Classic BlackBerry Devices To Officially Stop Working After Decades Of Popularity

The classic BlackBerry device, once one of the most popular phones in the world with its signature keyboards, “will no longer reliably function” starting Tuesday, according to the company. Reporting for TODAY, NBC’s Kerry Sanders looks back at its history as a status symbol.
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Classic BlackBerry Devices To Officially Stop Working After Decades Of Popularity

[@redeadhead4]

I feel so old. I remember them rising to popularity out of nowhere as a kid. I was baffled that the first round of Blackberries weren’t even cell phones, just dedicated mobile email devices. Then they were phones, I almost immediately got one, loved it for two years, then the iPhone announced applications, and it was game over for the BB Curve.

[@BabyBugBug]

I got my first blackberry as a senior in high school. Talk about feeling old lol.

[@KOSAMAGAMES]

i remember people replying in school secretly cause all you needed to do is read the message once and people got good at replying with their phones in their pocket.

[@redeadhead4]

@@KOSAMAGAMES I was one of those people. I could text while driving without looking down at my phone

[@youtubetv1068]

I remember my parents will not allow me for getting phone I'm soo obsessed about this blackberry phone

[@lovelydolltime8006]

I remember the BlackBerry era as well, but I sadly never got to own one since I was just a little kid in elementary school when they were popular. :(

[@robertgray320]

I said this years ago, had blackberry switched to an android operating system earlier they would've lasted much longer. Too many old heads in a company that don't wanna change will do this to a company. The same thing happened to Sears.

[@Nighthawk-8050]

Oh i agree

[@SimonLYW]

But then they’d just be another OEM in a saturated market relying on brand recognition. The keyboard and business focused approach was their USP. Once the keyboard was no longer relevant to the majority of users, 3rd party apps were developed, and enterprise functionality was baked in to iOS and Android, I think their time was up regardless.

[@ipissed]

Well they couldn't be "old heads that don't wanna change" when they migrated to a whole different business model. It seems to me like it was the users that didn't want to change so it was profitable enough to keep going, meanwhile Blackberry planned an exodus strategy. Pretty much the opposite of future shock.

[@sys935]

Bb z10 new bb10 os launched in 2012 fully touchscreen smooth able to emulate jellybean android framework still exist till today

[@nulnoh219]

They couldn't. Their main draw is the os security. Changing to android defeats that purpose. They've pivoted the company to mainly cyber security now...

[@LeoAriWibowo]

It's 2 days after supposedly the end of Blackberry. My Q5 that runs BB 10 is 4G LTE capable, and it's still working just fine for calls, text, browsing, whatsapp, spotify.

[@LeoAriWibowo]

@Full Time Alcoholic Chat Supervisor CLOV4R713 Yeah, maybe the 3G versions that will stop working. As long as the cell provider still support 4G, I think the 4G capable Blackberries still work.

[@Dec4AllTimeAlways]

I have a BlackBerry Bold 9900 that is still used to play music and old Family Guy episodes. I only got it last year for $5 brand new. It's an AT&T variant. Love the size and in-hand feel. Will keep it as part of a collection.

[@jofx4051]

$5 is so dirt cheap

[@marcc6122]

Where did you buy the phone? I am struggling to find one these days

[@ThumbsUpHomo]

Overpaid

[@Bendaak]

They are beautiful phones even today. I used to have the Curve when it was released and thought it was an awesome phone. Ended up replacing it with an iPhone.

[@mcbone2178]

I remember my brother would always use these back when he was a teenager and man was he among those that were stuck to his phone all day texting friends in his high school years. I never really liked them myself, but now that I see them I really want one. Looks so cool to have though it really sucks that these are going dark now.

[@jakejames4005]

it's crazy to think that when i started secondary school in 2013, everybody including me had a blackberry phone. and when my time in school was up at age 16 nearly 4 years ago, people had their iphones and samsungs. it's so crazy 😢

[@Ellie80681]

Lol yeah so long ago. Tf.

[@LightBluly]

Weird. For me, it was also my first year of Secondary School back in 2013 and not everyone i know use BlackBerry. Heck, some students still use that old keyboard cellphone mostly Nokia at the time. In just 3 years, everyone was using Samsung and iPhone. Heck, i already using Samsung in 2013 and still use it today.

[@krusenator123]

What? In 2013 I was a senior in high school and blackberry was dead and buried for like 5 years at that point?

