 10 software, and BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 and earlier software through either carrier or Wi-Fi connections will no longer reliably function. These devices will lack the ability to receive over the air provisioning updates and as such, this functionality will no longer be expected to reliably function, including for data, phone calls, SMS and 9-1-1 functionality. Applications (BlackBerry Link, BlackBerry Desktop Manager, and BlackBerry Blend) will also have limited functionality.
Originally published September 9th 2020:
In 2016, BlackBerry Executive Chairman and CEO John Chen announced that the company’s transition to a software company was complete. Since then, we’ve made great strides executing on our business strategy and today, we are focused on providing intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world.
As another milestone in the BlackBerry journey, we will be taking steps to decommission the legacy services for BlackBerry 7.1 OS and earlier, BlackBerry 10 software, BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 and earlier versions, with an end of life or termination date of January 4, 2022. As of this date, devices running these legacy services and software through either carrier or Wi-Fi connections will no longer reliably function, including for data, phone calls, SMS and 9-1-1 functionality. We have chosen to extend our service until then as an expression of thanks to our loyal partners and customers.
Duncan is a technology professional with over 20 years experience of working in various IT roles. He has a interest in cyber security, and has a wide range of other skills in radio, electronics and telecommunications.