BlackBerry used to be a dominating company in the smart mobile device space, but now, it seems like it is coming to an end. On January 4, 2022, phones will no longer get provisioning services meaning they will gradually no longer be able to join networks, including even the cellular network.
The History of the Legendary BlackBerry
According to the story by ArsTechnica, BlackBerry used to be known as a top-of-the-line smartphone running on its own BlackBerry servers, providing its users with a high level of security and control.
In the early days of smartphones, there has been a lot of BlackBerry Android spin-offs as opposed to iPhone spin-offs. Unlike Android developers, BlackBerry's leadership was actually blindsided by the popularity of the iPhone.
The Rise of Android and Apple Devices
It dismissed on-screen keyboards and even counted on its stranglehold on corporate services in order to maintain its market. To add, it took more than a year since the iPhone's release for the company to launch its own touch screen with its software remaining an "awkward" combination of both old and new for a significant amount of time.
Meanwhile, corporate users started to enjoy using Apple and Android phones, compelling their IT departments to support them. To expand, BlackBerry finally gave up on its phones and started to release Android versions before entirely exiting the hardware business.
BlackBerry OS Latest Version was in 2013
The latest version of the BlackBerry OS was released back in 2013, meaning the affected devices are now considered extremely old. This only means that the promised period of support ended more than a year ago.
The whole effect of the support end is detailed on an FAQ page that the former device maker hosts. Besides, the company won't be sending provisioning updates to the devices.
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BlackBerry Functions that will Stop Working
Provisioning information gives details on how certain devices should establish connections with other networking equipment types, including WiFi networks and cellular networks. As a result, at some indeterminate point in the future, networking updates won't allow BlackBerry devices to connect to them.
BlackBerry notes that the devices won't be able to function when it comes to data, phone calls, 911 functionality, and even SMS reliably. Aside from that, there have been a lot of software devices that rely on connecting to BlackBerry servers for them to function.
As per the publication, should certain users still use devices like the BlackBerry World or the BlackBerry Link, these will stop functioning on January 4. To add, the number of people that will most likely be affected by it is quite small.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Urian B.