[@jakejames4005]

@@krusenator123 was still kinda common at around september 2013 even tho iphones and samsungs were starting to become more common back in my country. we were kinda late, and when 2014 hit blackberrys pretty much became extinct 😂

[@Lama-it6rk]

This is very sad! I loved that some people still used blackberries for calls... I own a blackberry, but runs android, so it will probably last for many other years.

[@aidaimcshmidai]

I remember getting my moms old BlackBerry when I was a kid. Man I feel old. I also remember wanting a sparkly flip phone to play with every time we walked into Shaws.

[@nicolelollipops8268]

I actually miss this era.

[@lf.8433]

My Blackberry Z30 is still working fine tonight. They won't be doing any software updates and are shutting down their servers,but you are free to use it on your own as a phone with your cell provider. People don't have to rush out and get a new phone just because a big corporation tells them to!

[@redeadhead4]

The Z30 never worked fine

[@sparra3819]

my curve still seems to be functioning. Apparently calls and text 'may not be reliable' so I'm not sure, would love to just keep using it though (maybe I can return the samsung I ordered? dunno)

[@catherine9468]

Are you really telling someone to stick with a phone that’s nearly a decade old and barely functions in a way a modern user would need it to

[@catherine9468]

If you seriously want a phone just buy one of the cheap ones, there phones out there that are cheap and function well but keeping a blackberry does no good

[@geoffreyselvage1673]

AT&T suspended my service BB Bold in April 2021…. So much for that 01/22 myth.

[@Raphael-2]

I remember in 2012 one girl at middle school had a Blackberry phone and we were all so jealous. That was THE phone everyone wanted. My dad had one. The phones were considered expensive.

[@digitalchic15]

Just like that. Big Corp decides to stop your phone from working

[@misscaro1yn]

I wish the bring it back. It will be a good phone for those who don’t care for social media .

[@learner5090]

word, tired of social media////

[@learner5090]

@@RagingUtai I notice they were more popular in Euro

[@michaelstfort]

MKBHD is on nationwide TV!! 🎉🎉

[@kalijasin]

Most popular tech guy on here.

[@Lulalily]

I remember as a kid thinking that if someone had a blackberry, they were well off lol

[@stevemichael9318]

I remember a lot of my friends and teachers had Blackberry phones. The peak was from 2008 to 2011 that I've seen

[@noj1yt]

I remember wanting to have this phone in middle school 😭

[@41yearoldnewdriver]

I loved Blackberry phones. Now they are a thing of the past!

[@cheezybred]

That brick bounce game was lit

[@mixedhairless]

Startac , and the Blackberry are legends…

[@wastelandwanderer2693]

When I was in middle and high school in like 07-09 it seemed like BlackBerries were definitely for the businessman or sophisticated individuals. But being a kid back then I didn't see anyone with a BlackBerry in school because it seemed like kids just didn't have them, back then kids my age were crazy for the Sidekick and Razr.

[@Josh19998]

Why can’t they leave it to carry on working? Really old phones still work

[@cirian75]

Carriers are moving to viop over LTE/5G, they're planning on killing voice calls over 3G.

[@Monster33336]

Short squeeze. Buy the dip now, they are trying to make it seem like its worthless so they can cash in.

[@gabrieliligan1416]

Nokia: welcome to my world!

[@spikes7846]

It's only been 5 days in and already 2022 is the worst year ever

[@Needformadness2]

Cry

[@BrothaNeo]

To me, this sounds so NUTS considering how amazing success they had! Just watching this video I started to feel like I WANTED ONE lol! I never had one. To leave like this, not work harder to evolve and stay in the cellphone game, and then LEAVE TO AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT INDUSTRY? HUH? Really? Reminds me of Michael Jordan leaving Basketball to go play Baseball and become a ROOKIE in it! Smh!

[@BrothaNeo]

@@RagingUtai Right I agree. However, the powerful mind control of the commercials that get control over the minds of people, its difficult for them to not follow trends. Once something gets into the mind of a person from the TV, they usually start talking to other people about it and it SPREADS lol!

[@furiousgamerofficialYT]

This is sad, my childhood now left behind 🥺 will always remember these fantastic devices

[@jake78441]

So sad blackberry dead im not shocked either apple, samsung, android are all the top 3 now

[@colin6898]

Boycott iPhones, bring back Blackberry

[@h3684]

An era that was totally unmatched for . I miss the BB era. There was no other device till this date that hit the way it did.

