Published 20:57 3 Jan 2022 GMT

Old Blackberry Phones Will Stop Working Around The World Forever Today

Sad goodbye to your classic BBM.

Stewart Perrie

Old Blackberry phones will officially stop working around the world from today (January 4).

It's not uncommon for people to find their devices from yesteryear while cleaning out their closet or attic and it's so tempting to whack a SIM card in and make it your new retro phone.

While that might work for phones of all different makes (if you can find a charger), you won't be able to do this with classic Blackberry devices anymore.

Two years ago, they confirmed that by 4 January 2022 they would no longer support Blackberry 10, as well as 7.1 OS and earlier models.

That means you will need to get a new phone if you've somehow still been using your classic Blackberry because its communication functions won't work anymore.

Alamy

Users will still be able to do a few things on their old device, but it will be rendered pretty useless in this 2022 world.

The company used to be at the forefront of the mobile revolution and helped usher in the physical QWERTY keyboard for people typing out messages.

It was perfect for users who wanted to email on the go and everyone was obsessed with BBM.

However, Blackberry was quickly left in the dust by the likes of Apple and other Android smartphones and the company soon faded into a memory.

The company announced in 2016 that they would be moving away from making smartphones. Instead they positioned themselves as a software designer and manufacturer, and decided to pivot towards making security tools.

CEO John Chen said at the time: "The company plans to end all internal hardware development and will outsource that function to partners."

Alamy

A year later their marketshare of smartphones plummeted to 0 per cent, but Blackberry tried to launch a comeback with the 'Mercury' phone.

It had a physical QWERTY keyboard, touchscreen, fingerprint scanner and 'the most complete end-to-end smartphone security available on Android'.

The company said it would revolve around three core areas: security, productivity and reliability.

However, this wasn't the silver bullet to bring Blackberry back into the competitive smartphone game that Apple and Samsung had been dominating for years prior.

So, if you were hoping that 2022 was going to be the year that your classic Blackberry was going to make you super cool, you're going to have to think again.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: News, BlackBerry, Technology

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie

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Published 20:57 3 Jan 2022 GMT

Old Blackberry Phones Will Stop Working Around The World Forever Today

Sad goodbye to your classic BBM.

Stewart Perrie

Old Blackberry phones will officially stop working around the world from today (January 4).

It's not uncommon for people to find their devices from yesteryear while cleaning out their closet or attic and it's so tempting to whack a SIM card in and make it your new retro phone.

While that might work for phones of all different makes (if you can find a charger), you won't be able to do this with classic Blackberry devices anymore.

Two years ago, they confirmed that by 4 January 2022 they would no longer support Blackberry 10, as well as 7.1 OS and earlier models.

That means you will need to get a new phone if you've somehow still been using your classic Blackberry because its communication functions won't work anymore.

Alamy

Users will still be able to do a few things on their old device, but it will be rendered pretty useless in this 2022 world.

The company used to be at the forefront of the mobile revolution and helped usher in the physical QWERTY keyboard for people typing out messages.

It was perfect for users who wanted to email on the go and everyone was obsessed with BBM.

However, Blackberry was quickly left in the dust by the likes of Apple and other Android smartphones and the company soon faded into a memory.

CEO John Chen said at the time: "The company plans to end all internal hardware development and will outsource that function to partners."

Alamy

A year later their marketshare of smartphones plummeted to 0 per cent, but Blackberry tried to launch a comeback with the 'Mercury' phone.

It had a physical QWERTY keyboard, touchscreen, fingerprint scanner and 'the most complete end-to-end smartphone security available on Android'.

The company said it would revolve around three core areas: security, productivity and reliability.

However, this wasn't the silver bullet to bring Blackberry back into the competitive smartphone game that Apple and Samsung had been dominating for years prior.

So, if you were hoping that 2022 was going to be the year that your classic Blackberry was going to make you super cool, you're going to have to think again.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: News, BlackBerry, Technology

Stewart Perrie

@stewartperrie