Through its official website, Tuesday (4/1/2022), BlackBerry announced that the BlackBerry OS operating system could no longer be used optimally. The main functions such as internet data, phone calls, SMS and calling the 911 emergency number are no longer working. “As of this date, devices running these legacy services and software through either carrier or Wi-Fi connections will no longer reliably function,” the announcement reads. In addition, BlackBerry also discontinued support for the operating system used on their tablets, BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 and earlier versions.
The reason BlackBerry discontinued the operating system was because they intend to provide software intelligence security services for corporate and government customers. Other services and applications will also be affected because there is no support for other devices, including email addresses that use BlackBerry domains, BlackBerry Link, BlackBerry Desktop Manager, BlackBerry Blend and BlackBerry Protect. The last time, they gave an update for the operating system was in 2013. About a decade ago, BlackBerry was successful as the most popular smartphone in the world, but over time, they couldn’t compete with Android. In 2016, BlackBerry turned into a software company. The license for BlackBerry phones was finally purchased by TCL that same year. After being acquired by TCL, BlackBerry phones come with the Android operating system, including the BlackBerry KeyOne and Key2. Unfortunately, due to the inability of TCL to restore the popularity of BlackBerry, they finally stopped producing the brand’s smartphones since 2020. BlackBerry phone licenses eventually moved to a cybersecurity start-up, OnwardMobility, which had announced it would release the phone in mid-2021. But, until the end of the year, the phone was never launched. In 2019, their famous instant messaging application, BlackBerry Messenger aka BBM, was also shut down.