[@mattlove2110]

My BlackBerry Classic is still working.

[@kalijasin]

Not for long 🙈

[@ganesha7674]

Since the classic BlackBerry is pronounced dead, from now on it should be referred to as WhiteBerry.

[@bstaznkid4lyfe392]

Blackberry phones lasted longer than Windows phones..

[@Blastoff24001aj]

My mom had a Blackberry Torch 9800 between 2010-2012, and later got an iPhone on the 2nd-3rd week of 2012. Man time flies, and I miss being a kid.

[@aschmum]

They ought to just focus on making highly secure and durable employee phones imo.

[@thecliffold5879]

RIP BlackBerry, going to miss typing on physical keys. 😢 you will be missed.

[@Emalo]

for decades where as modern phones die or become unusable withing 5 years

[@kaylamullins1543]

I forgot all about my blackberry. Man, I wish I still had it. Brings back so many memories. And now I feel old. Lol

[@youtubetv1068]

I remember this day back in 2010/2011/2012. I saw people using blackberry phone Ahhhh I miss this day Take me back to 2010 Who is with me

[@firmannugraha8236]

I still remember it is exactly 9 years ago that after a protracted and well reported debacle, blackberry refused to open one local factory in my country. At the time my country has one of its largest user in the world. 2 years later everyone start shifting to newly marketed samsung and iphone like crazy. I wonder what will happen if they did open a company here.

[@A22DNAL]

The trackball was a glorious feature as well.

[@nickfish3545]

My first smart phone was a blackberry with boost mobile in 2008. The good days

[@mateo6134]

I loved my blackberry curve. First there was a little plastic ball you rolled your thumb over to navigate the screen and then it evolved to a touch screen square. The screen was so small compared to what I'm used to today and the mobile version of websites were so imageless and dull.

[@josephbennett3482]

It's hilarious how Steve Jobs acted like he invented the touch screen smartphone , touch screen smartphones were around even before Steve thought of it.

[@lifeisshrt7929]

He reinvented it tho, and he actually made them more useful. Plus with all the features he put into them it’s obvious the first iPhone was the future. And it sure was

[@WiseGuy02]

The Apple disciples believed anything Steve said. Android had voice search well before Apple, but Steve also acted like he invented that too.

[@mikeylejan8849]

The BlackBerry 5G will arrive and will be made by Texas based startup, Onward Mobility, with a licensing agreement with BlackBerry Limited sometime within this year.

[@fillypireuel]

do you think this still comes out?

[@mikeylejan8849]

@@fillypireuel if another company buys the rights maybe, as of now it is moot.

[@pixie9255]

The end of an era

[@lioncat79]

My father used to own one. And boy, How lucky I was everytime he lended me the phone. Miss the old times...

[@Valefrescoyabish]

Dang ! I’m going to buy me one at my local swap meet as well as razor, sidekick, and Nokia. So I can put them all in a shadow box.

[@mieko1221]

Blackberry was literally a play phone for me as a lil kid it wasn't working but I had lots of conversations on it 😂

[@CAC2024USA]

Certainly one of the best phone of the decade

[@marirosado334]

I had a Blackberry in Highschool. I wish we could bring those back ☹️

[@Police-Officer-Fan-Club]

It's been about a week since it was said to be shut down and mine still seems to be working, lol...

[@XavierMathewsEntertainment]

OMG MKBHD - Best tech reviewer on earth! Great segment. That was a great phone.

[@dyrectory_com]

I'm a flip phone guy. 💡

[@drcentertainment4756]

BlackBerry killed itself by not innovating.

[@everydaychannel5679]

End of an era for sure

[@hep8008]

I honestly miss keyboard phones

[@Titan0090]

The blackberry is like Apollo Creed. After it's defeat, the all screen phones is rising, like Rocky Balboa. And then you have the Eye of the Tiger playing, and seeing the all screen phones without keyboards KO their opponents out of the competition.

[@Nighthawk-8050]

I got two Blackberries. The Classic and The Passport RIP 🙏 and thank you for the memories 😢

[@blvcknerobs1271]

BlackBerry 🖤 please comeback

[@damian9303]

“reliably function” is different from outright “function” in all sense of the word

[@Silentsamurai00]

Mike D Scott caused part of their downfall

[@arim1153]

I remember in elementary we used to make paper phone blackberry's🤣 we'd pretend to talk and everything

[@adamlippert7126]

BlackBerry was one of my favorite phones. I had the pearl. It was convenient and simplistic.

