BlackBerry Officially, Completely Shutting Down; End Of An Era?

BlackBerry Shutting Down Completely

BlackBerry is officially going to come to an end on January 4, 2022. The popular smartphone maker has sent out a support message to all those users still hanging on to their BlackBerry devices. The statement reaches out to users with devices with BlackBerry 7.1 OS and earlier, BlackBerry 10 software, and BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 and earlier versions.

BlackBerry notes that all of these devices will lose their ability to carry out key functions after January 4. This indicates it is an official shutdown for the company and its unique set of devices. If you still have a BlackBerry phone, it's now the time to say goodbye to it.

BlackBerry To End Services

Apart from the BlackBerry hardware, the company has also announced the closure of its services. "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," BlackBerry said.

That's not all. BlackBerry apps like BlackBerry Link, BlackBerry Desktop Manager, and BlackBerry Blend, will have limited functionality from the said date. If you're using a BlackBerry hosted email address or receive redirected mail to a BlackBerry email address, there's news for you too. For one, you will need to migrate to another service.

The statement also mentioned BlackBerry Android devices will not be affected by the end-of-service date unless users are redirecting their email to a BlackBerry email or using an enhanced SIM Based License or Identity Based License. In this case, users will require a standard license to cover the use of BlackBerry enterprise services on their devices.

End Of An Era?

News of BlackBerry shutting down has been around for a while now. Back in 2016, the company announced it would be getting out of the hardware business. BlackBerry phones have been nothing short of legendary that gave us platforms like the BlackBerry World app store, the BBM messaging service, and much more. It was indeed a favorite among business doers back in the 2000s.

BlackBerry fans received some good news earlier this year when it announced its plans to re-enter the smartphone world with a 5G supporting device. What's more, rumors claimed the new BlackBerry 5G smartphone would retain the QWERTY physical keyboard and bring back the glory of the original BlackBerry phone.

However, it looks like these plans have been completely scrapped. Bringing out a 5G smartphone could have revived the brand, but the cut-throat competition from Android and iOS devices would have made it a tough bet.
Nevertheless, it would have been interesting to see the unique features and the upgraded BlackBerry with 5G support. BlackBerry now joins the list of shutdown smartphone brands like LG, Sony, HTC, Microsoft, and so on.