Users who are still leveraging older BlackBerry devices for whatever reason should be aware that their phones will no longer function normally past this week.
As noted in a statement that was initially shared by BlackBerry back in September, support for old BlackBerry phones will cease on January 4, 2022. More specifically, devices running BlackBerry 7.1 OS and earlier, BlackBerry 10 software, BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1, and earlier versions will “no longer reliably function,” meaning no data, phone calls, SMS, and 911 functionality.
“Today BlackBerry is focused on providing intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world,” the company reminded its remaining users in a statement.
“Since pivoting to an enterprise software and cybersecurity company, we have received questions about our plans to provide ongoing support for BlackBerry 7.1 OS and earlier and BlackBerry 10 devices. In 2017, we committed to providing at least two more years of support for BlackBerry 10 and at least two years of BlackBerry network access for BBOS devices.”
BlackBerry was one of the biggest players in the mobile market back in the day before it was crushed by competitors such as Apple, which released a mildly successful product called the iPhone. All of the company’s modern smartphones for consumers (e.g., the BlackBerry Key 2) are powered by Android OS.
Source: BlackBerry