[@fido9745]

“Blackberries became ‘Crackberries’ for many.” Golden journalism.

[@WhiteJarrah]

I've used a Blackberry Torch for twelve years. Mine still works, for now... Not sure if things are different in Australia, but I best start saving up for a Surface Duo or Galaxy Fold or something.

[@MR_POPSICLES]

3:33 "you could drop it in the toilet too" tmi lady 🤣

[@RobSoRandom]

I still use my blackberry Said NO PERSON EVER

[@nesquick9999]

I used to have a blackberry

[@nathenial7556]

The one phone that police can't tap

[@MrSterio1]

Back when you needed a desktop to check your myspace and watch youtube D:

[@undergroundraprockets9482]

Let's save the BlackBerry y'all

[@djhbr]

Blackberry KeyOne. Best smartphone ever

[@amb8354]

After having this phone, I decided that I no longer care what phone I use or I will use. I am happy with what I have now.

[@catman3955]

dang those things are good tho my dad's lasted 6 years and still working

[@Reagan801]

My mom had a BlackBerry in her teen years, now I wish I had a BlackBerry 😔

[@Stefan-ei5wg]

January 26...and both my Q20 classic and Q10 are still working perfectly...and got feeling there gonna continue to do that for a long time to come)))

[@sanchezboy8654]

I miss BlackBerry very much 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@wespin6875]

MINE IS STILL WORKING!!!!

[@rein2430]

I forgot all about em to be honest lmao

[@mintybudgie]

aw man my mom used to have a curve. used it on the first day of preschool and i absolutely loved that thing. sad that it was lost YEARS ago. i should buy one

[@gillowens24]

I do not miss old phone back in the day

[@user-nx1qe3fg2h]

I honestly didn’t even know they still worked lol

[@kingboye2752]

*before iPhone

[@kalijasin]

Nokia, Blackberry, Motorola

[@kingboye2752]

@@kalijasin He said, "Before Apple, there was Blackberry"

[@victoryepik1950]

To me this was the most iconic phone company of all time when i first started seeing them going popular and personally the phones at that time where really exciting they came with own unique feature now its not like that anymore or at least for less accessible phones

[@rocoloco321]

I'll never forget my blackberry curve

[@dl1sf]

I remember I found one in Lake Tahoe on the snow. N used it a few times dude kept on calling I never gave it back hahaha I was young n bad. I STILL HAVE IT 😂😂😂😂😂

[@josephbae8804]

They have survived the 14 years of multiple iPhones and Android phones. They need to stop and look for other business areas.

[@Chino_Eraser2001]

I’m 23 years old now. Man when I was in high school like 12, 13 years old, everyone had these phones. It was easy to use and BBM was the best messaging app before other apps came out. Man I miss this phone 😢

[@n2datasolutions443]

I remember completing brick breaker on this, I thought there were gonna be credits so I was disappointed when it went back to level 1 again

[@jspencer89yt]

Till the one time you dropped it and the memory would wipe 😂

[@jesdadotcom]

Posting this from my Blackberry Key2.

[@TekGeek475]

I remember when I was little my mom had a blackberry phone and then she got an android phone and gave me the blackberry with no service 😂

[@marlonm3]

Blackberry is still the best phone of all time sidekick runner up.

[@user-ii5os7jh3s]

the good old days when the phones were part of your personality and shows up you are not as same as others. now its gone and everything seems equal and dull :(

[@LightBluly]

My family were not really into BlackBerry back in the day. We all prefer Nokia. That was until 2013 with smartphone uprising here and we chose Samsung because it was the recommended phone at the time.

[@joebailey4816]

I remember when everyone had a Nextel and you would here that beeping noise every where

[@JamesGalaxy41]

Omg I remember back in the day we had those keyboard phones :((

[@lsteiner]

It is OCTOBER 2023 and my Blackberry Z10 does still "reliably function"! 4G LTE works, and the Z10 using BB10 OS is still my daily driver! BONUS: unlike the new phones, you can swap out the batteries yourself on these, of which I bought 200 for a buck each, so maybe I'll be set for life?!?

[@Liv1ngTheDream]

Can't have options where google can't spy on you. Nonono.

[@mr500quadrillionyearz3]

😀

[@chltmdwp]

I can still receive texts and calls on my Bold 9900. Sometimes that's all I need and I love it. It does thst so well. I still have Galaxy Note 20 Ultra if I need to do some work.